Tech professor pens book on Montgomery County History

For fifty years, Charles M. Good, Jr. has called Montgomery County, VA home. And it was his interest in its historical geography that enabled him to discover overwhelming evidence of Montgomery County’s vital yet overshadowed role in shaping the national record prior to the Civil War.

“The significance of Virginia’s place in America’s history is unsurpassed,” Good said. “But I want to draw attention to the unique story of Montgomery County.”

In “Colonial & Antebellum Virginia,” Good aims to capture, describe and evaluate the pre-Civil War landscapes around Montgomery County that are rapidly fading away. Sharing his own collection of original photography and maps, Good highlights architectural and societal changes during the colonial and antebellum periods to reveal a rich cultural landscape. One he hopes to preserve and in doing so, inspire others to take similar action.

“By raising the levels of visual awareness and mindfulness of the past, we take an important step towards encouraging individuals, groups and communities to develop strategies in favor of diverse values and to advance the mission of heritage conservation,” Good notes.

In addition, Good recognizes the role and legacy of slavery in Montgomery County and within the broader Appalachian society and economy. “The book focuses on the neglected and broadly misunderstood part that the enslaved played in the county’s history, landscape and wealth creation,” Good said.

“Colonial & Antebellum Virginia” is available for purchase online at Amazon, Barnes & Noble etc. as well as directly from the author

About the Author
Charles M. Good, Jr. is Professor Emeritus of Geography at Virginia Tech, where he taught undergraduate and graduate courses on Africa South of the Sahara, cultural geography, medical and health geography, and American immigration. He received his B.A. from the College of New Jersey and M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Chicago. He was Visiting Professor and Research Associate in the Department of Community Health at the University of Nairobi, and a Takemi Fellow in International Health at Harvard School of Public Health. He has conducted field research in five African colmtries and authored five books focused on rural markets, ethnomedical systems, primary health care, and colonial medicine. He is also the author of a self-published photo essay on the American cultural landscape.