Author: PHW

Winchester City Comprehensive Plan Public Input Sessions

The next Winchester City Comprehensive Plan Public Input Session will be held at Quarles Elementary School beginning at 6:30pm. One of the exercises that the facilitator has attendees do is to identify the community’s strengths, opportunities, weaknesses, and threats. PHW has a specific interest in Winchester’s future policies and plans with regard to historic preservation. Issues such as Housing, Neighborhood Preservation, Economic Redevelopment, Transportation, Education, Land Use, Recreation, and Environment will also be discussed.

If you cannot attend this meeting, the meetings in July are Monday, July 14th at John Kerr Elementary and Tuesday, July 22nd at Frederick Douglass Elementary.

For more information on the Comprehensive Plan please see the City’s website at: http://www.winchesterva.gov/planning/compplan.php

A Midsummer Night Garden Party

Belle Grove Plantation would like to invite you to “A Midsummer Night Garden Party” Wednesday, June 25, 2008, 6:30 to 8:30 P.M. at the Inn at Vaucluse Springs. Enjoy a sumptuous feast at the historic Inn, nestled on 100 acres south of Stephens City. Originally owned by Lord Fairfax and Yost Hite, subsequent owners served as military and political leaders for the Valley during the Colonial Period. Vaucluse was occupied during the Civil War and an account in the words of the Jones family and their relatives can be read in the book Defend the Valley. From 1801 to 1965, it was owned by the Rice family of Winchester. John and Bettye Chumbley purchased the property and added a mill and other buildings to the site. The present owners, Neil and Barry Myers, bought the property in 1995 and have transformed the manor house and its surrounding buildings into an bed and breakfast inn. Today, the Inn is acclaimed as one of the “Top 10 Romantic Hideaways in the East”.

A splendid summer night buffet will be presented by the Myers and fine wines from Salute will accompany the meal. An enchanted and entertaining evening is planned to delight guests. Gather around the craggy boxwoods and view the Blue Ridge Mountains. All proceeds from the event will benefit Belle Grove Plantation.

To make a reservation, call Belle Grove Plantation, 540-869-2098. The cost is $50.00 per person.

PHW Is not affliated with this event. We provide notice to our members for their interest.

PHW’s Annual Meeting

Join PHW on Saturday, June 21 at the Old Town Event Center, 403 S. Loudoun St., as we elect new Directors to the Board and present PHW’s annual preservation awards. The meeting begins at 2 p.m. and will be followed by a reception.

Annual Awards Nomination Forms Due May 15

PHW is accepting nominations for the 2008 Annual Preservation Awards, which are presented at PHW’s Annual Meeting in June. Preservation projects and outstanding preservation leaders in the Winchester and Frederick County area may be nominated for an award. Preservation projects must be completed by May to be considered for a 2008 award. There is no limit on the number of projects you nominate for an award.

Nominations are due at the PHW office by May 15, 2008.

Public Meeting

The Virginia Department of Historic Resources will hold a public information hearing to discuss a proposed Winchester Historic District Boundary Increase. The meeting is scheduled for May 12 at 7:00 PM in the Rouss City Hall Council Chambers. Public comment may be sent to Director Kathleen Kilpatrick, VA Dept. of Historic Resources, 2801 Kensington Avenue, Richmond, VA 23221. For a copy of the proposal and/or a boundary map, contact Jean McRae, VA Dept. of Historic Resources, 804-367-2323 x-102 or jean.mcrae@dhr.virginia.gov.

Winchester Underground

Winchester Underground returns on April 19 for a tour of several properties along South Kent Street. Tours will be docent-led inside the properties. The tour is geared toward rarely seen gems that are not open to the public, or are “works in progress” to show historic preservation in action. It is the theme of progress that brings PHW to Kent Street in 2008. A sense of renewal and promise follows you as you travel down South Kent Street and admire the turn of the century vernacular architecture. So come aboard the Winchester Underground—our next stop is South Kent Street!

Continue reading Winchester Underground

Public Presentation

A public presentation by officials from the Virginia Department of Historic Resources and EHT Traceries will be held on February 14 at 7 pm in Council Chambers at Rouss City Hall. The presentation will explain the steps necessary to complete an exterior survey of buildings in Winchester’s Historic District. You are invited to attend and ask questions.