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When newcomers and visitors come to the Old Leaksville, Spray or Draper areas of Rockingham County, they may not know that they walk on historic ground.

For instance, if they stroll around the Spray canal and the remnant of the Spray Merchantile Building that stands on the corner beside the canal, someone may or may not explain that once a veritable 19th-century mall operated on that spot. Dentists, doctors, post office, grocery store, theater, and funeral home were all together in one large edifice.

If only buildings could talk, what stories they would tell.

The building on Washington Street in Old Leaksville, which is the present home of the Eden Historical Museum, began its life in the early 1800s, but the building is renowned to old-timers as the Roberts Cafe.

Mr. and Mrs. Spencer Roberts operated the popular homestyle restaurant beginning in 1909. The family lived above the cafe and interacted with the patrons below and the neighbors next door. Grandsons Buddy  and Joe Roberts remember stories of their grandfather’s expertise in wielding a large butcher knife and striking it on the counter to settle any arguments in the cafe.

Another time, a fire broke out upstairs where baby Iva was sleeping. The boys’ mother, Evelyn Morgan Roberts, ran upstairs to get the baby and help another family member escape the building.

Jean Dunn Harrington, who grew up in the house next to Roberts Cafe, remembers that fire in the cafe. As a member of the Eden Historic Preservation Commission, Harrington has been chosen chairwoman of the committee to plan and execute the Historic Marker Project to tell the stories of Eden and our past.  

The City of Eden Historic Preservation Commission in conjunction with the Eden Tourism Development Committee is in the process of developing an historic Building Marker Project as a way to promote historic tourism in the area. The purpose of the program is to recognize and identify historic or architecturally significant buildings in the community to make the public aware of the importance of these structures to the history of the area.

According to Ed Holbrook, the chairman of the Eden Historic Preservation Commission, the markers will broaden the community awareness of families and businesses that make up our heritage. A future goal may be walking and driving tours to recognize the historic significance of the buildings.

The Historic Preservation Commission Committee and the Tourism Development Committee have developed a criteria for selection of the buildings to be marked. Some of the criteria include that a structure must be located in an historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places or are in a local historic district. The plaques will cost $200 each. The owner or occupant must agree to pay half the cost of the plaque.

The committee has projected six markers a year for the project. The first selections will be for the oldest structures and ones already listed in the National Register of Historic Places districts. The six named buildings are Bullard Ray Harrington house on Washington Street, the former House of Health on Washington Street, the former Roberts Cafe on Washington Street, the Spray Mercantile Building, the Imperial Bank in Spray, and the superintendent’s house in the Draper area.

Rachel Wright is a native of Eden and a part-time instructor in basic skills at Rockingham Community College.