While PHW prepares for Holiday House Tour and Bough & Dough Shop, we wanted to share a few other events by similar organizations that our readers might enjoy this weekend:
Winchester Little Theatre’s production of A Christmas Carol is opening today. While the show appears sold out, there is information on their website about seeing if last minute spots open. If you nabbed tickets, thank you for supporting one of PHW’s partner organizations, and we’re sure you’ll enjoy this holiday treat!
Belle Grove Plantation, another one of PHW’s advertising sponsors for the Holiday House Tour, is hosting Inalienable Rights: Free and Enslaved Blacks Crafting a Life in the Shenandoah Valley this weekend. They will be open free of charge and feature special programming on African American history with special guests from The Slave Dwelling Project and Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park. Check the link for more details!
If you enjoy the arts and crafts at the Bough & Dough Shop, you may want to stop by the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley this weekend for the Virginia Gourd Show and Sale. The theme for the 2022 competition is “Gourdigami” in honor of the MSV exhibition ORIGAMI IN THE GARDEN. Gourd artisans will be on site selling art and raw gourds for your own crafting purposes.
The Winchester-Frederick County Historical Society is hosting Maps and Surveys of Winchester November 12 at 10:30 AM in Rouss City Hall. Presenter Tim Youmans will begin the program in council chambers. Afterward, participants are invited to visit the original 1832 Frederick County Clerk’s Office located in the Feltner Building. Judge David S. Whitacre will share reminisces of his grandfather’s and uncle’s tenures as Clerk of the Court. For more information, contact Winchester-Frederick County Historical Society Executive Director Cissy Shull at 540-662-6550.
The multiyear marker program, which has been named “Revolutionary America 1775-1783,” coincides with the celebrations leading up to and during the nation’s 250th anniversary, the United States Semiquincentennial in 2026. The DAR will receive funding from the Pomeroy Foundation for at least 250 historic markers for sites across the country beginning in 2022 through 2027. All DAR chapters nationwide are encouraged to submit a grant application upon the identification of a significant point of interest. Chapters interested in participating should email the DAR at RevolutionaryAmerica@dar.org to request information about applying for a marker grant.
Second, if you’re a fan of both horror movies and historic architecture, these breakdowns of iconic haunted house sets should come as no surprise. One element seems to be fairly consistent in our collective idea of what a haunted house ought to look like. (Hint: check out those roofs!) Watch Architect Break Down 5 Haunted Houses From Scary Films at Youtube.
Next week we should begin our coverage of Holiday House Tour and the Bough and Dough Shop in our blog. Keep an eye out here and on our other social media channels for links to house descriptions, ticket sale information, and other tidbits.
A follow-up to our question last week on the name for the Kent and Piccadilly streets area: a longtime resident of West Street says the area was known as “The East Side,” in reference to being on the east side of the railroad tracks. Did you call this area anything else, or have you seen reference to any other names for the area?
We have made a test layout of the House Tour program booklet this week; if you are considering a sponsorship, please note we have a half page sponsorship spot and possibly up to a full page sponsorship spot; we may need to add additional pages this year that could increase available ad spots as well. You can find the ad size and price sheet and the form to return to PHW. The deadline to turn in your ad for the program booklet is Friday, October 28. If you’re interested in supporting this event, please drop us a note a phwinc.org@gmail.com and we’ll get you the info you need.
Mark your calendars! Holiday House Tour 2022 is December 4, noon-4 PM!
Looking forward to November, we will be suspending our daily image caption project on social media to focus on the Holiday House Tour and Bough and Dough Shop. We captioned over 200 images in 2022 and helped unearth forgotten events and untold stories of locations, some of which even we had forgotten about at PHW. We’ll be back with more image exploration in January 2023!
The Winchester Star editorial page recently ran a letter from Nancy Oudekerk looking for possible relatives of people buried in Green Hill African American Cemetery in Martinsburg, WV. The formerly abandoned cemetery has now been cleaned and the group is now hoping to find descendants of those buried here. If you or someone you know recognize a name on the following list, please contact Gloria Carton, president of the Green Hill Historic African American Cemetery at glojc13@aol.com.
The names of those interred, according to Trinity Episcopal Church, are: Charlotte Alexander; Louise Arnold; R.B.; Jeannie Barnes; Emma Jane Brook; John Campbell; Sinah Campbell; Margaret Carter; Cynthia Cook; A.D.; Agnes Dandridge; Sancho Drew; Mary Henrietta Dunmore; Julia Lyons Gray; Virginia Smith Gray; William Green; Thomas Jenkins; Lucy Lane; James Lowrie, Easter Lowrie; Laura Marshal; Anna McDaniel; Susan Parrott; Lemira Patterson; Toby Pettigrew; John Robinson; John Henry Semmes; Elizabeth Sherman; Harriet Smith; Stephen Thomley; Jesse Virginia Turner; Fanny; Lavinia; Thornton (unknown surnames) Lewis Washington; Ashby Weldon and Mary Wilson. The original Trustees of the cemetery were Samuel Hopewell, William Fairfax, Daniel Thurnton, Lewis Ford, William Ford, Franki Johnson, Perry Alman, Christopher Ailingsworth and James Johnson.
On the other end of history, the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the Getty Foundation are partnering on a new grant program, Conserving Black Modernism, to protect the often-overlooked modernist sites designed by Black architects. The two-year program will advance efforts to further identify historic sites that represent this architecture style, while also providing necessary preservation planning, training, and storytelling resources for long term sustainment. Grant applications will be managed by the National Trust and open in November, with the first round of grantees to be announced in Summer 2023. If you know of a site that fits these criteria and could benefit from this program, visit the Action Fund and learn more.
There’s a lot happening this weekend in and around Winchester! The Winchester Arts and Music Festival kicks off this Friday, Sept. 23, at 4 PM and runs through Sunday, Sept. 25 at various locations and times around downtown. Find more information on the activities here.
Literacy Volunteers will also host Oktoberfest downtown, 5-10 PM today. Tickets include ten tastings from breweries across Virginia and a commemorative glass. More information and ticket purchase information is available here.
The MSV at Night is also taking place this evening, 5-8 PM. Come out to the museum at 901 Amherst St. to view the exhibitions “Destination: Latin America” and “ORIGAMI IN THE GARDEN” while enjoying live music and authentic Mexican food. For more information on the program schedule and admission prices, visit the MSV’s website.
The French and Indian War Foundation will have their 5th annual French and Indian War Weekend at Abrams Delight in Winchester this Saturday and Sunday, September 24 and 25. Stop by Winchester’s oldest home for living history and tactical demonstrations.
Fort Collier, 922 Martinsburg Pike
Shenandoah University’s McCormick Civil War Institute and the Fort Collier Civil War Center present Prof. Jonathan A. Noyalas, “A Theme for the Poet, a Scene for the Painter”: Fort Collier and the Third Battle of Winchester. The one-hour tour, beginning at 9:30 AM, will be held at Fort Collier, 922 Martinsburg Pike. This event is free and open to the public and no pre-registration required.
Celebracion will round out the Saturday events downtown on the walking mall, noon-4 PM. Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with food and retail vendors, music, and impromptu dance lessons.
Stay safe and pace yourselves this weekend while you enjoy all that Winchester has to offer!
First, many apologies to Kathy Yereb of Very Merry Mittens, who should have been listed in our “sneak peek” post last week. Her felted mittens and ornaments WILL be available this year at the Bough & Dough Shop!
From Preservation Virginia is the Historic Places Student Art Contest 2022. If you have a child in grades 3-12 (public, private, or homeschooled), they are eligible to participate in this 2D or 3D art contest. This art contest asks students to create a visual representation of an historic structure or place from their community that they think is important to their local identity. These could include any number of historic buildings or structures, such as a former school, library, community center, historic house, or a bridge, or places like cemeteries, green spaces, memorials and more! Art submissions will be due by December 5, 2022 at 11:59pm. For complete details and guidelines about the Historic Places Art Contest, please see the full announcement here. Please submit any questions to Meika Downey, Education Coordinator at mdowney@preservationvirginia.org. We hope to see some Winchester places represented!
Last, we’ve been keeping an eye on an upcoming Planning Commission public hearing, set for Tuesday, September 20 beginning at 3 PM. This public hearing will cover the proposed development/redevelopment of the former site of Smalts florists, including the historic 1867 brick dwelling located on George Washington’s out-lot. If you are interested in learning more about this project, you may find the agenda and packet materials on the City’s website. PHW is in favor of retaining the brick structure at approximately 428-432 National Avenue, as it appears to be the oldest remaining house on National Avenue and is an excellent example of Italianate architecture. Although outside the Historic District, it is in a Corridor Enhancement District, and we believe the historic structure will be an appropriate buffer between National Avenue and new construction inside the large Smalts parcel.
The ca. 1867 brick duplex on George Washington’s out-lot, as it appeared in a later 1970s photographic survey conducted by an intern for PHW.
Don’t forget, prospective Bough & Dough Shop artists – next Friday, September 2 is our last call for applications for the 2022 Shop! Download a copy of the information sheet and application and return them to PHW – by email to phwinc.org@gmail.com or by snail mail to PHW, 530 Amherst St., Winchester, VA 22601. We are super excited by the artists who have applied so far this year and can’t wait to share the lineup in early September!
Ghost signs have gotten a fair amount of attention, so we thought our readers may enjoy a UK-based online archive from the History of Advertising Trust documenting famous and obscure signs across the pond. One that caught our eye was the W. Smithson & Sons. Let us know if you spot a good one!
We also enjoyed reading about Guédelon Castle and how an “experimental archeology” project is likely to aid in the restoration of Notre Dame Cathedral. From the article:
“The roof frame [at Notre Dame] was extremely sophisticated, using techniques that were advanced for the 12th and 13th centuries,” Frédéric Épaud, a medieval wood specialist, tells the Observer. “After the fire, there were a lot of people saying it would take thousands of trees, and we didn’t have enough of the right ones, and the wood would have to be dried for years, and nobody even knew anything about how to produce beams like they did in the Middle Ages. They said it was impossible. But we knew it could be done because Guédelon has been doing it for years.”
Last, as we’ve had rowhouses and demolition on our mind lately, you may likewise enjoy Philadelphia’s ‘Building Ghosts’ Have a Lot to Say at Atlas Obscura. These ghosts, like the ghost signs, are traces not just of former businesses but of entire rowhouses or other buildings that were once attached to their neighbors. When a part of the row is demolished, a tantalizing glimpse of the interior can remain on the neighboring structure. From the article: “Building ghosts show up in many cities that have historically had lots of rowhouses or attached buildings. . . . . Donald Friedman, an architectural preservation consultant who co-founded New York-based Old Structures Engineering, explains that masonry-walled rowhouses were a 19th-century phenomenon and became much less common after around 1910.” Next time you are in the historic district, keep an eye out particularly on the upper stories of structures – we have a few such building ghosts in Winchester, though here they are mostly limited to roof and addition outlines.
Preservation of Historic Winchester will host an informational open house for the 46th annual Bough & Dough Shop tomorrow, Saturday, August 20, 10 AM – 1 PM on the first floor of the Hexagon House, 530 Amherst St. PHW is seeking new artists crafting unique handmade items and holiday décor to expand the shop’s offerings for 2022. We invite anyone interested in applying to stop by to see the space in person and find out more about the event, or read our informational handout available at http://www.phwi.org/events/Shopinfo.pdf.
Prospective artists are encouraged to bring portfolios or example pieces for the jury process. Application forms will be available at the event or can be downloaded at the PHW website, http://www.phwi.org/events/2022juryform.pdf.
If you cannot make the open house event, applications can be sent in by mail to PHW, 530 Amherst St., Winchester, VA 22601 or by email to phwinc.org@gmail.com until September 2, 2022. Final artist lineups will be announced after September 14.
A variety of items that were for sale during the 2019 Bough & Dough Shop.
Are you heading downtown tomorrow, July 23? You may want to stop by the Old Frederick County Courthouse at 5 PM, reenactors will have a living history program to recreate the July 24, 1758 election of George Washington to Virginia’s House of Burgesses. All four candidates plus other top figures involved in the 1758 election will be on hand. The reenactment is sponsored by Jim Moyer, the French and Indian War Foundation, the Capt. George Mercer Company of Col. George Washington’s Virginia Regiment and the Virginia Beer Museum in Front Royal.
Preservation Virginia is offering two upcoming webinars cover state and federal grant opportunities as well as ways to cultivate individuals and private foundations. The webinars are paid events, but scholarship opportunities are available. Contact Sonja Ingram at singram@preservationvirginia.org for more information.
Do you have questions about applying for statewide grant programs or private foundations? Panelist from the Virginia Department of Historic Resources and the Virginia Museum of History & Culture will provide an overview of state grants currently available for physical “bricks and mortar” preservation projects, including the new Virginia Black, Indigenous and People of Color Historic Preservation Fund and the Commonwealth History Fund. The program will also discuss other avenues for fundraising, such as approaching private foundations and cultivating support from individuals. Dr. Lisa Winn Bryan, Community Outreach Manager at Preservation Virginia, will moderate the discussion.
Dig deeper into the application process to understand how to prepare and what you need to apply for federal programs. Megan Brown from the National Park Service and Lawana Holland-Moore from the National Trust for Historic Preservation will discuss grants administered by their organizations, including National Park Service African American Civil Rights Grants and Underrepresented Communities Grants and the National Trust for Historic Preservation African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund. Preservation architect Joseph (Jody) Dye Lahendro will discuss the details of application requirements, like establishing historic significance and identifying the project scope, phasing and costs to support and justify grant requests.
You might have heard about the upcoming expansion at the Winchester Regional Airport. By happenstance while filing other newspaper clippings in PHW’s daunting backlog of uncatalogued items, we came across some articles on the 1988 expansion plans. From the August 13, 1988 editorial column by Tim Thornton, a few select quotes on the history of the airport and the vision for the new terminal:
“A patchwork of hangars and offices constructed in the 1930’s, 1940’s, and 1950’s, the present [1988] terminal is small — about 1,900 square feet by Mr. Wiegand’s reckoning — and it’s showing its age. . . . . Plans for a new terminal — a two-story building with a restaurant — were drawn up in 1983. In 1987 the plan called for a $335,000, 4,000 square foot terminal.”
“The Authority envisions a W-shaped terminal with a waiting area to accommodate 39 people, a pilot lounge, a concessions area, a flight planning room, administrative offices, and a reception area. . . . . The design also includes a 400-foot observation tower that would be required for passenger flights.”
According to the Frederick County Tax Map, the existing terminal was built in 1989 and is 9,248 square feet.
The previous “patchwork” terminal, as seen accompanying a May 10, 1988 article that ran in the Winchester Star.
While we approach the end of National Preservation Month, there are still a few more activities in the pipeline that can help you celebrate the area’s unique architectural and cultural heritage:
This weekend is the 30th annual Newtown Heritage Festival. The event started in 1993 to commemorate Stephens City’s heritage and to bring community awareness to the town. The festival begins tonight, May 27, at 6 PM and continues into Saturday, May 28 with various activities and performances. Perhaps of most interest to our readers would be the “Up Along Mulberry” Guided Trolley tour created by Rick Kriebel of Newtown History Center. The tour is free but tickets are required. Seating is limited. Pick up a ticket at the festival tent or reserve by emailing NHF30th@gmail.com. Tours are scheduled for 11 AM and 4 PM on Saturday.
In celebration of its 200th anniversary, the Winchester Police Department will host a car show in Old Town Winchester (Piccadilly & Cameron Streets) in partnership with the Hoppers Auto Club, Inc. on Saturday, May 28, 1-5 pm (rain date Sunday, May 29). Cost is $10, with proceeds benefiting the Winchester-Frederick Co. Law Enforcement Foundation.
OrigamiintheGarden, an exhibition created by Santa Fe artists Jennifer and Kevin Box, opens Saturday, May 28 at the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley. The outdoor exhibit features Box’s own compositions as well as collaborations with world-renowned origami artists Robert J. Lang, Te Jui Fu, Beth Johnson and Michael G. LaFosse. These remarkable artworks feel at home in the wondrous setting of botanical gardens, since paper originates in plant life and origami is made of paper. Don’t miss the Memorial Day Special Showing on Monday, May 30 at 2 PM!
The PHW office will be closed on Monday, May 30 for Memorial Day. Celebrate responsibly!
The board of directors of the Clowser Foundation will host its annual memorial service to honor the Clowser family members of Frederick County who were killed on June 1, 1764, by Native Americans during the French and Indian War. The event, which is free and open to the public, will be held at 10 a.m. June 4 at The Historic Clowser House at 152 Tomahawk Trail, Winchester 22602.
Mark your calendars! PHW and the Shenandoah Arts Council are teaming up on May 14 to host an open house in our office, the Hexagon House, 530 Amherst St. We invite anyone to stop by and see our unique office building, the only hexagonal residence built in Virginia. We will premiere the highly-requested brochure on the house’s history at the event, and visitors can pick up a free copy. This is also set to be one of the rare times the second story will also be open for tours, thanks to the partnership of ShenArts.
This event is held in celebration of National Historic Preservation Month, which takes place every May. This year’s theme is People Saving Places. Historic place-savers pour their time, energy, and resources into protecting places they care about, often without recognition. Preservation Month 2022 is for them—a national high-five to everyone doing the great work of saving places and inspiring others to do the same.
In lieu of an admission fee, we encourage you to donate to one of a number of earmarked funds held by PHW. Online donations through Eventbrite will be marked as a general donation to PHW; you may donate in person at the door toward our directed funds. More information on the donation options will be available at the event.
The family-friendly Kidzfest day downtown will also be held May 14. Before or after visiting us at the Hexagon House, head to the Old Town Mall for exhibits highlighting education, art, music, sports and more. Information on the event is available at oldtownwinchesterva.com.
The French and Indian War Foundation has two events for the same weekend. First, stop by Washington’s Well at 419 N. Loudoun St. between 10 AM and 4 PM on May 14. This year marks the 20th anniversary of Fort Loudoun Day commemorating the beginning of construction of Col. George Washington’s historic Fort Loudoun in 1756. Look back into Winchester’s history during the 1700s via re-enactments, tours, and children’s activities.
Dr. Carl Ekberg presents a special luncheon and lecture “George Washington Gets Lucky, July 4, 1754” for the 20th anniversary celebration of the French and Indian War Foundation on Sunday, May 15. Head to the George Washington Hotel Ballroom for a 1 PM lunch and 2 PM lecture and cash bar. The event is $30 for members of FIWF and $35 for nonmembers; reserve your tickets by shopping online at fiwf.org/shopor by mailing a check to FIWF, PO Box 751, Winchester, VA 22604.
PHW is also accepting nominations for the 2022 preservation awards. If someone you know has completed a preservation project in Winchester or Frederick County and deserves recognition for their hard work, nominate them for a PHW award. The nomination forms can be found on the PHW website—nominate as many people or projects as you wish. Nominations are due by June 10 for consideration this year.
