Speaker Series – April 16 to focus on new Sheetz rifle exhibit in museum

A special exhibit, Longrifles by the Sheetz family and Other Gunsmiths from Jefferson and Berkeley Counties, will open at the Historic Shepherdstown Museum on Saturday, April 19. The exhibit, co-sponsored by Historic Shepherdstown and the Kentucky Rifle Foundation, will feature 15 rifles made between 1740 and 1840, including 10 signed Sheetz rifles.

It will be preceded by a free Speaker Series talk History of Kentucky Rifles from the 18th to 20th century on Wednesday, April 16, at which master gunsmith Brian LaMaster will speak about Kentucky Rifles in general and Kentucky Rifle Foundation board member Tim Hodges will speak specifically about the rifles in the exhibit. The talk will be given at 7 p.m. in the auditorium of the Robert C. Byrd Center on the Shepherd College campus. The talk is free and open to the public.

The Kentucky Rifle Foundation is the educational arm of the Kentucky Rifle Association. The KRA is an organization dedicated to those people interested in collecting and preserving the art and history of antique Kentucky Rifles, pistols, horns, and accoutrements. Both LaMaster and Hodges are past presidents of the KRA.

This will be the largest display of rifles in the Historic Shepherdstown Museum in its more than 40-year history. The exhibit is the first event for Shepherdstown’s 250th Anniversary Celebration of the Bee Line March, which occurred in the summer of 1775.

The exhibit will feature rifles by several members of the Sheetz family, including a restocked Philip Sheetz, and rifles by Jacob Sheetz, Martin Sheetz, and William Miller Sheetz, all of Shepherdstown. It will also include a rifle by Frederick Sheetz, the son of Henry Sheetz, who worked in Hampshire County. There will also be rifles by Martin Rizer of Martinsburg, and Daniel Marker, who worked in Martinsburg and in towns in Maryland.

Brothers Philip and Henry Sheetz were working in Mecklenburg (now Shepherdstown) as early as 1768. By 1776, they had a contract to supply 24 guns per month to the state of Virginia for use by the militia during the Revolutionary War. Demand for military guns declined after the Revolution, and civilian arms like the Kentucky rifle became the focus. The Sheetz family remained active in Shepherdstown, and they also spread throughout the area. Henry eventually moved to Hampshire County.

While most of the rifles in the exhibit are being loaned to Historic Shepherdstown Museum by members of the Kentucky Rifle Association, the museum owns two William Miller Sheetz rifles, and an Entler fowler, which will also be on display.

One of the museum’s William Miller Sheetz rifles was commissioned by Rezin Davis Shepherd, grandson of Shepherdstown’s founder Thomas Shepherd, for his grandson Peter C. Brooks. The rifle is signed W M Sheetz Shepherds Town VA No 85” in script on the top flat of the 44-inch rifled barrel. A rectangular silver plate (added later) inlaid behind the cheekpiece is inscribed “Peter C Brooks From his Grandfather Shepherd”.

To commemorate the Bee Line March, the museum will also have on display a mannequin dressed as a Virginia militiaman, and a large map of the marchers’ route. The marcher’s outfit and the map are both based on entries in the diary of Henry Bedinger, who along with his brother George Michael Bedinger both participated in the Bee Line March. Henry served as 4^th Sargeant and George Michael served as 4^th Corporal for the company. Their brother Daniel also eventually served during the Revolution. The mannequin represents Adam Sheetz, a member of the Sheetz family, who also completed the march.

On June 14, 1775, the Continental Congress asked Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania to send companies of militiamen to Massachusetts to help General George Washington blockade Boston. Under the command of Captain Hugh Stephenson, one company left Shepherdstown, Virginia, on foot on July 17, 1775, and arrived in Cambridge on August 11, completing the nearly 600-mile journey in 26 days.

The Bee Line March committee is sponsoring several events this summer. A complete schedule can be found at Bee Line March 250th Anniversary

An article published in the April 2025 KRA Bulletin of the Kentucky Rifle Association tells the story of the exhibit – KRA partners with Historic Shepherdstown

The Exhibition Guide for the exhibit is available at Guide for Longrifle Exhibition – Historic Shepherdstown and Kentucky Rifle Foundation – page 1 and Guide for Longrifle Exhibition – Historic Shepherdstown and Kentucky Rifle Foundation – page 2