Feature Article
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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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“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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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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The Creation of Mount Sinai Church and School, as reported by the Loudoun Telephone, 1883-1887
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…
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“Know All Men by These Presents:” Taverns and Houses of Entertainment in Old Lovettsville
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…
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Robert Booth’s Legacy: Early Dutchman’s Creek Pioneer
(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…
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Honoring Those Interred at the Mount Sinai Cemetery — Part IV
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…
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The Ruse/Reed log farmhouse collapses during demolition
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.…
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Honoring Those Interred at the Mount Sinai Cemetery — Part III
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…
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Linden Hall establishes conservation easement
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…
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Honoring Those Interred at Mount Sinai Cemetery — Part II
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…
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Charles W. Johnson: The Spy Who Walked a Crooked Line
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…
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Honoring Those Interred at Mount Sinai Cemetery
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…
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Remembering Private Samuel Benjamin Timbers
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…
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New Jerusalem’s Gold Star Flag
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…
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Hidden History: Mount Sinai Church and Cemetery at “Little Britain”
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…
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Part II of “The Right to Vote: An Ancestral Story
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…
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Black Voter Register from 1890s Found in Museum
(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…
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The Right to Vote: An Ancestral Story
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…
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In Fond Memory: Elaine Walker
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,…
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Spanish Flu Hit in Brunswick Hard in October 1918
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…
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What we are losing, by demolishing the Community Center building
Many long-time Lovettsville residents spent uncounted hours playing baseball in the ball field behind the Community Center, formerly the Lovettsville School. For years, a plaque stood above the ball…
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History Mystery: John Axline’s Revolutionary War Service
By Edward Spannaus For some years, I have been puzzled by the oft-repeated story of Lovettsville’s John Axline in the Revolutionary War: that he alternately served in Lt. Col. Posey’s…
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Our April 2019 Newsletter is now available!
Our April newsletter has just been published. Read it here.
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Capt. Luther W. Slater: A Life of Service
By Edward Spannaus Luther Slater is the only commissioned Union officer from the Civil War who is buried in Lovettsville. He was the highest-ranking elected officer in the Independent…
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On 75th Anniversary of Anzio Landing, Remembering Lovettsville’s Raymond Cooper
Today, January 22, 2019, Sicily-Rome American Cemetery in Nettuno, Italy, will host a series of commemorative events beginning with a ceremony at 10:30 a.m. to mark the 75th anniversary…
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Purcellville Gazette: Lovettsville Museum Renovations Showcase New Interpretive Displays, New Sign Welcomes Visitors (11/30/2018)
[slideshow_deploy id=’3071′] Reprinted with permission from the Purcellville Gazette, November 30, 2018 Issue Photographs by Eric Wickstrom The Lovettsville Museum’s new scarlet red sign was hung on the west…
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Girl Scouts Enjoy the Lovettsville Museum’s First Downtown Walking Tour (11/12/2018)
[slideshow_deploy id=’3100′] The Lovettsville Museum recently hosted a field trip with Lovettsville Girl Scout Troop 70074, a large and active troop of fourth grade Junior-level Girl Scouts from Lovettsville Elementary…
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Lovettsville Veterans of World War One
One hundred years ago on the 11th day of the 11th month at the 11th hour, the guns fell silent across the battlefields, ending the the First World War. The…
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The Civil War Letters of a Lovettsville Pastor, Rev. Xenophon J. Richardson
Introduction: The following letters, written by Rev. Xenophon J. Richardson from New Jerusalem Lutheran Church, Lovettsville, Loudoun County, Virginia, were published in The Lutheran Observer in the winter of 1864-1865.…
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New Historical Marker Honors Margaret Mercer (2018)
by Edward Spannaus, Board Member Lovettsville Historical Society & Museum Educator and abolitionist Margaret Mercer was honored at the unveiling of the Belmont Chapel Historic Marker at St. David’s Episcopal Church and…
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The History of Lovettsville’s Oktoberfest, by Michael Zapf (2018)
“Oktoberfest” conjures up the famous Munich Oktoberfest that attracts millions every year, an extravaganza that began in October 1810 as a celebration of the marriage of Crown Prince Ludwig (later…
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Civil War History Mystery: The Strange Case of the Disappearing Cavalry Captain, Fielding A. Patterson (2018)
by Edward Spannaus, Board Member, Lovettsville Historical Society & Museum The Loudoun Rangers, a Union scouting and cavalry unit, were initially recruited mostly from Lovettsville and Waterford in the summer…
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“What the Heck” Guessing Game Goes to the Lovettsville Library (2018)
A portion of the Lovettsville Museum’s popular “What the Heck IS This Thing?” mystery items guessing game, is currently on display at the Lovettsville Library. Drop by the Library today — or use the links below…
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Lovettsville Alumni Association Celebrates 101st Anniversary (2018)
With Pamela A. Potts, Donald Fletcher, Judy Virts-Beard Fox, Elaine Walker, Belle Ware, Fred George III and Allen Baker Jr at the Lovettsville Game Protective Association. Photo courtesy of Allen Baker, Jr. See also: http://www.lovettsvillehistoricalsociety.org/index.php/lovettsville-alumni-association-celebrates-50th-anniversary-1967/
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SOLVED: Lovettsville History-Mystery #4: Revolutionary War Hero Sgt. Lawrence Everhart (2018)
by Edward Spannaus, Researcher & Vice President, Lovettsville Historical Society. Sgt. Lawrence Everhart of Revolutionary War fame is claimed by both Lovettsville, Virginia, and by Middletown, in Frederick County, Maryland. …
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The Richard H. Hickman Scrapbook Collection (2018)
Out of the File Cabinets, and Into Archival Sleeves. The Lovettsville Museum is excited to announce that the entire multi-volume Richard H. Hickman Scrapbook Collection has been placed in protective page sleeves by…
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What Was That Building On Lovettsville’s Locust Street? (2018)
by Edward Spannaus Lovettsville Historical Society Board Member and Researcher The greyish, barn-like building on South Locust Street, Lovettsville, Virginia, recently taken down, is believed by most local historians to…
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Lovettsville Historical Society Visits Threatened Aldie Landmark (2018)
by Rich Gillespie Sometimes organizations from opposite ends of the county put out a helping hand to each other. Such was the case on Saturday, January 20, 2018, when members…
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The Fascinating Story Behind Wilfred Emory Cutshaw’s Crumbling 1854 Book (2018)
by Mike Zapf, Researcher and Member of the Board of Directors, Lovettsville Historical Society & Museum I recently discovered an old book, among many that Tom Bullock, past president…
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Indexing the Lovettsville Museum’s Files (2018)
The Lovettsville Historical Society & Museum has a growing archive of documents, maps, and photos pertaining to the history of Lovettsville and the surrounding German Settlement. LHS Vice President and…
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1940 Lovettsville Airline Disaster Archive
Visit the Lovettsville Historical Society website’s 1940 Lovettsville Airline Disaster Archive to watch a documentary film, read the text from several 1940 newspapers, look at newspaper wire photos, and read the final…
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The Story of Potterfield’s Meat Store, Now Home to the Lovettsville Museum (2017)
by Elaine Walker The building that today houses the Lovettsville Historical Society & Museum, was originally known as the Potterfield Meat Store. Owned and operated by Thomas Potterfield, who lived…
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SOLVED: Lovettsville History-Mystery #2 (2016)
Lovettsville High School, Class of 1942 Group Photo Click on photo to download larger photo JPEG. First row (left to right): James “Jimmy” George, Edward Brooke, Vivian Viola McGaha (Lynn), Graham Spring,…
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“Gillespie Takes Listeners Back to 1865-1866,” Reprinted from The Brunswick Citizen (2016)
by John P. Flannery. Article originally published on February 18, 2016 by The Brunswick Citizen. Reprinted with permission. On Sunday, [Feb. 14, 2016], Richard Gillespie, [then] Executive Director of the Mosby Heritage Area…
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19th Century Book Returns To Lovettsville – Leesburg Today (2014)
by Margaret Morton, Leesburg Today, November 7, 2014. An autograph book from the Civil War era will come home to Lovettsville Saturday, November 7, 2014, where it will be welcomed…
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“Lovettsville: A Working Town, Or Bedroom Community?” by Edward Spannaus (2014)
Remarks delivered by Edward Spannaus at the Lovettsville Alumni Association Dinner, June 14, 2014, based on a memorandum prepared by Spannaus when he served on the Lovettsville Comprehensive Plan Advisory…
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“The Lovettsville Butcher Shop Complex As I Knew It,” by Glenn L. Grove (1991)
by Glenn L. Grove The museum housed in the old butcher shop is a great asset to the town of Lovettsville. However most of the buildings are gone and probably…
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VIDEO: Lovettsville Episodes of “Loudoun Scrapbook” (circa 1990)
Jump in our Wayback Machine to the days of VHS videotapes, and watch two back-to-back Lovettsville Episodes of the public access television program Loudoun Scrapbook on YouTube. Guests interviewed and…
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The Meaning Behind the Lovettsville Community Quilt (1990)
Did you know that Lovettsville’s downtown district is listed on the National Register of Historic Places? And that Lovettsville is the only town or village in Loudoun County with a…
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The Origins of Lovettsville’s Oktoberfest, by Jean S. Mohler (1976)
“It was felt by the Lovettsville Bicentennial Committee, when planning an activity for the fall of 1976, that since Lovettsville was settled by Germans in the 1730s, it would enrich…
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The Lovettsville Midtown Fire of 1923, by Yetive Weatherly (1976)
[Excerpted from the book “Lovettsville, The German Settlement” by Yetive Weatherly, published in 1976] In 1923, Robert Grubb’s general store, located in midtown Lovettsville on the corner of Broadway and…
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“Lovettsville Had Zoning Laws, Sunday Laws in 1842” by Laura A. Potterfield (1976)
Interest in Loudoun County, Virginia history has been running high these days, especially around Lovettsville, where last week the Home Demonstration Club, in support of the Bicentennial, sold more pins,…
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Lovettsville Alumni Association Celebrates 50th Anniversary (1967)
When the Lovettsville Alumni Association holds its annual banquet Saturday night, it will not only be celebrating its 50th anniversary but also paying tribute to two grand ladies who have helped…
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Miss Elaine Painter Weds Clifton Thomas Walker In Beautiful Setting At St. James United Church of Christ (1959)
Amid a beautiful setting of canlabra, palms, farm, gladioli and mums, Miss Elaine Dolores Painter, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William Painter of Lovettsville, and Clifton Thomas Walker, son of…
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Three Buildings Destroyed In Big Lovettsville Fire (9-10-1923)
Loss of $20,000 Sustained in Midnight Blaze in Virginia Town Family Flees From Apartment to Safety Brunswick Fire Engine Saves Little Town From Total Destruction — The Frederick Maryland…
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“The Pennsylvania Germans in Loudoun County, Virginia” (1908)
“The Pennsylvania Germans in Loudoun County, Virginia,” by Briscoe Goodhart. A chapter excerpted from The Pennsylvania German, Volume 9, A Popular Magazine of Biography, History, Genealogy, Folklore, Literature, Etc., dated…
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![Thumbnail for the post titled: 1863 Map of Fauquier & Loudon [sic] Counties, Virginia (1863)](http://www.lovettsvillehistoricalsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/1863-4x6-Map-of-Fauquier-and-Loudon-Va-Postcard-Front-1.jpg)
1863 Map of Fauquier & Loudon [sic] Counties, Virginia (1863)
Cropped detail of the area of Lovettsville, Virginia and environs from the Civil War map titled “1863 Map of Fauquier & Loudon [sic] Counties, Virginia, By order of Lt. Col.…