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2017 SESSION


HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 649
Designating the last Saturday in July, in 2017 and in each succeeding year, as Mary Draper Ingles Remembrance Day in Virginia.

 

Agreed to by the House of Delegates, January 24, 2017
Agreed to by the Senate, February 14, 2017

 

WHEREAS, in the 1750s, Mary Draper Ingles followed the Great Wagon Road into the sparsely settled frontier of Southwest Virginia and passed into the annals of American legend as a courageous frontierswoman whose experiences were emblematic of the diligence and tenacity of the nation’s early settlers; and

WHEREAS, Mary Draper Ingles and her husband, William, settled in Draper’s Meadow, near present-day Blacksburg; when the community was attacked in July 1755, Mary Draper Ingles and several other family members were captured by the Shawnee tribe and taken hundreds of miles from their home; and

WHEREAS, summoning tremendous mental and physical strength, Mary Draper Ingles escaped from her captors and navigated through Kentucky, West Virginia, and Virginia, following the major rivers and living off the land, to return to Draper’s Meadow and reunite with her husband, who had survived the massacre; and

WHEREAS, Mary Draper Ingles and her family relocated to the Radford area and established a homestead and a ferry operation; a replica of the cabin where she lived until her death in 1815 stands on the original site and is listed on the Virginia Landmarks Register and the National Register of Historic Places; and

WHEREAS, the inspirational story of Mary Draper Ingles’ life has been told and retold through books, articles, movies, documentaries, songs, and living history reenactments, such as The Long Way Home, an outdoor drama that delighted audiences in Radford for 30 years; and

WHEREAS, Mary Draper Ingles has been recognized on the Library of Virginia’s list of influential women and on the Women of Virginia Historic Trail; in 2016, an eight-foot tall bronze statue of her was erected in the Mary Draper Ingles Cultural Heritage Park located adjacent to Glencoe Museum & Gallery, and she will be honored with a future monument in Capitol Square in Richmond; and

WHEREAS, Mary Draper Ingles played a unique role in the history of the Commonwealth and the United States, and her story of courage and determination in the face of overwhelming hardship continues to inspire people throughout the world; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly designate the last Saturday in July, in 2017 and in each succeeding year, as Mary Draper Ingles Remembrance Day in Virginia; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates transmit copies of this resolution to the Radford City Tourism Advisory Commission and the Radford Heritage Foundation so that members of the organizations may be apprised of the sense of the General Assembly of Virginia in this matter; and, be it

RESOLVED FINALLY, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates post the designation of this day on the General Assembly’s website.