2016 Lectures

2016 EVENTS & LECTURES AT THE LOVETTSVILLE HISTORIC SOCIETY

February 14, 2016: “1866: Change, Resistance, and Uncertainty in the Northern Virginia Piedmont.” Richard T. Gillespie, then-Executive Director of the Mosby Heritage Area Association, again kicked off our annual lecture series with a presentation on Civil War-related events in this area 150 years prior.

March 13, 2016:  Look Out Below! The Surprising Geology of Brunswick and Lovettsville.” Don Peterson, local naturalist and writer, discussed the geology of the Brunswick and Lovettsville area.

April 10, 2016:  “George Washington DID NOT Build the C & O Canal: The Story of Potomac River Navigation and the Rise and Demise of the C&O Canal.”  John Frye, Lovettsville native, and Chief Historian and Curator at the Western Maryland Room of the Washington County Free Library in Hagerstown, discussed the C&O Canal and transportation along the Potomac River.

May 15:, 2016:  “St. James: Lovettsville’s Oldest Church.”  The 283-year history of Lovettsville’s German Reformed Church, now St. James United Church of Christ, was presented by former pastor and church historian Rev. Roland England, and by former and present members of St. James.

June 12, 2016:  “The History of Freedom Lodge, Lovettsville’s Own Masonic Lodge,” by Harris McGarrah, covering the early history of Freedom Lodge 199.

July 10, 2016:  “The Forgotten History of Petersville, Maryland.”  Jody Brumage, South Mountain Heritage Society, presented the history of this fascinating community, once far more important than Berlin/Brunswick.

Aug. 14, 2016: “Prelude to Revolution: the French-Indian War on the Maryland and Virginia Frontier,” by journalist and author Tim Rowland, who discussed how the French-Indian War made the American Revolution necessary and inevitable.

Sept. 18, 2016:  “First Entrepreneur: How George Washington Built His – And the Nation’s – Prosperity,” by Edward G. Lengel, Professor of History at the University of Virginia and editor of The Papers of George Washington.

Oct. 9, 2016:  “The One That Got Away – How Virginia Lost Mr. Jefferson’s County.”  The formation of the State of West Virginia, discussed by Doug Perks, Historian of the Jefferson County Museum in Charles Town, WV.

Nov. 13, 2016:  “The 1940 Lovettsville Airliner Disaster” by John Flannery.

Other LHS Events of Interest:

LOVETTSVILLE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL HISTORY AWARD. On June 14, the LHS presented its third annual History Award to a deserving 5th grade student. This year’s award went to 5th grader Maddy Jones, who has shown an extraordinary interest in history at home, in the classroom, and on field trips.

Living Legend of Lovettsville, Farmer “Jimmy” Spring (2016)

“Jimmy Spring, Living Legend of Lovettsville” (2016)