In 1872, Addison Caldwell (cousin to my husband) was the first student to enroll at Virginia Tech after hiking 28 miles from Craig County, Va. The Caldwell statue stands on campus upper quad between Brodie and the Performing Arts Building.  It’s a beautiful statue and the family is very proud of it.

Our farm is just a mile down the road from where Add was raised.  Friends of ours and distant family live in the home he was raised in and I’ve not been in the house but hope to visit the Smith’s very soon.   I’m very proud to be working on the campus where he went to college.  From what I’ve read in some of the family journals he was the first student to attend college and his older brother, Milton (Mic) enrolled a few weeks after Addison did.  The statue is life-size and beautiful.  I plan to have my family come to meet me one day after work so that we can all go visit the statue.

Here is a link to the story about his life on campus and home:    http://www.unirel.vt.edu/history/students_alumni/first_student.html