Program Saturday In Buena Vista
Lewis Wiseman
A quiet stretch of the Maury River holds a story Rockbridge County has remembered for more than a century.
It is the story of a young man named Aubrey St. Clair Tyree — a son, a neighbor, and a young World War I veteran who returned home to Rockbridge County with his future seemingly ahead of him.
Then, shortly after Christmas in 1919, something happened.
Concerns arose among Aubrey’s family and friends. Questions spread through the community, and before long, the peaceful countryside of Rockbridge County became tied to a mystery that would remain in local residents’ memories for generations.
One place forever connected to the story was Lime Kiln Bridge at Beans Bottom just west of Lexington.
At the time, the bridge was nothing unusual. Farmers, schoolchildren, churchgoers, and local families crossed it. No one could have imagined that this ordinary bridge would one day become part of one of Rockbridge County’s most enduring mysteries.
As the years passed, people kept telling the story of Aubrey Tyree.
But something else began to happen.
History slowly became intertwined with local legend.
Stories of strange sights, unexplained experiences, and a mysterious figure near the old bridge and along the Maury River began to circulate. Whether these stories are simply an old legend passed from one generation to another — or something more — remains for each person to decide.
Now, the history, mystery, and legend surrounding Lime Kiln Bridge will be explored during a special presentation, “The Ghost of Lime Kiln Bridge.”
The Local History Center of the Rockbridge Regional Library System is partnering with Black Raven Paranormal to present the program on Saturday, Oct. 24, at 7 p.m. at the Ben Salem Presbyterian Community Building in Buena Vista.
The program will be presented by me, Lewis R. Wiseman, co-director of Black Raven Paranormal. The program will examine the historical record while also exploring how one of Rockbridge County’s oldest mysteries eventually became connected to a ghost story that has survived for generations.
“This presentation bridges a vital gap between documented history and regional folklore,” says Penny Dudley, manager of the Local History Center. “The 1919 disappearance of Aubrey Tyree is a deeply tragic, real historical event that deeply affected Rockbridge County. Seeing how a community processes grief and mystery over a century —eventually transforming fact into the Maury River ghost legends we hear today — offers a fascinating window into how local oral traditions are born and sustained.”
