Author: LHS_Admin
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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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LHS 2024 Lecture Series: “For Britannia’s Glory and Wealth”
Next in the Lovettsville Historical Society’s 2024 Lecture Series: “For Britannia’s Glory and Wealth” Presented by Glenn Williams, Ph.D. Sunday, March 10, 2024, at 2:00 p.m. St. James United Church…
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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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Reminder: Annual Membership Meeting 2024 on Sunday, January 14th
The Annual Meeting will include a report on highlights of our activities over the past year and the year to come, by our President Fred Lee George III – who…
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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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Notice to LHS Members: Annual Membership Meeting of the Lovettsville Historical Society
Notice to LHS Members: Annual Membership Meetingof the Lovettsville Historical Society Sunday, January 14, at 2:00 p.m.St. James United Church of Christ10 East Broad Way, Lovettsville The Lovettsville Historical Society…
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Announcing our 2024 Lecture Series
We are pleased to announce the first four speakers in our Second Sunday Lecture Series: Feb. 11 — “Incident at Griffin’s Wharf: The Boston Tea Party and After.” Join Loudoun…
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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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Oktoberfest 2023: Honoring Lovettsville’s Distinguished Residents
By Michael Zapf Honoring Lovettsville’s Residents of Distinction has been a feature of the Oktoberfest for several years. The task of selecting and inviting the honoree had been the task of the…
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Next in the Lovettsville Historical Society’s 2023 Lecture Series:
“The Botanical History of Northern Loudoun County” Presented by Curtis Adams Sunday, November 12, at 2:00 p.m. St. James United Church of Christ10 East Broad Way, Lovettsville On Sunday, November…
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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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June 2023 Newsletter
If you did not receive the June 2023 Newsletter, click the link below to access the latest edition! June 2023 Newsletter If you want to sign up to receive and…
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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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April Newsletter
If you missed the latest Newsletter you can view it here: https://mailchi.mp/9bfbfc32fb26/news-from-the-lovettsville-historical-society?fbclid=IwAR2ATdsb1KSknJHULsSQMKkm_qAFDCeh3svU_9DvnOj84gimi0GrUSj_cVw If you want to view past newsletters or sign up to receive the next edition, check out the…
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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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Opening the Lovettsville Historical Society’s 2023 Lecture Series:
“I am persuaded they will do great Execution:” The Maryland and Virginia Rifle Companies of 1775. At 2pm on Sunday, February 19, for the launching of Lovettsville Historical Society’s 2023…
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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 If you have driven on Milltown Road, Taylorstown Road, or Loyalty Road in the past…
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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
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 of Shenandoah,…
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Our December 2021 Newsletter is now available
The December Newsletter has been published, and is available by clicking here.
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The Luther Potterfield Stable, and The Block That Was Too Big for Itself
Some of you may have noticed the restoration work being done on the red barn at the corner of Locust Street and Pennsylvania Avenue. That structure was once a livery…
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Christmas at Mount Sinai — 1886
The following reports of activities at Mount Sinai Free Will Baptist Church, located at the intersection of Mountain Road and Britain Road southwest of Lovettsville, were published in the Loudoun…
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Our November 2021 Newsletter is now available!
The LHS Newsletter for November 2021 is now out. Click here to read it.
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And you think your log house is old?
While touring the Lake Garda area in northern Italy last month, my wife Nancy and I visited the Museo Rambotti, an archeological museum in Desenzano. This museum features the prehistoric “pile dwellings” (we…
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County Supervisors to take up preservation of Mount Sinai Cemetery
Over a year after the Lovettsville Historical Society began its drive to draw public attention to the plight of the abandoned African-American cemetery on Mountain Road known as the Mount…
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Family & Friends of Mount Sinai Cemetery ask for Board of Supervisors help in preserving abandoned burial ground
On Sept. 7, representatives of the Family & Friends of Mount Sinai Cemetery participated in a virtual meeting with Loudoun County Board of Supervisors Chair Phyllis Randall and with staff…
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Trees Made of Stone
By Lori Hinterleiter Kimball Many cemeteries contain unusually carved or shaped gravestones, but the markers that look like tree trunks are some of the most unusual. Called by various names…
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The family of W.S. Seitz, builder of the Ruse bank barn
Although the Seitzes were not one of the pre-Revolution German families in Lovettsville, the family’s roots were thoroughly grounded in Pennsylvania German and Swiss immigrants. They came from Pennsylvania…
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“A Most Excellent Barn:” A Pennsylvania German Barn in Lovettsville
Editor’s Introduction: In reviewing the research in Lori Kimball’s article on the Ruse-Seitz barn, and comparing the barn to the Ruse log house (built around 1876) which we covered in…
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Our August 2021 Newletter is now available!
Click here for our August issue, featuring the American Revolution — with coverage of the July 24 Patriot grave-marking and materials from our 2011 lecture on the German Settlement in…
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Over 100 attend Revolutionary War ceremony in Lovettsville
Five Revolutionary War Patriots were honored on Saturday, July 24, at an impressive and colorful ceremony held at the New Jerusalem Lutheran Church Cemetery in Lovettsville, sponsored by the Sons…
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Outline of the German role in the Revolutionary War
Outline of the German role in the Revolutionary War (The following are notes prepared by Edward Spannaus for his presentation in the September 11, 2011 lecture on “The German Settlement…
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Who were the five Patriots honored on July 24?
Following are the biographies of the five Revolutionary War Patriots who were recognized in the July 24 grave-marking ceremony at New Jerusalem Lutheran Church Cemetery. Johannes (John) Axline (presented by…
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Slide Show: German Settlement Veterans of the Revolutionary War
Almost ten years ago, on September 11, 2011, the Lovettsville Historical Society presented, as part of its monthly lecture series, a presentation on the German Settlement in the Revolution. Here…
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Video of July 24 Patriot Grave Marking at New Jerusalem Lutheran Church, Lovettsville
You can watch a YouTube video of the complete grave-marking ceremony here.
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Our July 2021 newsletter is here!
Our monthly newsletter for July 2021 has just been published. It features reports on the Museum reopening on August 3, and plans to resume our monthly lecture series, as well…
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LHS Team Brings Mount Sinai Cemetery Story to Juneteenth Celebration
The Family & Friends of Mount Sinai Cemetery, a project of the Lovettsville Historical Society, was at the Leesburg Juneteenth celebration on June 19 at Ida Lee Park. Pictured are…
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Ray and Sarah Edna Anderson: A Profile of Two of Lovettsville’s African-American Citizens
By Claudette Lewis Bard To talk about Ray Anderson is to talk about a Lovettsville legend, a highly-skilled and hard-working gentleman who was known, in the early to mid-20th century,…
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Our June Newsletter is out!
Our June 2021 newsletter is now available online, with stories about the Taylorstown Mill, the Short Hill’s largest known cave, and how we have discovered more Revolutionary War Patriots in…