In 1988, while camping on his family’s abandoned farm on the Little River, and reflecting on his studies at he Harvard Graduate School of Education, it occured John Hargrove Bowles that this land might be put to better use somehow. Through his studies with “street youth” and runaways, Mr. Bowles knew the value of outdoor activities an settings to both troubled youth and those who work with them.
His share of the land was 185 acres, and with the idea of putting it to better use, Mr. Bowles contacted Radford University’s Department of Recreation and Leisure Services and proposed the idea of donating his farmland and asked what the university would do with it.
Soon, several university departments were involved and all submitted documents indicating what they would do with the land in terms of classes, teaching, and enrichment activities for RU students. These proposals satisfied Mr. Bowles and so in 1985, he donated his 185 acres of Little River land to the Radford University Foundation. Because of his interactions with the university and his satisfaction as to how the land was being used, he worked with other family members and in 1989 they donated an additional 195 acres of adjoining land.
At this point, the 380 acre conservancy had no name. John Hargrove Bowles had been very involved with the university by this time, and had participated in several university functions both on the land and at the university. One of the university events that Mr. Bowles had participated in and was impressed with, was the Highland Summer Conference. This was a yearly event during which influential Appalachian writers were brought to the university to teach and to mentor other writers and students. At one of the conferences, Mr. Bowles met Appalachian poet and writer Awiakta and the two became friends. He sent her a letter asking her to come up with a name for the conservancy, and in his letter he mentioned wanting some representation of the Cherokee people who had traditionally used the land for hunting and gathering. After careful consideration, Awiakta settled on and suggested the name Selu and explained her reasoning in this letter-
When it was donated, The Selu Conservancy had included several buildings and remnants of homesteads of families who had lived there over the years. In 1990 it was decided to begin restoration of some of the log buildings and to use the rebuilding process as a hands-on learning tool for RU students. After careful consideration, it was decided that Thurlowe Scudder, of Pilot Virginia would be in charge of the project, and any interested university students would be included in the project. Mr Scudder taught students how to use traditional hand tools to shape logs, how to place the logs in the structure and how to finish traditional log buildings.
Another rebuild project that has helped make Selu an important learning tool, was the creation of a living museum. An aging farmhouse still stood on the property, and it was decided to have it rebuilt as close to the original as possible, yet with all of the modern and legal improvements necessary to make it accessible and useable to visitors. The Duayne Grubb Construction Company was chosen to do the work building the new farmhouse, but before he could do that, a design needed to be done. It was decided to interview people or relatives of people who had lived in the farmhouse, and on other parts of the Selu Conservancy land to learn more about the construction, design, uses, and life on the land. Many of these interviews were done by Appalachian Studies student Christi Leftwich. Ms. Leftwich’s work was and is an invaluable tool for anyone wishing to learn about the history of this culturally valuable land. Between Ms. Leftwich’s and others’ interviews, much was learned about the original design and arrangement of the farmhouse, and from that, a design was created and Mr. Grubb built it. The farmhouse, the new log buildings, gardens, donated and found tools and more all work together to create the living history part of the Selu Conservancy.
Over the years, Selu has become a very important part of Radford University and several departments use the land to enhance teaching and to give students a hands-on experience. Among other things, there is a biology lab, physical education ropes course, an astronomy observatory, archaeological digs, a living history museum, a retreat center, nature trails, and much more.
To learn more and to see what is in our Selu Conservatory collection, please consult the finding aid-
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