Bacon's Castle cools-down from Summer and warms-up for Autumn

Classic Car Club of Virginia visits
Springtime Bacon's Castle

Preservation Virginia’s Bacon’s Castle’s staff, interns, and volunteers had a very busy Summer with projects, group tours, and community development and prepare for a vibrant 2013.  As we cool-down from Summer here is a review and as we warm-up for Autumn here is a preview!

Summer Review

Projects

Our interns were busy undertaking cultural resource management assignments including teak wood garden benches cleaning and preservation, garden maintenance, fence post cleaning and painting, community development, marketing, exhibit and museum maintenance, special event facilitation, guided group tours, and daily museum and gift shop operations.  Enjoy this SlideShare presentation detailing many of one of our intern’s projects and accomplishments.

Group Tours

Docent Bill Murphy tours the
Colonel Joshua Fry Chapter, Daughters of the American Colonists

Over the Summer we had the pleasure of hosting classic car clubs, church groups, fellow museum operators from other historic sites, historical societies and clubs, and college & university school groups.  Enjoy this SlideShare presentation in promotion of Group Tours at Bacon’s Castle.

Community, Volunteer, and Internship Development

Site Coordinator Todd Ballance addresses the
Surry Chamber of Commerce about 2013 special events

The staff at Bacon's Castle continues to seek new community advocates, volunteers, and interns whenever possible.  We routinely-engage Surry and Isle of Wight Counties business and tourism leaders in efforts of developing new stakeholders and partnership opportunities.  We hope that through consistent participation in the Surry County Chamber of Commerce and periodically presenting before the Surry County Board of Supervisors we develop better understanding and appreciation of Bacon's Castle's new five-year plan.  We’ve also directly contacted Virginian, Washingtonian, and North Carolinian institutions of higher education in efforts to recruit interns and partner with professional volunteer administration associations and Surry County 4-H to secure more local volunteerism.  Enjoy these additional SlideShare presentations on opportunities you may wish to consider:

Membership Meeting of the Surry County
African American Heritage Society at Bacon's Castle

Volunteer Opportunities

Internship Opportunities

Autumn Preview

Slave Dwelling Project

Preservation Virginia’s Bacon’s Castle is proud to work with national, regional and local partners in presenting this important and provocative presentation on the institution of American slavery and how preserving the Site’s last remaining slave quarters is an important project in preserving an African American heritage structure and educating generations to come on this part of our history.  Join us and Mr. Joe McGill at Bacon’s Castle on October 6, 2012.  Please inspect and share this flyer on the Project.  See you on the 6th!

Surry County student postcard

School Field Trips

As the 2012/2013 school season is upon us, we look towards showcasing the 40-acre historic site as a must see destination in presenting early Virginia and American history to students from all over the Country.  We have a couple school systems already booked for this Autumn and look forward to serving more systems in the near future.

Familiarization Tours

We cordially-invite government, business, and tourism leaders, school group field trip  coordinators, and tour operators to schedule complimentary private group tours of the Castle to learn more about of our exciting five-year plan and new educational offerings.  In providing these FAM tours, we hope to introduce a new generation of stakeholders and advocates to our super rare and precious historic treasures.  We have FAM tours scheduled for this Autumn with group tour operators, motor coach companies, and Virginia Tourism Corporation representatives.  Our hope is through these efforts we will enter 2013 with a more energized community and knowledgeable clientele ready to book their next, must see tours at Preservation Virginia’s Bacon’s Castle!  Give us a call, follow-us on Facebook, and keep in touch with us.  Re-familiarize yourself with your Bacon's Castle!

Danville, Virginia -Making Historic Strides

Written by Guest Blogger Sarah Latham, President of Danville Historical Society

The City of Danville is moving forward with its River District plans.  The first phase of historic downtown redevelopment will focus on widening the sidewalks to make them more pedestrian-friendly and beautiful.  The widened walkways will also accommodate outdoor seating for eateries.  Danville wins award for River District Plan.

At the same time the city government has hired firms to create master plans in portions of two historic neighborhoods: the Monument-Berryman neighborhood that contains historic mill housing in the Tobacco Warehouse District, and parts of the Old West End (OWE) National Register Historic District.  The focus of the OWE master plan is on areas where numerous historic houses have been cut up into multi-unit apartments, as well as on the “Five Forks” area that was formerly a thriving residential/retail/commercial district. 

In addition, the city is partnering with the Danville Historical Society on some initiatives.

The Danville Historical Society received a grant from the Danville Regional Foundation earlier this year to create a “gathering space” on the (city-owned) grounds of the Danville Museum of Fine Arts and History.  

Trail marker with brass tobacco leaf

This gathering space will have a circular patio, seating and vertical granite slabs that will serve both as sculpture and as kiosks containing visitor information.  The space will also be the starting point for the Historical Society’s guided tour of Danville’s Millionaires Row.



Fred Meder's mother, Elaine, helping create trail markers



DHS board member Joyce Wilburn and DHS member Fred Meder conceived and spearheaded the plan.  They received cooperation from the Danville Museum, the City of Danville, Pittsylvania County and Caswell County for the project.  Visitor information for the city and both counties will be available at the kiosks.

As part of this plan, Joyce Wilburn and DHS board member Paula Smith developed a self-guided walking tour of the Holbrook-Ross National Register Historic District in Danville.  Holbrook-Ross is a neighborhood created by professional African-Americans shortly after the Civil War.  The Danville Regional Foundation grant provided funds to print brochures of the walking tour.

Finally, the plan also includes placing trail markers along the routes of the Millionaires Row and Holbrook-Ross tours.  Fred Meder designed and fabricated the markers.  The City of Danville has agreed to do the necessary work to place these markers in the sidewalks.

This Historical Society initiative has led to a new collaboration with the City of Danville: the development of a Heritage Walking Trail in Danville’s historic downtown and Tobacco Warehouse District.  Local attorney R.J. Lackey conceived the idea for a heritage walking trail and soon learned that the DHS had two trails.  Working with Mr. Lackey and the City of Danville, the DHS is helping map out the overall proposed trail, linking the two existing ones with the new ones.  The DHS will also research and create content for information kiosks and signage along the routes of the trails.           

Research on the Hill leads to rare artifacts in Jamestown

Research on the Hill leads to rare artifacts in Jamestown

McGill overnights at historic Heyward-Washington ~ About Our Freedom

McGill overnights at historic Heyward-Washington ~ About Our Freedom

Tobacco Barns Preliminary Survey Adventures

This fall we plan to begin the full survey of tobacco barns in Pittsylvania County. While most of the tobacco barns were built using rough cut logs with clay daubing between, the barns also display many differences.   



The barn above has two diamond-shaped vents cut in the top planks and an abandoned VW Beetle guarded by cows




Old fingerprints in the clay daubing




Tobacco packhouse with donkey in background




Later stone foundation repair with donkey on guard behind trees




Two tobacco barns in a field of new tobacco plants




Caused by lightning?




Mr. Mahan standing beside a tobacco stringer under one of his barns



If you or anyone you know is interested in helping out with the survey, please contact us!

Keeping Cool in John Marshall's Richmond

Writing this, as I sit in my cool, air conditioned office, I ponder what life was like for those who lived in the days before such luxury, before electric, artificial cooling systems; before breathable short sleeve cotton blend shirts and capris were acceptable attire and before iced coffee refreshed the short, steamy, humid jot to and from the parking garage and work; where you are actually faced with the the reality of Virginia's summers.

The John Marshall House is tackling this topic with their new installation, "Summer in John Marshall's Richmond". Site coordinator, Bobbie LeViness and John Marshall House guide, Alyson Taylor-White have put together a thematic summer tour that goes into the details of how to keep cool in Federal era Richmond.

Some of the changes to the house include removing the coal from the fireplaces and replacing it with floral arrangements which would of made the house smell nice and look pretty all at the same time.

No coal in the summer!

Of course, without air conditioning you would want to keep the windows open and a breeze flowing as much as possible. In many houses of this period, the cross breeze occurs best in the central passage of the house. The back and front doors would be open, creating a cool air flow. This idea was not lost on the Marshall family, as the back and front doors are aligned to create just such an occurrence.

Like any modern family, the Marshall's would of used the rooms in their house to suit their personal needs. So while John Marshall may have typically used the large dinning room or his own bedchambers to work, during the summer, he most likely would of taken advantage of the cross breeze and set up a desk in the back stair passage.

A cool spot for John Marshall to focus on making the judicial branch equal to the legislative and executive branches!

Keeping the doors and windows open does have it's disadvantages. Bugs! Just like today, if you leave a window open, in come the flies! One of the most devastating impact of flies is something called a "fly spot". Fly spots occur when flies land on gilt picture frames. Their sticky little feet adhere to the gold leaf and create little black specks all over the frames. So to combat this, during the summer months, families like the Marshalls would cover all their gilt frames with gauze, like so:


Note the covered gilt mirror

 In the picture of John Marshall's family dining room you can also see the white linen seat coverlets on the chairs. These are added for personal comfort. The upholstery is wool, stuffed with horse hair. In the hot sweaty summer months, this is not the type of chair one would enjoy sitting down to meal! So, they would be covered with a light, breathable coverlet.

While it is difficult to see in the above image, the table is also set with seasonal, local fruits. So trendy now, but in Marshall's day, you ate what was in season, and you ate what grew nearby. So the family desserts would consist of summer stone fruit, cherries and berries.

To learn more ways Virginians of days gone by kept cool, come to the John Marshall House for a visit!

Preservation Virginia welcomes you to take a tour of the John Marshall House's new installation. "Summer in John Marshall's Richmond" will be up until Sunday, August 26th. The John Marshall House is open Friday and Saturday, from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and on Sundays from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Hillwood Square Endangered

Architects Heaton and Greely



Embassy Building Designed by Arthur Heaton

Arthur B. Heaton designed over a thousand structures in the Washington D.C. area including lavish apartment buildings, commercial buildings, theaters and private mansions. Examples of his work include the Altamont apartment building on Wyoming Avenue, the Embassy building on Connecticut Avenue, the National Geographic Society building, the Washington Loan and Trust Company building and what is considered the first planned neighborhood shopping center in the country, the 1930s Park and Shop Complex in the Cleveland Park Neighborhood.

Heaton was also the first supervising architect on the construction of the Washington Cathedral from 1908 to 1928.

In the late 1930′s and early 1940′s, Heaton designed four D.C. area housing projects for the federal government including Hillwood Square, a small planned community for WWII program workers.

Another famous landscape architect, Rose Greely, also worked on Hillwood Square. Rose was the daughter of General Adolphus W. Greely, Army officer, Arctic explorer and the first president of The Explorers Club.

In 1925, Rose Greely became Washington’s first female licensed architect and was also the only woman to work on the Advisory Committee of the Williamsburg Restoration Project.

In her forty-year career, Greely designed more than 500 landscapes, specializing in residential design and focusing on the integration of house and garden. Because she insisted on the highest quality of workmanship, Greely’s extremely well built projects have enjoyed exceptional longevity.

Hillwood Square

The Federal Works Agency Housing Authority (USHA) built Hillwood Square to provide housing for war program workers and their families moving into the Washington D.C. area during World War II. After the War, Hillwood Square was sold as a non-profit cooperative.

Architects Heaton and Greely paid careful attention to community site planning when designing Hillwood Square. Today Hillwood Square remains largely as it was during the 1940s-1950s. The approximately 20-acre park-like development contains forty-one original row houses and duplexes surrounded by walkways and green spaces.

Parking was restricted to areas behind the units. A community building, a large recreational space, two playgrounds and the original WWII victory garden still exist. Hillwood Square was added to the Fairfax County Historic Register in 2009.

Housing at Hillwood Square has long been among the most affordable in the Washington, DC area because residents purchase an equal share in the community when they move in and pay monthly fees into a fund that covers all maintenance costs as well as most utilities. Hillwood Square is now a diverse neighborhood that includes government employees, young families, seniors, Vietnamese and Latinos.

Endangered

Tree-lined walkway at Hillwood Square

Currently all of the mostly low-income families residing at Hillwood Square face mass evacuation after Hillwood Square was sold to a developer who plans to demolish the original buildings and build luxury high-end apartments. The land has a current estimated value of $85 million to $106 million because it is the largest singly-owned piece of property inside the Capital Beltway.

Resident Tabi Yothers is Fighting to Save Hillwood Square from Demolition

Many of the long-time residents are stunned by the sale and some are fighting to save Hillwood Square from demolition, stating that Hillwood is not only historic but it is also their home and that the original charter opposes land speculators and focuses on a close-knit community intended to be sustained in perpetuity. A website about Hillwood Square has been created for those who want more information.