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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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HARVEST THANKS WORSHIP TRADITION
Please note that the below announcement from the Lovettsville Newsletter has already occurred. This post has been created after a LHS website outage. HARVEST THANKS WORSHIP TRADITION at New Jerusalem…
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Our German Roots: The 1765 Elector’s Bible at New Jerusalem Lutheran Church
A reminder of our German roots was found a few years ago at New Jerusalem Lutheran Church in Lovettsville. It is the oldest Bible at this historic church, a massive tome…
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Next in the Lovettsville Historical Society’s 2024 Lecture Series (September 2024)
Please note that the below lecture already occurred, and this notice is being posted as a place holder after a website outage. Next in the Lovettsville Historical Society’s 2024 Lecture…
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Searching for Anthony Souder
Pictured here are Nancy and Craig Souder from Mint Hill, North Carolina, who visited the Lovettsville Historical Society & Museum recently, while seeking additional information on Anthony Souder and his…
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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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Next in the Lovettsville Historical Society’s 2024 Lecture Series (August 2024)
Please note that the below announcement is a place holder for the August 2024 lecture that occurred on August 18, 2024, after it was rescheduled for unforeseen circumstances. It is posted…
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Next in the Lovettsville Historical Society’s 2024 Lecture Series: “The Catoctin Farmers’ Journals”
Presented by Eugene Scheel Sunday, April 14, 2024, at 2:00 p.m. St. James United Church of Christ,10 East Broad Way, Lovettsville VA On Sunday, April 14, the Lovettsville Historical Society…
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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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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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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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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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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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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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“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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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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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…
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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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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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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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Emory Franklin Timbers: A Fisher of Men
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…
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Herbert Traxler: Pillar of Lovettsville Oktoberfest
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…
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Taylorstown Mill: The Historical Preservation of a Loudoun County Grist Mill (1800-present)
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…
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Loudoun County Heritage Commission endorses request for appointment of Mount Sinai Cemetery Trustees
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…
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Our April 2021 Newsletter is Now Available!
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…
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Family & Friends of Mount Sinai Cemetery seek assistance of Loudoun County Board of Supervisors
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,…
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Mount Sinai Church: A Forgotten Gem of Lovettsville History
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…
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From Sunnyside to Lovettsville: The Hawker Log Store
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…
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Is this a cemetery?
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…
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Our March 2021 Newsletter is now available!
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…
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Our February 2021 Newsletter is now available
Our feature-filled newsletter for February is now available here.
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The Stories behind the Stained-glass Windows at Beans in the Belfry
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…
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The Ruse/Reed Homestead at the Lovettsville Park
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…
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The Ruse Family: A Typical Story of our German Settlers
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…
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Our December 2020 Newsletter is now out!
We have just published our December 2020 newsletter. You can get it here.
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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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When Waterford’s (and Lovettsville’s) Politics Got Out of Hand
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…
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The Mystery of the Re-appearing Gravestones
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…
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Honoring Former Mayor Elaine Walker
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…
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Our October 2020 Newsletter is now available!
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…
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Whose Folly, or Who’s Fawley?
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…
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Our August 2020 Newsletter has launched!
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…
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The Loudoun Heritage Farm Museum: Preserving Loudoun’s Agricultural History – East and West
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…
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“Voices of Lovettsville” — Tell us your coronavirus stories!
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…
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Our July 2020 Newletter is ready
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…
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The Spanish Flu in Lovettsville: a sort of History Mystery
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…
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Our June 2020 Newsletter is now available!
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…
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Secrets of Catoctin Mountain — Excerpt
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…
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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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LOUDOUN COUNTY PRESERVATION AND CONSERVATION COALITION’S LEADERSHIP SEEKS PRESERVATION OF LOVETTSVILLE COMMUNITY CENTER
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…
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“Why Do We Commemorate Memorial Day?”
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…
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Our May 2020 Newsletter is now available!
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, …
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Lovettsville Alumni Association calls on Supervisors to save historic classrooms in Community Center
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…
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Loudoun County: Federalist Stronghold in Virginia
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…
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Loudoun County Heritage Commission opposes demolition of Lovettsville Community Center building
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…
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Stop Demolition of Community Center: LHS asks Supervisors
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: …
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Our April 2020 Newsletter is now available!
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…
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Hessian Soldiers in Lovettsville
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…
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Part II of The Journals of Dr. James A. Willard of Lovettsville
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…
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March 8 Lecture: “German Immigrants, American Pioneers: The Brunners of Schifferstadt”
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…
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The Journals of Dr. James A. Willard of Lovettsville
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…
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Feb. 9 — Lovettsville 101: An Introduction to The German Settlement
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…
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Our January 2020 Newsletter is now available!
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…
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Luther Potterfield and the Lovettsville Potterfields: A Family Divided
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,…
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Rev. George Handley (1930-2019), LHS lecture series speaker
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…
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Rob Jones honored at LHS Annual Membership Meeting
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…
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The German-American Zweitürhaus
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…
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November 10: “The Lost History of Potomac Marble”
“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. …
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In Memoriam: Jimmy Spring, our “Living Legend of Lovettsville”
Jimmy Spring (above, center), who was featured in our “Living Legends of Lovettsville” presentation on Dec. 11, 2016, passed away on September 22. The 2016 event was presented before a packed house in the…
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The last days of the old Brunswick bridge — and other stories of our ferries and bridges
Above: Photograph from The Times-Herald, Feb. 10, 1953, courtesy of Brunswick History Commission. Automobiles are crossing the old bridge, as a construction crane is used to lower the superstructure for the…