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Young Edith Bolling’s father, William Holcombe Bolling, was a lawyer who, in 1870 prior to her birth, became a circuit court judge for the region that covered Wythe, Bland, Grayson, Carroll, part of Pulaski, part of Russell, and part of Tazewell counties in Virginia. Working in the professions held extraordinary prestige at the time; as late as 1920, U.S. Census data reveals that less than 0.3% of Virginia’s employed male population worked as either a judge or a lawyer. Edith’s grandfather, a doctor who had received his medical degree in 1835, was similarly exceptional; by 1920, only .3% of men in Virginia worked in this field.

Image 1: Judge W. H. Bolling. Circa 1889 (EBWB Museum Collection)

Consequently, the productivity of mountain farms declined as erosion and soil exhaustion grew worse with the rapid efforts to clear trees and redevelop the land in order to lay train tracks, build roads, and deliver other infrastructure required for resource extraction (Image 3). As a result, tenancy and part-time farming combined with wage labor became prevalent. ​

Additional factors further undermined the agrarian sector. As markets shrank and land became further commoditized, farmers’ incomes and livelihoods were jeopardized. Intensification of the sector also necessitated the use of chemical fertilizers. Though these chemicals allowed for more efficient use of what was becoming smaller land parcels, they also served in part to disenfranchise those who relied upon what had at one time been a labor-intensive economic sector. Moreover, the extraction of the lime and other materials used to produce them was a dangerous and protracted process (Images 3,4).

Image 2. Felty Valentine Cregger hauling cabbages from Bland to Crockett circa 1905 (Cat. No. 013†)

Alternatively, 42% of all men and 12% of women in Virginia in 1920 worked in agriculture or a related area. The percentage was even higher prior to the turn of the century. But the post-Civil War era ushered in a period of economic restructuring that served to disempower and disenfranchise many farming families throughout the Appalachian region, including Wythe County. In effect, rapid changes outside of the region’s control undermined what had once been a robust and functioning agrarian-based local economy (see Image 2). A more extraction-oriented economy evolved in its stead, based most especially upon mining. Meantime demand for locally produced agrarian goods and services weakened as resources from outside the region were increasingly substituted for those produced within the region.

Image 4. Lime kiln, used in the 19th century for the manufacture of fertilizer to increase agricultural production; Wythe County, circa 1900 (Cat. No. 4354†)

In short, the economic conditions in Appalachia at the turn of the century varied. Those who lived in town or who pursued the professions faired far better than those in outlying area, but all faced challenges and uncertainties in the post-War economy. And yet, the resilience of communities like Wytheville never wavered. On the contrary, they enjoyed a positive outlook overall, resulting from the sense that despite the daily challenges or misfortunes, the community as a whole was strong, its people hardy and hardworking. ​

It was this very spirit of resilience which the Bolling family passed on to their daughter Edith. In turn, she embraced her Appalachian childhood in Wytheville and carried her experiences with her all the way to Washington, D. C. – and eventually, to the White House and to the world beyond.

Image 3. Construction of the Railroad Between Ivanhoe and Speedwell, Wythe County . Late 19th century. (Cat. No. 4343†)