Thursday, September 4, 2008

Mary Washington Branch hosts Our Living Legacies

September 12-14, the Mary Washington Branch will be hosting the annual "Our Living Legacies". Titled "Characters and Craftsmen", this event will highlight people and crafts from our past.

Visit the Mary Washington House where Mary Ball Washington, mother of our first President, lived for seventeen years. An exhibit will feature a collection of late 19th-century quilts made by Dallie Belle Jennings Embrey, a local quilter. In addition, there will be an exhibit of needlework, including samplers provided by the Monticello Needlearts EGA Chapter and the Fauquier EGA Chapter.
On Saturday, members of the Rappahannock Colonial Heritage Society will provide living history interpretation in the house. Outside there will be children’s Colonial games and dancing.
The Fredericksburg Spinners and Weavers Guild will be giving demonstrations of their skills and showing finished works on Saturday and Sunday from 10 - 2 p.m.

Come view the Rising Sun Tavern From the Inside-Out. Colonial carpenter-cabinetmaker-joiner Glenn Hyatt will demonstrate methods by which the tavern was built and tools appropriate to the task. He will provide examples of joinery and pegs, period siding and roofing, doors, hinges, and other elements of colonial carpentry. There will be graphic displays of construction techniques and blueprints of the tavern. Mr. Hyatt will also lead "bare bones" tours of the basement for those interested. Glenn will be available Friday 12 - 4; Saturday 11 - 4; and Sunday 12 - 4.
In addition, discover which of Burnside’s artillery batteries shelled the tavern and see the holes they left in our rafters; Friday 12 - 4; Saturday 11 - 4; and Sunday 12 - 4.

At the Hugh Mercer Apothecary Shop, we will look at "The Many Faces of Hugh Mercer".

There are no known portraits of Hugh Mercer, but this exhibit will show you how artists of the 18th and 19th centuries envisioned his appearance.
Also tour the shop’s physic garden to learn of the medicinal plants Dr. Mercer might have employed.


The St. James' House is open 1-4 p.m. all 3 days.
Antique collectors will be available on Saturday and Sunday from 1 - 4 p.m. to give verbal evaluations of your treasures for $5 per item.
On view will be an exhibit honoring 19th-century local hero Matthew Fontaine Maury. He is known as "The Pathfinder of the Seas". This oceanographer, astronomer and Civil War Naval Commander was born in Spotsylvania County. Find out why Matthew Fontaine Maury’s portrait was turned upside down and face to the wall by the Salem Marine Society in Salem, MA.
There is a block ticket available. Adults $10, Students age 6-18 $5.


Our raffle prize this year is this beautiful reproduction of a Chippendale mirror hanging in the Rising Sun Tavern. It was crafted by Glenn Hyatt and is made from 100 year old cherry wood. You may view it in the Mary Washington House Museum Shop or www.apva.org/livinglegacies. Tickets are $1 each or 6 for $5. They may be purchased online or at any of the sites.