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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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Our February 2021 Newsletter is now available
Our feature-filled newsletter for February is now available here.
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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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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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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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Our January 2021 Newsletter is Here!
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…
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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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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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Our December 2020 Newsletter is now out!
We have just published our December 2020 newsletter. You can get it here.
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The Georges, the Johnsons, and related families in Lovettsville
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…
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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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Postponed: April 19 “Loudoun County: Federalist Stronghold in Virginia”
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…
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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…
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October 13: “Germanna 101: Virginia’s First German Settlement”
“Germanna 101: Virginia’s First German Settlement” Presented by Ashley Abruzzo, Germanna Foundation Sunday, October 13, at 2:00 p.m. Almost two decades before German settlers began streaming into Virginia’s Loudoun Valley…
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“Tastings, Tales, & Tunes” at Hiddencroft Vineyards, October 17
Second Annual Tasting, Tales, and Tunes: Lovettsville Historical Society Night at Hiddencroft Vineyards Thursday Evening, October 17, 2019—7:00-9:30 p.m. Those of us who live in this region relish the unique…
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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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Sept. 22 — LHS Fundraiser and Membership Appreciation Event
Celebrating Lovettsville: Annual Lovettsville Historical Society Fundraiser & Membership Appreciation Event Sunday, Sept. 22, at 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. The Board of Directors of the Lovettsville Historical…
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Sept. 8 — “The Shenandoah Valley’s German Heritage”
“The Shenandoah Valley’s German Heritage” Presented by Karen Good Cooper, President of the Shenandoah Germanic Heritage Museum Shenandoah County, Va. Sunday, September 8, at 2:00 p.m. When census takers asked…
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August 11 — Daniel Morgan: American Rifleman
Daniel Morgan: American Rifleman – The Life and Military Career of one of General George Washington’s Most Effective Commanders of the Revolutionary War Presented by Randolph G. Flood Founder of the…
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Video: Growing Up Lovettsville, with Walter Fleming
The full video of our June 9 presentation on the Life and Times of Walter Fleming, is now available on our YouTube channel. See it now! Our thanks to Ethan Smith…
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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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Finding Loudoun’s Historic Cemeteries
As part of a broader effort to identify and preserve Loudoun County historic cemeteries and burial grounds, a newly-developed, interactive Loudoun County cemeteries map was unveiled at the June 4…
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July 14: Geniuses of the Frontier: James Rumsey and John Hall
Making Something out of Nothing: Geniuses of the Frontier — James Rumsey and John H. Hall Presented by Jim Surkamp Sunday, July 14, at 2:00 p.m. Within a forty-year span…
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Ethan Smith wins LHS History Award at Lovettsville Elementary School
Above: Ethan Smith, Ed Spannaus, and Annie Smith. Ethan Smith, son of Annie and Buck Smith, won the Lovettsville Historical Award at the 5th Grade Awards Ceremony, held at Lovettsville…
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Our June 2019 newsletter is now available!
For our latest issue, read it here. In this issue: Lecture June 9: “A conversation with Walter Fleming” Upcoming LHS lectures and events Heritage Commission proposal presented to Supervisors 1938…
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County Heritage Commission proposal would recognize Lovettsville and North Loudoun role in Civil War
On June 4, the Loudoun County Heritage Commission will present to the County Board of Supervisors, its recommendations for new monuments and memorials on the Courthouse grounds. Among the…
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June 9: Walter Fleming — Growing Up Lovettsville
Growing Up Lovettsville: When A Farm Boy Drove the School Bus An Illustrated Reminiscence with Walter M. Fleming Sunday, June 9, 2:00 p.m. Slideshow by Becky H. Fleming Rich Gillespie,…
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May 19: Eugene Scheel presents his new “American Indian Map of Loudoun County”
“American Indian Map of Loudoun County” to be presented by Eugene Scheel Sunday, May 19, at 2:00 p.m. Eugene Scheel has taught American Indian History to Loudoun County teachers for…
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May 11: Author Book Talk & Signing: 1777 – Danbury on Fire!
Presented by M. H. B. Hughes at the Lovettsville Museum Saturday, May 11, at 3:00 – 5:00 p.m. M.H.B. Hughes says that her new book 1777 – Danbury on…
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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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April 7 — Book Talk on Alexander Hamilton by Lovettsville Author
Presented by Nancy Spannaus Lovettsville Museum Sunday, April 7, at 3:00 – 5:00 p.m. On Sunday April 7, Lovettsville author Nancy Spannaus will discuss and sign…
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April 14 lecture: The National Road — the Road that Built a Nation.
Presented by Tiffany Ahalt, National Road Museum, Boonsboro, Maryland Sunday, April 14, at 2:00 p.m. On Sunday, April 14, Tiffany Ahalt, the Marketing & Development Director for the National…
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March lecture: “’The Rebels is running over our Parents’: Recruiting Virginia Unionists into the Potomac Home Brigade”
Above: Travis Shaw Left: Potomac Home Brigade monument at Gettysburg Presented by Travis Shaw, Public Programs Coordinator at the Mosby Heritage Area Association Sunday, March 10, 2:00 p.m. …
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February 2019 Newsletter is now available
Our February newsletter has just been published — accompanying the Russell Baker story, is a fascinating school petition from the 1930s by parents from Morrisonville, plus photographs, and lots of…
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Feb. 10 Lecture: “Armistead Thompson Mason Filler 1821-1897, and Linden Hall” (2/10/19)
Presented by Bart Hodgson, Co-Proprietor, Linden Hall B&B Sunday, Feb. 10 2:00 p.m. On Sunday, February 10, for the launching of Lovettsville Historical Society’s 2019 Lecture Series, we…
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With a smile, remembering Russell Baker
By Edward Spannaus Jan. 24, 2019–It was with sadness that we learned of the January 21 death of acclaimed columnist and humorist Russell Baker – but at the…
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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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Lovettsville Historical Society Announces 2019 Lecture Series
The Lovettsville Historical Society has announced the first half of its 2019 lecture series, for the months from February through June. The line-up is: February 10 – “Armistead Thompson Mason…
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Support the Lovettsville Historical Society With A Year-End Gift
Double your impact with a tax-deductible year-end donation! Please help us to continue to preserve Lovettsville’s unique history by making a tax-deductible donation to the Lovettsville Historical Society’s Museum Expansion…
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Purcellville Gazette: Lovettsville Museum Renovations Showcase New Interpretive Displays, New Sign Welcomes Visitors (11/30/2018)
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 side of…
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Lovettsville History Mystery: The 1868 Fire At New Jerusalem Church
by Edward Spannaus, Board Member, Lovettsville Historical Society & Museum 150 years ago, on October 19, 1868, the congregation of Lovettsville’s largest church, New Jerusalem Lutheran Church, laid the cornerstone…
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Lovettsville Historical Society To Hold Annual Membership Meeting (12/9/2018)
The Lovettsville Historical Society will hold its Annual Membership Meeting at 2:00 on Sunday, December 9, at the Lovettsville Museum, 4 East Pennsylvania Avenue in Lovettsville (in front of the…
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What the Heck Is This Thing #12
Can you guess what this object is — and what it does? Hint: The answer is at the bottom of this webpage. SCROLL DOWN…
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Girl Scouts Enjoy the Lovettsville Museum’s First Downtown Walking Tour (11/12/2018)
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 School. The…
