Baywood, Virginia facts for kids

Baywood is a small community in Grayson County, located in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Virginia. It is an "unincorporated community," which means it doesn't have its own local government like a city or town. In the 2020 census, Baywood was officially recognized as a "census-designated place" (CDP), with a population of 414 people.

A Look Back at Baywood

Baywood started as an important community in the late 1700s. Families who received land grants after the American Revolutionary War settled this area. It served as a central point for the surrounding region. Before 1905, the closest town was Fries, Virginia. Then, the town of Galax, Virginia, was established.

How Baywood Got Its Name

Originally, this community was known as Hampton Crossroads. However, when a post office was opened here in 1903, mail often got mixed up with mail meant for a place called Hampton Roads. To avoid this confusion, the community's name was changed to Baywood. The postmaster at the time, Arch Moore, chose the name Baywood after a type of tree called the Bay Tree that grew in the area. The Baywood post office closed in 1937, and mail services were then handled by the Galax post office.

Early Services and Schools

In 1909, Baywood got its first telephone system. This service was later taken over by Inter-Mountain Telephone in 1957. The first school building in the community was a wooden structure. It had four classrooms on the first floor and an auditorium on the second floor. This school opened in the fall of 1913. A new school building was built to replace it in 1953.

Baywood's Cultural Heritage

Baywood has a rich history of music and religious expression.

Religious Music

The singers from the Cross Roads Primitive Baptist Church are well-known for their traditional hymns. In 1978, they were featured on an LP record called Children of the Heav'nly King: Religious Expression in the Central Blue Ridge. This recording was part of the Blue Ridge Parkway Folklife Project. This project collected important cultural traditions from the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Old-Time Music Recordings

Baywood has also been a place where old-time music has been preserved.

• In 1961, the talented old-time banjo player Haywood Blevins was recorded in Baywood by Peter Hoover.
• Later, in 1974, another banjo player named James Spencer Caudill was recorded at his home in Baywood by Blanton Owen.

These recordings are kept safe at the Library of Congress's Archive of Folk Culture, helping to preserve this unique musical heritage for future generations. You can learn more about these recordings here.