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 year, you have seen the detour signs for Featherbed Lane…. Continue Reading →
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 called “How We Got Here: The Palatine Emigration to America,… Continue Reading →
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 about the ceremony here and here. At the ceremony, the… Continue Reading →
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, Virginia. The item was part of the estate of Robert’s… Continue Reading →
The December Newsletter has been published, and is available by clicking here.
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 stable which was probably built or rebuilt by Luther… Continue Reading →
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 Telephone in November and December 1887. The first article tells… Continue Reading →
The LHS Newsletter for November 2021 is now out. Click here to read it.
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 might call them stilt houses) which were built around Lake… Continue Reading →
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 Sinai Cemetery, the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors will take… Continue Reading →
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 from her office and from the office of Catoctin District… Continue Reading →
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 – tree trunk stones, tree stump stones, treestones – they… Continue Reading →
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 to the Lovettsville area via northern Baltimore County, not through… Continue Reading →
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 our January and February issues, we were reminded of what… Continue Reading →
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 the Revolutionary War.
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 of the American Revolution (SAR). The five Patriots honored in… Continue Reading →
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 in the Revolutionary War.”) On June 14, 1775 – and… Continue Reading →
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 Dr. Donald Cooper of Leesburg and Fairfax Resolves Chapter SAR):… Continue Reading →
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 is the slide show that was presented by Michael Zapf… Continue Reading →
You can watch a YouTube video of the complete grave-marking ceremony 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 as the annual Lovettsville Elementary School history award, and announcements… Continue Reading →
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 Claudette Bard, Ed Bard, and Ed Spannaus. We were spreading… Continue Reading →
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, by nearly everyone in Lovettsville and beyond. Additionally, he was… Continue Reading →
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 Lovettsville. Plus an obituary for Dr. Herbert Trexler, a mainstay… Continue Reading →
We have located additional Lovettsville Revolutionary War Patriots, thanks to a database of burials compiled by the Virginia Society of the Sons of the American Revolution (VASSAR). This includes three buried at the old Reformed (St. James) Cemetery, one at… Continue Reading →
By Howard Gilbert Timbers An important landmark of the Timbers Family history is the small community near Lovettsville, Virginia called Little Britain. This small, rural close-knit African-American community was centered around its church (Mount Sinai Free Will Baptist Church), which… Continue Reading →
Herbert Traxler 5 February 1945-24 April 2021 “The most beautiful memorial that a person can receive, stands in the hearts of his fellow men.” Lovettsville’s Oktoberfest lost one of its most enthusiastic and long-time supporters in April. Dr. Herbert Traxler,… Continue Reading →
Clare Matheny, a graduate student and a resident of the Taylorstown area, has created a video about the Taylorstown Mill and the efforts over time to preserve it, which she has agreed to share with us. Thank you, Clare…. Continue Reading →
by Edward Spannaus (The Loudoun Telephone was a Republican Party-oriented newspaper published in Hamilton, Virginia, in the late 19th century. The following are news reports about the establishment of the Mount Sinai Free Will Baptist Church, as published between the initial… Continue Reading →
By Lori Hinterleiter Kimball We are fortunate to have access to many restaurants, B&Bs, and pubs in Loudoun County. Of course, they are not new things! Ordinaries, taverns, and houses of entertainment were serving and accommodating people long before… Continue Reading →
On April 15, the Loudoun County Heritage Commission sent a letter to the Family & Friends of Mount Sinai Cemetery, a project of the Lovettsville Historical Society, supporting the group’s request to have representatives appointed as Trustees for the cemetery… Continue Reading →
Family & Friends of Mount Sinai Cemetery gathered at the cemetery site on April 10 to begin the process of clearing part of the property in anticipation of eventually clearing the entire site and restoring the cemetery. Since the property… Continue Reading →
Our latest newsletter issue, for April 2021, is now available. One of the history features is about the Hawker log store, and how it made its way from Sunnyside, a community in southeast Frederick County MD, to Lovettsville. And we… Continue Reading →
The Family & Friends of Mount Sinai Cemetery, consisting of families of those buried in the Mount Sinai Free Will Baptist Cemetery near Lovettsville, as well as neighbors and others, have appealed to the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors for… Continue Reading →
By Edward Spannaus The 19th-century Mount Sinai Free Will Baptist Church, at “Little Britain” southwest of Lovettsville, has a history which is unique among the churches – black and white – in Loudoun County. Its origins were in the… Continue Reading →
By Sarah Searle When my husband and I purchased our small farmstead on Purcell Road, just outside the town limits of Lovettsville, it was through the eyes of two people who had grown up here and who were familiar… Continue Reading →
Family and Friends of Mount Sinai Cemetery are planning a Spring clean-up, as a first step toward a restoration of this historic cemetery which was active from at least 1887 to 1955, perhaps longer. The cemetery now sits on private… Continue Reading →
Our latest newsletter, for March 2021, is now available. It features articles on Robert Booth, an early Dutchman’s Creek Pioneer, and on Mount Sinai Cemetery — both announcing that family and friends of Mount Sinai are planning a cemetery clean-up,… Continue Reading →
(Updated 3/14/21) By Harold Gladstone Introduction Five years before Thomas, 6th Lord Fairfax granted 17,296 acres of land Northwest of Lovettsville to his recently appointed land agent and cousin Colonel William Fairfax[1], Robert Booth was granted 600 acres of land… Continue Reading →
By Claudette Lewis Bard This month we are continuing our series about those interred at Mount Sinai Cemetery. Among those discussed will be a family who were among the several thousand African Americans in Loudoun County who were free people… Continue Reading →
Our feature-filled newsletter for February is now available here.
In our last issue, we reported on the history of the Ruse-Reed homestead on the Lovettsville Community Park site, and how the County was planning on demolishing the old farmhouse. That has now happened, more quickly than expected. At the… Continue Reading →
By Claudette Lewis Bard This month we are continuing our series about those interred at Mount Sinai Cemetery. Among those discussed are an early civil rights activist and registered voter and several children whose short lives bring to light how… Continue Reading →
By Edward Spannaus I was staffing the Museum about a year ago – when we were still open – when a somewhat familiar-looking gentleman walked in. He introduced himself as Wayne Allgaier from the Brunswick History Commission, and I immediately… Continue Reading →
By Bart Hodgson Linden Hall Farm, LLC is pleased to announce the recording of a Conservation Easement in the land records of Loudoun County, Virginia. In doing so, Linden Hall will join over 75,000 acres of land protected by… Continue Reading →
Our January 2021 Newsletter is now available — with news and updates about the Lovettsville Historical Society, history features on the Ruse/Reed farmstead on the Lovettsville Community Park property, more history of the Ruse family (whose history shows many features… Continue Reading →
By Lori Hinterleiter Kimball Anyone walking or driving recently by the intersection of East Broad Way/Milltown Road and Lovettsville Road would have noticed earth-moving equipment contouring the land in preparation for our new community park. We will have ballfields,… Continue Reading →
By Edward Spannaus Christian Gottlieb Ruse (1746 – 1821) and Anna Catherine Ruse (1756? – 1802) came to our attention some years ago, because they were early owners of the land on which the Lovettsville Community Park was to be… Continue Reading →
by Claudette Lewis Bard In December’s newsletter, we remembered several Lovettsville residents who are interred at the Mount Sinai Cemetery. As we acknowledged, there could be as many as 100 people who made that plot of land their final resting… Continue Reading →
We have just published our December 2020 newsletter. You can get it here.
We asked Sam Kroiz, proprietor of the George’s Mill Farm Store, to tell us about Charles Johnson’s relation to George’s Mill and various Lovettsville families. Charles Johnson was Sam’s third great-grandfather, a line which runs through his grandmother, Fran Wire,… Continue Reading →
By Edward Spannaus The Charles Johnson who featured in the fracas following a Republican event in Waterford in November 1888 was no stranger to conflict – be it of the military or political sort. In post-Reconstruction Loudoun he was known… Continue Reading →
This story in the November issue of the Waterford Foundation newsletter caught our eye, especially the part at the end of the story about the 1888 brawl with a group of visitor from Lovettsville. We started checking into it, and… Continue Reading →
by Claudette Lewis Bard In our October newsletter, we featured an article entitled “Hidden History: The Mount Sinai Church and Cemetery at ‘Little Britain.’” The article chronicled the once-thriving African-American community called Guinea or Little Britain which was located… Continue Reading →
Here’s a story you may have missed, in the absence of the Brunswick Citizen and its news coverage of “Greater Lovettsville”. We learned about this incident from the Hagerstown news source WDVM, which published out a story and a video… Continue Reading →
In the October 2020 Lovettsville Historical Society Newsletter, there was a story entitled “Hidden History: Mount Sinai Church and Cemetery at ‘Little Britain.’” My family has a connection to the cemetery that I would like to share with you. I… Continue Reading →
Memorial Address for Elaine Walker Delivered by Michael Zapf on behalf of the Lovettsville Historical Society, October 10th, 2020 at the Walker Pavilion, Lovettsville Elaine Walker’s career in the administration of Lovettsville’s town government is a testimony of the love… Continue Reading →
Our October 2020 Newsletter is now available and ready for your reading enjoyment. This issue features an article on the World War II Gold Star Service Flag at New Jerusalem Lutheran Church; a new feature on “Hidden History: the Mount… Continue Reading →
New Jerusalem’s Gold Star Flag To accompany the dedication of the Gold Star Families Memorial Monument at the south entrance to Lovettsville on September 11, we thought it would be fitting to recall the story of the Gold Star service… Continue Reading →
Anyone passing through the intersection of Mountain Road and Britain Road southwest of the town of Lovettsville, would have no idea that this was once the center of a vibrant Black community, centered on a general store on the west… Continue Reading →
By Claudette Lewis Bard Click here for Part I Last month, we briefly chronicled the lives of 37 African-American men whose names were included in the “List of Colored Voters Registered at Lovettsville Precinct.” Our stories unexpectedly coincided with… Continue Reading →
(Updated 1/11/2021) A few years ago, volunteers working in the Lovettsville Museum found a list of registrations of Black voters in Lovettsville, dating from 1888 to 1900. The original voter register was among a set of 12 school registers from… Continue Reading →
By Claudette Bard Like many African Americans, my genealogical journey began when I watched Roots, the television mini-series that aired in 1977, which chronicled Alex Haley’s family history. I sat down a few years after that viewing to speak… Continue Reading →
During colonial times, it was common for land tracts to be given colorful names, such as “Tasker’s Chance,” “Arnold’s Delight,” “Mortality,” or “Mill’s Folly” — all of which were in nearby Frederick County, Maryland. “Folly” was often used in land… Continue Reading →
Our August Newsletter is now available, featuring an introduction to the Loudoun Farm Heritage Museum and the role that Lovettsville-area farming plays in the story it tells. Get the Newsletter here.
Visitors from the Lovettsville area who have toured the Loudoun Heritage Farm Museum in Sterling for the first time, are pleasantly surprised to find that the Western Loudoun County and the Lovettsville area are well-represented in the Farm Museum’s… Continue Reading →
The Lovettsville Historical Society is sponsoring an exciting new project, called “Voices of Lovettsville,” to collect stories of our local citizens’ experiences during these extraordinary times of the coronavirus. Sheryl Frye has volunteered to lead this project over the next… Continue Reading →
Our July newsletter launches the “Voices of Lovettsville” campaign, to collect the stories of your experiences in the time of Covid-19. And our history feature story is a bit of a history mystery: discovering how the Spanish Flu epidemic affected… Continue Reading →
The Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918-1919 was the worst ever in world history – except perhaps for the 14th century Black Death — taking an estimated 675,000 lives in the United States, and 50 to 100 million worldwide. No… Continue Reading →
The June newsletter provides a guide to Loudoun County online history resources, and highlights our remembrance of former Mayor and LHS Board Member Elaine Walker. History features include a Civil War story by Jim Rada, “The Great Calico Raid;” a… Continue Reading →
The passing of former Lovettsville Mayor Elaine Walker, on May 31, marks the end of an era. Her decades-long commitment to public service, her devotion to the Lovettsville community, and her love of our community’s history, define Elaine as… Continue Reading →
James Rada was scheduled to be our speaker for the May 17 presentation in our monthly Lecture Series — which is now on hold due to the Coronavirus shutdown of public events. We asked Mr. Rada if he would submit… Continue Reading →
The Spanish Flu hit the United States in three waves in 1918-19. The first, which was for the most part mild and non-fatal, broke out in March 1918, in Kansas, mostly among young men in the military. Over the… Continue Reading →
The following letter was sent to the Board of Supervisors by the Executive Committee of the Loudoun County Preservation and Conservation Coalition: May 1, 2020 The Honorable Phyllis Randall Chair, Loudoun County Board of Supervisors 1 Harrison Street SE Leesburg, VA 20177-7000… Continue Reading →
Memorial Day remarks by Edward Spannaus, Lovettsville Historical Society, May 25, 2020, delivered as part of the Town of Lovettsville’s virtual Memorial Day Ceremony. The video of the entire event can be viewed here. I’m speaking to you from… Continue Reading →
We have just published our monthly newsletter for May 2020. Even though we are forced to close the Museum, and postpone all lectures until it is safe to meet again, there is still lots to do. This issue continues our… Continue Reading →
This is the letter sent to the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors by the Lovettsville Alumni Association, asking the Board to halt the demolition of the Community Center with its classrooms from theold Lovettsville School:
By Nancy Spannaus In the Hamilton-vs.-Jefferson conflict that raged throughout America in the early Republic, there weren’t many parts of Virginia which consistently elected opponents of Thomas Jefferson, but one of them was Loudoun County. From the Constitutional ratification convention… Continue Reading →
The Loudoun County Heritage Commission sent a letter to the Board of Supervisors on March 31 supporting the Lovettsville Historical Society and the Lovettsville Alumni Association in their efforts to save the historic sections of the Lovettsville Community Center building,… Continue Reading →
On April 14, 2020, Fred George, President of the Lovettsville Historical Society, sent the following letter to Catoctin Supervisor Caleb Kushner and the entire Loudoun County Board of Supervisors:
The Lovettsville Museum and our lecture series is shut down, but history is not shut down! It is open. We continue to bring you our newsletter, in which we will point you to some useful on-line resources which you can use to enrich your… Continue Reading →
Hessian Soldiers in Lovettsville By Edward Spannaus During the American Revolution, tens of thousands of German soldiers were sent by their rulers to fight against the American colonists on behalf of the British crown. Thousands of them defected and stayed… Continue Reading →
It is well-known that Alexander Hamilton’s vision of America’s future as an industrialized nation was not broadly popular in Virginia, where the opposition was led by Thomas Jefferson. But not all Virginians shared Jefferson’s animosity. Here in northern Virginia,… Continue Reading →
By Michael Zapf In our February 2020 Newsletter we introduced Dr. James A. Willard, who resided and practiced in Lovettsville from 1867 until his death in 1906. Two sources of information give us in-depth insights into the man and his… Continue Reading →
German Immigrants, American Pioneers: The Brunners of Schifferstadt Presented by Patricia Ogden and Boyce Rensberger Sunday, March 8, at 2:00 p.m. St. James United Church of Christ, Lovettsville, Va. The saga of one desperate German family’s search for a better… Continue Reading →
You can get it here.
By Michael Zapf Readers may recall the article published on the Lovettsville Historical Society website of January 25th, 2018, “The Fascinating Story Behind Wilfred Emory Cutshaw’s Crumbling 1854 Book” which also appeared as “Gems of the Lovettsville Historical Society and… Continue Reading →
Kicking off the Lovettsville Historical Society’s 2020 Lecture Series: “Lovettsville 101” An Introduction to The German Settlement Sunday, February 9, 2020, at 2:00 p.m. St. James United Church of Christ 10 East Broad Way, Lovettsville Some Lovettsvillians have lived here… Continue Reading →
Get the full January issue here. Feb. 9: “Lovettsville 101:” An introduction to The German Settlement Rob Jones honored at LHS Annual Membership Meeting Feature article: Luther Potterfield and the Lovettsville Potterfields: A Family Divided Rev. George Handley (1930-2019), LHS lecture… Continue Reading →
Luther H. Potterfield and the Lovettsville Potterfields: A Family Divided By Edward Spannaus (This is an edited version of talk presented to the Lovettsville Historical Society, on Sept. 20, 2015) The Civil War period in Lovettsville is book-ended… Continue Reading →
The Rev. George E. Handley, who spoke as part of the Lovettsville Historical Society’s lecture series in 2015, died on Dec. 20,2019 in Winchester. Funeral services were held at the Village at Orchard Ridge in Winchester on Dec…. Continue Reading →
The first order of business at the Lovettsville Historical Society’s 2019 Annual Membership Meeting on Dec. 15, was the presentation of a donation to retired Marine Sergeant and Paralympic Bronze Medalist, Rob Jones, for the benefit of the Loudoun-based Coalition… Continue Reading →
Why does that house have two front doors? One little-known feature which gives the Lovettsville area a distinctive Germanic flavor, is the presence of a number of two-door houses – that is, two front doors – which are… Continue Reading →
“The Lost History of Potomac Marble” Presented by Paul Kreingold. Conservation Director of the Loudoun County Chapter of the Izaak Walton League of America. Sunday, November 10, at 2:00 p.m. When the Capitol of the United States was rebuilt after… Continue Reading →
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