In 1959, the late Miriam Haynie published her first book, The Stronghold, A Story of Historic Northern Neck of Virginia and its People, which over the years has gone through eight printings. As an author, she had written numerous newspaper and journal articles for a variety of publications, many of which she incorporated into her magnum opus.
The title comes from her view of the Northern Neck being akin to a medieval castle surrounded by its moat, thus our landmass between the Potomac and Rappahannock rivers is the fortress, and the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries are the moat. Many years later, her good friend and fellow historian, the late C. Jackson Simmons, used a similar metaphor in referring to the Northern Neck as “our moated Eden.”
Miriam Williams Haynie was born on April 23, 1906, at “Sunnyside,” her family’s home on Taskmakers Creek near Reedville and she grew up at “Pleasant Grove,” another family home on Cockrell Creek. As a child, living in old family homes inspired in her a lifelong fascination with old buildings, as well as with older people, which were encapsulated in her abiding love of history.
She attended local schools before going off to Blackstone College for Girls and on to Fredericksburg State Teachers College, now the University of Mary Washington. She came home and taught briefly, before marrying W. Harold Haynie in 1927. Eight years later, they purchased and restored the Robinson house on Main Street in Reedville, which became her home for the next 71 years until her death in 2006, three months short of her 100th birthday.
While working in her husband’s insurance business, she began her writing career on the side. In addition to her articles on history, she had a consuming interest in art, both as a student of various periods and artists, and as a gifted painter in her own right. She studied under Sidney King, an artist well-known to Northern Neck residents, and began giving art lessons in her home to children and later to adults. She never charged for her lessons, nor for her own paintings, all of which she happily gave away to friends who admired them.
At one point she introduced a new art motif to the Northern Neck in the form of the dummy board, which she learned how to paint from taking a trip to Africa in 1972, which trip also resulted in her last book, Safari, published in 2003. The dummy board is a life-size painting of a human figure on a large single piece of wood. She painted the dummy boards in oil, often depicting background scenes of historical significance, always in her own inimitable style.
To celebrate the centenary of Reedville’s founding, Miriam wrote Reedville, 1874-1974, which relates the village’s founding and growth as a major harbor on the Chesapeake Bay. Her last book was A Kingdom by the Sea, in which she pulled together her memories of the near century that she lived in the Northern Neck. She also wrote two children’s books, Washington’s Boyhood in 1960 and Young Washington’s World in 1976.
The wealth of her knowledge about the Northern Neck was incalculable, particularly apparent when she spoke of the lore of Reedville. She delighted in sharing what she had learned and remembered about the old homes and the old families in her midst. All of that history had a patriotic manifestation as well, for Miriam was a grateful and proud American, one who saw the study of history as essential for the exercise of good citizenship in the global community.
This year as Reedville celebrates its sesquicentennial, the life and work of Miriam Haynie take on renewed significance by continuing to contribute her insights, her values, and her enthusiasm for her beloved stronghold.
