February 4 through the years
100 Years ago – 1926
The Hamilton Hotel had been destroyed by fire in September. Finally plans were announced for what would be built in its place: The fancy, modern, new Hotel Thomas Jefferson (now called the Jefferson Plaza, on Church Street). Plans were being drawn up for it by an architect, and a contract for construction was expected to be executed within a few weeks. The basement level would have store buildings, one of which already had been claimed by the J.C. Penny Chain Stores Inc. for a period of 10 years, to begin in September 1926.
In response to an article in a Winston-Salem newspaper asking “Why would anyone want to go to Martinsville?” The Winston-Salem Retail Merchants’ Association adopted a resolution proclaiming their admiration for Martinsville and deploring the publication “in our city newspapers of any article in which reference has been made to a neighboring city or town, either jestingly or otherwise, in a manner to give offense to the citizenship of that city or town. … We express our admiration for the city of Martinsville, congratulate its citizens upon having built up such a progressive and beautiful city, and assure them that it is a pleasure for us to visit them and have them visit us as the opportunity presents itself.”
75 years ago – 1951
The funeral for Joe Henry Hampton, 22, was held near Axton. The funeral for Booker T. Millner was held at East Martinsville Church, and he was buried at Mayo Baptist Church between Stuart and the North Carolina line. They were two of the four of the Martinsville Seven who had been executed two days before. In Richmond, a memorial service for the men was held at the Third Street Bethel A.M.E. Church.
Water pipes in Martinsville froze on the coldest night of the year. City employees worked from Saturday afternoon until early Sunday morning thawing out a 1-inch line on Douglas Street in South Martinsville. Then a water line on Dudley Street in North Martinsville froze.
50 years ago – 1976
The local SPCA took on the cause of prohibiting the spaying of animals by unauthorized persons. At least two people in Henry County were suspected of sterilizing female animals without proper drugs or instruments, causing death or permanent mental and/or physical damage to many pets. There was no law in Virginia prohibiting non-veterinarians from spaying animals, but the SPCA members were hoping another law addressing cruelty violations would help eliminate the practice. Alice Ann Blevins was the SPCA president.
25 years ago - 2001
Martinsville Mayor Mark Crabtree and the other members of City Council began five special council sessions over a 3-month period to examine the operations of municipal departments to determine how efficiently they operated. The departments with their subdepartments, and their budgets, were: Community Development, $81,312; Housing, planning and zoning, $23,450; Inspections, $233,920; Leisure Services, $184,327; Park Maintenance, $253,967; Senior Center, $133,632; Armory, $51,916; Police Department, $3,013,135; Fire Department, $1,268,565; EMS, $90,685; Public Works office staff, $63,933; Engineering, $171,291; Garage, $412,748; City Hall maintenance, $403,834.
— Information from museum records and the Henry Bulletin and the Martinsville Bulletin.