What's New

King and Queen Historical Society completes Index for Bulletin

The King and Queen Historical Society has announced the completion of its Index for issues 51–100 of its well-regarded Bulletin of articles about King and Queen County History. The Bulletins have been issued twice each year, so the index for Issues 51-100 covers Bulletins for the years 1981–2006. The index was prepared through a generous gift of Charles H. Ryland of Warsaw, Virginia. The price is $10 plus postage of $2 (plus sales tax of 50 cents for delivery or pick-up in Virginia). It may be purchased by mailing a check to the Society at P.O. Box 129, King and Queen C.H., VA, 23085-0129, or on line at the Society’s website kingandqueenmuseum.com/store. The index for Issues 1–50 is also available for the $10 plus postage and applicable sales tax at the same locations.

King and Queen Historical Society produces Schools Coverlet

The King and Queen Historical Society is selling a King and Queen Schools Coverlet that features sketches of thirteen early King and Queen County public schools and the Courthouse Tavern Museum superimposed over an outline of the County, framed by the names of many other county schools. The thirteen schools that are sketched are Newtown, Green Briar, King and Queen Training, Walkerton, Marriott, Church Hill, Stevensville, Court House, Centerville, Buena Vista, Pleasant Hill, Plain View Prospect, and Eastern View Log Schoolhouse.

Commissioned by the Historical Society and created by Mill Street Design, the coverlet comes in two color schemes: green and natural and black and natural. It is 100 percent cotton, two-layer Jacquard woven, pre-shrunk, color fast, machine washable and made in the U.S.A. It is a perfect gift for family members and friends — an interesting conversation piece that makes an instant keepsake. The cost is $45, plus postage of $7 (plus sales tax of $2.25 for delivery or pick-up in Virginia). It may be purchased by mailing a check to the Society at P.O. Box 129, King and Queen C.H., VA, 23085-0129, or on line at the Society’s website kingandqueenmuseum.com/store.

King and Queen Courthouse Tavern Museum Opens Exhibit on John Smith’s Travels in Middle Peninsula on April 21st

John Smith’s Shallop, Explorer, also to be on hand for festivities that carry over to April 22nd

“Did you know that John Smith came to what is now King and Queen County in 1607?”
“It is true, however, John Smith did not come of his own free will!”

This will be the focus of the new Exhibit opening on April 21st at the King and Queen Historical Society’s Courthouse Tavern Museum.
           
In December 1607 John Smith sailed his small shallop, the Explorer, up the Chickahominy River, seeking to trade with the Indians for food and explore the area. He was captured by the Indians near present day Bottom’s Bridge. For the next 30 days John Smith was led by the Indians, who were looking for their Chief Powhatan, through King William, King and Queen, Essex, Middlesex, New Kent and Gloucester Counties. Powhatan was located in Gloucester County, where the famous meeting with Pocahontas occurred, allowing John Smith to return to Jamestown.

A program marking the opening of the exhibit will take place at 11:00 am on April 21 at the Museum at King and Queen Court House. Speakers will discuss (1) the background of the Exhibit, which includes the story the “Capture Route,” as developed by Essex County historian Ed Haile, the history of the Indians in the area, and the story of John Smith; (2) John Smith’s small shallop, the Explorer and its construction; and (3) the “Driving Tour” of the Capture Route, also developed by Ed Haile. The exhibit is being designed by Studio Ammons of Petersburg, who has designed the Museum’s other award winning exhibits. The Museum and the new exhibit will be open on Saturday, from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm.

An additional special treat on opening day at the Museum will be the visit of the replica of John Smith’s shallop, the Explorer. A shallop is a small open boat fitted with oars or sails or both and usually used in shallow water. The replica has been carefully reconstructed at the Deltaville Maritime Museum. Members of the crew will be at the Museum with the boat during the day to answer questions. As part of the 11:00 am program a speaker will discuss how the boat was carried from England and how it made it way up the Chickahominy before Smith was captured.

A third speaker at the 11:00 am program will discuss the new driving tour of the Capture Route. The driving tour map will available at the Museum. Its publication has been sponsored by Twin Rivers Realty, along with C&F Bank, New Kent County, West Point Economic Development Authority, Bank of Essex, EVB Bank, and the King and Queen County Courthouse Tavern Museum.

The festivities will continue on Sunday, April 22, when the new exhibit will be open from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm and the Explorer also will be on hand with members of the crew to answer questions and explain operations about the boat. Also on Sunday, the regular meeting of the King and Queen County Historical Society will take place at 3 pm in the Circuit Court Courthouse. The speaker will be Dr. Sharon Perry of Richmond, who will discuss the diary of King William schoolteacher Carolyn Kean Hill Davis, written beginning in 1861. The diary touches on activities during the war, including the attack at Walkerton on Union cavalry by the home guard, and references many King and Queen families, including the Gwathmey, Ryland, Turpin, Roane, and Bagby families. The weekend promises to be an exciting one and of great interest to many in the whole area.

The Courthouse Tavern Museum at King and Queen Court House is open each Friday and Saturday from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm and on Sunday from 1:00 to 5:00 pm. Members and friends of the King and Queen Historical Society and the Museum welcome you to attend any and all of these historical events. The John Smith Special Exhibit will continue throughout 2007 and 2008.

King and Queen Group Retraces Route of Knights of Golden Horseshoe

On Saturday, October 15, donors to the King and Queen County Historical Society's Endowment Fund ventured to retrace the 1716 trip of Gov. Alexander Spotswood and his Knights of the Golden Horseshoes to find a passage across the Blue Ridge Mountains. The "knights" acquired their name from the small golden horseshoe the Governor gave each of the travelers upon their return to Williamsburg for their help in opening the "west." Not many have realized that one-third, or four, of the twelve gentlemen travelers resided in King and Queen County, Virginia, and the group stayed in King and Queen County homes as they made their way to the mountains.

The modern group left from Mattaponi Baptist Church, near King and Queen Court House, and headed toward the northern end of the County by bus. They paused at the community of Salvia, near Beverley Park, where Robert Beverley, clerk of the King and Queen Court, lived and where he joined the 1716 expedition. At Beverley Park Spotswood left his carriage and proceeded on horseback. The modern group proceeded to the Germanna Museum in Orange County, where Tom Faircloth, Director of the Museum lectured on the Germanna Colony, the iron mines, and Spotswood's stop there in his procession to the mountains. It was at Germanna the Spotswood group's horses were shod to handle the expected rocky soil of the mountains. This was the origin of their now famous name. The modern group next visited nearby Salubria, the home of Mrs. Spotswood when she remarried after Spotswood's death, and enjoyed box lunches on the Salubria grounds. From Salubria, the King and Queen group followed Spotswood's route along the Rapidan River, through the present towns of Rapidan and Orange to Swift Run Gap in the Blue Ridge, where they stopped to see the monuments that commemorate Spotswood's passage and looked for Mounts George and Spotswood named by Spotswood, now called Hightop and Saddleback. From Swift Run Gap, they proceeded down into the Shenandoah Valley a short distance to the Shenandoah River (Spotswood called it the Euphrates) to Elkton. In Elkton they were hosted by the Elkton Historical Society for a tour of the Miller-Kite House, Stonewall Jackson's headquarters for planning his Shenandoah Valley campaign during the Civil War. Like Spotswood, the group celebrated their achievement in passing through the mountains by toasting King George, Queen Anne, King William and Queen Mary and others. From Elkton, they returned to King and Queen where they stopped, as Spotswood did in 1715, at Locust Grove where their host was Jerry Walker, a descendent of Spotswood's host, Thomas Walker, before ending the day back at the Mattaponi Baptist Church.

The King and Queen County Historical Society's Endowment Fund has been established to benefit the operations of the Historical Society's Courthouse Tavern Museum located at King and Queen County Court House. The group plans additional trips in the future for donors to the Endowment Fund.

Log Schoolhouse I: King and Queen Moves Log Schoolhouse

Deputies and Troopers escorted the move of the top of the Eastern View Schoolhouse on Monday, November 24, from Eastern View Farm near Newtown to King and Queen Court House. The King and Queen County Historical Society is moving the 1870–1880s era log schoolhouse to be used in connection with the Courthouse Tavern Museum. The log schoolhouse, probably one of the first public schools in King and Queen County, has been donated by Ms. Marion Minor, owner of Eastern View Farm in King and Queen County to the Historical Society on condition that it be moved to be used as part of the Courthouse Tavern Museum. The schoolhouse has been dismantled, the logs moved, and rebuilding the 16-by-14-foot structure has already started on the site behind the Museum. It will be used principally as a demonstration building in connection with programs at the Museum.

It has been a real community effort. Brownie Bevan of St. Stephen's Church developed the plan for moving and is supervising the demolition and rebuilding, all by volunteers. Wood Preservers, Inc. has donated the replacement poles being used to replace rotten logs that could not be reused. DJG, Engineers, Architects and Surveyors of Williamsburg have donated the surveys and plans necessary for the county approvals for locating the building behind the Museum. A grant from the Elis Olsson Memorial Foundation of West Point is supporting necessary purchases. Betty Gwathmey and Allison Stoneham have supervised food preparation and serving at the work sessions "to keep everyone motivated." Sheriff Bobby Walton organized the Department of Transportation required three-vehicle escort. Norman Company, Contractors, has arranged for the donation of a crane to place the top back on the schoolhouse once it is complete.

Log Schoolhouse II: King and Queen Tops Log Schoolhouse

Valley Crane and Rigging of Ashland and Norman Construction Company of Mechanicsville last Monday teamed to place the old roof on the restored log schoolhouse at King and Queen Courthouse Tavern Museum. The log schoolhouse, built in the late 1800s on Eastern View Farm near Owenton, was used as a private then a public school, but was the last remaining log schoolhouse in King and Queen County. Ms. Marian Minor donated the building to the King and Queen County Historical Society for use with its Courthouse Tavern Museum, if it could be moved to the Courthouse Green area behind the Museum. Over the last several months volunteers moved the top and the logs of the schoolhouse to the Courthouse Green and proceeded with restoration. Wood Preservers of Warsaw donated needed replacement logs.

Enter Steve Norman of Norman Company, who attends Upper King and Queen Baptist Church, and his friend Joe Barlow of Valley Crane and Rigging, who agreed to donate their services to prepare the top for moving and to place it on the log schoolhouse. Moving was no easy feat, with the top estimated to weigh 4,000 pounds, but crane operator Wade Freeman of King William County seemed to have no trouble in plucking the top from the wagon used to haul it from Ms. Minor's farm and placing the top exactly on the schoolhouse. Due to the careful work of the volunteers in reconstructing the building, it was a perfect fit. The crane itself was the size of a large hook-and-ladder fire truck, but with more weight. The Museum Council expressed its appreciation to the Norman Company and Valley Crane for their help.

The volunteers expect to complete the chinking (material placed between the logs), chimney and interior furnishing in time for a dedication and the buildings use in the Museum's school programs in the fall.

Log Schoolhouse III: King and Queen Opens Log Schoolhouse

On Sunday, October 25th, the King and Queen County opened its Eastern View Log Schoolhouse in a Grand Opening Ceremony at the King and Queen Courthouse. The Eastern View Schoolhouse was originally constructed and located at Eastern View Farm, near Owenton, King and Queen County, Virginia. It was constructed about 1870, used first as a private and then a public school until about 1903, and was the last remaining log schoolhouse in King and Queen County. Donated by Marian Minor, owner of Eastern View Farm, it was moved to the present site behind the King and Queen Courthouse Tavern Museum and rehabilitated by community volunteers in 2004.

Dr. Richard W. Layman was the keynote speaker. He compared education in Virginia in the late 1800s and today and gave specific examples of what the county supplied at the time of the early log schoolhouse, including a bucket, a dipper and a broom. He noted the many changes and the many services now provided in schools, not only expanded education, but also meals and transportation. He explained the progress that had been made over the last two years and offered everyone the opportunity to visit the schools at any time.

Jack Spain, Museum Council Chairman, recognized and presented certificates to the Supporting Sponsors who had provided substantial financial and services to the project: Elis Olsson Memorial Foundation, West Point, Va.; Marian Minor, Richmond, Va.; Wood Preservers, Inc., Warsaw, Va.; Perma-Chink Systems, Inc., Knoxville, Tenn.; Anne and Scott Nickerson Family Foundation, Big Horn, Wyoming; Norman Company, Mechanicsville, Va.; Valley Crane and Rigging, Mechanicsville, Va.; and Essex Concrete Corp., Tappahannock, Va. Recognition was also made to the Principal Volunteers: Bobby Barlow, Brent Bosher, Carl Bosher, James Croxton, Jacob Dabney, Roy Downs, Larry Grahl, William Gwathmey, John Jones, Marian Minor, Roger Poteat, Samuel Prince, John Rich, Jack Spain, John Spain, Howard Walker, Sheriff Bobby Walton, and members of the Bent-Barrel Hunt Club. Special commendation was awarded to Mrs. Betty Gwathmey for organizing the ladies of the King and Queen Historical Society to provide lunches each work day and to E.B. (Brownie) Bevan for his careful supervision of the entire project. Spain noted it was truly a community endeavor to make this project happen.

King and Queen Museum Reprints Louise Gray's A Patchwork Quilt

Louise Eubank Gray's collection of vignettes, titled A Patchwork Quilt, Lifestyle in King and Queen County, Virginia, 1910-1920, has been reprinted by the King and Queen County Courthouse Tavern Museum. There will be a reception and book signing to honor Mrs. Gray at the Museum on Sunday, October 27, at 4 pm, immediately following the 3 pm meeting of the King and Queen County Historical Society at the Courts and Administration Building, King and Queen Court House, VA.

In A Patchwork Quilt, first published in 1989 and out-of-print for a number of years, Mrs. Gray tells the stories of her growing up in rural King and Queen County in the 1910–1920s: the man who came to clean the well when a mouse spoiled the water; going to church on Sunday by buggy to a church heated by wood stove; fetching on horseback the doctor for a broken arm; putting tar on seed corn so the crows would not eat it when planted, and many more vivid tales of life in the King and Queen "not so long ago!" Mrs. Gray's book provided a guide for the portion of the Tavern Museum's video tour on early rural customs in King and Queen County.

The reprinting of the book was funded in part by a grant from the Elis Olsson Memorial Foundation of West Point. Mrs. Gray donated the right to reprint the book to the Museum.

King and Queen Historical Society Features Old Mills at January 23rd Meeting

The King and Queen Historical Society will feature two events involving old mills at its meeting on January 23rd.

At the 3 pm meeting. in the Courtroom of the Circuit Court at King and Queen Court House, Steve Bashore, Miller at Stratford Hall Plantation will talk on the History of Mills, emphasizing those in early Virginia.

At 4 pm the Historical Society will officially dedicate mill stones that have been placed in front the King and Queen Courthouse Tavern Museum. These stones were first used in the water powered grist mill established near Mascot in King and Queen County by James Trice who came from England in 1673. Forrest Norman salvaged the mill stones from the ruins of the Trice Mill and used them in his gas-powered grist mill near Mascot until the Norman Mill was discontinued about 1963. The stones has been loaned to the Historical Society by Robert F. Norman, cousin of Forrest Norman, and Mrs. Norman.

The meeting of the Historical Society is open to the public. A reception will follow the talk and dedication in the Courthouse Tavern Museum.

Mary Macon Pendleton Gatewood Boulware Returns to King and Queen County

Mary Macon Pendleton Gatewood Boulware, who lived in King and Queen County from 1788 to 1852, has returned, in portrait form at least, to King and Queen County after a long absence. Her portrait, painted before 1829, has been donated to the King and Queen County Historical Society and has been hung in the parlor of its Courthouse Tavern Museum at King and Queen Courthouse. The donor is Arnold Ricks of Bennington, Vermont. The gift is "On behalf of the Ricks family in memory of their Mother and Grandmother, Anne Elizabeth Ryland (Mrs. James Hoge) Ricks (1887–1953), daughter of Alice Marion Garnett and Charles Hill Ryland."

Mary Macon Pendleton Gatewood Boulware (pronounced "Bowler") was born October 13, 1788, at Spring Farm near Newtown in upper King and Queen County. In 1804, when she was 16, she married Philip Gatewood, who at thirty was almost twice her age. He was "a member of a prominent family, a gentleman justice of the county, and the first postmaster of Newtown." The year they were married they bought Traveller's Rest, an historic farm of 710 acres, located near Newtown. Philip Gatewood died in 1829; they had no children. It is believed that the portrait was painted before Mr. Gatewood's death in 1829.

In 1832 Mrs. Gatewood, then 44, married William Boulware, when he was only 22. He was the son of Lee Boulware of Newtown and a professor at Columbian College in Washington, D.C.. Later he was member of the Board of Visitors of the College of William and Mary and a Minister of the United States to King Ferdinand II at Naples before the formation of the Republic of Italy. It is believed he built the present house at Traveller's Rest.

The painter of the portrait, Andrew Broaddus I, described as a "scholar, writer, poet, painter, preacher" is principally known as a minister who was prominent in Virginia Baptist activities. In Broaddus' time ministers were not paid to preach; therefore, he earned extra money teaching, publishing and painting. He designed the seal of the Virginia Baptist Seminary, which later became the University of Richmond and still retains the same seal. He published Virginia Selection of Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs from the Most Approved Authors, and his sermons were published in The Sermons and Writings of Rev. Andrew Broaddus (1852). Andrew Broaddus I, his son, and his grandson successively served as pastors of Salem Baptist Church in Caroline County for more than a century (1820–1926).

The portrait is oil on board and, minus the frame, measures 20 inches wide by 26 inches high.

The public is invited to visit Mrs. Boulware in her new home in the parlor at the Courthouse Tavern Museum at King and Queen Courthouse.

King and Queen Courthouse Tavern Talks and Demonstrations are highlights of Beautiful Sunday Afternoon, November 3rd

Caroline Jones of Canterbury asked what could be better on a bright, fall Sunday afternoon in King and Queen County: the leaves in full color, homemade doughnuts cooking over an open kettle, Sally Walker's hot spiced cider and Latane Trice making a speech! She was referring to the activities last Sunday afternoon, November 3rd, where Latane Trice described how to use some of the tools from his uncle Tom Trice's collection now on display at the Courthouse Tavern Museum. Carl Stafford explained tools from the collection of his grandfather, Carroll Minor of Newtown, while Jack Hutchinson of King and Queen Court House demonstrated with an entertaining talk how a forked shoving pole was used in hunting sora on the Mattaponi River.

Mr. Trice focused on several carpentry tools in Tom Trice's collection: a framing square, a slide measure, and two different wood planes. He described how a broad axe would be used to remove bark from trees and square them up for railroad ties or other larger timbers. He demonstrated how an adz would be used to cut the center from logs for bowls and other wooden utensils and showed how a farrier would use smaller tools for nailing shoes on a horse's hoof. Trice completed his talk with an entertaining story of the need to use a drawing compass to make proper circles for the seats of a "necessary house."

Carl Stafford, of Culpepper, and the grandson of the late Carroll Minor of Newtown, spoke enthusiastically of how the skill and care required in the use of hand tools helped built good character. He described how a person would progressively smooth his wood surfaces, starting with the broad axe, then using a two-handed saw, then an adz, followed by a drawing knife, and then, in the days before sandpaper, using a piece of glass to smooth the surface. He demonstrated how a blacksmith would use a long gripper to hold hot metal. His final piece was a beautiful wooden hayfork which his grandmother, Elizabeth Minor, who was in attendance, had found for Mr. Minor.

Jack Hutchinson, of King and Queen Court House, demonstrated how his shoving pole was used to push small boats through the Mattaponi marsh at high tide looking for sora, a small marsh bird a little smaller than a quail and a member of the rail family of birds. The pole is equipped with a dogwood fork bolted to the end, so the pole would not sink into the bottom mud when pushed. Mr. Hutchinson asserted that the sora was practically extinct in this area, but Mr. Trice assured him and the audience that he knew where to find them.

Bill Ruppert of Cedar Row at Cologne demonstrated his skills making leather utensils on the Museum porch both before and after the talks. He worked on leather pouches and a leather bucket.

After the talks the audience, which filled the dining room of the Museum, was treated to homemade doughnuts and apple fritters, prepared by Nancy Herman-Thompson of Shacklefords and her cooking crew. The cooking crew consisted of Sarah Henley, Katie and Paul Maloney, Ragan Hart, Michele and Samantha Creasy and Ellen White. The "all hands crew" worked diligently on a table outside the Museum to prepare the yeast bread which became the doughnuts and fritters. The yeast bread was prepared from an authentic rural recipe using mashed potatoes.. Sorghum molasses was added to the apple fritters. They were cooked in boiling lard in a large open kettle over an open fire. Sally Walker satisfied everyone's thirst with a special hot spiced cider which she prepared using fresh apple cider and her secret mix of spices.

As the crowd left the Museum area in the late afternoon, no one could deny that Caroline Jones was right, as usual.

Changing Exhibit Highlighting Early Life of Lynn Perry Opens

Courthouse Tavern Museum opened its changing exhibit featuring Lynn Perry and his photographs of schooners on the Mattaponi River. Lynn Perry was born in West Point, Virginia in 1915 and spent most of his youth there. In 1928 he purchased a skiff and rowed out to meet the ships which passed his father's Texaco pier in West Point. Perry's avocation was catching rides on any of the vessels that he could.

During the late 1920s and 1930s, Perry and his childhood best friend, Arthur Van Name, photographed the schooners, steamboats, tugboats and barges which journeyed on the Mattaponi and York Rivers and the Chesapeake Bay. Their photographs chronicle life along the rivers and Bay during the period. At this time, schooners were the primary method for hauling freight into and out of King and Queen County. Steamboats usually carried passengers and smaller freight.

In 1941, Perry left West Point to join the Navy. When he returned after World War II (1945), the schooners and steamboats had been replaced by trucks and cars traveling along the newly paved roads and bridges. The exhibit is a personal narrative of Lynn Perry's experiences with schooners, steamboats, barges, and tugboats during the late 1920s and 1930s.