WHEREAS, the Town of Chase City, a vibrant rural community in Mecklenburg County, celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2023; and

WHEREAS, Chase City traces its roots to when George Alfred Endly of Ohio and his financial partner, John E. Boyd, bought 1,325 acres of land belonging to the estate of R. C. Puryear, bounded by the property of Adam Finch, T. W. Greer, W. W. Gordon, John Cunningham, and others; and

WHEREAS, George Endly and John Boyd, now considered the founding fathers of Chase City, paid $9,000 for the land, which was in an area then known as Christiansville, with a goal to create a new community; advertisements for plots in Christiansville appeared in Ohio and Pennsylvania as early as 1871; and

WHEREAS, in 1873, the name of the community was changed to Chase City to honor Salmon P. Chase, the sixth chief justice of the Supreme Court of the United States; and

WHEREAS, settlers from other parts of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia came to Chase City for the affordable and arable farmland; and

WHEREAS, Chase City played a significant role in the economic development of the Commonwealth and the region and was the largest and most prosperous town in Mecklenburg County for decades; and

WHEREAS, by 1890, Chase City had four tobacco warehouses and produced numerous other crops; it also had a thriving lumber industry and was the site of the first hydrotherapy sanitarium in the United States; and

WHEREAS, Mecklenburg Hotel and Sanitarium, owned by the Mecklenburg Mineral Springs Company attracted visitors from all over the east coast for entertainment, hydrotherapy, and respite; and

WHEREAS, Chase City was home to Hilda Saunders Lewter, one of the first female graduates of the Medical College of Virginia Pharmacy Program and the first licensed female pharmacist in Virginia; Earl Davis Gregory, the first recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor from Virginia; and two professional baseball players, Rufus Meadows and Michael Tucker; and

WHEREAS, multiple locations in Chase City are listed on the Virginia Landmarks Register and the National Register of Historic Places, including Chase City High School, the Shadow Lawn historic home, and the MacCallum More and Hudgins House Historic District, which includes the MacCallum More Museum and Gardens; and

WHEREAS, Chase City has many other attractions, such as the Bondurant Brothers Distillery, which offers high quality craft spirits while promoting the region's unique history during the Prohibition era; and

WHEREAS, on July 8, 2023, the residents of Chase City held a special celebration to highlight the past and present accomplishments of the community and its citizens; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby commend the Town of Chase City on the occasion of its 150th anniversary; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the Town of Chase City as an expression of the General Assembly's admiration for the town's rich history and contributions to the Commonwealth for the past 150 years.