You wouldn’t know it by looking at the pair, but author Tom Perry and painter Pat Woltz share a common love — of history, especially of the J.E.B. Stuart birthplace in Patrick County, Va.

Now the two have come together with the release of Perry’s new book, which features Woltz’s painting of the Stuart homeplace on its cover.

The book, which is in stores now, is called, “J.E.B. Stuart Birthplace: A Guide For Educators and Visitors.”

Perry said he mainly wrote the book for teachers and tourists. The information in the book comes from more than 20 years of research. He dedicated the new book to the artist.

His dedication reads: “For Pat Gwyn Woltz, ‘The biggest men with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men with the smallest minds. Think big anyway,’ from Kent Keith’s Rules for Living.”

The painting is as historically accurate as Perry and Woltz could get. They based it on a story about J.E.B. Stuart knocking down a hornet’s nest when he was 9-years-old.

“It’s the only story we have of J.E.B. Stuart as a kid. The story was about him knocking down this hornet’s nest down by the creek in front of the house and his brother William, who was 5 years older, ran away while J.E.B. Stuart fought the bees,” Perry said with a laugh.

Woltz said the story of Stuart fighting the bees was a good example of how he stood and fought when he was under fire.

Perry started the effort to preserve the 75-acre J.E.B. Stuart site in 1990 and is the author of “J.E.B. Stuart’s Birthplace: The History of the Laurel Hill Farm” that tells the story of the Stuart family from their arrival in America until today.

Perry’s latest book includes the history of the site and the effort to preserve it. It also includes three driving tours from Mount Airy, Meadows of Dan, Va., and Stuart, Va., with history along the way, to the site of the Laurel Hill Farm in Ararat, Va.

The original painting by Woltz includes a red Chow that belonged to Perry named Jeb. Woltz said her husband, John, was very particular and told her that the Stuart’s wouldn’t have had such a dog, so he told her to repaint it with a little black and white dog that would be more accurate of the type of pet the Stuart family would have had at the time.

The house in the painting is based on a home that is still standing in Whyte County which belonged to Stuart’s uncle Ewell.

“It was the closest family home that I knew of and I knew that J.E.B. Stuart had visited that house. We had no idea what the birthplace home would have looked like, there was no archeology, so all we had was the oral tradition. So I brought her a picture of this house and lo and behold, it turns out, now that the archeology has been done, it is the right one.”

He said a lot of history is in that one painting. Even Dr. Hollingsworth, who was J.E.B. Stuart’s mother’s physician, is driving his horse and buggy up the driveway toward the house. He said Stuart’s mother also liked to grow flowers and that is included in the scene.

Perry said the original painting has more than what could be included on the cover such as the grave of J.E.B. Stuart’s great-grandfather, William Letcher, and slave cabins. Perry said Letcher’s grave is the oldest marked grave in Patrick County.

Perry owns the original painting with his Chow in it and that is the one that is on the cover of his new book. However, the printed copies of the painting that are for sale include the black and white dog.

Perry said his mother proudly displays the original painting in her home and he joked about having a hard time getting her to let him borrow the work to show it off.

“I have to sign my life away to get my mother to let it leave her house. It was mother who got me interested in history when I was a kid,” Perry said of his mother, Betty.

His mom was also the tie that brought Perry and Woltz together for the J.E.B. Stuart painting project. He said his mother worked 38 years for Woltz’s husband at Quality Mills, which became Cross Creek Apparel.

Perry said he also worked six years each for Woltz and his brother, Howard Woltz, who owns Insteel.

As for the artist, she started out drawing Christmas cards in 1966. She also began painting for her husband’s customers. Her paintings are mainly of houses and buildings, but she said she loves to paint and draw trees. Her trademark is a bunny that is usually located in the lower right-hand corner of all her paintings.

“If it doesn’t have a bunny, then it’s not an original Pat Woltz painting,” she said.

Of her work on the paintings for the Stuart homeplace, Woltz said it was a labor of love.

“It’s the best picture I’ve ever done — there’s no doubt about that. I took the most pain and the longest to do it,” Woltz said.

She said she is flattered that Perry used her painting on the cover of his book.

One of Perry’s next projects is to put together a photo history book of Mount Airy. He plans to include pictures of Andy Griffith, Donna Fargo, and the Siamese twins, Chang and Eng Bunker. He wants to do pictures that include everything within the post office range of Mount Airy.

Perry’s books are available for $9.99 in Mount Airy, at Pages Bookstore on Main Street and Gullion’s in Forrest Oaks Shopping Center. His books can also be found at www.amazon.com.

For more information about Perry and his work, go to www.freestateofpatrick.com.

Contact Mondee Tilley at mtilley@mtairynews.com or at 719-1930.