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2012 SESSION

12104004D
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 222
Offered January 19, 2012
Commending the Town of Boydton on the occasion of its 200th anniversary.
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Patrons-- Wright; Senator: Ruff
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WHEREAS, Mecklenburg County’s seat of government from the county’s founding in 1765 was known originally as Mecklenburg Courthouse; and

WHEREAS, in 1812 the General Assembly established a town at this location named Boyd Town; and

WHEREAS, the name was derived from Alexander Boyd the Younger, who deeded 50 acres of land surrounding the courthouse and jail, previously owned by his grandfather, Richard Swepson, to create the town, which later changed its name to Boydton; and

WHEREAS, the principal streets were named for the earliest presidents of the United States who were native Virginians, and the remaining streets were named for prominent military leaders at the time of the impending War of 1812; and

WHEREAS, the Town of Boydton’s dominant role throughout its 200-year history has been that of county capital; and

WHEREAS, Boydton is noted for its many examples of distinguished public buildings and private residences in various architectural styles, capped by the county courthouse modeled on the Thomas Jefferson-designed State Capitol; and

WHEREAS, the Methodists of Virginia and North Carolina established Randolph-Macon College at Boydton in 1830, which is the oldest continuous Methodist-related college in the United States; and

WHEREAS, Virginia’s first regional public library, the Southside Regional Library, is headquartered at Boydton, originating as a gift of Ambassador David K.E. Bruce and Alisa Mellon Bruce in 1938; and

WHEREAS, numerous persons prominent in public life, theology, education, medicine, law, literature, and other professions, arts, and trades over the past 200 years have called Boydton home; and

WHEREAS, Boydton is the closest town to John H. Kerr Dam and Reservoir, one of the nation’s larger hydroelectric and flood control projects, which attracts thousands annually to its recreational facilities; and

WHEREAS, Boydton received national recognition on the occasion of its first annual Boydton Day Festival in 1977 by U.S. News & World Report as “A Small Town That Refuses to Die”; and

WHEREAS, Boydton was featured in 2010 on the NBC television program Who Do You Think You Are? which explored the ancestral search of National Football League Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith; and

WHEREAS, a significant advance in Boydton’s 200 years of progress, highlighted by its rich heritage, varied resources, and friendly citizens, came in 2010 with Microsoft Corporation’s decision to locate at Boydton one of the nation’s most advanced cloud computing data centers, representing the largest financial investment ever made in Southside Virginia; and

WHEREAS, the Town of Boydton is celebrating its bicentennial with a year-long series of events designed to honor the past and promote its future; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby commend the Town of Boydton on the occasion of its 200th anniversary; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to Gerald W. Wrenn, Mayor of the Town of Boydton, as an expression of the General Assembly’s congratulations and admiration for the Town’s rich history and its citizens’ contributions to the Commonwealth.