BYRDSTOWN – More than 250 people attended the third annual Cordell Hull Day at Cordell Hull Birthplace State Park on Saturday, Sept. 28, a day after 223 participants were at the school day for the two-day event.
The festival featured local history, culture and music, related to the era of Cordell Hull, a Pickett County native who was a member of the U.S. House and Senate before becoming secretary of state under President Franklin Roosevelt and was instrumental in the formation of the United Nations.
The festival at Cordell Hull Birthplace State Park included local homemade craft vendors, musicians and a storyteller, as well as a monologue on Cordell Hull. Park visitors learned a popular dance from the 1870s, the Virginia reel. A plowing demonstration with work horses was held at the horsemen’s arena.
The day before, children were entertained by a herding demonstration by border collies and were shown demonstrations in spinning and blacksmithing. There were children’s games, including marbles. Cumberland Mountain State Park performed bird shows, and Pickett CCC Memorial State Park presented a snake program. The children also learned about the women’s suffrage movement.
The Cordell Hull Birthplace and Museum is a 55-acre historic park on the Highland Rim near Byrdstown. The site includes a representation of Hull’s log cabin birthplace and period gardens; the Cordell Hull Museum, which displays a variety of photographs and artifacts; and an activities center. The park also includes the Hull Library and Archives.
