Category: Research

We have two exciting pieces of news to share on the Clowser House. Earlier this week, the Frederick County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the 99 year lease of the house to the Clowser Foundation. This move will allow the Foundation to move ahead with efforts to stabilize the deteriorating wall. In addition, the Clowser Foundation has also received approval from the IRS for the group to be a tax-exempt non-profit organization.

Of course, this is only the first step – now the Clowser Foundation needs your help. They are just beginning their official fundraising efforts. If you would like to support saving the Clowser House, checks can be mailed to:
The Clowser Foundation
152 Tomahawk Trail
Winchester, VA 22602

Apple Blossom kicks off tonight downtown with the Bloomin’ Wine Fest. In that spirit of celebration, we have a few links to share on drinks of the past. The Library of Virginia opened a new exhibit Teetotalers & Moonshiners: Prohibition in Virginia, Distilled. If you happen to be in Richmond on May 5, you may want to stop by the free event “‘Goodbye Booze’: The Music of Prohibition,” an upbeat look at popular music of the Prohibition era through live and recorded performances. More information can be found on the Virginia Memory website.

If you are looking for something a little less intoxicating for your historic beverage of choice, you could read about the escalation in soda fountain technology and ornamentation in “Victorians Drank Soda Out Of Monstrous Gilded Machines” by Cara Giaimo. The article, full of illustrations and photos of the soda fountains of yore, is a lighthearted look at an arms race which helped shaped how we think of the interiors of pharmacies and soda shops. If you can’t get enough of viewing these elaborate soda machines, the Matthews Catalogue and Price List of Apparatus, Materials and Accessories for Making and Dispensing Carbonated Beverages is available as a free Google e-book so you can read the enticing description of soda fountain machines with evocative names like Snowdrop, Avalanche, and Drinkjoy.

Happy Friday! We have a mix of links and history to share with you this week that we found interesting, without a particular theme.

Next City put together a list of 7 Podcasts Urbanists Should Be Listening to Now. For historic preservation focused topics, try the recommendations from Preservation in Pink, HiFi History, Strong Towns podcasts, Historic Preservation by the National Park Service, and National Center for Preservation Technology and Training podcasts. Let us know if you have come across any other good podcasts on history and preservation related topics.

For something off the beaten track, this article at Atlas Obscura on an almost forgotten mycologist Mary Banning had a surprise Winchester connection. Banning worked in near isolation cataloging and illustrating fungus around her native Maryland for twenty years. Her life’s work was sent to a leading scientist in the field, but was lost and forgotten for 100 years. While the tale alone is worth a read, it was most surprising to see that in her final years, Mary Banning lived in a boarding house in Winchester.

A quick look in the 1900 census records confirms she was living at 127 North Cameron (then Market) Street. The house was originally the home of William “Bake” Miller before its conversion to a boarding house by sisters Martha (Mattie) and Virginia Wall (1, 2). By the 1900 census only Martha was still alive to run the boarding house. Martha’s brother and bookstore proprietor Thomas Wall and his wife were in residence, along with Mary Banning and four more boarders. An obituary for Thomas Wall which ran in the Alexandria Gazette on January 15, 1917 mentions his book and stationery business, but mostly recounts his close call with General Sheridan and his service delivering mail through the Shenandoah Valley during the Civil War.

Finding these small connections not only brings to light the amazing stories of the former occupants of a relatively obscure historic Winchester building, but also grounds those tales to a physical location which still exists and can be seen and visited today.

It’s a new year, and with the new year often we make resolutions to be better or more engaged with a cause. It can be hard to find tips on how to be a better preservationist or historian – like many things in life it is something you learn best by doing instead of reading about it – but we have found three guides to help you become an expert and speak more eloquently and authoritatively on issues you care about.

1. On Becoming a Local Go-To Person
Last year, Gracen Johnson shared her experiences about becoming a go-to person for interviews concerning local development issues. She lists five things which propelled her into being a go-to person in her community. There are no real shortcuts but to put in the time and research and networking, plus have a dash of luck on your side, but if you too see a vacuum, face your fears and start by writing that op ed piece or volunteering for a board position or committee. You never know what may come of it.

2. Applying What You Know: Reading the Built Environment
Have you ever wondered how some architectural historians just seem to “know” about when some change might have been made to a building? It can seem like magic the first time you see this in action, but it is really just a skill that comes from reading the environment and knowing the broad context of architectural movements. Kaitlin O’Shea walks you through her thought process in reading the environment in an unfamiliar city in this blog post. See if you can pick up any tips from her for your own built environment expeditions.

3. “Addressing the Threat to the Federal Historic Tax Credit and Setting the Preservation Policy Agenda for the 115th Congress.”
Here is one issue that comes up quite often for preservationists – what is happening on a national level that could affect local preservation issues? The National Trust for Historic Preservation has a free webinar to help you get caught up on the latest challenges facing the federal historic tax credit. On Thursday, January 19, 2:00–3:00 p.m. ET, join preservation partners and National Trust President and CEO, Stephanie Meeks, for a presentation of the most pressing policy issues facing the preservation community in the months ahead. You may also want to check out their archive to review past webinars on preservation issues, heritage tourism, grants, and more.