THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, June 28, 1995 TAG: 9506270151
SECTION: ISLE OF WIGHT CITIZEN PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LINDA MCNATT, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ISLE OF WIGHT LENGTH: Medium: 64 lines
Boykins Tavern, famous as the 18th century center of social life in the county and badly in need of restoration today, won't get any help from state or federal funds this year.
The Commonwealth Transportation Board met Thursday in Richmond to reconsider distribution of money under the Federal Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act. Known as ISTEA (and pronounced as ``ice tea''), these grants are designed to beautify transportation routes throughout the country.
But there were no changes in the tentative, six-year improvement plan announced earlier by the state board charged with dispersing the federal funds, said Wade Chenault, a Virginia Department of Transportation engineer.
The decision came despite a last-minute plea by Isle of Wight County officials at a public hearing the Transportation Board held earlier this month.
``The Boykin's Tavern restoration is one of the highest items on the priority list for the (Isle of Wight) Historical Society,'' society vice president Ron York told the board. ``The building dates back to the 1700s. It is not going to be able to withstand the elements. It is extremely critical that something be done as soon as possible.''
The 10-room house, a tavern and an inn from the late 1700s until the late 1800s, stands alongside U.S. Route 258, adjacent to the main courthouse complex.
The original, two-room house was built in 1698 by Thomas Joyner Sr. In 1780, it was bought by Francis Boykin, a Revolutionary War soldier who served under Patrick Henry and spent a winter at Valley Forge with George Washington.
Boykin was appointed county sheriff after the war. He bought the house, added eight rooms and used it as his residence and as an inn and tavern. It was a place where travelers stopped overnight on their way to Suffolk or North Carolina, where lawyers and judges stayed during court sessions.
For years, the old tavern was used as a private residence. When the county bought it in 1974, few members of the Board of Supervisors knew what a historical jewel they had acquired.
In February of that year, the board discussed razing it - until it got a letter from the Virginia Department of Historic Resources saying the destruction of Boykin's Tavern would be ``a loss not only to the historical legacy of Isle of Wight County but to the commonwealth as a whole.''
At last week's Richmond meeting, county planner Bryan David called Isle of Wight ``the most direct point to the Peninsula for tourists.'' The tavern historically was connected to transportation because it was a place to stay overnight when travelers couldn't get home, he said.
Both the county and the historical society have pledged to help fund the restoration, expected to cost more than $500,000.
But without the ISTEA grant, hope for restoring the tavern this year looks grim, York said after he heard the news. About all the society could hope for is to be able to repair the foundation and the roof. Even that could cost about $100,000.
The society's executive board plans to meet soon to discuss the tavern, York said, and to talk about what can be done until the grant can be pursued again next year. by CNB