The Dellenback Family

The Dellenback Family. . In March of 1949, Charlie Melton Dellenback Sr. became owner of the 169 acre tract that was a small part of the original Laurel Hill farm. This land included the farmhouse built in 1895 by William A. Mitchell and his son John. The farm contained structures dating back to the Stuart occupation, and possibly to William Letcher's time. Charlie, (1908 - 1998) a World War Il US Army veteran, married Thelma Roseleaf Dennis (1922-2001) in 1943 and together they raised nine children on this self-sustaining farm. Four of those nine children were veterans themselves, three sons served in the U.S. Army in Vietnam and one daughter was in the U.S. Marine Corps during Vietnam, and she was later in the U.S. Army Reserves and U.S. Army Active Guard Reserve. , The main cash crop on this farm was tobacco, other crops included corn, oats, and other hay crops. A large vegetable garden was always planted and harvested to provide for the family. Hogs, chickens, and dairy cattle were part of this farming operation. The old Volunteer Gap Road and another farm road intersected the property and were used extensively by the family and others to move goods out of the area. It can rightfully be said that the Dellenbacks were one of the first preservationists of Laurel Hill. In the early 1950's descendants of William Letcher wanted to move his remains elsewhere. Charlie Dellenback stated "that the grave was on the farm when he bought it and it would remain there", and so it has. Described by the family as "the finest man we ever knew who will live forever in our hearts", Charlie Melton Dellenback died in 1998. , Today, the Dellenback family continues to farm this fertile bottomland along the Ararat River. In 1995 a member of the family sold a 3-acre tract which included William Letcher's grave, the Mitchell/Dellenback home, and the probable site of William Letcher's cabin. It is believed that the foundation of Letcher's cabin was discovered in 2009 by archaeology work conducted by Radford University. This land, along with the site of JEB Stuart's birth, totals 75 acres and is a small part of the original 1500-acre Laurel Hill farm which is now owned, maintained, and interpreted by the J.E.B. Stuart Birthplace Preservation Trust, Inc. , (caption) , Charlie Sr. Walter Lee, Thelma and Charlie Jr.