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Lowry, a village situated about five miles east of Bedford on the Norfolk and Western Railway, was named for Nelson Lowry, who donated land for the railroad in 1853. 

There were once five Lowry homes in the village of Lowry, built for Harry, John Sr., Richard, Lunsford and Henry Lowry, all sons of Nelson Lowry to whom he gave land and slaves. Meddowbrooke was the home of John Lowry Jr., built about 1790.  It was later purchased by my Great-grandfather B. R. Markham in 1874.

Pictured below is Bessie Lowry Markham with her sons Allen and Roscoe Markham.  She is getting ready to put her sister Margaret Lowry on the train for Roanoke.  Standing with this party is C. W. Leslie, long time member of Timber Ridge, and  Depot Agent for The Norfolk & Western R.R. at Lowry.  The next picture is of the same area some eighty (80) years later.  Notice that the Depot is gone.

At present, the Lowry Post Office is in operation in the   Nelson Lowry/Coffey Store, where Nancy D. Wilson serves as postmistress. Nelson Lowry is buried behind this store. Mrs. A. R. Coffey now in her 90’s, operates the store, which she and her husband took over from his brother, Emmet H. Coffey in January of 1927.Lowry had a coke plant operated by Green Ltd. and a saw mill operated by Mike and Mark Allen.

Walter Allen Markham Sr. and Bessie Lillian Lowry were married on April 13, 1910 at Timber Ridge Baptist Church by Dr. J. T. Kincannon, father of T. C.  Kincanon, Bessie’s  uncle,  and past minister of Timber Ridge.   They went by train to Bristol, Virginia, on their Honeymoon. and left for Ohio in the next two months.  Walter had been offered a job with The John Ballard Company, of Bedford, Va., as Track Construction  Engineer for the extension of the Main Line of The C & O Railroad from Covington, Virginia to Cincinnati, Ohio.  

They returned to Lowry in 1912 with their new son W. Allen Markham Jr., and became members of the Timber Ridge Baptist Church.  They are all buried in the cemetery there.  W. Allen Markham, Jr. is my father.

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