Speaker Series – Historic National Road. Tiffany Ahalt, September 4, 2024 – now online

Speaker Series – Historic National Road. Tiffany Ahalt, September 4.

The 2024 Historic Shepherdstown Speaker Series featured Tiffany Ahalt on September 4 at 6:45 pm in the auditorium of the Shepherd University Robert C. Byrd Center for Congressional History and Education, talking about the history, preservation and promotion of the historic National Road.

The National Road was the first major federally funded highway built by the US government.   Built between 1811 and 1837, the original 620 mile road was a major transport path to the West for thousands of settlers and also stimulated the earliest forms of travel-related tourism.  Often nicknamed the Main Street of America, in the 20th century with the advent of the automobile the National Road was connected with other historic routes to California with much of it aligned with U.S. Route 40.   Ms. Ahalt explored this history and how national and state programs are paving the way to preserve and promote the landscapes and main streets along the National Road and other scenic byways.

Historic Shepherdstown Annual Meeting held, September 4, 2024

Jerry Bock, president of the Historic Shepherdstown Commission, announced the 2024 James C. Price Preservation of Historic Legacies Award winners:
  • Arthur (Jim) Auxer III: Jim has been selected based on his years of actively promoting and preserving our local history. In his role as long time Mayor of Shepherdstown, he was a staunch supporter of the Shepherdstown Historic District and the Historic Shepherdstown Museum. Jim’s expertise and his contribution to preserving the history of Shepherdstown are most appreciated. Thank you for your many years of dedication to our town!
  • Jim Broomall: Jim has provided incredible leadership as Director of the George Tyler Moore Center for the Study of the Civil War, and more recently as Director of the Robert C. Byrd Center for Congressional History and Education. In addition, his contributions as a board member at Historic Shepherdstown and service on the Shepherdstown Historic Landmarks Commission have been of great value to the community.
  • Keith Alexander: In his role as history professor at Shepherd University, Keith has educated young (and older) minds to understand the importance of preserving our incredible local history. His leadership on the Shepherdstown Historic Landmarks Commission and his many contributions to the Historic Shepherdstown Commission and Museum are recognized.

 

For the Service to Historic Shepherdstown Commission Award:

  • Al Levitan: We are recognizing Al’s service on the HSC Board of Directors, and especially his incredible efforts as a member and later Chair of the Entler Building Committee. Al has spent countless hours handling a huge variety of maintenance projects at the Entler complex, greatly contributing to the preservation of an important historic landmark.
  • Johnna Armstrong: We are recognizing Johnna’s service on the HSC Board of Directors, her service as Treasurer at HSC, and especially her tireless efforts as an on-line media specialist/technician for our organization. Her expertise is very much appreciated and has proved invaluable to HSC on numerous occasions over many years.

Speaker Series – Historic National Road. Tiffany Ahalt, September 4.

The 2024 Historic Shepherdstown Speaker Series will feature Tiffany Ahalt on September 4 at 6:45 pm in the auditorium of the Shepherd University Robert C. Byrd Center for Congressional History and Education, talking about the history, preservation and promotion of the historic National Road.  The program is free and open to the public.

With thirty years of experience in the hospitality and tourism industry, Tiffany Ahalt has held leadership roles with the National Road Heritage Foundation, C&O Canal Association, Howard County (MD) Tourism Council and Maryland National Road Association.   A promoter of Washington County as a visitor destination, she also recently chaired Frederick County’s Rural and Scenic Roads Advisory Committee which was instrumental in creating an official commission overseeing the designation and protection of the County’s most historic, scenic and unaltered rural roads.

The National Road was the first major federally funded highway built by the US government.   Built between 1811 and 1837, the original 620 mile road was a major transport path to the West for thousands of settlers and also stimulated the earliest forms of travel-related tourism.  Often nicknamed the Main Street of America, in the 20th century with the advent of the automobile the National Road was connected with other historic routes to California with much of it aligned with U.S. Route 40.   Ms. Ahalt will explore this history and how national and state programs are paving the way to preserve and promote the landscapes and main streets along the National Road and other scenic byways.

The talk will be preceded by a short Annual Business Meeting for Historic Shepherdstown Commission, which will feature the presentation of the 2024 Historic Preservation Awards.

Born of Rebellion: West Virginia Statehood and the Civil War exhibit at the Byrd Center

Born of Rebellion: West Virginia Statehood and the Civil War exhibit is now at the Byrd Center at Shepherd University until September 27th.  The West Virginia Humanities Council, the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), created the exhibit  dealing with the legal question of statehood of West Virginia and a kaleidoscope of state wide perspectives. This comprehensive, large-scale experience covers sectional tensions within Virginia preceding the Civil War, the violence and chaos of the war surrounding West Virginia’s formation, and the difficult aftermath as the new state struggled to forge its destiny during Reconstruction.

Born of Rebellion explores this tumultuous and complex era from a wide range of perspectives, including politicians, common soldiers, women, and African Americans, along with the diary of Upshur County teenager Sirene Bunten, who was only 16 when West Virginia achieved statehood in 1863 and her observations as a girl who loses two brothers to the war.

For more information see Born of Rebellion

Paranormal events at museum, July 26 and 27 – postponed until October

This event has been postponed until October. Hope to see you then.

A  ghost tour of the historic Entler hotel will be led by Dana Mitchell from the Ghosts of Shepherdstown, and the psychic Angel Fisher. Click on links below to purchase tickets.

 

 

Renovation of the Entler Hotel Garden, Historic Shepherdstown Museum

The work party

Several members of the Shenandoah Garden Club, Peggy Bowers (the project’s landscape architect), and several members of the Historic Shepherdstown Commission (HSC) showed up, armed with trowels, garden gloves, bug spray, and lots of enthusiasm. As Sue Guay of the Shenandoah Garden Club described it  – It was Planting Day! And they were there to put into their new home nearly one hundred perennial plants which had been purchased in a joint project between the garden club and HSC. Hydrangea, hosta, amsonia, polygonatum (Solomon’s Seal), iris, clematis, astilbe, Lenten rose, cone flower, and ferns, as well a few large shrubs, will bloom and grace these newly-refurbished gardens.

In 2008, Shenandoah Garden Club had received a $9,000 grant from the Shenandoah-Potomac Garden Council to renovate this same space at the Entler. The funding for the original project was generated by the sale of tickets to the annual House and Garden Tour that year. This generous gift made possible the renovation of the Entler Hotel flower beds; the installation of landscaping including boxwoods, ferns, fothergilla; and the enlargement of the flagstone patio. Using this grant the Historic Shepherdstown Commission was able to have the yard graded, replace plant material, define the beds, and enlarge the flagstone patio.

Many of those plants installed sixteen years ago have grown and flourished and have become a bit unruly; many have run their course and have died. The large flower bed, the centerpiece of the Entler’s patio area, now consisted of a large bed of…mulch!

The Entler Hotel needed help.

The Shenandoah Garden Club needed a “Small Project.”

The Shenandoah-Potomac Garden Council needed garden clubs to apply for an annual grant, called “Small Project Awards,” which uses funds generated from the annual House and Garden Tour to fund community beautification projects.

It was a three-way match, and luckily Shenandoah Garden Club Vice President Mary O’Hara knew about all three organizations. She contacted Susan Guay, Chair of the Club’s Project Committee, and the ball began to roll. Mary is also a member of Historic Shepherdstown and a docent at the museum. She contacted Dave Pugh,  the Vice President of  HSC, who was delighted to learn that the Entler was being considered for the grant. Ms O’Hara then called Peggy Bowers to request assistance with this project, and Ms Bowers agreed to participate. She donated a landscape plan, developed a plant list, and even drove to Pennsylvania to pick up the plants.

Meanwhile, Ms Guay waded through pages of grant application, made phone calls, wrote, re-wrote, changed, modified, and edited the paperwork. She was thrilled to find out that the application had been approved by the Council, and the project was awarded $1,000, which was matched by  Historic Shepherdstown Commission. That $2,000 purchased nearly one hundred perennial plants and shrubs.

The newly-planted perennials are now flourishing in their new, spacious beds.  Next time you are on German Street, look through the wrought iron fence next to the Entler into the garden, or better yet, visit the museum at the weekend and come in and enjoy it up close.  Historic Shepherdstown is most grateful to the Shenandoah Garden Club, in particular Mary O’Hara and Sue Guay and to Peggy Bowers for her inspired design work and plant knowledge.

 

Speaker series – Where the Rivers Join: Native American Cultures of The Potomac and Shenandoah Valleys. Carole Nash, May 15

 

May 15 Presentation on “Where the Rivers Join: Native American Cultures of The Potomac and Shenandoah Valleys” is now online.

Dr. Carole Nash, James Madison University Professor, presented the second of our 2024 Speaker Series, “Where the Rivers Join: Native American Cultures of The Potomac and Shenandoah Valleys.” Dr. Nash’s talk was held on Wednesday, May 15 at 7 pm at the Robert C. Byrd Center for Congressional History and Education at Shepherd University.

During the period of A.D. 1200-1600, just prior to European settlement, the Potomac/Shenandoah region was occupied by a variety of indigenous Native American cultures. This presentation was be an opportunity to gain important insights about the often overlooked pre-European history of our region.

Carole Nash, Ph.D., RPA, is Professor in the School of Integrated Sciences at James Madison University where she has taught for 35 years. Her research focuses on the Blue Ridge and Shenandoah Valley, specializing in First Peoples archaeology and historical ecology. She is the author of many technical reports, scholarly papers, and publications, including co-author of Foundations of Archaeology in the Middle Atlantic. She is President of Mountain Valley Archaeology which partners with descendant communities on archaeological and historical research in western Virginia. She directs the Virginia Archaeological Certification Program, a citizen science initiative that partners professional and avocational archaeologists.

Recording of Addison Reese’s talk about Black Burial grounds now available

Historic Cemeteries

Speaker Series – “Black Burial Grounds of Jefferson County, West Virginia: Restoring Lost History through Cemetery Preservation”

Addison Reese, cemetery caretaker, advocate, local historian, and educator, presented “Black Burial Grounds of Jefferson County, West Virginia: Restoring Lost History through Cemetery Preservation.” Ms. Reese’s talk was held on Wednesday, April 17 at 7pm at the Robert C. Byrd Center for Congressional History and Education at Shepherd University.

Addison Reese currently works at the Shepherdstown Public Library where she has conducted genealogy and local history research workshops. She serves on the Jefferson County Historic Landmarks Commission for the past three years with a focus on cemetery preservation, documentation, and restoration.

Museum is open for the 2024 season !

 

The Historic Shepherdstown Museum is open!  Hours through October will be Saturdays 11 – 5  and Sunday 1 – 4. Come and see  the Samuel Humrickhouse baptismal font from the Christ Reformed Church of Christ, “Aunt Sallie’s” quilt , and an 1830s German-made doll given to Virginia Helen Blackford when she was a child, as well as the model of the Rumsey steam powered boat and the first rural delivery mail cart.  Come, visit and join us to preserve and enjoy Shepherdstown’s history. 

Museum reopening April 20, 2024

The Museum will open on April 20. Hours through October will be Saturdays 11 – 5  and Sunday 1-4. Come visit our three floors of history and  items crafted by or owned by the people of Shepherdstown, from samplers to Sheetz rifles.  The Entler Hotel is a fitting location for the museum. In 1786 Philip Adam Entler, Jr. built a residence on the west side of the property. In following years, others built substantial brick buildings on the lot extending eastward from Entler’s residence to Princess Street. By 1809 Daniel Bedinger owned all of the property that became the Entler Hotel and leased it to others. For more than a century the Entler thrived. In 1912, the Entler residence on the west side of the property burned. During the 20th century the Entler briefly took the name Rumsey Hotel and then became Rumsey Hall, a college dormitory. It housed students, World War II Navy and Air Force cadets, and college faculty. This is now the 40th year of the building being the location of the Historic Shepherdstown museum.