Historic Shepherdstown’s Museum opens April 18, with historic 35 star US flag

35 Star Flag on display in Historic Shepherdstown


35 Star Flag on display in Historic Shepherdstown

Historic Shepherdstown’s museum will open Saturday, April 18 with the debut of a rare 35 star US flag and the first public appearance of artifacts from the Battle of Shepherdstown.

The museum will be open from 11 am to 5 pm on Saturdays and Sundays 1 to 4 pm through October. Light refreshments will be available during the first hours of the reopening on April 18 at the museum at 129 East German Street in Shepherdstown, WV.

A grant from the Benedum Foundation enabled the conservation and encasing of a rare 35-star US flag in the museum. The flag’s significance is that it marked when West Virginia was admitted as the 35th state, serving as the official US flag from July 4, 1863 until July 4, 1865 when the 36-star flag became the official flag with Nevada becoming a state. Because it was in service for only two years, there were few 35-star flags produced. The flag to be flown in the museum was purchased at a private estate sale in 2024 and later conserved by Caring for Textiles of Washington, DC, an internationally known group that conserves antique and contemporary textiles for leading museums and collectors.

“While the flag was in service for only two years, it would have been flown by Union forces for nearly half of the Civil War. The Union forces in Sherman’s March to the Sea in November and December 1864 would have flown the 35-star flag, as well as in conflicts like the Battle of Spotsylvania in May 1864. Historic Shepherdstown’s museum is proud to now display a flag of such significant historic importance to the nation and to the state that will enhance the visitor experience,” remarked Historic Shepherdstown Board member and Museum Committee chair John Kavaliunas.

“The Benedum Foundation has been pleased to partner with Historic Shepherdstown on this notable project. Preserving the history of West Virginia through museums and artifacts such as the 35-star United States flag, allows for the sharing of cultural stories that are critical to the preservation of our heritage” said Kim Tieman, Benedum Foundation Vice President and Program Officer.

Flag Conservation

Oliver Petersen (left) and Julia Brennan of Caring for Textiles conserve the 35 star flag.

The museum will also unveil an exhibit of artifacts that have not been made available for public viewing until now from the Battle of Shepherdstown that was fought September 19-20, 1862, just two days after the Battle of Antietam across the Potomac River near Sharpsburg, MD. The Battle of Shepherdstown was a decisive Confederate victory that marked the end of Robert E. Lee’s Maryland Campaign. The artifacts to be on display in the museum include cannonball fragments, musket balls, fuse plugs and personal items such as a pocket knife, belt buckle and saddle tree. The Shepherdstown Battlefield Preservation Association (SBPA) has managed, documented and cared for the artifacts through the collection efforts of its members, volunteers, private collectors and related organizations. The SBPA has amassed a collection of artifacts, 12 of which will be on display in the museum.

Mike Nickerson, Shepherdstown Battlefield Preservation Association President and Historic Shepherdstown Board member, shared “The artifact collection allows us to learn new details about the Battle of Shepherdstown. Sharing it with the public at the Historic Shepherdstown Museum is a great opportunity to share those details. Many local landowners are enthusiastic supporters and have donated artifacts discovered on their land and allowed detecting – and they retain possession of artifacts found on their property.”

The Historical Memory of Frontier War in Twentieth-Century Shenandoah Family Histories, speaker series: April 15, 2026 – Ben Bankhurst

Dr. Ben Bankhurst of Shepherd University will present “The Historical Memory of Frontier War in Twentieth-Century Shenandoah Family Histories” on Wednesday, April 15 at 7 PM at the Byrd Center for Congressional History and Education.

The talk will address the privileged place that the era of white settlement on the eighteenth-century frontier holds in the family lore of the Shenandoah Valley and central Appalachia. For the descendants of white colonizers, the arrival of their pioneer ancestors and the conquest and settlement of the region serve as a heroic origin story, rooting them to the land while simultaneously connecting them to the grand narrative of the nation’s founding. Throughout the twentieth century, family historians with a connection to the region, whether resident or not, published hundreds of family histories celebrating their families’ colonial lineage. Dr. Bankhurst, Associate Professor of History at Shepherd University, will examine how white families, in the Valley and Central West Virginia, utilized genealogies anchored in the colonial or revolutionary periods to tie them to the land and, through the positive depiction of pioneer ancestors, counter demeaning narratives of the region and its people. Central to this process was the construction of often demeaning Native American stereotypes.

Join or renew your membership of Historic Shepherdstown

Have you renewed your membership or joined Historic Shepherdstown?  Support the protection, preservation, communication and celebration of the unique history, stories, places and culture of Shepherdstown. Historic Shepherdstown membership

Peter Smith

Loss of an important community member.

Peter Smith

Peter Smith

Historic Shepherdstown joins other community organizations in mourning the loss of Peter F. Smith. Over the past two years, we had the opportunity to work closely with Peter on the 250th anniversary commemoration of the Bee Line March. We got a first-hand look at his prodigious talents for organization and fundraising. But most importantly, we saw and experienced his deep-seeded love of community and his understanding of the importance of history to Shepherdstown and Jefferson County. We extend our condolences to his wife Vicki, a long-time board member, past president and docent coordinator for Historic Shepherdstown. Peter’s passing leaves a hole in the Shepherdstown Community. He will be greatly missed.

2025 – Historic Shepherdstown Holiday Ornament

Since 2015 Historic Shepherdstown in Shepherdstown, WV has been selling a holiday ornament each year. Each depicts historic buildings in Shepherdstown, from McMullan Hall to the Fireman’s Hall. You can get a copy at the Shepherdstown Holiday Market at the Entler Hotel, at the Museum which is open Saturdays 11-5 and Sunday 1-4, and at the office in the Entler,  Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday 10 to 5,  304-876-0910. Or Historic Shepherdstown Holiday ornament.

This year’s ornament is the Fireman’s Hall. on the corner of New and  King Street.  Built in 1912, this red brick building of Gothic design with a square steepled tower at one corner housed the fire department. It also served as a community building, town hall, jailhouse, basketball court, sometime movie theater, and a gathering place for church suppers, bazaars, and entertainments by various religious and civic groups. After the fire company moved to a new fire house on Route 45 in 1987, the building remained empty for a time and now is privately owned.

Fireman's Hall, Shepherdstown

Fireman’s Hall, Shepherdstown

Speaker Series – In Their Own Words: The French and Indian War at Fort Frederick, MD, October 15, Robert Ambrose, Park Ranger – recording.

Historic Shepherdstown’s Speaker Series on Wednesday, October 15 at the Shepherd University Robert C. Byrd Center for Congressional History and Education in Shepherdstown, WV, presented “In Their Own Words.” Drawing from primary documents, Maryland State Park Ranger-Historian Robert Ambrose explored the French and Indian War story of Fort Frederick (Washington County, MD) by answering the simple and sometimes complicated questions of who, what, when, why and how.

Fort Frederick (Washington County, MD) is the only stone fort built (1756) by an English colony during the French and Indian War, and is one of the largest fortifications built by English colonists in North America. The 585 acre Fort Frederick State Park borders the Potomac River and the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park. The state park is around a 19 mile walk or bike ride on the Canal Towpath from Shepherdstown.

Robert Ambrose has been employed with the Maryland Park Service since 2009, and at Fort Frederick since 2014 overseeing the largest living history program in the state park system. He resides in Berkeley Springs, WV, and in his spare time serves as the Defensive Coordinator of the Berkeley Springs High School Football team. Since 1996, Ambrose has been involved in living history of various time periods from the 1750s to the 1950s.

Listen to Ambrose’s talk – In Their Own Words, the French and Indian War at Fort Frederick, MD.

Paranormal events at the Shepherdstown museum

 

Halloween is coming and that means it’s time for Shepherdstown’s BooFest and the Historic Shepherdstown Museum’s Ghost Tours.

Here, at the most haunted building in the most haunted town in America, you will hear about some of our most prominent spirits — the lady in white, the amorous Frenchman, Civil War soldiers, and the unlucky duelist.  Don’t miss the Traveler’s Room that, according to some, is the most haunted room in the building.

Join us for a free tour of the Museum and learn about some of the two dozen spirits that visitors have claimed to have seen, sensed and even felt. Tours will be offered on Saturday October 25, and Sunday, October 26, every half hour from 1:00 to 3:30 PM. (Donations are always welcomed.)

On Friday October 24th and Saturday October 25 evenings, follow local paranormal investigators Patricia Marin and Meredith Moore, along with psychic medium Angel Wells and dowser Les Johnson, as they explore the three floors of the museum. Tickets for these evening events are available are $15 per person. Preregistration is required and participation is limited.

Feel free to bring your digital recorders to capture EVPs (spirit voices) and EMF meters (which may help locate the spirits), along with any other equipment you may have.

Don’t be scared. Our ghosts are known to be friendly, but curious. At least up to now.

Tickets for the Paranormal Events are available here:

Paranormal Event at the Shepherdstown Museum – Friday October 24th

Paranormal Event at the Shepherdstown Museum – Saturday October 25

Undecided? Watch Halloween in Shepherdstown

Aren’t you curious now?

Bee Line March Commemoration 2025

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Wallace Gusler, master gunsmith at Colonial Williamsburg and an expert on rifles from Virginia and West Virginia, presented Longrifles made by the Sheetz Family and others, September 13

COLONIAL WILLIAMSBURG MASTER GUNSMITH – SEPTEMBER 13 SEMINAR IN SHEPHERDSTOWN
Wallace Gusler, the first master gunsmith at Colonial Williamsburg and a well-known expert on rifles from Virginia and West Virginia, gave a talk entitled Longrifles Made by the Sheetz Family and Others on Saturday, September 13, at the Shepherd University Robert C. Byrd Center in Shepherdstown, WV, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The seminar was given in conjunction with Historic Shepherdstown Museum’s exhibit of Kentucky Longrifles by the Sheetz Family and other gunsmiths of Jefferson and Berkeley Counties. Both the talk and the exhibit were being co-sponsored by Historic Shepherdstown and the Kentucky Rifle Foundation. Gusler showed  examples of Shenandoah Valley rifles and discuss the origins and members of the Sheetz family, who made rifles in Shepherdstown and other areas of the valley. The museum exhibit of rifles was open after the talk and every weekend until October 19th.
“Historic Shepherdstown is excited to host Wallace Gusler,” said Donna Bertazzoni, a Historic Shepherdstown board member who helped organize the longrifle exhibit. “He has been studying and building flintlock rifles, rifle makers, and the gunsmith craft since he was a teenager. His knowledge comes from both hands-on experience and deep research. He is one of the most skilled craftsmen of the era and his rifles are highly prized.”
Gusler is the first person in modern times to recreate the traditional processes of making long rifles by hand. He made Colonial Williamsburg’s first hand-forged rifle barrel, and in 1965, he made its first rifle fabricated entirely of hand-made parts from 18th century-style tools he made. He served at Colonial Williamsburg for more than 40 years.

Civil War Comes to Shepherdstown, September, 1862

Civil War comes to Shepherdstown