Date:  July 4, 1914

Image Number:  SD2cdSD1

Comments:  Parades in Scottsville have long been a town tradition, and none are more popular than the annual Fourth of July Parade down Main Street.  In this 1914 scene, Grand Marshal Sam Gault led the parade on horseback (Sam also served as Scottsville's beloved postmaster for thirty-nine years).  The Scottsville Band and Junior Order of American Mechanincs (JR OUAM) followed Mr. Gault.  Bringing up the parade's rear were a Woman's Christian Temperance Union float and hundreds of July 4th celebrants.

This parade always is very popular in Scottsville and draws out-of-town spectators by the thousands.  Townspeople joyfully anticipate the parade and jockey for prime parade-viewing spots along Main and Valley Streets.  It is hard to imagine Scottsville without a Fourth of July celebration, but The Scottsville News reported such an occurence in 1935 with an article entitled, "Glorious Fourth---But Nothing Doing."  The article lamented further:  "All signs point to a safe and sane and extremely quiet Fourth in Scottsville today.  So far as is known, no celebration of any kind is planned to break the small town peace and quiet.  It will hardly seem the 'glorious Fourth,' with no eagle to scream, no orator to soar in patriotic fervor, no baseball games, no lemonade stands--no anything in any way different from yesterday or tomorrow, except that some business places may be closed.  Well, anyway, the glorious Fourth is here, same as elsewhere."

In later years, the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 8169 sponsored the Fourth of July Parade.  More recently, the Town of Scottsville and the Scottsville Volunteer Fire Department sponsor one of the largest and most colorful July 4th parades in Central Virginia.  With a parade containing more than 150 entries and many visiting dignitaries, the July 4th weekend celebrations in Scottsville also include an antiques fair, flea market, live music, and fireworks.

This photo is part of the Anne Shirley Dorrier collection.  Shirley resides in Scottsville and is the daughter of Thomas Ellison and Mary (Browne) Bruce.