#princewilliamstrong

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All That Glitters is Not Gold: Stories from the Mine

By: Lisa Timmerman, Executive Director

In 1889, the Cabin Branch Pyrite Mine opened and operated, eventually changing ownership from the Cabin Branch Mining Company to the American Agricultural Chemical Company before its closure in 1920. After the devastation of the Civil War, the discovery of “fool’s gold”, aka iron sulfide, was a boon to the local economy as sulfur was an ingredient in items such as soap, glass, rubber, fertilizer, and the production of gunpowder for World War I. While companies and businessmen profited from this venture, the 200-300 laborers, including children, risked their lives for small wages and often unsafe working conditions.

In 11/1899, the Fredericksburg Free Lance described the operations with predictions for its future, “Three shafts have been sunk about 140 feet deep, and tons of ore are gotten out daily by a force of 60 men. The ore is shipped by the company’s own 7 miles of well built narrow gauge road to a point in the Potomac River. The sum of $500 to $600 is paid by this firm [Dedrick & Co.] weekly for labor. The whole surrounding country seems a bed of pyrites ore and a bright future is before Dumfries.” The mine became a major industry to the area with 70 buildings (company store, blacksmith shop, hen house, icehouse) and employed both black and white persons but housed them separately. Crews worked the mine in 10-12 hour shifts as the mine operated 24 hours a day, pay ranging from 50 cents (children’s daily pay) to potentially $4.25 a day/shift. Crews consisted of blasters, persons who ignited the dynamite and supervised others, powdermen responsible for carrying and placing blasting powder, muckers who loaded ore into wagons, cart pushers who transported the ore to the surface, and timberman who provided stability to the shafts with wooden. The mine employed children to sort the ore into piles based on size. The Mine generally assigned black persons to lower positions and the wages did not reflect the reality of supporting a family; instead, the Cabin Branch Community (Hickory Ridge, Joplin and Batestown) supported each other and relied upon being self-sufficient by growing crops, hunting, and taking multiple jobs. One unidentified black woman in her 50s noted, “…His father was one of those that worked in the mines and of course it was hard work. They would go in there and stay for…he couldn’t recall whether it was days or months because he was so young. He remembered his dad going away, staying for a long time, and finally coming. And then, he could see him coming from the distance and he would see him covered with the soot and grime and all. And it just seemed like he was gone forever…” Another person remembered, “Everybody was really blessed an not really deprived…They were a self-contained community. They were pretty proud of…the fact that they pulled together and they could make it together.”

(Cabin Branch Mine Coupon Book, Coupons worth 10 cents)

Accidents certainly happened with reports appearing in local newspapers. On 06/13/1903, the Alexandria Gazette reported “A colored man, named Smith, about 40 years old, was taken to Washington from Dumfries, early last night. Smith was suffering from numerous injuries…In the mine there is an incline railway on which cars weighing 1,200lbs when empty are need to carry the ore to the opening of the mine. Smith was struck by one of these cars, by so severely injured that Dr. William P. Canton surgeon for the company, deemed it necessary to have him taken to Washington.” Mr. Smith suffered from a broken right leg, both shoulder blades dislocated, and a splintered upper jaw. Turning to a transcribed partial list of laborers compiled by Ronald Turner, we find two potential Smith’s – Bord Smith and Robert Smith, both noted as laborers further identified by their race. While the prognosis for recovery was good, deaths also occurred in the mine, and the resulting court cases provide an enormous wealth of information about mine operations.

In the case Quinton L. Hutchinson’s Administrator vs. Cabin Branch Mining Company, Climenia Hutchinson, the widow and mother of their infant child, sued the mine for 10,000 in 1909, “…a large and ponderous mass of stone, slate, mineral and earth fell from the side of the said mine and in and upon said plaintiff’s intestate, without any negligence or fault on the part of said plaintiff’s intestate, and by such falling in of said stone, slate, mineral and earth so negligently permitted to hang loosely in and about said mine and the sides thereof, the said Quinton L. Hutchinson, plaintiff’s intestate, was injured and crushed about the body, back and hips and so injured that he died shortly thereafter, to-wit…” Physicians examining the body noted he had bruising over his entire abdomen along with displaced segments of his spinal column, with ruptured internal blood vessels caused by pressure of the material. The plaintiff called upon many laborers in the mine to testify regarding the day of the accident and the conditions of the mine, including Mr. J. Clarence Williams, born “Well, Dumfries is as close as I could get at it”, as Mr. Williams was present at the time of Mr. Hutchinson’s death and personally knew him. The mine employed Mr. Williams as a mucker, receiving a 1.50 a day/shift, he testified to the condition of the mine and the chain of command – the defense questioning his experience and specifically asking about the race of the men working near where Mr. Hutchinson died. Frank G. Williams, race not identified, worked the machine, and received $2.00 a day/shift – he was with Mr. Hutchinson at the time of his death. “Well, of course, I know he was killed, that’s all. A piece came over on him and he hollered, and for a second or two, I didn’t know hardly what had happed for a second or two.” An estimated two-ton piece of ore or slate fell and pinned Mr. Hutchinson. Based on witness testimonies and mine policies, the court instructed the jury to determine eleven issues, ranging from workplace safety to the possible negligence of Mr. Hutchinson – however, the jury needed to determine if the mine could have averted the accident after discovery of any supposed worker negligence. The jury awarded Mrs. Hutchinson assessing her damage at $1750.00. Cabin Branch Mining Company quickly appealed and won when the Prince William County Court reversed the decision, stating the judgment was erroneous, and ordered Mrs. Hutchinson to pay the costs “…expended in the prosecution of its writ of error”, a total of $357.55. According to our records, the family buried Mr. Hutchinson in Dumfries Cemetery, born in 1882 and died in 1909.

(Cabin Branch Pyrite Mine, 1907, National Park Service)

Many of the men interviewed lived in or near Dumfries and worked in the mine for over ten years – some even continued working for the company but not in the section where Mr. Hutchinson died. White miners lived in Dumfries, some rented from the Merchant family (now the Weems-Botts Museum), while the black laborers in the records noted they lived as close as they could to Dumfries and identified it as home although the town remained segregated. By 1920, the mine no longer operated due to a variety of factors, ranging from a marked decrease in demand of gunpowder after WWI and the discovery of cheaper sulfur elsewhere.

National Park Services owns the property today and you can even walk the Cabin Branch Pyrite Mine Trail leading you to Quantico Creek and other foundations of the Park’s past life as a mining industry. While there are scattered traces of the Mine operations and even a burial of one of the miners, we rely upon oral histories, court records, letters, folklore, and other sources to help tell the stories from the mines. 

Note: April is rushing in and The Weems-Botts Museum is ready with three virtual opportunities! From preparing for the cicadas with your family & friends to having a tea basket arranged for you, we are here to provide interesting, varied, and delicious programming! Click here to find links to all of our seasonal programs! 

(Sources: HDVI Archives: Cabin Branch Mine Newspapers transcribed and compiled by William Schneck, 04/29/2010 ; Payne-Jackson, Arvilla and Sue Ann Taylor, Prince William Forest Park: The African American Experience, National Park Service National Capital Area, 06/2000; Turner, Ronald R. American Agricultural Chemical Company & Cabin Branch Mining Company Workers Dumfries, VA 1910-1920, accessed on 03/24/2021 via http://pwcvirginia.com/sites-structures.htm; National Park Services: Prince William Forest: Cabin Branch Pyrite Mine (1889-1920), https://www.nps.gov/prwi/learn/historyculture/cabin-branch-mine.htm; )

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But Does It Taste Like Chicken: Cockpit Point & The Tale of Virginia’s Poultrygeist

Virginia’s tourism motto “Virginia is for lovers” can easily be expanded to encompass history, and as you drive through our state, you may idly wonder what happened at certain places. For example, why is there a Cockpit Point?

According to Prince William County Park & Recreation (encompassing Historic Preservation), Cockpit Point Civil War Park contains the only remaining Potomac River battery and from October 1861 to March 1862, the Confederate earthworks, four massive batteries and connecting trenches helped the soldiers succeed in diverting almost all shipping destined for Washington, D.C. Prince William County Historian Rob Orrison wrote a brilliant blog about the actual battle and continuing preservation efforts and you can find it here via the Emerging Civil War blog and/or watch a virtual tour here.

(Library of Congress: Fry, Joshua, Approximately, Peter Jefferson, and Thomas Jefferys. A map of the most inhabited part of Virginia containing the whole province of Maryland with part of Pensilvania, New Jersey and North Carolina, 1755, link in citations)

Although the HDVI archives thoroughly acknowledge the importance of this strategic site, they also contain an interesting paper regarding the lore of Cockpit Point pre-Civil War. Joshua Fry and Peter Jefferson identified “Cock Pitt Pt” above the Town of Dumfries in their 1755 Map “A map of the most inhabited part of Virginia containing the whole province of Maryland with part of Pensilvania, New Jersey and North Carolina.” According to J.P. Haynes, who presented a speech to HDVI on 05/05/1977 titled “Saga of Cockfighting at Cockpit Point”, people located an iron ring measuring about 12 feet in diameter with an iron 12-inch flange in 1914 giving more credence to the cockfighting lore. According to Mr. Haynes, Irish immigrant Gerr Shaw (aka Cockspur Shaw, Cockpit Shaw) infamously renowned throughout the Tidewater, held mighty and very popular cockfights at his riverside farms. Besides for his inability to refrain from illegally holding matches, he christened one of his most aggressive animals “Thunderbolt”, eventually earning the title Thunderbolt – Champ of the Patowmack”. Haynes stated, “Such became the reputation of the Champ that, when there was a thunderstorm with overmuch thunder, folks would proclaim, ‘The Champ’s on the loose again.’”

Cockfighting in Virginia was a popular form of entertainment. Ebenezer Hazard, the person who insulted Dumfries in his travel journey (related blog post here), recorded the practice in 1777 writing, “Horse-racing & Cock-fighting seem to be the principal Objects of Attention between Williamsburgh & Smithfield at present.” He later noted that Virginians were “…much addicted to Gaming, drinking, swearing, horse-racing, Cock-fighting, & most Kinds of Dissipation.” Cockfighting was popular pre-Civil War, especially towards the end of the 18th century as Mr. Hazard observed. Men bred their gamecocks to be aggressive and even strapped weapons onto the roosters, such as finely honed spurs. People used matches to conduct social and political business as well commonly meeting with friends and neighbors. Shaw purportedly penned “scrappy natured roosters” together and he placed any resultant chicks in special brooders until they showed aggressive behaviors – they then received additional observation. Thus “Thunderbolt” was born.

(Prince William County Park & Recreation, Historic Preservation: Cockpit Point Civil War Park)

Officials condemned the fights and tried to prohibit and eliminate them, especially after the Revolutionary War when it was viewed as a crude connection to British practices and customs. Eventually, American society condemned the fights more widely as inhumane and the ASPCA along with other groups actively work to stop this illegal practice – spectating an event is illegal in 43 states and the District of Columbia.

Mr. Haynes concluded with the following, “It has been told, even today, if one should be strolling on the River shore on a moonless Sunday night in Spring, the ghost of Gerr Shaw may be seen at the site of the old cockpit, looking for Thunderbolt, his infamous Champ of the Patomack.”

Note: Mr. Haynes wrote both “Patowmack” and “Patomack” in his original 1977 speech. Archaeologists dated a Patawomeck settlement on the Potomac Creek to around 1300. Although English encroachment in Virginia started in the early 1600s, the English actively began patenting Patawomeck land in the 1650s. Due to various factors, including disease and dispersal, the English continued and eventually declared war on the tribe. The tribe received formal recognition from the state of Virginia in 2010 after a two-year battle to assert their identity, following decades of discrimination.

Program with a Sprinkle of Luck: Continuing with the light note of folklore, please join us for January’s Members First Program: New Years Superstitions on Saturday, 01/09/2021 @ 10am. This free virtual program discusses popular New Year superstitions along with the lore behind common phrases and practices! Your free ticket comes with no pressure or commitment to join the organization – just to relax and have a safe creative morning! Free tickets here.

(Sources: HDVI Archival Files: Haynes, James P. Saga of Cockfighting at Cockpit Point, 05/1977; Prince William County Government, Cockpit Point Battlefield Study; Fry, Joshua, Approximately, Peter Jefferson, and Thomas Jefferys. A map of the most inhabited part of Virginia containing the whole province of Maryland with part of Pensilvania, New Jersey and North Carolina [London, Thos. Jefferys, 1755] Map. https://www.loc.gov/item/74693166/; Colonial Williamsburg Online Publications: Crews, Ed. Once Popular and Socially Acceptable: Cockfighting, Autumn 2008; ASPCA: Animal Cruelty/Other Animal Issues: Cockfighting)

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When Childbirth Cost $10: How Doctors & Midwives Worked Tirelessly to Serve Northern Virginia

By: Lisa Timmerman, Executive Director

“So on March 5, 1904 he opened his office on Main Street in Dumfries. His first patient was a man with a fever of 106 [F] malaria and chills. Next was a delivery, a baby girl born to a family who had a general store in Dumfries. His first $10.” While today we face different challenges, Annie Keys Cline Shumate’s reminiscences demonstrated how the medical community in Northern Virginia worked tirelessly on the medical front lines.

Dumfries had numerous needs for medical services in the early 1900s. Besides for childbirth deliveries, illness, and accidents, doctors traveled to the Cabin Branch Pyrite Mine, which operated from 1899-1920, encompassing the communities of Hickory Ridge, Joplin, and Batestown. By 1917, the military established Marine Corps Base Quantico drawing additional people to the area. Mrs. Shumate recalled a smallpox “siege” in 1912 along with the 1918 flu pandemic. As with COVID-19, there was “…no rest for the doctors any where.” She stated, “Dr. Cline worked with the Marine Corps but the young marines were dying because this was [a] new disease and no real remedy was then known…Activity brought on pneumonia and death. During the winters he had 14 cases in his home. Dr. Cline had little time for family or rest, for so many needed attention.” Although Dr. Cline died in 1931, Dr. B.F. Phillips and Dr. A.J. Ferlazzo continued to serve the community.

Midwives were crucial to the community. Annie Thomas Williams took over her mother’s practice and recalled assisting both Dr. Phillips and Dr. Ferlazzo, even noting how they filled and signed the birth certificates for her, necessary as she temporarily worked without a license. She recalled, “There were so few doctors, women about to deliver often had no one to help.” Mrs. Williams first worked as a housekeeper in Dumfries earning $1 a day. During the 1920s and 1930s, Mrs. Williams became essential to the local area, as she delivered children and worked for Major General Harry Lee, Commandant of Quantico Marine Base, as a nurse for his children and the children of other Marine families. Although the flooding and destruction of Hurricane Agnes wreaked havoc on her home leading to the loss of her medical records, former Dumfries Mayor Sam Bauckman estimated that she delivered well over 300 babies. In an interview with The Potomac News celebrating her 100th birthday in 1993, she recalled how she rode out usually in the “dead of night” despite weather hazards. “One time I woke up and didn’t know where I was…Fredericksburg, Accotink, Manassas, Garrisonville – I just didn’t know, I was gone so much.” “Some nights were so bitter cold. They’d come knock at 12 or 1. I’d say no and I’d lay in bed. Then I’d get to thinking that they might suffer or die.”

(HDVI Archives: Annie Williams, Charter Day, 05/11/1990)

Mrs. William’s oral history did not record active opposition from local doctors, instead noting how they trained and supported her. Advancements in medical treatments, a growing reliance on hospitals for deliveries, and racism towards the black and immigrant communities all contributed to the decline and public opinion regarding midwifery. Some obstetricians deliberately led a campaign against midwives, ignoring data that supported the quality care received and instead focused on racist stereotypes. While this campaign focused on white families with the necessary income, black families often did not have a choice, especially if white physicians refused to deliver black children. The popularity of midwives trended longer in the South until expanding access to health care, a shortage of obstetricians, and an increasing demand for natural birth led to expansion in the nurse-midwifery practice in the 1940s.

Today our medical practitioners continue to put their lives on the frontline as those did in the early 1900s, whether Dr. Cline was treating infectious patients at his home or Mrs. William’s mother, Nancy Thomas, was entering homes to deliver children. According to these oral reports, the Dumfries and surrounding region were unique in that physicians and midwives, regardless of race, worked together for the health of the people.

Note: The Weems-Botts Bibliophiles will be meeting for the first time on Saturday, 01/23! Join us as we discuss three short sci-fi stories from Isaac Asimov, Allan C. Clarke and Clare Harris, focusing on the historical context, the authors, and surprising conclusions to these fantastic tales! Click here to purchase a ticket for the tea, stories, and link to actively participate or to enjoy later!

(HDVI Archives: View of Dumfries in the early 20th century)

(Sources: HDVI Archives: Abstract of an Interview with Annie Thomas Williams at her home, 07/18/1988; HDVI Archives: “Doctors” Oral history of Annie Cline Shumate submitted by her daughter Mrs. Hilda E. Brown Ammerman; Potomac News: Lifestyles, LaSonde, Chris, Marking a Century of Faith, Work, 07/07/1993; National Library of Medicine: National Center for Biotechnology Information. Dawley, Katy. Origins of nurse-midwifery in the United States and its expansion in the 1940s. Journal of Midwifery Womans Health, Vol. 48, No. 2, March/April 2003).

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The Ballad of Barkentine Bear: The Wooden Ship with a Stout Broken Heart

By: Lisa Timmerman, Executive Director

In 1975, Rear Admiral Richard Blackburn Black presented HDVI with a ballad he wrote for the USS Bear, a feisty Coast Guard ship with an amazing history! According to beautifully printed sheet, Black watched “as the barkentine BEAR backs away into the sea smoke” in 1934. So why is this treasure in our Archives?

Alexander Stephen & Son constructed the United States Revenue Cutter Bear in Dundee, Scotland, completed in 1874 and commissioned on 03/02/1885. The USS Bear began its incredible career shortly afterwards by heading to the Artic to rescue the stranded Greely expedition, an expedition that experienced serious misfortunes leaving then First Lieutenant Adolphus Washington Greely and his command with inadequate amounts of food and clothing. The ship saved the remaining survivors many already deceased from the poor conditions and even suicide. In 1885, the Treasury Department commanded the ship to patrol the Alaskan waters and the Artic Ocean. Commanded for a time by “Hell Roaring” Mike Healy, the ship: delivered mail, government agents and supplies; transported Federal prisoners; served as a court; assisted in investigations and criminal prevention and law enforcement; provided much needed medical services; and imported Siberian reindeer for the indigenous peoples in need of food (sorry Santa). In 1897, the USS Bear once again rescued stranded crews although the ship itself could not get as close as possible. The “Overland Expedition for the Relief of the Whalers in the Artic Ocean” translated into a 1,600-mile journey with dog teams, sleds, guides, and tasty reindeer. After serving in WWI, the Bear was decommissioned and used as a museum (woo!) until the early 1930s when Admiral Richard E. Byrd purchased her use ($1,050) for his Second Antarctic Expedition and later used the Bear again in 1939-1941. While the Bear entered WWII, the Navy took the ship off the list of active vessels and in 1948 a Canadian steamship company purchased the ship with plans for a sealing vessel but changing economics led to Alfred M. Johnston’s purchase with designs for a commercial museum (woo!) and restaurant near Philadelphia. However, the Bear sank during its final journey by tow to Philadelphia.

The ship’s amazing history can only come alive with the help of those who actively served on her or benefitted from her service. What was it like to see the mighty USS Bear after eating moss? Receiving court justice on the decks? The smells of the herd of rein – wait, never mind on that one. Black was an Antarctic explorer and part of Byrd’s second Antarctic expedition. He eventually purchased Rippon Lodge and came to know the William and Anne Flory, sending them this ballad “with high regard and best wishes”. Take a deep breath (if you are alone) and let Black help bring this ship back to life:                                                                     

If wooden ships have hearts of oak

            And I believe they do

I know of one whose stout heart broke!

The BEAR, an ancient barkentine

             Whose years topped eighty-nine,

Was limping southward, old and green,

             Upon a tow-tug’s line

Her destination? “Shame!”, she cried,

             I’m going to be a pub,

A rest’rant – (Chicken? Stewed or fried?)

             A gin-mill! That’s the rub!”

She lay back on the cable then

             And dreamed of all her past –

Of gales and ice and shouting men,

             Taut canvas in the blast,

The shriek of wind, the sting of sleet,

             The green seas sweeping back,

The clinging seamen with their feet

             Braced on the foot-rope track,

With bellies pressed against the yard,

             Chilled fingers clutching sail,

And elbow movement slowed and hard

             By wind on raincoat’s tail.

She thought of evenings still and bright,

             Locked in Antartic pack, -

Ice-blink ahead, and blue-black night

             Behind her in her track,

When Byrd and English paced her deck

             With anxious eyes ahead,

While Ben Johansen said, “By heck,

             Ve’ll push trow or ve’re dead!”

Then Crusen – (now it’s forty-one) –

             Fought through to Biscoe Isles,

To free the men on Stonington.

             One hundred forty miles

Of ice-locked sea BEAR could not break,

             So in a patched up plane

The East Base men – a chance to take –

             All reached the ship again.

Her thoughts then flew back sixty years

             To Bering Sea Patrol,

Her fights with poachers, British jeers,

             And heavy whale-ship toll,

Her years of aid to Barrow town

             And starving Aleuts,

And murderers at her yard-arm

             A-hanging in their boots.

Now, back to present, and the gale

             Off Nova Scotia’s shore:

The seas run high, the tug men pale,

             “OLD BEAR can’t take much more!”

Old ships have souls, some sailors say,

             And some have died of shame, -

I’ll not contend this, either way,

             And I will place no blame

But tell you just what seamen saw

             Aboard that towing ship;

The BEAR heaved back, began to yaw, -

             Her bow commanded to dip.

Then with a muffled, mighty sigh

             Her seams all opened wide,

And with her colors gaff-tip high

             She plunged beneath the tide!

“West Over Sea,” the Vikings said

             When funeral was planned,

With chieftain lying midships, dead,

             Full armored, sword in hand.

I’ll always feel, as some with voice

             Who worked that ship with me,

That she went down by her own choice –

             The BEAR – West Over Sea!”

Note: Winter lore featuring monsters, the history of holiday traditions, and new ideas for your Holiday 2020 will abound in our “Gingerbread Tales” virtual program held on Saturday, 12/05 @ 10am and Tuesday, 12/08 @ 1pm! Click here for our “you decide” price tickets. Teachers, want us to present this to your class with featured activities? Email for details: info@historicdumfriesva.org

(Sources: HDVI Archival Files: Blackburn, Barkentine Bear; United States Coast Guard Historian’s Office: US Coast Guard Cutter Fact Sheets: Bear, 1885)

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A Love Story During the 1918 Pandemic

By: Lisa Timmerman, Executive Director

 Driving through Dumfries provides a curious mix of 18-20th century buildings depending upon where you look. While you can visit The Weems-Botts Museum (face-to-face and virtually!), you may miss or overlook the rich and unique character of our charming small town in the early 1900s.

According to our oral history records, Myrtle Virginia Rainey met Elvan Fitzhugh Keys at Dumfries United Methodist Church in 1917. Mr. Keys bid two dollars on a boxed lunch prepared by Ms. Rainey, an auction that featured a homemade lunch with the chef! The lunch of fried chicken and cake made with fresh coconut led to a lifelong romance and companionship. Thanks to family records and the Dumfries community willingness to share their stories and letters with HDVI, we can read some of the letters they wrote to each other during the flu pandemic.

Dumfries, Virginia. 02/10/1918, Myrtle Rainey to Elvan Keys:

“Dearest Elvan,

Hope you got back to Quantico all OK last night. But I guessed you was tired and sleepy when you got there. All the school have gone to Quantico to see Billy Sunday they come after me but Mamma and Papa is both sick now and I have so much work to do. Don’t let that old Spanish Influenza keep you away. I am not a bit afraid of it. Hope you can come up Wednesday nite for preaching. I am going to preaching tonight but it is so lonesome without you. Please bring me your picture you come over next time. Mammie Sisson has just looked over my letter for mistakes. If there are any left consider them kisses.

I remain as ever your true friend. PS. Please answer real soon.”

Quantico, Virginia. 02/11/1918, Elvan Keys to Myrtle Rainey:

 “Dearest Myrtle,

I went to the office at noon and got your lovely little letter. I think it was so sweet of you to write me and I was awful glad to get your letter. I was sorry to hear your father is now sick. How is your mother? I got back safely Sunday night but it was a lonely walk with nothing but my ugly shadow to keep me company. I am always lonesome when I leave you. The snow looked like diamonds glittering from the trees. I most know you are skipping all over this letter to see if I am coming up Wednesday night so I might as well tell you now as later on that I will be unable to come. But I would only be able to stay one hour. It takes me so long to walk there and back. I would come if I could stay longer. No I won’t forget the picture.

As ever yours”

By the fall of 1918, the Influenza pandemic noticeably hit Virginia and at least 16,000 Virginians died. Jumping from military bases to cities to small towns caused mass disorder, and health officials advised Americans to wear masks and remain socially distant. Highly contagious with severe symptoms ranging from high fever to aches, many people also caught pneumonia and subsequently died. The Virginia State Board of Health reported that in thirteen months, the virus infected 326,195 people, killing 15,679 of them. Keep in mind that some rural and isolated areas did not file death certificates and many people may have remained ill at home, further spreading the infection in the family. Thanks to the nurses, doctors, and volunteers, Virginia eventually reopened (when they lifted the ban on public gatherings in late October 1918, another surge occurred early in December 1918). Interestingly, people petitioned Governor Westmoreland Davis to allow the selling of more alcohol to pharmacies as officials hoped alcohol could aid in combating the illness. Sadly, this pandemic faded from American memory due to a combo of factors: avoidance from the government whether to directly respond or even acknowledge it, other historically significant events, such as the Depression, WWII, etc.

While we can empathize with the frustration and desire to see our friends and family, we can also open our tablets, phones, and other devices to stay connected with our communities. Instead, Mr. & Mrs. Keys relied on memories, mailed letters, and pictures to not feel so lonely and remind themselves of better times. Mr. & Mrs. Keys survived the pandemic and by all accounts led a very happy life. For their 25th wedding anniversary, Mrs. Keys spared no expense to throw a party. “She was famous in the town for entertaining and she wanted this one to very special. She wanted to celebrate a quarter century of a happy marriage in a big way…One hundred invitations were sent, the cake ordered, the house cleaned from top to bottom, special clothes purchased, menu planned, the silver polished, tables and chairs borrowed, tablecloths bought. The house hummed with activity for two months before the party.” Mrs. Myrtle Keys died in 1969 at the age of 66 and Mr. Elvan Keys in 1977 at the age of 80.

Special thanks to the Keys family, Jeff McGlothlin, and Jeanne Martin for sharing their wonderful stories and reminiscences.

Note: You can help Historic Dumfries Virginia by joining our non-profit organization today! Thanks to all HDVI members that continue to support us and local history. Interested in a virtual presentation on Dumfries? Set your price with a donation ticket to our “An Artful Fellow: Slavery in Dumfries in the 18th Century” presentation – tickets here).

(Sources: HDVI Archival Files; Encyclopedia Virginia: The Influenza Pandemic in Virginia (1918-1919)).

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The “Nefarious Marauder” Hiding in Dumfries!

By: Lisa Timmerman, Executive Director

Ready for a folk ballad involving a local Marine?

“When Morgan first came to this country, 

he came in a four-wheeled carriage. 

He put up at Parson Weem’s house 

and proposed to his daughter in marriage. 

The colonel had a nice gold watch, 

It hung at his right side. 

He gave it to Miss Fanny 

and his bulldog besides. 

Morgan, Morgan move along, you’re movin’ mighty slow. 

Morgan drank buttermilk, and Tansill drank the whey. 

So ride up Col. Morgan, while Tansill gains the day.”

In 1841, William D. Dowell wrote to Mr. William A. Hawley, editor of the newspaper Vermont Telegraph, regarding a reputable man in Dumfries. Dowell wrote, “This man Morgan came to this place last March & put up at a public house kept by a widow woman named Merchant where he remained perhaps two or three weeks & visited about with his fiddle.  He attracted the attention of several gentlemen who made him an associate. He then fell in company with Mr. Weems & his daughters at a meeting.” This fiddler notably liked the title “Captain Morgan” and had a trusty dog at his side – “…he had with him a tremendous dog which always followed him, this dog had a brass collar…” Morgan lodged with Jesse Weems at Somerfield, and Weems served as the administrator of Morgan’s estate when he died in 1840. Dowell noted “…he was what the Virginians sometime say a good looking man yet he looked to me suspicious & seemed restless.” While hindsight often clouds our perceptions, restless might have been an appropriate description of Morgan.

(Source: Vermont Telegraph, Volume XI, No. 21, 02/16/1839. Library of Congress: Chronicling America Historic American Newspapers)

This letter was part of a Chancery Court case regarding the property and money earned from the sale of Morgan’s inventory. While Morgan may have charmed Frances Weems and the residents of Dumfries with his fiddling (apparently Dumfries attracts fiddlers…note to self: look into that), the citizens of Vermont had discovered his duplicitous character. According to a series of letters published in the Vermont Telegraph (02/16/1839 and 02/20/1839), the “dancing master” Morgan married Jane Anson in 10/1835, but left the following year supposedly under “…the pretense of going to the house of Wm. Waltermyer, in the town of Milan…to play the violin, at a ball” and never returned. In 12/1838, Moses Swanzey inquired into the character of a dancing master named James Morgan in New York, “Mr. Morgan has a school at my house of great respectability; and since it has been in operation, some reports concerning his character, (of a damning nature to one of his profession)* have been circulated among us.” The Vermont Telegraph asked other newspapers to “…assist in putting the public generally on guard against a consummate villain – a nefarious marauder – who appears to live only to indulge his barest lusts, rioting on the affections of as many as he can deceive…degrading human nature, and subverting the institution of Heaven, which lie at the foundation of good society on earth.”  In 02/1839, S.K.P. responded to the Vermont Telegraph contradicting their claim that Morgan taught in Highgage.

Enter the Town of Dumfries! By 1840, Morgan had traveled through Dumfries to Richmond with a companion but returned to Dumfries after the death of his fellow traveler. Dowell speculated Dumfries was the perfect location as a “great many persons pass through this place from North & from the South”. Weems apparently liked Morgan enough to lodge him and become involved in the matters of Morgan’s estate when Morgan died in 1840. So where does Robert Tansill fit into this story? Frances Weems, Mason Locke Weems granddaughter (not daughter), married Robert Tansill in 1843. The Marine Corps Officers list from 1790-1900 noted Tansill as a Second Lieutenant on 11/03/1840, becoming a First Lieutenant in 1847, Captain in 1858, Brevet Captain in 1847 with a dismissal in 1861. He was court martialed in Florida in the early 1840s, but we will save his interesting biography for another post. Regardless, whether Tansill actively courted Ms. Weems before Morgan’s death is a fun speculation as this ballad has origins in some source.

(Source: Robert and Frances Tansill, Colorado College: Charles L. Tutt Library Digital CC, Robert Weems Tansill Family)

Lastly, besides for rhyming, why would Tansill’s notable characteristic be drinking whey and not buttermilk? Before the 20th century, buttermilk could be old milk that soured, the sour byproduct of churning sour milk or the byproduct of churning fresh milk. Today, our society embraces whey for supposed health benefits associated with whey proteins. It can be difficult to wade through the numerous articles regarding the modern use of whey, but we can throw back to “Little Miss Muffet” eating her “curds and whey” to see it was not an unfamiliar practice.

Note: There is still one spot left in our Ghost Walks: Return to the Shadows Tour at 7pm! Call and/or email to put your name on a waitlist – we may be able to offer a 9pm tour on some October weekends! Click here for more info about our popular Ghost Walks program – your participation helps support us throughout the year!

(HDVI Archival Records: MacDonald, Rick. Robert Tansill – Local Hero. Speech given to the Dumfries Historical Society, 09/01/1988; Turner, Ronald. James Morgan – Look Out for the Villain. Prince William County Virginia Books, 2004; PWC Clerk’s Loose Papers Volume VII Selected Transcripts 1833-1938, Transcribed by Ronald Turner; Library of Congress & National Humanities: Chronicling America Historic American Newspapers: 02/16/1839, Vermont Telegraph, Volume XI, No. 21 & 02/20/1839 Vermont Telegraph, Volume XI, No. 22; Naval History and Heritage Command: Officers of the Continental and U.S. Navy and Marine Corps 1775-1900; Anderson, L.V. Slate: Food: All Churned Around How Buttermilk Lost its Butter”)

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The Day the Bridge Fell

 By: Lisa Timmerman, Executive Director

On 06/19/1972, Hurricane Agnes (Category 1) made landfall near Panama City, Florida losing strength considerably as it approached Georgia and the Carolinas. However, Agnes intensified into a tropical storm when it encountered an approaching trough over the Atlantic, making final landfall near New York City on 06/22/1972. Due to the widespread flooding, Agnes was, at the time, the most destructive hurricane with approximately 130 casualties and an estimated $2.1 billion in twelve states.

(Extra Edition of The Potomac News, 06/26/1972)

The intensification dealt a major blow to Virginia, especially Prince William County and Washington, D.C. Chantilly reported about 16 inches of rain with 8.16 inches measured at Reagan National Airport. The downpours and subsequent flooding prompted evacuation orders and dramatic rescues. Flooding devasted transportation networks as the following roads closed: Route 1 near Storybook Land, Route 123 as the Occoquan bridge literally washed away, Route 20-211 at Bull Run Bridge and Route 28 at Yorkshire. Damage ranged from washed out roads to actual barges smashing against piers and support structures. The residents of Occoquan were especially puzzled over the location of the 94-year-old Occoquan Bridge. Originally constructed in 1878, the one-lane iron bridge spanning across the Occoquan River had recently battle against condemnation as the Highway Department considered replacing the bridge but temporarily decided against the change as residents protested, one person recalling that “he looked forward to the momentary respite of reaching the bridge, waiting for his turn, and then rattling leisurely through its spiderweb funnel of iron bars and beams, the day’s worries forgotten.” As worried residents and officials watched, the bridge endured hours of the force of the river until “in one brief moment, she caved in” and disappeared, people speculating it wrapped around the I-95 supports while others believed it broke into hundreds of small fragments.

County officials and Marines surveyed the damage from Marine Corps helicopters noting extensive damage to Manassas Airport, the Greater Manassas Sanitary District plant, Manassas Park Plant, boats tied in the Occoquan, and over a hundred homes. Marines were able to make successful rescues throughout Manassas and surrounding regions. Following the immediate flooding, officials soon turned to other possible crises and PWC Health Department offered immunization clinics for free tetanus and typhoid vaccines as rescuers desperately needed protection to continue working in the dangerous waters. 3,000 people took advantage of this offer. Questions about structural integrity, water quality and safety, and utilities all quickly became top priority as thousands of evacuees looked to return to their homes to survey the damage and start the process of restoring their communities.

(Source: NOAA: Natural Disaster Survey Report 73-1: Final Report of the Disaster Survey Team on the Events of Agnes)

An amazing network of support poured forth into Occoquan as businesses vowed “to show the world that Occoquan lives” as the Scouts, residents of Lake Ridge, the Occoquan-Woodbridge-Lorton (OWL) Volunteer Fire and Rescue Squad, and the Veterans of Foreign War Post 7916 all contributed to the recovery and relief, through medical aid, food, and emotional support. ACTS, and soldiers from Quantico Marine Corps Base, Fort Belvoir and Vint Hill Farm immediately assisted as people sought shelter, medical aid, and looked for those reported missing. By the end of July, Agnes had contributed more headaches and turmoil, as a 700-foot section of the U.S. Route 1 northbound bridge over the Occoquan River fell when the pre-Civil War piers failed.

(Road Closed in Occoquan: Bridge on Rt. 123, Photo No. 72-1252, Virginia Governor's Negative Collection, Library of Virginia)

The World Meteorological Organization officially retired the name “Agnes” in 1973 due to this Category 1’s destructive impacts. Naming tropical cyclones and hurricanes have obvious advantages – easier to remember, a way to distinguish between two or more storms, and overall, less confusion. In 1953, the United States switched to naming storms by the phonetic alphabet, but solely used women’s names until 1978. Prince William County continues to remain strong and united even as we continue to face surreal emergencies and disasters.

Special Note: Are you enjoying our weekly blogs? We have many new digital and socially distant programs planned for July and August! To check out our three tours, including a restoration tour, click here. For memberships, which range from $10-30, click here. 

(Sources: National Weather Service: Flood of June 1972 – Hurricane Agnes; Hurricanes: Science and Society: Storms in the 1970s via University of Rhode Island, National Science Foundation; WTOP News: 45 Years Ago, Hurricane Agnes, 06/19/2017; National Hurricane Center and Central Pacific Hurricane Center: Tropical Cyclone Naming History and Retired Names; “Four Major Roadways are still Closed This Morning” The Journal Messenger, Manassas, Va, 06/23/1972;“Occoquan Begins Tremendous Task of Restoration” by Ann Holiday and Kevin Murphy, The Journal Messenger, Manassas, Va, 06/26/1972; “About 3,000 Received Weekend Tetanus Shots” The Journal Messenger, Manassas, Va, 06/26/1972; “Opinion Page: Thanks All Around”, “Flood Havoc”, Extra Edition of The Potomac News, 06/26/1972; “U.S. Route 1 Bridge Completely Collapses” The Journal Messenger, Manassas,  07/21/1972)

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The Town That Cannot Grow

By: Lisa Timmerman, Executive Director

Marine Corps Base Quantico origins are heroic – the Commandant of the Marine Corps, Major General George Barnett, searched for suitable land to train Marines on the East Coast to fight in the “Great War”! The little town of Quantico happened to already exist and was undergoing a small rejuvenation. In the early 1900s, Quantico Company attempted to revitalize the region advertising the town of Quantico as a tourist attraction with refreshments, beaches on the Potomac, and a dance pavilion! This hip spot caught the eye of our military. The Marine Corps purchased the land bordering the small town and today, the town remains the only town within a military installation, nicknamed the “town that cannot grow”.

The Town of Quantico originally thrived on the railroad industry, lumber, mining and fishing, but adapted to their new neighbors by offering services to the Marine Corps as the small town’s businesses focused on meeting the needs of the military community and the town’s inhabitants. While the town shares some services with the actual base, such as the Quantico fire department, it also has its own resources, such as the police force.

(HDVI Archives: Quantico Shipyards, WWI )

One resident recalled his life growing up in the town, “when the only paved streets in the town were Potomac Avenue and the Street at the end of Potomac Avenue that went to what we called the shipyard. All other streets and roads, out side of the Marine Camp, were red clay and in the rainy season they had ruts so deep that only the strongest of mules could pull a wagon through the mud.” The 1930’s booming businesses (including the First National Bank, the Potomac Inn, Polaris Inn, and the Flats) included legal and illegal ventures, such as how the supposed “bootleggers fronted as fishermen, lived on and sold their shine from their so called house boats which were moored at the store the creek” [Quantico Creek, east of the railroad bridge]. If you were not busy hiding your moonshine amongst the lily pads of Quantico Creek, your legitimate fishing business provided meals of herring to the residents, fresh and fried in lard. Quantico incorporated in 10/1927 and chartered in 1934, agreeing to “…do all things whatsoever necessary or expedient, and lawful to be done, for promoting or maintaining the general welfare, comfort, education, morals, peace…” and also “To prohibit and punish minors frequenting, playing in, or loitering in any public poolroom, billiard parlor or tenpin alley…”, revising their charter in 1973, 1999, and 2017. The town modernized with running water, sewage, and electricity, all improving the quality of the town, although it also meant drastic changes to the inhabitants’ lifestyles. Eventually, the men rebuilt the wooden barracks with brick, and the military base began requiring identification. Reportedly the marines held a weekly Dress Parade and Review on the parade ground and Major General Smedley D. Butler (“Old Gimlet Eye”) became Commanding General of the Marine Barracks after receiving two Medals of Honor, the Army Distinguished Service Medal, the Navy Distinguished Service Medal, and the French Order of the Black Star. One resident remembered black soldiers from Fort Belvoir (Camp A.A. Humphreys from 1917-1935) seeking relaxation in Quantico, “The town roared that night…I really enjoyed watching the dancing and jigging in the streets.” Black soldiers remained segregated during and after WWI.

(HDVI Archives: Quantico Postcard)

As the military base modernized and expanded, land disputes arose, such as in 1942 in the case, “The United States of America vs. 50,000 Acres of Land in Prince William, Stafford, and Fauquier” with the Marine Corps seizing a 50,000 acre of tract, which contained a reported 300 dwellings, 12 stores, 7 churches, 8 formal graveyards, 4 schools, 3 filling station, and 1 restaurant. Population impacted ranged from disadvantaged farmers and wealthy landowners tracing their ownership or habitation back to the Civil War to immigrant communities. This and other land claim and use cases occurred as the military increased wartime effort operations.

Over the years, the “town that cannot grow” received visits from Presidents, such as Theodore Roosevelt and Harry Truman. While the Town might not welcome you with a presidential parade, they will welcome you to tour, visit the shops, and safely mingle with the people that live in our neat and eclectic region.

Note: Have a request for a weekly blog topic or want to conduct your own research? Contact us today so that we can help you reconnect with local & regional history online or in our Research Library. Please consider supporting us through this pandemic – whether by purchasing our extremely low-cost memberships (ranging from $10-30) or with a donation.

(Sources: HDVI Archival Files: Quantico; MCINCR – Marine Corps Base Quantico: The Town within an Installation by Jeremy Beale; LIS: Virginia Law: Charters: Quantico, Town of; Mead, Eileen, The Free-Lance Star, “This Old Town”, 07/15/2000; Smith, Gibson. Quantico and Her Neighbors: Controversies over Land Use, 1933-46; Marine Corps University: Major General Smedley D. Butler)

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The Not-So-Secret Secret Society of Dumfries

By: Lisa Timmerman, Executive Director

Visitors often ask about the origin of our town’s name noting it seems odd until we discuss our connections to Scotland. However, the name of the town was not the only odd feature of our community – the Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF) instituted a Grand Lodge on 02/22/1901, membership attracting people throughout NOVA and from Quantico. So, what is an odd fellow?

(Source: Potomac Local News,  09/01/1971)

The American Independent Order of Odd Fellows trace their origins to the Seven Stars Tavern in Baltimore and credit Thomas Wildey and his affiliation with the Independent Order of Oddfellows Manchester Unity. These early unincorporated lodges generally modeled the European Grand United Order of Odd Fellows, but never incorporated, objecting to black member chapters. Peter Ogden secured membership with the English Grand United Order of Odd Fellows and promoted affiliation with them as the English welcomed men of any color. The official affiliated group opened the Philomathean Lodge and eventually the Hamilton Lodge in New York as membership grew and the Order expanded. In Virginia, Alexandria hosted the Odd Fellows Hall built by George Seaton, funding provided partly through the Freedman’s Bureau, providing a place for community and social events, particularly crucial during the Jim Crow era. While the official organization continued to affiliate with their international family, the American Independent Order also expanded although membership declined during the Civil War. Industrialization and the need for social and worker reforms revived the order and by the 1930s, you could find a lodge in every state. We should note that the IOOF formed a branch known as the “Daughters of Rebekah”, which evolved to “The Rebekahs”, originally for females only, founded in September 1851. The Grand United Order of Odd Fellows established the “Household of Ruth” – a separate organization for women, forming around 1857.

The current purpose of the organization is to “visit the sick, relieve the distressed, bury the dead, and educate the orphan,” with a mission to “improve and elevate the character of mankind.” In order to do this, the organization committed itself to promoting principles such as friendship and truth, aiding each other and those less fortunate in their communities, and promoting “good will and harmony through principle of universal fraternity, all men and women regardless of race, nationality, religion, social order, gender, rank, and station are brothers and sisters”. The name’s origins are still unclear. Two theories noted by the IOOF reflect the character and jobs of the members. Was it odd to be so dedicated to assisting the community in the 1700s? Or perhaps the early members worked many “odd jobs”? We will not even attempt to answer this question as it would mean determining everything from societal perceptions to expressions (example: when did the phrase “odd jobs” even become a thing and does it mean something different today?)

(Source: Potomac Local News,  09/01/1971)

Based on interviews with Dumfries Lodge Members, such as James Williams, the Dumfries order sponsored square dances and dinners with proceeds supporting orphanages and elderly assisted living facilities. Williams noted, “Today [1971] if someone is sick or injured he is taken by the rescue squad to the hospital, but in the old days the nearest doctor was in Occoquan and someone had to ride a horse there to get him. Members would take turns staying up throughout the night with the sick and doing chores for him. Sometimes they would get together and cut the corn or do the haying for him.”

The original R.E. Lee Lodge burned in the 1927 Dumfries blaze (spoilers if you have not read that blog…), but the members, including many marines, decided to rebuild. In 1990, William F. Keys, one of the three original Odd Fellows still alive stated, “…so when the building was layed off the ground was found to be of pretty nice white sand and as there was no back hoes and heavy equipment picks shovels and wheel barrows were put to use and Will Gallahan was hired to make the cement blocks from the sand out of the basement…all of the cement blocks were made on the lot”. He recalled the building’s need for a sewer line and septic field, with members purchasing the cement blocks for $1.00 to help raise funds. He concluded, “Another way of raising money was by Square Dances but that put such a strain on the building by the swaying of the dancers that it had to be stopped and a wooden floor laid in the basement and a second entrance and exit made to the basement…”

In August of 1990, HDVI and the Town of Dumfries contacted the Virginia Department of Historic Resources regarding placing the Dumfries Odd Fellows Lodge Hall Building on the National and Virginia Register. While ultimately the initiative failed, this unique and eclectic building remains standing in Dumfries on Main Street. One almost wonders if you could still hear pounding feet and laughter as the wooden floor and walls are witness to a very odd time in Dumfries history.

Special Note: Would you like your story about Dumfries and/or PWC country to be archived by Historic Dumfries Virginia? Contact us today to discuss digital interviews! Please consider supporting us through this pandemic – whether by purchasing our extremely low-cost memberships ranging from $10-30 (click here) or a donation (here).

(Sources: AfroVirginia Virginia Humanities: Odd Fellows Hall; Barga, Michael, “Grand United Order of Odd Fellows in America (1843-Present), VCU Libraries: Social Welfare History Project;; HDVI Archival File Folder: Interview with William F. Keys, Preliminary Information Request with the Department of Historic Resources; Independent Order of Odd Fellows: The Sovereign Grand Lodge; Mead, Eileen. “Over 50 Years of ‘Friendship, love and truth’ Potomac News, 09/01/1971)

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“Dear Little Union, A Church Beside a Winding Road”

By: Lisa Timmerman, Executive Director

 “I used to be part of the Gospel Chorus, until my voice left me, and then I couldn’t sing; but I used to be a part of that. They had Deacons and Deaconess, ushers and I think that was all we had at the old church.” The old church referred to in this interview with an unidentified black woman in her 80s is Little Baptist Union Church, a remarkable community church that the Town of Dumfries annually honors at their Black History Month Celebration.

Every origin story for the church starts with Mary Bates Thomas, the acknowledged matriarch of the Cabin Branch Community. In 1984, Dewitt Bates recalled his family’s history during an interview with Tom Nelson from the Prince William County Historical Commission. Mr. Bates noted that his family lived on and later owned the land, “My grandmother…I mean my Aunt Mary Bates…she was Bates too…and, they give her this land. And while she was working for these people, the children give her education.” According to Little Baptist Union Church, those (presumably) same children provided religion instruction, although she thoroughly identified her strong faith from the camp meetings held by the other enslaved persons on the property. She married John Thomas from an adjoining property by 1860, census records indicating she lived close to her mother. Mr. and Mrs. Thomas became stalwart members of the free black community that encompassed Cabin Branch, later known as Batestown. The Thomas’s farmed and operated a general store that fostered connections, communication, and strength as the community continued to expand and face challenges extending from Reconstruction and rampant racial inequality and discrimination. In the early 1900s, people traveled to Neabsco Baptist Church in Woodbridge or Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Quantico, neither convenient nor easy for the community. On 09/01/1901, John Thomas, Mary Thomas, deeded a portion of their land to Daniel Reid, Buck Griffin, and Tazwell Bates for exclusive use of New School Baptist Church. The church opened in 1903 with the name Little Union Baptist Church, and its members actively supported the new pastors and maintenance of the small sanctuary themselves.

(Little Union Baptist Church, 1903. Little Union Baptist Church Anniversary Book, 1992, “Eighty Nine Years Living with the Spirit of the Lord”)

According to the same woman quoted from earlier, “…that was the old church, it didn’t have a heater or a stove, there was an outside toilet and everything, when I joined.” Besides for starting the fires to warm the building, the deacons also kept an eye out for snakes in the building. One black woman in her 50s, remembered, “The town drunk was always on the side of the road. And instead of being on the side of the road, he decided to come to church. He was converted. He prayed that the Lord would help him to put his daughter through school…He got a job with the government and the year after she graduated he lost his job. People couldn’t believe he even had a job.”

The churches in the area celebrated together, church members recalling homecoming and revivals taking place at the different local churches in August and September, gathering at Little Union on the 3rd Sunday in September, “Homecoming is like when people have moved away, they would all come back and everybody would bring dinner so they could eat.” Revivals followed to “fire up everyone”. “Years ago at Homecoming at Dumfries and Little Union, you would know just as sure as Sunday was coming that there was going to be a fight before the day was gone…Yes sir. They’d go to start to fight like you don’t know what. And the wives and women would be crying and hollering and separated them. They’d be fighting like they going to be killing somebody…Just the devil in them, I reckon”. Besides for the collected oral histories, photographs show members enjoying church picnics in Merchant Park, an active chorus, and all day Sunday services. While records indicate a fire destroyed the information from the very early years, Rev. Horace Crutcher, Rev. Henry Jackson, Rev. Anthony Lane, Rev. William Stokes, Rev. Peter Carter, Rev. A.A. Booker, Rev. W. Ervin Green, Rev. Leonard Lacey, Rev. James R. Green and Rev. Michael L. Sessoms (current pastor) all served as pastors for the church. In 1997, the church rebuilt and completed a new church near the original church site in 1996.

(Photographs from church picnic @ Merchant Park. Little Union Baptist Church Anniversary Book, 1992, “Eighty Nine Years Living with the Spirit of the Lord”)

The Town of Dumfries annually celebrates at this iconic church and while the celebration is virtual this year, the Little Union Baptist Church Family no doubt contributed to the event. Whether remembering past leaders and supporters or helping inspire future ones, this church continues to grow and acknowledge the outstanding matriarch and instrumental founder, Mary Bates Thomas.

Title Quote from: Deaconess Helen M. Thomas and Bro. Willie G. Thomas, Jr., beginning of a poem congratulating the church for 91 years. The oral histories captured by Prince William County did not record names.

Note: Join the Town of Dumfries on Saturday, 02/20, 11:00am for their virtual Black History Month celebration on their YouTube page. Prince William County recently revised and relaunched the African American History Trail including the Dumfries Cemetery, click here for more info! Click here for more program info about Historic Dumfries & The Weems-Botts Museum.

(Sources: Bates, Julia. Bates Davis Family Tree, 1985; The Dewitt Bates Oral History: Recollections of Batestown, Prince William County Historical Commission, 1984; Payne-Jackson, Arvilla and Sue Ann Taylor, Prince William Forest Park: The African American Experience, National Park Service National Capital Area, 06/2000; HDVI Archival Files: Little Union Baptist Church Anniversary Book, 1992, “Eighty Nine Years Living with the Spirit of the Lord”, Little Union Baptist Church 91st Anniversary Book, 1994, “We’ve Come This Far by Faith”; Little Baptist Union Church website, https://little-union.org/)

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Rest in Pieces: The Messages Left in Exploding Glass Bottles

By: Lisa Timmerman, Executive Director

The Weems-Botts Museum has a cool collection of glass bottles. Charter members and gracious supporters Gary and Nancy West recently donated a bottle marked “Triangle Quantico Bottling Works” with a triangle in the middle and “Registered” on the bottom. Mr. West recalled that Dumfries residents tossed the bottles underneath The Weems-Botts Museum’s kitchen among other objects. Besides for these bottles once containing root beer, ginger ale, and other sodas (aka pop!), does the bottle contain any messages?

(Triangle, Virginia. Prince William County’s Historic Preservation Division dates this photo to the 1930s)

Early Americans enjoyed similar tastes but in different forms and for different purposes. Containing anywhere from 2-12% alcohol, small beers were popular and appealed to a wide variety of consumers. By the 19th century, pharmacists experimented with different herbs, berries, and barks in hopes of delivering marketable remedies for common ailments. Notably, Charles Hires developed a recipe (he did not “invent” root beer), he sold as “Hires Root Tea” named for the sassafras root. By the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition in 1876, he changed the named to “beer” hoping to make the beverage more appealable to the middle class but also emphasized it as an alternative to alcohol to appeal to followers of the Temperance movement. Now offered as a liquid concentrate, he even sold root beer kits for people at home to enjoy. Although advertised and promoted as a healthier drink containing no alcohol, carbonated soda does contain very trace amounts of alcohol, and sassafras root had to be replaced with an artificial flavoring in 1960 after the FDA determined safrole, contained in the oil of sassafras root, was a carcinogen. It can be safely removed, some companies use safrole-free sassafras extract, and as of 2021, health concerns focus on the sugar.

Back to our bottle collection. According to our records, George C. Oleyar operated the wholesale bottling company at the corner of Amidon and Post Street in Triangle, Virginia in the 1920s (possibly from 1920-1929). Old Dominion Glassworks in Alexandria manufactured the bottles and Triangle Bottling bottled the beverages on site and marketed them in Prince William and Stafford county along with the City of Fredericksburg. Old Dominion Glassworks represented one of four glassworks in Alexandria and the company employed black and white men, women, and children. Photographs from the early 1900s exposed child labor violations leading to fines. Equipment failures, a decline in business due to Prohibition, and frequent fires led to the company’s closure in 1925. The Weems-Botts Museum records indicate the bottles also exploded. While both of ours are intact, I have never experimented with carbonation or fermentation…

(Triangle Quantico Bottling Works Glass bottle, donated by Charter Members Gary and Nancy West)

The people throwing the bottles did not leave us written messages. Did they toss them or just drop them when visiting the Merchants or their boarders? Or did people toss them during the transitory period from personal home to museum? Did any of the Merchants like root beer? What other hidden gems can we discover from people’s casual attitudes towards trash and recycling? It is neat to consider how one glass bottle traveled across our local region and emerged once again, rescued as a reminder of local history, labor, and soda (aka pop!).

Note: We are celebrating Black History Month at our Children’s Day at the Museum Sponsored by Walmart program by discussing and reading African American folktales! Click here for your free tickets to this monthly program!

(Sources: HDVI Archival Files: Oleyar; Today I Found Out: Feed Your Brain: Upton, Emily. Why Root Beer is Called That, 07/16/2013; Virginia Humanities, “Old Dominion Glass Company,” AfroVirginia, accessed February 3, 2021, http://places.afrovirginia.org/items/show/319.; The Connection to your Community. Bah, Char McCargo. The Oher Alexandria: Working in the City’s Glass Factories, 02/2019; Office of Historic Alexandria: Alexandria Times: Out of the Attic: Old Dominion Glass Company, 06/2010)

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The Secret Scandal Behind a Seemingly Innocent Object

By: Lisa Timmerman, Executive Director

One of the most enduring and delicious patriotic folktales appeared in Mason Locke Weems famed A History of the Life and Death, Virtues and Exploits of General George Washington when Weems claimed George Washington “…barked so terribly” a cherry tree. We can use this as an outstanding educational tool – from discussing the historical accuracy to examining why the story captured the public then and now. Facing some ridicule related to the tale in the early 1990s, our staff decided to bravely throwdown at Mount Vernon’s Cherry Pie contest presenting a pie based on that classic folktale and stole the show!

(Smith, Leland. The Man Who Planted the Cherry Tree. Monticello, AR: Cherry Tree Publishing, 1974)

On 02/13/1991, HDVI staff Jeannie Hochmuth and Ann Hoagland arrived at the contest to help advertise the museum with fun and light-hearted publicity. Mount Vernon’s Cherry Pie contest brought museums together from different regions of the state as Mount Vernon invited organizations with an association to George Washington to compete in different categories from appearance to taste. The pies had to have a theme, a story and connection to their historical site. Ms. Hochmuth and Ms. Hoagland warily accepted this invitation, taking three hours to “create” the pie and working into the night to finish the display. Ms. Hochmuth stated at the time of the contest, “We’re very intimidated by all this – we almost didn’t come…We’re just a little museum and we didn’t want to come up here and get embarrassed.” The Weems-Botts Museum entered their pie among 30+ other entries and immediately felt disheartened when George Washington, interpreted by William Sommerville, officially commenced the contest noting, “…ladies and gentlemen, I did not cut down the cherry tree.” After all, our contestants themed the pie around Grant Wood’s famous painting, Parsons Weems’ Fable, prominently featuring that very cherry folktale.

(Dean, Eddie. Dumfries Museum Axes Competition in Pie Contest, 02/1991 with Photographs by Robert J. Stewart)

Former President of HDVI, Al Hochmuth, recounted the dramatic events in HDVI’s newsletter by noting how, “…our two intrepid warriors invaded the hallowed grounds of Mount Vernon”, also invoking the biblical tale of David and Goliath. “But when it got down to the judges our entry won 1st place for historic sites, best in show and best tasting. Little does anyone know it was the first cherry pie Jeanne ever baked…At the awards presentation Jeanne remarked that we were the Rodney Dangerfield of museums, we get no respect, but after all, whether the story is true or not, it was the only reason the contest was held.”

Dumfries walked away with their heads held high and, according to our collection records, a 1980s replica bust of George Washington attributed to the “life mask” and sculpture by Jean-Antoine Houdon. When you walk into our Victorian Parlor, you might assume it is another object to remind visitors of the connection to Washington. Instead imagine the smile our “two brave warriors” must have had displaying the replica sculpture they earned from baking an edible version of one of the lasting, and frankly delicious, legacies of George Washington.

Note: February 2020 features opportunities to enjoy African American folktales, classic foundational horror, and love stories from our archives! You can find free tickets to our Children’s Day program here and the The Weems-Botts Bibliophiles: Historical Horror here. Your support continues to fuel our efforts to provide unique and safe ways to enjoy our local history!

(Replica Bust of George Washington, Attributed to Jean-Antoine Houdon. Collection Records indicate this is the prize Jeanne Hochmuth received upon winning 1st place. Inscription on back: “This is a mathematical reduction of the original life mask bust of Washington modeled at Mt. Vernon in 1785 by Jean Antoine Houdon”)

(Sources: HDVI Archival Files: Hochmuth, Al. Historic Dumfries Virginia Newsletter, 02/20/1991; The Potomac News Lifestyle: Dean, Eddie. Dumfries Museum Axes Competition in Pie Contest, 02/1991 with Photographs by Robert J. Stewart; Weems, Mason Locke. A History of the Life and Death, Virtues and Exploits of General George Washington. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott Co., 1918;  George Washington’s Mount Vernon Online, Washington in Art: The Life Mask of George Washington)

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When Dumfries Declared War on Swine

By: Lisa Timmerman, Executive Director

Our state has the delightful campaign “Virginia is for Lovers”, which can highlight our love for history (woo!) or…ham! Grab a slice of ham, horseradish mustard, and a biscuit, and visit Dumfries in the 1700s when officials clarified the rules for swine in the streets.

Pigs were both a boon and bane to early Virginia inhabitants. Quick to reproduce, these hardy survivors had a great ability to adapt and thrive and this success led to delicious, labor-efficient source of meat. Their ability to wreak havoc would be a major source of contention as well. The Town of Dumfries recognized the potential consequences of letting pigs roam freely in the streets.

“And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, that from and after the first day of March next ensuing it shall not be lawful for any person or persons inhabiting within the said Town to raise or keep any Swine within the limits thereof…and if any Swine so raised and kept shall be found going or running at large within the Limits of the said Town it shall and may be lawful for any Person whatsoever to kill and destroy the same; Provided nevertheless that such person shall not convert any Swine so killed to his or her own use, but shall leave the same in the place where it shall be so killed, and give immediate notice, to the Owner thereof if known, and if not then to the next Justice of the Peace, who may order the same to the use of any poor person he shall think fit; provided also that nothing in this act contained shall be construed to hinder any person from driving Swine to or through the said Town or the Limits thereof, in order to sell or kill the same, or in their removal from one plantation to another”.

The Town permitted people to drive their herds through the Town but killing and claiming the pig for your own reason was clearly unacceptable. Notably, the corpse could only be claimed by the owner or Justice of the Peace – he would then be responsible for giving it “to the use of any poor person he shall think fit”.

(In the 1920s, F.R. Saunders proudly advertised “Nice Crisp Bacon For Snappy Mornings” at his Manassas Sanitary Meat Market, offering deliveries on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. The Prince William News, vol. XII, No. 50, 11/24/1921)

By the time the Town organized and formally chartered, people were already thoroughly enjoying ham as part of their menus. Virginia ham became a staple and early Virginians fed their pigs peaches and Virginia peanuts before slaughtering them, curing the meats with salt and saltpeter, smoking it hanging over a fire, and then letting it set for six months – hopefully making sure to scrape the layer of mold off before consumption. Questioning what happens if you never consume it? The Isle of Wight County Museum hosts the world’s oldest ham (and world’s oldest peanut)! If you are unable to visit Smithfield, Virginia, you can check out the museum’s website featuring a “ham cam” along with their active social media.

Craving ham now? In 1866, Malinda Russell published A Domestic Cook Book, noted as the oldest cookbook written by an African-American woman. She introduced the cookbook with an autobiography of her incredible life, writing about her life in Virginia, “At the age of nineteen, I set out for Liberia; but being robbed by some member of the party with whom I was traveling, I was obliged to stop in Lynchburg, Virginia, where I commenced cooking…” She later wrote, “I have made Cooking my employment for the last twenty years, in the first families of Tennessee (my native place,), Virginia, North Carolina, and Kentucky”, southern cuisine heavily influencing her recipes. She styled her book after Mrs. Mary Randolph’s “The Virginia Housewife” (1824), and Mrs. Russell credited Fanny Steward for teaching her “many new things in the art of Cooking”. Side-note: Although we are looking for ham recipes, her Sweet Potato Baked Pudding sounds extraordinary! Perhaps Mrs. Russell’s recipe for a Ham Omelet will satiate your craving, “Fry the ham about two minutes into a little hot fat, beat the eggs, season with salt and pepper; mix a little flour and water into a batter, and stir into eggs; turn this over the ham, and turn quickly.”

Whether you are crafting Virginia ham biscuits or planning a trip to one of Dumfries many BBQ stands and restaurants, Dumfries has consistently recognized the important role of swine in town maintenance and culture.

Note: Our “Help Us Tell Your Story” campaign is in full gear! You can help us in so many ways by purchasing a gift membership (recipients will receive a special card and greeting), donating directly, or purchasing a donation ticket to our “Gingerbread Tales” program. Each donation will include a free link to this holiday and winter folklore themed virtual presentation!

(Sources: HDVI Archival Files: Henings Statutes – Enlargement of the Town of Dumfries, Dumfries Town Charter citing  Harrison, Fairfax. Landmarks of Old Prince William: A Study of Origins in Northern Virginia in Two Volumes. Richmond: The Old Dominion Press, 1924; NPR WAMU: Lefrak, Mikaela. Virginia is for (Ham) Lovers: How Ham Became a Symbol of the Commonwealth, November 2019; Turner, Ronald. Manassas Virginia 1805-1955: Businesses; Isle of Wight County Museum; Smithsonian Magazine: Smart News. Eschner, Kat. These were the First Cookbooks Published by Black People in America” 10/2017; Russell, Malinda. A Domestic Cook Book: Containing a Careful Selection of Useful Recipes for the Kitchen. Paw Paw: 1866, accessed online via the HathiTrust Digital Library)

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All Tricks and No Treats: Mischievous Imps on the Prowl in Manassas

By: Lisa Timmerman, Executive Director

“Black cats peeping from the dark;

             Scat! Meow!

Each eye gleaming like a spark;

             Biff! Wow!

Owl a-hooting in the lane,

Tick-tack on the window pane –

Is the universe insane?

S-a-h-h! S-a-h-h!

It’s Halloween!”

(Source: The Manassas Journal, Friday, 11/05/1920)

While children in Dumfries managed to stop traffic in Northern Virginia with their Halloween mischief, Manassas had its’ fair shares of woes. Notably in October 1910 and October 1911, “Halloween Imps” took it upon themselves to transform the actual town – from destroying property to decorating the streets with merchant’s wares, Manassas was the scene of some serious Halloween scandal.

Trick-or-treating blends different cultural traditions stemming from the Middle Ages when children and adults used Halloween as a chance to earn money and/or food in exchange for songs and prayers. People baked “soul cakes”, small little round sweet cakes with a cross on top representing a soul released from Purgatory once consumed. One popular song associated with souling goes as follows: “A soul! A soul! A soul-cake! Please good Misses, a soul-cake! An apple, a pear, a plum, or cherry, Any good thing to make us all merry. One for Peter, two for Paul. Three for him who made us all.” This evolved to “guising” in Britain in the 19th century as children started to tell jokes, play an instrument, and offer performances for money and/or food. Scottish and Irish immigrants brought the various traditions with them, and by the end of the 19th century, American towns experienced different levels of tricks – from tying opposite apartment doorknobs together to 200 boys attacking people with bags of flour in streetcars in Washington, D.C. 1894.

(Halloween Postcard, Published by Raphael Tuck & Sons, Series 150. Postmarked 31 October 1908. Source: Huron County Museum & Historic Gaol)

While the Manassas and Prince William County newspapers do not report biological attacks with gluten, they do illustrate the damage determined children can do to property. “Down in the business district, doors of shops were barricaded with all manner of heavy commodities that were tributes to the muscular strength of the merrymakers.” Children allegedly coated businesses with paint and signs, and managed to move a bandstand. “The bandstand that has occupied a conspicuous position in the landscape at the corner of Center and Main streets is no more. It transferred its location to the middle of the street during the night, refused to be moved back, and was torn to pieces, after impeding traffic by its obstinacy.” The following year, the children once again “ruled with a reign of topsy-turvy in the old town”, the author noting, “Wraiths and witches, some of them angelic, were abroad when shades of night fell, vanishing on the stroke of midnight when imps of his Satanic majesty held sway.” This time, people found the antic more annoying than destructive, although they still removed and exchanges gates from different houses, and decorated storefronts with merchandise scattered in the street. The author ended the piece noting a little scrying, “Sentimental maidens gazing into mirrors saw visions of their future husbands.”

(Center Street, Manassas, Va, 1915-1916, Manassas Museum)

The holiday transformed as people moved from more rural landscapes to urban cities and WWI and WWII affected available foods and mindsets. While the early 1900 newspapers might have joked about the children soaping the windows (a practice reportedly done in Dumfries), editors lamented the waste of resources and time during WWII. Although President Harry Truman attempted to curtail and change the holiday by introducing “Youth Honor Day” in 1950 (you can see how successful that was), society cleverly started advertising “trick or treat” in magazines, newspapers, and even movies starting in the late 1930s building momentum into the 1950s.

So what would you have bribed children with the in the early 1900s? The Wunderle Candy Company created candy corn in 1880 and you could have also shopped for tootsie rolls, Juicy Fruit Chewing Gum, and Candy Floss. Hershey’s Milk Chocolate bars and kisses, NECCO wafers, and Chiclets all appeared in the very early 1900s.

Note: Ready to put away Halloween and turn your attention to holiday baking? Join us for a free virtual November Member cookie swap on Saturday, 11/07 @ 10am! Meet with us virtually to share and discover new recipes, along with recipes dating from the 18th and 19th century! Click here for free tickets.

(Sources: The Manassas Journal, Reign of Topsy-Turvy in the Old Town By Mischievous Imps of Halloween, 11/03/1910; The Manassas Democrat, Hallowe;en Imps in Merry Mischief: Wild Reign of Topsy-Turvey, 11/02/1911; Hiskey, Daven. Today I Found Out Feed Your Brain: How the Tradition of Trick or Treating Got Started, 10/17/2012; Bannatyne, Lesley. When Halloween was All Tricks and No Treats, Smithsonian Online Magazine, 10/27/2017; Candy Favorites: Retro Candy Timeline)

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Traveling to Brentsville to Solve a Crime

By: Lisa Timmerman, Executive Director

“…and it is said that she sang hymns all the way…”

While reading through the WPA’s report on the Town of Dumfries and Prince William County (PWC), I kept finding references to ghost stories – tales of sorrow, murder, and the ghosts of the enslaved. While ghost stories can be very ambiguous and hard to research (example: mentioning that voices are heard singing when no one is around…which leads to the question if no one is around, how do you hear – getting sidetracked, sorry!), the case of the Commonwealth vs. Agnes actually has court records, newspaper articles, and folklore. But they do not agree.

(Source: 1820 John Wood Map, Historic Prince William: Northern VA Maps)

In 1850, the Commonwealth of Virginia vs. Agnes found her guilty of murdering the person who enslaved her, Gerard Mason. While all sources agree the courts found her guilty of murdering Mason with an axe, the why changes depending upon your source. Ready?

The Commonwealth argued that Mason ordered her to be whipped weeks prior to the murder. She allegedly stated she would kill anyone attempting to physically abuse her again. (Research conducted by Ron Turner based on court transcripts, pardon requests, and records from the Coroner’s inquest).

Agnes stated Mason ordered her to bring an axe to him and got angry with her for not having “ground it”. He potentially tried to rape her (at the very least sexually harassed), and when that failed, threatened to shoot her with his gun. Agnes took the gun away from him and struck him with the axe and…didn’t stop. (Research conducted by Ron Turner based on court transcripts, pardon requests, and records from the Coroner’s inquest)

The Baltimore Sun reported (10/21/1849), “…It appears Mr. M. had been from home, and returned under the influence of liquor. He became offended with something the woman had done, and threatened to kill her with an axe; she warded off the blow, and wresting the axe from him, struck the blow that killed him. The poor negro made no effort to escape”.

The Alexandria Gazette reported (01/10/1850), “We learn from one who witnessed the trial that the evidence established, beyond a rational doubt, that Mr. Mason was killed in his bed, most probably whilst asleep, by blows inflicted with an axe by the accused.”

The Works Progress Administration visited the Woodbridge site (former home of Gerard Mason) in 1937, and recorded, “On this particular evening, after heavy drinking, he became displeased at the delay in supper which Agnes, his cook, had explained by the illness of her small child. Becoming incensed he picked up the child and beat its head on the stone hearth until the child was dead, then ordered the mother to proceed with supper. The story is told (evidence which she gave in court) that after her master was asleep that night, she gathered up an axe and entered his room, determined to kill him. She lost her nerve, however, and returned to the woodpile where she sat for hours, brooding over her loss. Finally fortifying herself with some of the apple brandy of which there was always a plentiful supply in the cellar, she summoned courage to re-enter his room and kill him with the axe.” The agent based this story on oral interviews with local residents.

While all the stories of the why slightly vary from the enslaved seeking vengeance to self-defense, the Court of Oyer & Terminer charged her for “willfully, deliberately and with malice aforethought killed and murdered Gerard Mason” convicting and sentencing her to be hung. Upon learning she may have been five weeks pregnant, the court ordered physicians to examine her, but ultimately decided to execute her five months later as they “still in doubt as to the correctness of the allegation”. Officials arrested other enslaved persons suspected “of being implicated” but found them not guilty. The court deemed Agnes was worth $450.00. According to Turner’s research, the courts delayed her execution until examined again in July and determined not to be pregnant. The County executed her on 07/16/1850 in Brentsville.

The 1937 agent reported, “She was hung in the court yard and it is said that the story is told that after she was pronounced dead and her body removed, that she continued to move for a remarkably long time and that in the afternoon there came the most severe storm of wind and darkness that old residents had ever seen. These tales are all very common in this section, having been told from one generation to another.” The Slave Dwelling Project stayed at Brentsville Jail in 2016 and researchers Joseph McGill, Sharon Williams, and Lynda Davis wrote about their experiences and reflected on the reasons why so many ghost stories involve the enslaved community. Click here to read their blog. 

By 1822, officials completed the Brentsville Jail and Courthouse and moved the judicial process from the Town of Dumfries to Brentsville.

(Source: Brentsville Jail, PWC Historic Preservation)

Note: Our September programs feature local folklore and apples! To book a tour and/or enjoy our latest programs, click here!

(Sources: WPA Historic Survey: Town of Dumfries, 1937; Slave & Free Negro Records from the PWC Court Minute & Order Books: A Source Book for African-American Family History Research Part 1: PWC Court Order Book 1846-1850, pages 359-360; Turner, Ron. The Case of the Commonwealth vs. Agnes; PWC Genealogy: Friend of Friends Friday: Gerard Mason, Slave Owner, Posted on 10/18/2013, https://pwcogenealogy.blogspot.com/; The Slave Dwelling Project: McGill, Joseph. Sorry to Disappoint the Brentsville Jail, 05/28/2016)

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“It was worth every blistered hand…”: New Exhibit Featuring the 1974 Restoration of The Weems-Botts Museum

By: Lisa Timmerman, Executive Director

In 1974, Historic Dumfries Virginia, Inc. formed and opened The Weems-Botts Museum to the public the following year. At the very beginning, HDVI Board of Directors, staff, and volunteers aimed “to gather and preserve historical facts about Dumfries” and “to encourage and participate in restoration and preservation of any building, site, artifacts, etc. associated with the history of Dumfries, Va.” While our mission evolved over the years, HDVI committed to sharing accurate and educational interpretations of the historic home, whether by enacting programs or decorating rooms. But what about the very early stages of our organization? What challenges did the restorers face?

Our new exhibit focuses on the year leading to the opening of The Weems-Botts Museum along with other major milestones. Thanks to Town Historian Lee Lansing, we were able to consult his original report and photographs to document and display the changes. As he noted early on, “…that this project of salvage and restoration was a labor of love, so to speak, prompted by the feeling of pride in having an example of this magnitude in which to reveal and preserve…” Structurally, the historic house had a few issues – such as trees five inches in diameter growing through the porch floor! HDVI and the Town of Dumfries quickly determined that the out of control vegetation, trash, and uneven ground in Merchant Park required immediate attention. Moving to the house, Lansing used his architectural experience to sketch it, analyze the structural integrity and determine what should be demolished or restored. The overall assessment was encouraging and fascinating, “The shale-slate stone foundation was in excellent condition and had resisted settlement, cracking and deformation thru the years. The oyster shell lime mortar of the masonry had weathered, to some degree, but was found to be sound when repairs required its removal. The foundation of the Botts wing was laid in Aquia stone and local freestone without mortar.” The early teams also performed amateur archaeological excavations directly around the house. Before HDVI added the “comfort station” aka outside restroom, the team uncovered a Civil War rifle barrel five feet below the surface but not much else (you can see the barrel on display in The Weems-Botts Museum!) Of course, Lansing was not the only person making key early decisions – Jim Bishop, E.T. Minter, and Jesse Mountjoy all participated in the restoration to various degrees. Mountjoy helped Lansing demolish the front porch and rebuild it, while salvaging and reworking the cedar posts of the porch, speculating their age at around 100.

 One interesting style of architecture presented a great opportunity for research! You will definitely notice the side of the wall opened in the house to show you a style known as “Brick nogging”. This style was popular in the 19th century with wooden frames – filling the space between wood studs with bricks acted as a form of fire prevention with some level of strength to the frame in case of termite infections and damage. It could also provide soundproofing, insulation, and a unique aesthetic look. The look can actually change over time – brick expansion due to moisture growth, shrinkage of the timber frame, and connection of the brick to the frame can all impact its quality and endurance.

Lansing knew Violet Merchant, the last person who owned and lived in the house. Violet remained in the house after Anne’s death in 1952, selling it in 1968. Did you read our blog about the Victorian wallpaper? If so, you know that it is a “stereotypical” Victorian look, not what the Merchants put on their walls. Instead, Lansing reported that the Merchants had workers cover most walls with a milk-based paint using dark colors. When removing the interior plastered ceiling due to instability, Lansing noted, “Here we found the green paint covered with white-wash which had been applied over a shiny wax-like material. The Dutch of the Hudson valley employed bees wax on ceiling beams much in this matter.”

Although our interpretation has changed over the years, especially regarding the possible date of construction of the Weems portion, we can consult Lansing’s notes, photographs, and other professional’s reports to determine how HDVI changed the Merchant home into a museum. While HDVI & The Town of Dumfries approved an earth removal project in Merchant Park, destroying the integrity of the archaeological site, this bustling building in the 18th and early 19th century is still standing today as a reminder of Dumfries importance to colonial and early America. As I continue to add new objects, such as an original window sash from storage to the new exhibit, I find neat information to help provide an overall chronology of a house that stood from the 1700s-today. Lansing reflected, “Those of us who worked so hard to develop this facility can sit back in our old age and say, “It was worth every effort, every blistered hand, and best of all – to watch the children enjoy their activities, in Merchant Park and The Weems-Botts Museum.” I also cannot help but include his official folklore interpretation of one of his restoration photographs – supposed “fog” suggested to him that Violet Merchant may not have liked the changes and tried to convey that in the unclear photo (our Ghost Walks in October detail this!) The fact he felt it should be included reminds of us the unique charm our property seems to still capture.

(Sources: Lansing, Lee. The Weems-Botts House: The Story of a Stately Example of Construction in the Crown Colony of Virginia – its Acquisition and Restoration, 2000; 10th Canadian Masonry Symposium: Biggs, D.T. Brick Nogging: Investigation and Repair, 2005)