Category: Historic Preservation

  • Henrietta Fitzhugh Barr House

    The following article was originally submitted by Linda Donegan to the Charleston, WV Civil War Roundtable: Henrietta Fitzhugh Barr In 1835, Henry Fitzhugh and his wife Henrietta settled in Ravenswood. They had acquired land and built a home on the corner of Walnut and Race Streets. They had come to Ravenswood from Fauquier County Virginia…

  • Jollytown Civil War Memorial – A Job Well Done

    Jollytown Civil War Memorial – A Job Well Done

    On September 4, 2010, the Reenactorpost and the Sons of Union Veterans drove to Jollytown, PA and cleaned up the Jesse Taylor Civil War memorial and repainted the guns. The SUV commander, Matt Gillespie, had gotten Lowe’s in Buckhannon to knock 50% off the cost of two gallons of Rustoleum. One can was olive drab…

  • Smith House – Fire Department accepting Demolition Bids

    The latest and grimmest news out of Mercersburg concerning the Justice William Smith House, as reported by Roscoe Barnes on http://www.publicopiniononline.com/ci_16273782?source=email “If retired historian Richard MacMaster comes in with the lowest bid, then the house, one of the oldest in Mercersburg, could go to the Ulster-American Folk Park in Ireland — a place designated for…

  • USS Olympia – Are We Going to Lose This National Treasure?

    USS Olympia – Are We Going to Lose This National Treasure?

    On Sunday, September 19, I toured the cruiser USS Olympia with my friend, Don Taylor. We were in Philadelphia for the Russian Mosaica Festival and took the opportunity to check out this historic vessel. I had, of course, seen many pictures of ships of the “Great White Fleet”, but had never experienced actually boarding one.…

  • Arthurdale New Deal Festival 2010

    Arthurdale New Deal Festival 2010

    The 2010 edition of the Arthurdale New Deal Festival took place on July 10. As usual, Eleanor Roosevelt was there and was accompanied this year by her husband, the President of the United States, Franklin D. Roosevelt. For those of you who don’t know, Arthurdale was a planned community which was proposed by Eleanor Roosevelt…

  • More on the Justice Smith House

    Here are the latest updates from Karen Ramsburg regarding the Justice Smith House: Hi everyone, With great excitement and plenty of research work ahead I want to introduce http://smithrebellion1765.com.  It is a living document as we continue to sort through primary sources related to the events surrounding William and James Smith and the Black Boys…

  • Save the Justice William Smith House (continued…)

    Here is a short update from Karen Ramsburg concerning the ongoing effort to save the Smith House in Mercersburg, PA.: To all: We are pleased to have received a letter of support from Professor of History, Kevin Kenny of Boston College, author of the recently published book on the Paxton Boys titled Peaceable Kingdom Lost.…