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Gone in a Flash: The Historic Fry-Sanbower House
By Lori Hinterleiter Kimball If you are a frequent driver on Lovettsville Road, you might have noticed a stone and frame house and a sunken stone springhouse along the side…
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Famed Civil Rights Attorney Honored at Courthouse Ceremony: Old Courthouse designated as “Charles Hamilton Houston Courthouse.”
By: Edward Spannaus At a well-attended ceremony on September 9, the historical 1894 Loudoun County Courthouse was designated the “Charles Hamilton Houston Courthouse,” to honor the ground-breaking Civil Rights attorney.…
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A new history of Christ Church, Lucketts, is donated to Lovettsville Museum
Local author Richard Weaver has compiled a history of Christ Church in Lucketts and has donated a copy of his book to the Lovettsville Historical Society & Museum. Anyone with…
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“Wayne Week” – -Remembering Anthony Wayne’s March through Frederick and Loudoun
Since 2017, our local Sons of the American Revolution (SAR)chapters have held a “Wayne’s Crossing” event in early June at the Loudoun County Courthouse, to commemorate Anthony Wayne’s crossing of the Potomac and…
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Next in the Lovettsville Historical Society’s 2024 Lecture Series:
Next in the Lovettsville Historical Society’s 2024 Lecture Series: Summer Seminar on the American Revolution and its 250th Anniversary Sunday, July 14, 2024, at 2:00 p.m. St. James United Church of Christ,10 East Broad Way, Lovettsville VA…
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Lafayette’s 1825 Visit to Leesburg Commemorated
By Nancy Spannaus* June 22, 2024—More than 75 people gathered on the lawn of the Charles Hamilton Houston Courthouse in Leesburg today, for a ceremonial unveiling of a trail marker commemorating the Marquis de…
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From Lovettsville to Missouri
By Ken Weyand[i] My great-grandfather, Joseph Miller, was born Sept. 19, 1802, in northern Loudoun County, Virgina, in what was then known as “The German Settlement.” This area settled as…
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Who was Tankerville? Part VI: The Slow but Certain End of the Feudal Land System in North Loudoun
By Edward Spannaus At the end of the American War of Independence, the Earl of Tankerville’s family was still anxious. Land was everything for the British nobility, yet the Tankerville land…
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“You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know …”
A Discussion of the Historic Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court Ruling against School Segregation and Its Result in Loudoun County By Nancy Spannaus* Approximately 60 Loudoun County residents gathered…
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Press Release: Spring 2024 Mini-Course
Press Release What: Lovettsville Historical Society Spring 2024 Mini-Course—Where We Live: The German Settlement When: Monday nights May 20th, May 27th (Memorial Day), June 3rd and June10th, 2024 from 6:30-9:30 p.m. Where: Meeting behind the Lovettsville Museum, 4 E. Pennsylvania Avenue,…
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“For Britannia’s Glory and Wealth”: A report on the presentation by Glenn F. Williams
By Nancy Spannaus The March 10 lecture sponsored by the Lovettsville Historical Society focused on the American Revolution once again, with a presentation by well-known military historian Glenn F. Williams[1]…
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Who Was Tankerville? — Part V: The Manor System Nears its End
By Edward Spannaus In Part IV of this series, we learned how some of the tenants on the Tankerville lands in the eastern part of the German Settlement began to…
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Who was Tankerville? — Part IV: The Tenants Speak
By Edward Spannaus In Part III of this series, we “listened in,” so to speak, on discussions between the 4th Earl of Tankerville (Charles Bennett), his brother Henry A. Bennett,…
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Lovettsville Historical Society Holds Annual Membership Meeting
At the Lovettsville Historical Society’s Annual Membership Meeting, the featured speaker was Bruce Patterson, known locally as “the Phone Wizard” who talked about the history of the telephone. Patterson illustrated his…
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Kicking off the Lovettsville Historical Society’s 2024 Lecture Series:
Incident at Griffin’s Wharf: The Boston Tea Party and After Presented by Tracy and Rich Gillespie Sunday, February 11, at 2:00 p.m. St. James United Church of Christ,10 East Broad…
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Who was Tankerville? Part III: The Revolution Puts Tankerville Lands at Risk
By Edward Spannaus In Part II of this series, we learned that the Tankerville lands, as Loyalist properties, had been “sequestered” during the Revolutionary War, and saw how the Dowager…
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250th Anniversary of Boston Tea Party Marked in Leesburg
Kicking off the celebration of the Nation’s 250th Anniversary, events were held in Boston and around the county commemorating the 250th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party, which took place…
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Defeating Slavery: Hamilton’s American System Showed the Way
Book Talk at Lovettsville MuseumSunday, January 21, at 3:00 p.m. Join public historian — and LHS member and volunteer — Nancy Spannaus to learn about her just-released book on America’s…
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Who was Tankerville? Part II: The Dowager and the General
By Edward Spannaus (Part I of this series, updated, may be found here.) In June 1783, as the Treaty of Paris to end the Revolutionary War was being finalized, the…
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The British Lords of the Manor in the German Settlement: Who was Tankerville?
By Edward Spannaus [Updated December 17. 2023] (This is one of an occasional series of articles concerning the impact of the American Revolution on the Lovettsville area, formerly known as…
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Virginia’s Religious Freedom Law: Were the Lovettsville churches legal?
By Edward Spannaus Up through the time of the American Revolution, Lovettsville’s two churches were in a legal limbo. There was but one Established Church in the Virginia colony: that…
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Next in the Lovettsville Historical Society’s 2023 Lecture Series:
“Fashioning the Funeral: Mourning Wear and Customs in Civil War America“ Presented by Kelly Wenner White Sunday, October 8, at 2:00 p.m.St. James United Church of Christ,10 East Broad Way,…
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Then and Now – The Buildings at 57 East Broad Way
The Lovettsville Historical Society is pleased to announce our partnership with the Town of Lovettsville to provide snippets of Lovettsville history for their Throwback Thursday (TBT) Facebook posts. A theme…
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Next in the Lovettsville Historical Society’s 2023 Lecture Series:
“A Tale of Two Raids: Jeb Stuart’s Christmas Raid, and the Raid He Never Made” Presented by Robert O’Neill Sunday, September 10, at 2:00 p.m. St. James United Church of…
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The Geography of Slavery in Northern Loudoun County, Virginia
By: Eirik Frederick Harteis Introduction: On July 9, the Lovettsville Historical Society held a symposium on the topic of “Slavery in the German Settlement,” which featured a presentation by Eirik…
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Next in the Lovettsville Historical Society’s 2023 Lecture Series:
“Loudoun on the Eve of the American Revolution: A Patchwork Quilt of Diversity” Presented by Richard Treat Gillespie Sunday, August 13, at 2:00 p.m. In person or Live-streamed via Zoom St. James United…
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This Sunday, in the Lovettsville Historical Society’s lecture series:
Symposium: “Slavery in the German Settlement” Sunday, July 9, at 2:00 p.m.St. James United Church of Christ,10 East Broad Way, Lovettsville, Va.On Sunday, July 9, in lieu of our customary…
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When History Was Made in Purcellville, Virginia: The Story of Josie Murray
By Nancy Spannaus* Western Loudoun was provided with a treat this week, in the form of a series of book talks by former Loudoun resident and author Linda H. Sittig.…
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Fire Guts Historic Outbuilding at Luther Potterfield House
By Edward Spannaus In the early morning of June 19, 2023, an outbuilding known as the “meat house” on the old Luther Potterfield property on Lovettsville’s main street (now 32…
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Potter’s Field Memorial Dedicated in Leesburg
By Nancy Spannaus May 4, 2023—A small group of town officials and interested citizens gathered in Leesburg’s Union Cemetery today, to dedicate a Memorial to indigent citizens who had been…
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Next in the Lovettsville Historical Society’s lecture series: The Life, Death, and Resurrection of St. Paul’s Church, Between the Hills
Presented by Pastor Roland England and friends Sunday, June 11, at 2:00 p.m.St. James United Church of Christ,10 East Broad Way, Lovettsville, Va. On Sunday June 11, as the next…
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The Henshaw letters, Part III
March 1865 — Aftermath of the Union Encampment. A message from the “Vine Clad Cottage” By Edward Spannaus In January and February 1865, Lovettsville was the site of large winter…
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The Contrabands of Harpers Ferry
Alexander B. Rossino (The following is reprinted from Their Maryland: The Army of Northern Virginia From the Potomac Crossing to Sharpsburg in September 1862, the latest book by Alexander Rossino, who…
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Press Release: April Lecture
What: Lovettsville Historical Society Lecture: “Their Maryland: The Army of Northern Virginia from the Potomac Crossing to Sharpsburg in September 1862” …
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Press Release: Spring Mini-Course
What: Lovettsville Historical Society Spring 2023 Mini-Course—Where We Live: The German Settlement When: Monday nights May 8th, 15th, 22nd, and 29th (Memorial Day) from 6:30-9:30 p.m.. Where: Meeting at the…
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Grace Anderson Smith: A Woman Who Spread Love and Kindness Throughout Her Life
By: Claudette Lewis Bard When I began studying my family history, I started looking at census records in order to get facts and statistical data. Some of the information gathered…
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250th Anniversary of the Virginia Committee of Correspondence Commemorated in Leesburg
On March 11, about 40 people assembled at the Loudoun Museum to commemorate one of the most significant steps on our nation’s road to independence: Virginia’s establishment of its Committee…
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March LHS Newsletter
Did you miss the last Newsletter? Do you want to see what interesting events are taking place nearby in March? Click here to review the March Newsletter Perhaps you want…
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Lovettsville’s Isaac Slater: From Hangman’s Noose to Capitol Hill
By Edward Spannaus Isaac Cooper Slater was born and raised in the Lovettsville area, but spent most of his adult life in Washington, D.C., as did his second cousin, Luther…
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In Memoriam: Isaac Cooper Slater (1907)
To access the original scanned pages or download the PDF, visit it at the Library of Congress: https://www.loc.gov/item/27020298/
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Next in the Lovettsville Historical Society’s 2023 Lecture Series:
“Secrets of the C & O Canal” Presented by James Rada, Jr. Sunday, March 12, at 2:00 p.m. In person or Live-streamed via Zoom St. James United Church of Christ,10…
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Rascals and Scoundrels: The Henshaw letters, Part II
By Edward Spannaus In our December issue, we reported that a collection of the letters of Dr. James J. Henshaw was being lent to the Lovettsville Historical Society for scanning…
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Balch Library Presents Loudoun History Award to Family & Friends of Mount Sinai Cemetery
On November 6, the Thomas Balch Library Advisory Commissioners presented the Twenty-ninth and Thirtieth Annual Loudoun History Awards. This event honors individuals who have made significant contributions to preserving Loudoun’s past through…
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LHS Awarded Grant from Virts-Miller Foundation
On December 19, the Virts Miller Foundation announced that it has awarded $100,000 to thirteen local nonprofits as part of the Foundation’s first competitive grant program, including a $10,000 grant…
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Ray Anderson’s German Great-Grandson Responds to Newsletter Article
By Claudette Lewis Bard The power of the Internet never ceases to amaze me. Often in the news, we hear about someone’s research leading them to a discovery that would…
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December Newsletter
Our December 2022 Newsletter is now available, with a feature on the life and letters of Dr. James Henshaw LHS December 2022 Newsletter
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Letters from Lovettsville: The Life of Dr. John James Henshaw
By Doria R. Owen The shoe box marked “Letters” had been silently waiting atop a stack of forgotten boxes for over ten years. Once opened, the story they tell…
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LHS Lecture Series: Repudiation Day: Frederick County’s 1765 Protest Against the Stamp Act
Next in the Lovettsville Historical Society’s Lecture Series: Repudiation Day: Frederick County’s 1765 Protest against the Stamp Act Presented by Chris Haugh, Frederick County Historian Sunday, November 13, at 2:00 p.m. In-person at St.…
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Saving Mount Pleasant Baptist Church
By Lori Kimball A physical testament to the strength and resilience of Loudoun’s African American community can be found in the Mount Pleasant Baptist Church and Cemetery, located at the base of…
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LHS Lecture Series – Robert Harper and the Quakers of Hopewell Meeting: An Unlikely Story of the Founding of Harpers Ferry
Next in the Lovettsville Historical Society’s lecture series: Robert Harper and the Quakers of Hopewell Meeting: An Unlikely Story of the Founding of Harpers Ferry Presented by David T. Gilbert Sunday, October…
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Loudoun’s First Reading of the Declaration of Independence Celebrated
By Nancy Spannaus The first official reading of the Declaration of Independence in Loudoun County, which took place on the steps of the old County Courthouse on August 12, 1776,…
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LHS Lecture Series — Armies of Foreign Mercenaries: Dispelling the Hessian Myth
Next in the Lovettsville Historical Society’s lecture series: Armies of Foreign Mercenaries: Dispelling the Hessian Myth Presented by Ross Schwalm Sunday, September 11 at 2:00 p.m. In-person at St. James United Church of…
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Fall 2022 Mini-Course — Where We Live: The German Settlement
Press release What: Lovettsville Historical Society Fall 2022 Mini-Course— Where We Live: The German Settlement When: Monday nights October 3, 10, 17, and 24 from 6:30-9:00 p.m.. Where: Meeting at…
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George’s Mill Farm: Memories of the Past
Presented by Fran Wire to the Lovettsville Historical Society, May 20, 2018 Editor’s note: Following is the text of Fran Wire’s talk, presented as part of the Lovettsville Historical Society’s…
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Next in the Lovettsville Historical Society’s lecture series:
“Secrets of Catoctin Mountain: Little-Known Stories & Hidden History of Frederick & Loudoun Counties” Presented by author Jim Rada Sunday, August 21, at 2:00 p.m. In-person at Lovettsville Town Council…
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Our July Newsletter is now available!
Our July Newsletter can be accessed here. News of upcoming lectures and other news shorts, plus features on Anthony Wayne’s march through Virginia on his way to Yorktown, and Part…
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LHS Lecture Series: The Indian Mounds of Loudoun County and Northern Virginia Piedmont
Next in the Lovettsville Historical Society’s lecture series: “The Indian Mounds of Loudoun County and Northern Virginia Piedmont” Sunday, July 10, at 2:00 p.m. In-person at Lovettsville Town Council Chamber…
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Fifth grader Gwendolyn Hanger wins LHS History Award
Fifth grader Gwendolyn Hanger was the winner of the Lovettsville Historical Society’s annual History Award, conferred upon a deserving student as part of the Fifth Grade Farewell Ceremony. The ceremony…
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When Anthony Wayne Marched Through Loudoun
The 241st anniversary of General Anthony Wayne’s crossing of the Potomac with his Pennsylvania troops was commemorated on June 4 at the “Spirit of Loudoun” Revolutionary War Memorial. The event…
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Looking for our Palatine German ancestors — Part II: A Visit to New York’s Schoharie Valley
By: Edward Spannaus If you have visited the Lovettsville Museum, you may have seen a display called “How We Got Here: The Palatine Emigration to America, and to the German…
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LHS’s Lecture Series – Lafayette’s Farewell Tour – 6/26/2022
Next in the Lovettsville Historical Society’s lecture series: “Lafayette: Our Nation’s Adopted Son and His Farewell Tour of the America He Loved” Sunday, June 26, at 2:00 p.m. In-person at…
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Our June 2022 Newsletter is out!
The June newsletter is available here, with history features, a listing of our upcoming lectures, nearby events of interest, and more.
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The Schoolhouse on South Loudoun Street
The house at the point where South Loudoun and Locust Streets intersect, has recently undergone a renovation, as many have noticed. This building has a storied history. It was cited…
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Volunteer Updating Museum Inventory
Since early March, visitors to the Lovettsville Museum may have noticed a young woman quietly working with items from the Museum collection, entering descriptions in a laptop computer, and photographing each…
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Five More Revolutionary War Patriots Honored
Five more Revolutionary War Patriots were honored in an April 10 ceremony at the New Jerusalem Lutheran Church Cemetery in Lovettsville. The grave-marking event was sponsored by three local chapters…
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Friends of Mount Sinai Cemetery Address Board of Supervisors
Representatives of the Family & Friends of Mount Sinai Cemetery and the Lovettsville Historical Society addressed the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors on April 19, urging the Board to take…
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Capt. Sam Means, Founder of Loudoun Rangers, Honored at Graveside Ceremony
Captain Samuel C. Means, who commanded the Independent Loudoun Rangers during the Civil War, has finally received a U.S. government-issued headstone for his burial site, 138 years after his death…
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Remembering Lafayette’s Visit to Loudoun
By: Nancy Spannaus* One year before the 250th Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, the nation will celebrate the 200th anniversary of the visit by one of the leading figures…
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Next in…
Next in the Lovettsville Historical Society’s lecture series: Lovettsville’s Hidden History:Mount Sinai Church & Cemetery Sunday, April 3, at 2:00 p.m. In-person at Lovettsville Town Council Chamber (behind the Museum)…
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Our March newsletter, the “Doctors Issue,” is now available
Our March newsletter, featuring stories about Lovettsville’s doctors of the 19th and 20th centuries, is now available here.
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“Doctors’ House” on East Broad Way will be preserved
The “Doctors’ House,” used by three local physicians for their offices from the 1890s to the 1930s, was in danger of being demolished after it was put on the market…
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Lovettsville’s Doctors over the Years: Medical Ledgers Added to Museum Collection
Physician ledgers from the 1920s and 1930s were recently found during the renovation of the Rollins house at 30 East Broad Way, which is being carried out by Fred Lee…
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Dr. Willard’s Journals being digitized at Lovettsville Museum
The Lovettsville Historical Society is in the process of scanning three journals and medical ledgers of Dr. James Willard, who owned the stately brick Federalist Home at 14 East Pennsylvania…
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LHS Lecture Series to resume with “The Loudouners who Challenged Thomas Jefferson”
Presented by Nancy B. Spannaus Sunday, March 13, at 2:00 p.m. In-person at Lovettsville Town Council Chamber (behind the Museum) and Online via Zoom After almost two years of suspension…
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Our February 2022 Newsletter is Ready for You to Read!
Our February 2002 Newsletter is now available, and you can read it here. And if you missed the January newsletter, it is here.
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In Memoriam: Fran Wire
The Lovettsville Historical Society is saddened by the death of Fran Wire, the proprietor of George’s Mill, who was a leader of the Historical Society for many years. Fran served…
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Bicentennial Costumes Donated to the Museum
The costumes worn by Michael and Julia Kretsinger during the 1976 Bicentennial celebration in Lovettsville have been donated to the Lovettsville Museum by their family. Susan Kretsinger Geary, pictured above, presented the costumes to…
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Linden Hall Farm barn restoration continues
Those passing by Linden Hall Farm on the Berlin Turnpike north of Lovettsville over the past year, will have noticed a “new” barn being built…
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Charlotte and Emanuel
By Lori Hinterleiter Kimball There are times when doing historical research that something – a person, an event, a reference – grabs the researcher’s attention and beckons to be investigated. …
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John G. Lewis Memorial Bridge Rehabilitation
John G. Lewis Memorial Bridge Rehabilitation: Preserving a Loudoun County Historical Landmark By: Clare Matheny [slideshow_deploy id=’4828′] If you have driven on Milltown Road, Taylorstown Road, or Loyalty Road in…
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Looking for our Palatine German ancestors: A short trip to New York’s Mohawk Valley
Looking for our Palatine German ancestors: A short trip to New York’s Mohawk Valley By Edward Spannaus If you have visited the Lovettsville Museum, you may have seen a display…
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The Wright brothers’ roots in the German Settlement
On Dec. 21, the Town of Hillsboro unveiled a refurbished historical marker honoring Susan Koerner Wright, the month of the pioneers of flight, Wilbur and Orville Wright. You can read…
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Aircraft Part from 1940 Lovettsville Crash Donated to Museum
[slideshow_deploy id=’4755′] A piece of machined metal from the August 31, 1940 airplane crash near Lovettsville has been donated to the Lovettsville Museum by Robert Zirkle and Carol Sue Zirkle…
