DHR News Clips, December 5

Greetings,

We have now posted on the web a slide show about the Old Thomas James Store, Mathews County, our featured December state and national register listing for “Historic Virginia, Site of the Month.” The show was created in collaboration with the Mathews County Historical Society.  You can access the slide show from DHR’s home page or directly from this link.

To inquire about collaborating with DHR on a “Historic Virginia, Site of the Month” slide show, please contact Randy.Jones@dhr.virginia.gov. (A site must be listed on the Virginia Landmarks Register or the National Register of Historic Places.)

Now, here is a selection of articles of interest on history, preservation, land use and related issues from around Virginia and beyond since mid November.

Northern Virginia & Shenandoah Valley

Colchester, Fairfax Co.: Archaeological research underway: Located on the Occoquan River, Colchester once was a bustling port to which tobacco planters  would bring their crop for export. Later, wheat and other commodities were shipped from the port. “This would have been one of the hubs” for tobacco shipment, said Christopher Sperling, a county archeologist who is historic field director for the site. “Tobacco was the lifeblood of the Virginia colony. We’re finding aspects of what was used early on in the colonial port town.”  Washington Post Also here: American Archaeologist

Fairfax Co.: 6th Annual Fairfax County History Conference held: With more than 100 attendees, the conference, “Preserving Our Paths in History,” was a tremendous success.  Fairfax Connection

Manassas: Businessman leading sesquicentennial plans dies: Nothing Creston Martin Owen did was small, so when he began leading efforts for the upcoming Civil War sesquicentennial anniversary, friends said they knew Manassas’s commemoration would be one to remember. A probable accident, however, has left friends and city officials with the task of carrying out next year’s Civil War commemoration without the energetic, charismatic Manassas businessman by their side. Washington Post

Stafford Co.: Atlatl expert: Eric Rugg tests and evaluates a Stone Age weapon that has survived since its invention some 17,000 years ago. It was in use in the 1600s in the first contacts in Virginia between Europeans and American Indians. The weapon is, Rugg points out, “the first compound machine weapon designed by man”–the first weapon with moving parts. Called an atlatl, it was the forerunner of the bow and arrow.  Free Lance-Star (includes video)

Spotsylvania Co.:  Officials visit Arlington Urban Development Area: County officials visit Clarendon to learn how they could take aspects of an urban, mixed-use development in Arlington back to Spotsylvania. The county planning department has been working with consultants to designate UDAs in the county.  Free Lance-Star

University of Mary Washington, Fredericksburg: Students rally to save Seacobeck Hall:  Preservation Magazine

Waterford Foundation, Loudoun Co.: Help restore historic community school: The foundation is requesting your assistance to win a $50k Pepsi Refresh Grant to restore the fire-damaged Waterford Old School. Go here for more information: Pepsi Refresh Grant

Culpeper: Holiday house tour: Dec. 4 tour, which is from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and incorporates some of the most historic homes in Culpeper’s East Street Historic District.  Star Exponent

Warren Co.: NPS and Dominion reach deal on proposed powerplant: Dominion Virginia Power and the Shenandoah National Park have reached a deal over the proposed Warren County Power Station proposed for Front Royal. Although the agreement between the park and the power company was approved by the Obama administration, the deal does not address a range of concerns expressed by the Shenandoah National Park superintendent and others at a November 9 public hearing held by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality. Clarke Daily News

Strasburg, Shenandoah Co.: SVBF eyes Island Farm: The Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation is interested in purchasing the “Island Farm” property. Although not a Civil War battlefield, the property has historical significance and also could be important to SVBF’s effort to build trails connecting Strasburg, Shenandoah National Park and the Fishers Hill battlefield area because of its location near the Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park.  NV Daily

Waynesboro, Augusta Co.: Slow road to greenway: City officials said a section of the greenway stretching along the South River from Constitution Park to Loth Springs finally will be constructed. Meanwhile, a grant application for the second phase is underway. Officials acknowledged that progress on the greenway has been slow, with more than a decade passing since its conceptualization.  News Virginian

Richmond & Central Region

Thomas Jefferson & Wine: Monticello restores wine cellar: Jefferson famously declared wine a “necessity of life,” and he tried in vain to produce wine at his Charlottesville home.  Jefferson’s fully restored wine cellar is now open to the public, permitting visitors to experience the room that once held his prized collection of European wines. Preservation Magazine

Albemarle Co.: Popular novelist restores Esmont, plantation house: Jan Karon has set her own life among rolling green hills in a nearly perfect recreation of the past—an 1816 brick plantation house she spent four years restoring. “She did everything right,” says K. Edward Lay, a professor emeritus of architecture at the University of Virginia, who says the house is an unusually sophisticated example of the Jeffersonian style of architecture.  Wall Street Journal

Steven Spielberg: Gov. McDonnell seeks Lincoln bio-pic: Gov. Bob McDonnell called film director Spielberg this week to help try to convince him to bring his new movie on Abraham Lincoln to Virginia.  The project could translate to $50 million in the Richmond area, according to the Governor. Washington Post

Library of Virginia: Exhibit focuses on Virginia’s Secession Convention: The convention that met in Richmond from Feb.14 through May 1, 1861, is known as the Secession Convention because on April 17, the delegates voted for a motion to secede from the Union — but for its first two months it was a Union convention. A major exhibition at LOV reveals how Virginians from all walks of life and from all parts of the state experienced the drama of the secession crisis.  Richmond Times-Dispatch

Richmond: Tribal chiefs deliver game to Governor: The 333-year-old tradition of delivering game to the governor commemorates the peace treaty with Virginia’s Indian tribes that was signed by England’s King Charles II and royal Gov. Herbert Jeffreys in 1677.  RTD

Richmond: RTD offering map of city’s historical sites: Richmond Times-Dispatch

Colonial Heights, Chesterfield Co.: Historic church to be demolished: After years of debate and discussion, the old Colonial Heights Baptist Church will be demolished next year to make way for a new courthouse complex. Progress-Index

Amherst Co.: Local historian publishes new book: For more than three decades, Florence Nixon has gathered bits of history of Monroe and Elon. Her book, “In the Shadow of Tobacco Row Mountain,” is a collection of stories and includes more than 500 photographs depicting the way of life in Monroe and Elon, from the 1930s to 1970s. New Era Progress

Mario di Valmarana: Former UVa architecture professor dies: Di Valamarana came to the University of Virginia in 1972 to teach in the School of Architecture for three months. It became his academic home for 27 years. He taught and directed the Historic Preservation Program, and founded in 1975 the university’s first study-abroad program, which takes architecture students to live among the cultural treasures in Vicenza, Italy.  He retired in 2000, and died Oct. 13 at his home in Venice.  RTD

Roanoke & Southwestern Region

Carroll Co.: Commemorating “The Carroll County Courthouse Tragedy”:  100 years ago, two teenagers in southwest Virginia shared a seemingly innocent kiss that eventually led to a courtroom massacre that dominated the news until it was bumped from the front pages by the sinking of the Titanic. Residents are preparing to commemorate the shooting’s anniversary starting with a community corn shucking on Dec. 18. Daily Press

Danville: Student founds historic preservation club in high school: For 17-year-old Ella Schwarz, co-founding a historic preservation club at George Washington HS is a way to get classmates fired up about the past. DanRiver

Danville: Lynchburg program can serve as preservation model: Southside preservationists hope a Lynchburg program might act as a model to revitalization efforts in Danville. Lynchburg’s Spot Blight program has rehabilitated about 140 properties in the last decade. Preservationists sent a letter to Danville’s City Council, asking them to consider starting a program similar to Lynchburg’s Spot Blight Program.   TV-13 (includes video)

Bush Mill, Scott Co.: Preservation funds awarded: Plans to restore the historic mill were boosted by  $300,000 in recent grants.  A check for $100,000 from the Virginia Tobacco Commission was presented this week. That money, plus $200,000 from the Virginia Department of Transportation, will give the mill new life for restoration to begin.  WCBY TV-5

Wolf Creek Indian Village and Museum, Bland Co.: Archaeological research: The seeds of the museum were sewn in May 1970, when highway construction crews encountered a Native American village site as they worked to re-locate Wolf Creek to make room for I-77. During the past two weekends, some of Virginia’s top archaeologists visited to re-examine the topsoil that was removed from the original village site in 1970 as part of Dr. Howard MacCord’s original examination of the Brown Johnston Site.  Bluefield Daily Telegraph

Bristol: Local historian Bud Phillips new book: Hidden History of Bristol: Stories from the State Line: For years, Bud Phillips has collected stories along the state line, where Virginia meets Tennessee. It started soon after he arrived in town, practically penniless, in 1953. The Arkansas native heard tales from the rich and mighty but also folks who had even less money than him – among the earliest pioneers of the city that became Bristol. Then for years, like a student, Phillips went home and scribbled, writing down nearly everything – word for word.  Herald Courier

Tidewater & Eastern Shore

Upper Mattaponi Tribe, King William Co.:  Restoring Sharon Indian School: The school, as well as the Indian View Baptist Church next to it, remains a cornerstone of a tribal community that has survived centuries of discrimination with its dignity intact. The tribe will celebrate the restoration of the school Dec. 12.  Richmond Times-Dispatch

Jamestown: 400-year-old personalized pipes found: “Finding these pipes has illuminated the complex political and social network in London that was behind the settlement,” said William Kelso, director of archaeology for Historic Jamestowne. The personalized clay pipes, which archaeologists say were probably made between 1608 and 1610, also provide new insights into Jamestown’s early pipemaking industry. The settlers’ lives depended on pleasing the investors of the Virginia Company, which bankrolled and supplied struggling Jamestown. It may not be surprising, then, that among the eight names that can be seen on, or inferred from, the fragments are those of several Jamestown investors.  National Geographic

Yorktown: Plans to erect replica windmill halted: When Walt Akers started building a replica of an 18th-century windmill more than two years ago, he hoped to have it completed and displayed by 2011 to mark the 300th anniversary of a similar windmill in Yorktown.  A little known National Park Service rule, however, may take the wind out of the project.  Virginia Gazette

Stratford Hall, Westmoreland Co.: Writer’s visit combines good food and history:  “So the home of the Lees, the 1807 birthplace of a boy named Robert who would go on to become a great general, became a balance between the idealistic and the practical, the big picture and the everyday. It’s still that way today, as I rediscovered during what promises to be a new Thanksgiving tradition–dinner at Stratford, followed by an overnight stay in a small lodge on the property.” Free Lance-Star

Old Dominion University, Norfolk: Seeks to become hub on study of rising sea levels: ODU unveils an initiative to become a national hub for research, teaching and expertise in rising sea levels related to climate change.The university’s initiative includes at least $200,000 and a commitment to pursue federal grants to hire faculty, conduct research and expand climate change in the university’s curriculum. Virginian-Pilot

Hampton University: Black military history: Historian and author Bennie J. McRae Jr. has donated his entire archives on the African-American military experience to Hampton University. The centerpiece of McRae’s collection is the history of the Union Army’s United States Colored Troops that served in the Civil War. Hudson Valley Press

Swann’s Point, Surry Co.: Plantation sells for $7.1 million: The 1,688-acre historic plantation on the James River was sold at auction last month.  The plantation was part of a wedding gift to Pocahontas in 1614 from her father, Chief Powhatan, when she married colonist John Rolfe. The property was most recently owned by Stanley Yeskolske, a businessman who died several years ago.  Virginian-Pilot

Suffolk: Visitor Center opens in re-purposed historic courthouse:  A ribbon cutting ceremony with city’s elected officials marked the rebirth of a historic building. The courthouse building played a pivotal role in the history of old Nansemond County and the City of Suffolk. The 1840-era building is the third such structure built on the site.  WVEC

Chesapeake Bay Foundation: Issues report on pollution costs: Report says pollution is killing jobs and slowing the region’s economy, and the foundation says that delays in cleaning up the nation’s richest estuary could cost government and businesses billions of dollars.  Free Lance-Star

Virginia War Memorial Foundation: To host events with historian Dr. James I. Robertson: Dr. Robertson, executive director of the Virginia Center for Civil War Studies and author of many books,  will be the featured speaker at a dinner at The Chamberlin, Fort Monroe, Friday, December 10, 6:30 p.m.  He will also be signing books after a lecture on December 11 at the Virginia War Museum. For more information, call (757) 247-8523. (No link)

Virginia Beach and Norfolk: Historic photographic collection online: Va. Beach Photographer (blog)

Virginia:

Off-Shore Drilling: Obama administration halts development: The Obama administration announced this week that it will not allow any drilling for oil and gas off the Virginia coast until at least 2017, a move rooted in the record oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico earlier this year.  Virginian-Pilot

Journey Through Hallowed Ground: First Lady Maureen McDonnell honors organization:  Loudoun Times

Patrick Henry: New biography published: review: “It’s unfair to reduce Henry’s career to excerpts from two speeches, but it’s also fitting that he’s remembered chiefly for his words. Henry was a hardworking lawyer, a somewhat adequate military commander, and a popular, if inconsistent, politician. He wasn’t the best farmer or the best businessman, but he was almost certainly the greatest orator in 18th century America. And he was, in a way, the Father of the Founding Fathers — as Harlow Giles Unger notes in his excellent new Lion of Liberty, Henry was the first of the American revolutionaries ‘to call for independence, for revolution against Britain, for a bill of rights, and for as much freedom as possible from government — American as well as British’.”  NPR

Preservation Virginia: Holiday event calendar: PV is pleased to announce its special programming for the holidays offered at several of its historic sites across the Commonwealth. Preservation Virginia

Beyond Virginia:

Black American Indians: “A Hidden Heritage“: NPR interviews historian and author William Loren Katz, and Shonda Buchanan, a descendent of North Carolina and Mississippi Choctaw Indians and a professor of English at Hampton University in Virginia. NPR

Civil War Sesquicentennial: Controversy surrounds some commemorative events: “That some — even now — are honoring secession, with barely a nod to the role of slavery, underscores how divisive a topic the war remains, with Americans continuing to debate its causes, its meaning and its legacy.” NY Times

DHR News Clips, Nov. 5

News from DHR:

National Register Submission Schedule: Now posted here.

Calendar of Events:  See forthcoming public meetings for proposed historic districts and nominations: DHR Calendar

Now for news items from around Virginia and beyond:

Virginia:

Gov. Bob McDonnell: Governor’s father John F. “Jack” McDonnell dies: Mr. McDonnell, 94, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel and intelligence specialist, died Nov. 2 at Burke Health and Rehabilitation Center in Fairfax County. He had Alzheimer’s disease.  Washington Post

A House Divided: Interesting Civil War blog:  “A House Divided is a blog dedicated to news and issues of importance to Civil War enthusiasts across the country and around the world.  Washington Post

Va. History Textbook: Hampton historian, author files a lawsuit:  Veronica Davis, author of a study of black cemeteries in and around Richmond, filed the injunction against the book’s publisher, the state Board of Education and Williamsburg-James City County Schools.  Davis feels the book’s offending sentence rather than being omitted should be revised to reflect accepted scholarship. Daily Press

Civil War & Black Confederates: Columnist: “Civil War History Is a Battlefield”: “The phone message was frustrating and intriguing — a caller scolding me for last week’s column criticizing the research of a textbook writer who claimed thousands of blacks fought as Confederates.”  Daily Press

“Virginians in the Making of Liberia”: VHS lecture available online: Last month Marie Tyler-McGraw discussed her book An African Republic: Black and White Virginians in the Making of Liberia in a special Banner Lecture at the Virginia Historical Society. The lecture is now available online and provides valuable historic context for VHR’s Nov. 6 program featuring President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of the Republic of Liberia.  The Richmond Forum

Capital Region:

Fork Union, Fluvanna Co.:  Cemetery discovered: Rows of uninscribed stones and depressions mark the graves of 56 long-forgotten people about 400 feet from the site of a new firehouse. The cemetery doesn’t appear on early 20th-century deeds, which suggests it may have been forgotten about by that time and therefore was used during the late 18th century and 19th century. The Daily Progress

Edward Ayers: Profile of UR president & leader of Richmond’s Civil War sesquicentennial commemoration: Ayers delights in challenging every simple theory of the war. He hopes to reshape America’s understanding of the bloodiest conflict in its history. Washington Post

Virginia Historical Society, Richmond: 2010 Holiday Shoppers Fair: Nov. 5 and 6, 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.: The annual Museum Stores of Richmond Holiday Shoppers Fair will be at the VHS this year. Fifteen area museums are participating in the event.  (No link.)

Richmond’s Hollywood Cemetery: New book by John Peters: Now available at the Valentine Richmond History Center, which is the publisher of the book. The author will sign books at Shoppers Fair, November 5th & 6th at the Virginia Historical Society, at Book People on November 9th, at St. James Bazaar on November 11th-12th, and will deliver a lecture on December 9th at VHS.  VRHC

Albemarle Co.: Public hearing for proposed Greenwood-Afton Rural Historic District:  Crozet Gazette

Petersburg: Hermanze Fauntleroy Jr. dies: A local civil rights leader and civic leader, Fauntleroy Jr., was the city’s first black mayor and the first black mayor in the state according to the Virginia Historical Society. Progress-Index

Celebrate Chesterfield: Karenne Wood to speak:  Wood, a member of the Monacan Indian Nation, will speak on Saturday, Nov. 13, at historic Magnolia Grange plantation house at 11 a.m.  Wood serves as director of the Virginia Indian Heritage Program at the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities.  She will address commonly accepted notions regarding Virginia Native American history and culture as well as recent discoveries that challenge these prevailing theories.  Progress-Index

Shenandoah Valley & Northern Region:

Government Island, Stafford Co.:  County’s newest park supplied stone for DC: When George Washington and his commissioners got busy building “the Federal City,” this small island on Aquia Creek is where they turned to get essential material. It was the center of incredible activity, off and on, for more than 150 years–from the late 1600s until the mid-19th century.  With this week’s opening of Government Island as Stafford County’s newest park, that amazing national heritage will be apparent to every visitor. Free Lance-Star

Loudoun Co.: 18th Annual Loudoun History Awards announced: Four local leaders in the fields of historical research and preservation will be honored Sunday, Nov. 14, during the 18th Annual Loudoun History Awards.  Leesburg Today

Fredericksburg Area: Interesting blog: Past is Prologue:  Free Lance-Star staff writer Clint Schemmer has a good blog to keep abreast of events or news of interest pertaining to history in the city and surrounding counties.  Free Lance-Star

Stonewall Jackson: His arm’s burial and other topics; an interview with NPS’s John Hennessy: “Jackson is one of the few . . .  major American figures, who has more than one grave. He now actually has three graves. One for his arm, one for the rest of him, which resides in Lexington, Virginia, but also a third grave where he was buried on an interim basis for several years before his current gravesite was prepared. And that grave, in the Lexington cemetery in Virginia, is still marked and preserved as the former grave of Stonewall Jackson.”  NPS Traveler

Virginia Theological Seminary, Alexandria: Immanuel Chapel will be rebuilt:  VTS members say that the 129-year-old chapel, destroyed by a two-alarm fire Oct. 22, will come back to life in some form. The chapel, with classic Victorian elements, was built in 1881.  Washington Post

Manassas: A new exhibit honoring the contributions of eight extraordinary Virginia women: Virginia Women in History 2010, an exhibit on loan to the Manassas Museum from the Library of Virginia, will be displayed at the Manassas City Hall lobby through Dec. 4.  InsideNOVA

New Market Battlefield State Historical Park: Free digitizing of historical documents: On Friday, Nov. 5, the Shenandoah County Civil War sesquicentennial committee will be offering a free scanning project from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. as part of the Civil War 150 Legacy Project. The public is invited to bring original photographs, letters, diaries, hand-drawn sketches and other documents from the Civil War era to be evaluated and digitally scanned, with all of the material then to be made available on the Library of Virginia’s website.  NV Daily

Staunton: Sears Hill historic pedestrian bridge removed for repairs: For more than a century, a footbridge gave pedestrians access over the railroad tracks that divide the Sears Hill neighborhood from downtown Staunton.  The bridge is on the state and national registers.  NBC29

Roanoke and Western Region

Saltville: Civil War heritage tourism potential: Saltville is sitting on a gold mine, and citizens may need to lead the digging. That was the thrust of citizens’ comments following a presentation by Dr. Cliff Boyd and Dr. Robert Whisonant about the town’s Civil War battlefields that have gained listing on the state and National Register.  SWVA Today

Tidewater & Eastern Shore

James River “Ghost Fleet”: Writer makes an overnight visit: The James River Reserve Fleet has been a source of fascination, history and lore for decades. Its roots trace to 1919, just after World War I, when the Navy and Merchant Marine began mothballing their surplus ships within the river. At its peak, following World War II, the fleet held more than 700 ships, stretching in a line almost to Norfolk. Virginian-Pilot

Northampton Co., Historic Jails: Writer offers reasons for preserving buildings:  “The two jail buildings can be stabilized (new roof, cornice and porch repair) allowing a decision on their future use to be deferred. Both buildings are of brick and are in sound structural condition (1998 Structural Inspection Report of the Northampton County Jail). . . ”  Eastern Shore News

Beyond Virginia

The Cities We Want: Essay from Witold Rybczynski:  “The question is not whether we want to live in cities. Obviously, a growing number of us do—otherwise we would not build so many of them. The real question is: In what kind of cities do we want to live? Compact or spread out? Old or new? Big or small?” Slate

Lost Colony, North Carolina: One researcher’s alternative theory to Roanoke Island:  Scott Dawson’s research, combined with his intimate knowledge of Hatteras Island, has led him to conclude that the Lost Colony must have abandoned its settlement on Roanoke Island, traveled south and eventually assimilated into the Croatoan tribe – all in an effort to escape the threat of the Secotan. Virginian-Pilot

Charles McKim: New biography published:  “Triumvirate: McKim, Mead & White: Art, Architecture, Scandal, and Class in America’s Gilded Age,” by Mosette Broderick. This 581-page history serves as the only modern work to examine the career of the reflective, often depressed McKim, perennially in the shadow of his flamboyant and equally troubled partner, Stanford White. NY Times / Slide Show of McKim’s work.

Texas: Historic painting of Battle of San Jacinto found in W. Va. attic: Virginia resident Jon Buell was visiting his grandfather last year when he decided to check out the antiques in the family attic.  Amid the dusty relics, he found a forgotten piece of Texas history: a 1901 painting by Henry Arthur McArdle of the decisive Battle of San Jacinto. McArdle, Buell’s great-great-grandfather, depicted important Texas battles in his many paintings. Dallas News

West Virginia: Lincoln election ballot discovered:  Found at an old plantation in West Virginia, the ballot is from the 1860 election that Abraham Lincoln won. Officials at Henderson Hall say it’s even more unique in the area, which was part of Virginia at the time.  WOOD TV

Recent Past Preservation Network:  Website:  Worth checking out. RPPN