Articles By

Brian Wilkinson

Stolen Chickens and Moonshine

“Jenkins Brothers caught trying to sell sickly looking stolen chickens” “Two bedraggled, mud-smeared Chevrolet sedans with three rustic youths and ...
Read More

A Gooney Valley Mystery

Browntown 1903—Did the killer get off too lightly, or was hard liquor to blame? In the early 1900s there were ...
Read More

Browntown Colored School and Church

Browntown’s Black Population 1872 to 1901 The 1840 census for Warren County reported that the county’s population was 5,627, of whom ...
Read More

Teaching in a Rural Community

Ruth Lawson Rudacille—Highlights of my Teaching Experience The reflections below, written in 1975 by Ruth Lawson Rudacille, Stuart and Anna ...
Read More

Ruins of Bill Robinson’s Mansion

The Mansion The photo is from the 1980s. Built circa 1840, the mansion was located near the front of what ...
Read More

Browntown School Visits Raven Rocks ca. 1930

“Browntown School Went on Interesting Hike to Mountains” “Mr. Bittinger Explained to the Pupils How These Mountains, Rivers and Valleys Were Formed” ...
Read More

Description of the Gooney Valley

First Known Written Description of the Gooney Valley Martin, Joseph, A New and Comprehensive Gazetteer of Virginia, and the District of ...
Read More

The Long Lost Orchards of Gooney Valley

Apples and other fruit trees have always played an important part in the history of our valley. Settlement of Gooney ...
Read More

The Gooney Bulletin 1980

THE BROWNTOWN COMMUNITY CENTER’S FIRST NEWSLETTERS Most people living in Browntown are familiar with “ALONG THE GOONEY”, the monthly newsletter ...
Read More