City of Martinsville
House Wren, © Rob Bielawski
The roots of what is now Martinsville go back to the late 1700s, when the settlement was established and named for Revolutionary War general Joseph Martin. By 1824, Martinsville was sufficiently bustling to become the site of the Henry County courthouse, an impressive two-story building inspired by Classical architecture. Martinsville incorporated as a town in 1873, but over fifty years passed before it became an independent city in 1929. As with the rest of the region, Martinsville’s earliest economic driver was tobacco, specifically the production of chewing tobacco. However, by the early 20th century Martinsville started to witness the growth of the industries with which it would become synonymous: textiles and furniture. J.D. Bassett Sr. founded the Bassett Furniture Industries in 1901, which grew to become one of the foremost American furniture companies. In short succession, other furniture companies popped up locally, including the American Furniture Company (1906); Hooker Furniture Company (1924); and Stanley Furniture (1924), founded by a former Bassett executive. The combined success of these companies transformed Martinsville into a thriving industrial hub and a major center of the American furniture industry. Around the same time, the textile industry also grew to be an important part of the fabric of life in Martinsville. By the late 19th and early 20th century, with a wave of industrialization washing over much of the south, the textile industry began to shift its operations away from the northeast. In 1941, DuPont opened a massive nylon manufacturing plant in Martinsville, and the growing wartime demand further increased the city’s fortunes. Alongside its manufacturing heritage, Martinsville holds a special place for auto racing fans as the site of the Martinsville Speedway, established in 1947, which is the oldest and shortest NASCAR track. By the late twentieth century, Martinsville was hard-hit by the decline of industry; furniture and textile manufacturing no longer guaranteed the boom times they once did. At times, the city has even weighed reversion to town status. However, in spite of its struggles, Martinsville is working to diversify its economy and attract new industries, with the Martinsville-Henry County Economic Development Corporation identifying such varied sectors as film manufacturing and aerospace/aviation supply among its key industries.
From a birding perspective, Martinsville presents many challenges; like other small independent cities, the lack of habitat and dense development can make birding difficult. In spite of this, 120 species have been eBirded from the city as of January 2020. The premier hotspot is Lake Lanier, located in the southeast corner of the city. Nestled in a wooded development, this is a good spot to see common woodland and feeder birds at all times of year. Check the pines lining the lake for Brown-headed Nuthatches. As the only large body of water in the city, it is also the best bet for waterfowl in winter, with records of expected species such as Bufflehead and Ring-necked Duck alongside more regional notable finds including Canvasback, Greater Scaup, and Red-breasted Merganser. For the past several years, the lake has also hosted a small population of breeding Mute Swans. Two trails, the Dick & Willie Passage Trail and the Uptown Rail Trail, take birders through a mix of developed and wooded habitats where it is possible to find both typical suburban species and woodland dwellers like vireos and thrushes. More open, scrub habitat is hard to find in the city, but the best bet for species like Field Sparrow or Yellow-breasted Chat is an abandoned industrial site on Railroad Street in the heart of town. This area has become overgrown, and while it is not directly accessible, it is easy to walk the street and work the edges. While not a birding site, birders will doubtless find much to interest them at the Virginia Museum of Natural History, a Smithsonian affiliate established in 1984, and a site on the Virginia Birding & Wildlife Trail.
—Matt Anthony
Hotspots
Sources
Martinsville-Henry County Economic Development Corporation, “Key Industries,” https://www.yesmartinsville.com/target-industries (Accessed 01-06-2020)
Martinsville Historical Society, “Our Past,” https://www.mhchistoricalsociety.org/about-us/ (Accessed 01-06-2020)
Visit Martinsville, “Deep Roots,” https://www.visitmartinsville.com/deep-roots (Accessed 01-06-2020)
Wikipedia, “Martinsville, Virginia,” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martinsville,_Virginia (Accessed 01-06-2020)