Historic Shepherdstown Newsletter – April 2024
Historic Shepherdstown Commission & Museum
Spring Bulletin – April 2024
Our 2024 membership drive is ongoing – Join or renew today! Thank you to those who have already signed up this year. For additional information or questions regarding any of the following activities, or if you would like to volunteer and/or serve on a Committee, please contact us at 304.876.0910 or email to hsc1786@gmail.com.
Activities at the Museum
Spring Opening Reception Friday, April 19, 5-7 pm – Members only
Historic Museum opens Saturday, April 20 – beginning our fifth decade!
We have a wonderful new Volunteer Manual, with extensive information about the displays in the Museum, as well as guidance for docents and other volunteers (created and published through a grant from Volunteer West Virginia)
This season again features our wonderful Historic Maps of Jefferson County display
Newly acquired objects include the Samuel Humrickhouse baptismal font from the Christ Reformed Church of Christ, the sword carried by Col. John Francis Hamtramck in the Mexican-American War, and an 1830s German-made doll given to Virginia Helen Blackford when she was a child.
In addition to regular weekend hours, we continue to offer requested tours of the Museum, including planned tours this spring for 3rd graders from Shepherdstown Elementary School and 8th graders from Shepherdstown Middle School.
The 2025 Season will feature an exciting major exhibit (already in planning) of Sheetz rifles, presented in partnership with the Kentucky Rifle Foundation. The Sheetz rifle exhibit will be a part of Shepherdstown’s celebration for the 150th anniversary of the Beeline March.
Speaker Series & Additional Events
2024 HSC Speaker Series:
Coming this spring:
April 17 – Addison Reese, Jefferson County Historic Landmarks Commissioner, will present “Black Burial Grounds of Jefferson County: Restoring Lost History through Cemetery Preservation”
May 15 – Dr. Carole Nash, James Madison University, archaeologist, principal investigator Shenandoah National Park will present “Where the Rivers Join: Native American Cultures of the Potomac and Shenandoah Valleys”
September 4 – Tiffany Ahalt, National Road Heritage Foundation, will give a presentation on the National Road
October 16 – Keith Alexander and Tom Mayes, both members of the Shepherdstown Historic Landmarks Commission, will discuss the architectural features of the Shepherdstown Historic District, 1850 to present
Recently co-sponsored an April 5 talk by author Tom McGrath, “Bay State Blood and Valor: Massachusetts at the Battle of Shepherdstown.” The presentation was organized by the Shepherdstown Battlefield Preservation Association. Historic Shepherdstown assisted in the creation of a new brochure for touring the battlefield.
Co-sponsoring an April 18 talk by Dr. Keith Alexander, “Town Run’s Story.” This presentation about the crucial freshwater stream flowing through Shepherdstown has been organized by a new non-profit, the Town Run Watershed group.
Visit HSC’s booth at the Earth Day Celebration at Morgan’s Grove Park April 27, 12-6 pm
Entler Building
Working with the Shenandoah Garden Club to refurbish the Entler garden
Replacing ultraviolet protective covering on Museum windows (expensive!)
Currently upgrading the building complex electrical systems
Currently upgrading the building complex Wi-Fi
Tenant offices remain fully occupied with a waiting list
Historic Shepherdstown members work hard, contributing many volunteer hours to preserve and maintain this vitally important historic property on German Street
Historic Shepherdstown Newsletter August 18, 2023
Dear Historic Shepherdstown Members and Supporters,
We hope you have been having a good summer. It is hard to believe it is already the middle of August and schools across the county, including Shepherd University, will be starting again on Monday. Watch out for those school buses!
Historic Shepherdstown has two important events scheduled during the first full week of September, the annual meeting and September Speaker Series on Wednesday, Sept. 6, and the Fall Fundraiser on Saturday, Sept. 9.
Fall Fundraiser
Even though the Fall Fundraiser will be held after the annual meeting, I am going to mention it first because the deadline to RSVP is August 30.
This year the event will be held at the historic Shepherd Grist Mill on High Street in Shepherdstown. Parking will be available at the Shepherd University lot at the corner of High and Princess streets. There is no home football game that day.
Our hosts will be Sharon and Adam Thomas, the owners of the mill. They are hoping to run the 40-foot water wheel for a while at the beginning of the event, which is scheduled for 5 to 7 p.m. They have invited HSC guests to tour the lower level of their home, where the workings for the grist mill are located, as well as the first floor and back porch. You get a great view of Town Run from the back porch.
The event will be catered by MJ’s on German DeliCafe. We have selected a luau theme, and the menu will include pulled pork with Hawaiian rolls and slaw; Polynesian grilled chicken; Hawaiian style macaroni salad, citrus spinach salad, and pineapple upside down cake.
Make sure you bring along some cash or your checkbook. Once again, we will be offering a 50/50 raffle. We will be selling the new 2023 Historic Shepherdstown ornament, which features Christ Reform Church, and the 2021 ornament of the Shepherd Grist Mill. We also have discovered a cache of Diana Suttenfield prints and cards that she did for Friends of the Riverfront. She has given us permission to sell them. You won’t want to miss this opportunity.
We hope to see many of you there. And if you can’t make it, we would appreciate it if you would still make a donation to Historic Shepherdstown.
Annual meeting and September Speaker Series
Historic Shepherdstown Commission’s annual meeting and September Speaker Series will be held on Wednesday, Sept. 9, at the Robert C. Byrd Center for Congressional History and Education on the Shepherd University campus. The annual meeting will begin at 6:45 p.m., followed immediately by the speaker series talk.
At the annual meeting, HSC members will be voting on the nominations of three well-qualified people to join the board of Historic Shepherdstown, and three current members who have agreed to serve a second three-year term.
The nominees, in alphabetical order, are:
Greg Coble: A Shepherdstown resident since April 2022, Greg devoted most of his career to mission-based nonprofit organizations. He worked at the Washington-based National Trust for Historic Preservation, an organization focused on saving historic resources and communities, for 30 years, in a range of positions including finance, strategic planning, human resources, chief of staff, and program development. For 18 of those years, he served as senior vice president of business and finance. More recently, he worked at Hosteling International USA (HI USA) for nine years as senior vice president of finance and administration.
Greg began his career working for the West Virginia Governor’s Office of Economic & Community Development, and also worked at Blue Cross of California in Oakland for two years. A Charleston, WV native, he has a bachelor’s in journalism and master’s in public administration from West Virginia University. He has served on the boards of Bonnet House (the Fort Lauderdale, FL historic house museum), International Student House of Washington, D.C., and Historic Hotels of America. He joined the board of the Preservation Alliance of West Virginia in June 2023.
Mike Nickerson: Dr. Mike Nickerson holds a doctorate in molecular medicine from the George Washington University and conducted cancer genetics research for 30 years. He is the current president of the Shepherdstown Battlefield Preservation Association. SBPA is a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving the site of the noted Civil War battle in Shepherdstown. His wife Dr. Rosemary Nickerson is a long- time board member of the Shepherdstown Library. The Nickersons have a farm off Trough Road.
Dave Pugh: David C. Pugh Jr. is a retired educator for Jefferson County Schools, having taught social studies at Jefferson High School from 1975-2006, and then mentoring new teachers for an additional five years. Born in Scranton, Pennsylvania and raised in Carlisle, he attended Shippensburg University earning a Bachelor of Science in secondary education and a Master of Science in social science. He and his wife Jean Anne have lived in the immediate Shepherdstown area for 47 years.
From 2006-2008, Dave served on the Shepherdstown Community Club board (formerly the Men’s Club) as vice-president and chair of the Morgan’s Grove Park Committee. In 2021, he completed his second three-year term on the board of Historic Shepherdstown Commission serving as chair of the program committee and chair of the membership committee. Finally, most recently, Dave served on the board of the American Conservation Film Festival during its successful live return to the Shepherdstown Opera House in March of this year.
The three current board members who have agreed to seek re-election to a second three-year term are Terry Fulton, John Kavaliunas, and Dianne Roman. Terry and Dianne are both members of the museum committee, and have devoted a significant amount of time during the past three years working on organizing the Historic Shepherdstown archives. John is the current chair of the Museum Committee and also serves on the executive committee for HSC. He received a West Virginia History Hero award this year.
Following the annual meeting, Dr. Benjamin Bankhurst will give a talk entitled Loyalist rising and conspiracy in the Potomac borderlands before Yorktown. Bankhurst is the Ray and Madeline Johnston Chair in American History and Associate Professor of History at Shepherd University. He completed his graduate study at King’s College London. His research focuses on migration to the Appalachian frontier in the colonial and revolutionary periods.
Before joining the History Department at Shepherd, he held teaching and research appointments at the London School of Economics; the Institute of Historical Research; and Queen Mary, University of London. His articles have appeared in journals include Eire/Ireland, The Pennsylvania Magazine for History and Biography, and the Journal of Irish and Scottish History, among others. The American Council for Irish Studies awarded his first book Ulster Presbyterians and the Scots Irish Diaspora, 1750-1764 (Palgrave Macmillan, 2013) the Donald Murphy Prize. Bankhurst co-edited a collection of essays alongside Nigel Aston entitled Negotiating Toleration, Protestant Dissent and the Hanoverian Succession (Oxford University Press, 2019).
Bankhurst is the co-director, alongside Dr. Kyle Roberts of the Congregational Library and Archives in Boston, of the Maryland Loyalism Project, a public archive and database documenting the experiences of Chesapeake loyalists in the era of the American Revolution.
Check out the Historic Shepherdstown website for coming events and digital exhibits
Not sure when the museum is open? Want to find out about the Adam Link desk or Craft clocks? Check the website of Historic Shepherdstown, Historic Shepherdstown , for museum hours, upcoming events, and much more. The Research tab lists several items including Digital Exhibits. Here you will find illustrations and information about:
- Artifacts, such as the Adam Link desk, the Baptismal font made by Samuel P. Humrickhouse of Shepherdstown, which HSC recently acquired from the former Christ Reformed Church, as well as several fine clocks made by Jacob Craft and John Woltz of Shepherdstown. The museum also has a collection of silver spoons made by John Woltz.
- Books, including the diary of C.M. Entler for 1852 and the logbook of Henry Bedinger, Continental Army private, store keeper, postmaster, and a member of the Virginia House of Delegates.
- Events, ranging from the War of 1812 and the Civil War to the Israeli/Syrian peace talks conducted in the Shepherdstown area in 2000.
- Landmarks, including McMurran Clock Tower, the Rumsey Monument, the James Rumsey Steamboat Museum, and the Shindler House.
- Maps, including the maps that are currently on display in the museum. They range from the 1612 – Map of Virginia by John Smith to the Lori Simmons, 2007 Explorer Map of Jefferson County. One of the more interesting maps is the 1861 Map of Virginia Showing the distribution of its Slave Population from the Census of 1860.
- People, including members of prominent Shepherdstown families as well as such individuals as the Rev. John Kehler, Mary Catherine Weltzheimer, Alexander R. Boteler, and the cabinetmaker/undertaker Thomas (“Tommy”) Hopkins. Hopkins, for example, insisted on measuring the corpses in his mortuary after an assistant used a corn stalk to measure a body and then allowed a horse to bite a piece off, resulting in a too short coffin.
So, when it is too hot to go outside, spend some time checking out our website and in particular the section on digital exhibits: Historic Shepherdstown digital-exhibits.
My term as the president of the Historic Shepherdstown Board of Directors ends on October 4, and Jerry Bock, the current vice president, will be nominated for president. It has been a pleasure working with everyone involved in the organization for the past six years, including members of the Board of Directors, past and present, volunteers, and the HSC administrator Teresa McLaughlin. I hope to see you at the annual meeting and the fall fundraiser so I can thank you, our members and supporters, as well.
Best,
Donna Bertazzoni
President, HSC Board of Directors
Historic Shepherdstown Newsletter June 19, 2023
Dear Historic Shepherdstown Commission members and supporters,
Summer arrives on June 21, and what better way to celebrate than to attend the Historic Shepherdstown Speaker Series talk about Prohibition in Jefferson County at 7 p.m. in the auditorium of the Robert C. Byrd Center for Congressional History and Education on the Shepherd University campus. Lori Wysong, the director of the Jefferson County Museum, will be the featured speaker.
Prohibition in Jefferson County officially lasted barely two decades, but its roots go much further into history and its legacies still impact us today. It brought forward social, economic, and legal issues particular to the region and others that reflected national dilemmas. Lori’s presentation will focus on histories of local bootlegging, temperance, and more, as well as on the creation of a new exhibit about Prohibition at the Jefferson County Museum.
Lori is originally from Maryland and holds an MA in History with a concentration in Public History from Villanova University. In the past, she has worked at museums and historic sites in West Virginia, Maryland, Washington, D.C., Virginia, and Pennsylvania. She is a local historian and author of the book Historic Washington, DC: A Tour of the District’s Top 50 National Landmarks.
The talk is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be available after the talk.
New items for the Museum’s 40th Anniversary
The Historic Shepherdstown Museum originally opened in 1983, and this year we are celebrating our 40th anniversary. As we have mentioned previously, our new map exhibit, Great Dreams, shows the evolution of Shepherdstown and Jefferson County from the 17th through the 21st Centuries.
In addition, the Museum has two other new artifacts on display. It recently acquired a traveling trunk that was owned by Col. John Francis Hamtramck. Hamtramck likely had the trunk with him when he served in the Mexican American War. The trunk, which says “Hamtramck.. Jefferson Co Va” on its canvas covering, joins four other Hamtramck artifacts in the museum, his Mexican-American War sword; a table called “The General’s Table” by his family; his officer’s commission; and an invitation from his wife’s family to a dinner honoring him in 1847. Both the trunk and the table were originally sold at the estate sale of Elise Selby Billmyer, his great-granddaughter, in 1987. The General’s Table is on loan from Wanda Perry of Charles Town.
According to the Hamtramck biography on the Historic Shepherdstown website, after the war Hamtramck returned to farming in Shepherdstown. He judged a horticultural exhibition in Charles Town, served as magistrate of the court in Jefferson County, and was mayor of Shepherdstown from 1850 to 1854. He stayed very much the military man, fond of travelling in a coach-and-four with both driver and footman. On his death in 1858, the Shepherdstown Register noted that he “met the last great enemy as might have been expected of a brave man, with calmness and composure.” The militia unit he had commanded changed its name after his death to the Hamtramck Guards, and would later become integrated into the Confederate 2nd Virginia Infantry. According to his obituary, he was buried in the family burial grounds outside of Shepherdstown.
For more details about the fascinating life of Col. Hamtramck, follow this link to view the biography on our website written by Nick Blanton: https://historicshepherdstown.com/portfolio-item/john-francis-hamtramck.
The second new item is the Baptismal Font from the recently-closed Christ Reformed Church. The font was built and hand-carved by Samuel Post Humrickhouse (also Humrichouse), who was born in Shepherdstown on March 23, 1851. This is the second item by Humrickhouse in the Museum. His 1890 plat map of Shepherdstown is in the Museum’s collection and is part of the recently-opened map exhibit.
Humrickhouse’s early years are unknown, but beginning in 1881, there are many mentions of him in The Shepherdstown Register. He was a well-known furniture maker and architect. He designed and oversaw the construction or renovation of homes, schools, churches, and businesses. In 1881, he was recognized in the paper for building the altar, pulpit, reading stand, baptismal font, and chairs for the newly-renovated Reformed Church. Other pieces of furniture that he built for the church have been moved to the New Street Methodist Church.
Among other commissions, he was the architect and contractor for the expansion of Rockland, just outside of Shepherdstown. In the early 1900s, he oversaw the renovation of both H.L. Snyder’s home and the Quigley House, both on German Street. He was the “superintendent” for the Shepherd College classroom building, which opened in 1897. Unfortunately, that building was destroyed by fire. He also designed the Shepherdstown Graded School and a school in Martinsburg. He exercised “general supervision” over the building of St. Peter’s Lutheran Church on King Street, and he designed a Methodist Church in Halltown.
Humrickhouse died at his home on German Street on August 24, 1927. The house was located on Lot 19. His wife Nellie lived there until her death in 1939. The house was then sold to U.S. Martin, the owner of the Opera House. Both Samuel and Nellie Humrickhouse are buried at Elmwood Cemetery. The last name on the gravestone is spelled Humrichouse.
The Museum is open on Saturdays and Sundays through the end of October and will reopen after Thanksgiving for Christmas in Shepherdstown.
2023 Holiday Ornament
The recently-closed Christ Reformed Church is being memorialized on the 2023 Historic Shepherdstown holiday ornament. The church’s bell tower houses the oldest bells in Shepherdstown, and several Revolutionary War soldiers and patriots are buried in its graveyard. The church building will eventually become a performance site for the Contemporary American Theater Festival. The ornament will be available for purchase in the museum beginning in July, and will be available online or through the HSC office in the fall.
Make a Difference!
Are you interested in making a difference? The Historic Shepherdstown Commission is seeking volunteers for its Board of Directors. Board members serve three-year terms, and if they choose, can serve a second consecutive three-year term. This year, because of resignations and term limits, three members of the Board need to be replaced. The Board oversees the operation of the Historic Shepherdstown Museum; maintains the Historic Entler Hotel complex; plans and publicizes the annual Speaker Series, Museum exhibits, and special events; writes grants; participates in local events; and supervises the work of the HSC administrator. We particularly need volunteers who have a background either in archiving or in social media, marketing, and communication.
If you don’t have time to be a Board member, but you are interested in volunteering, the Museum is always recruiting docents. Anyone with an interest in history or in telling the story of Shepherdstown to visitors and residents alike is welcome to volunteer.
For more information about joining the Board or volunteering in the Museum, contact Historic Shepherdstown at hsc1786@gmail.com or call 304-876-0910.
Upcoming events
Historic Shepherdstown will be participating in Streetfest on June 24, and in the July 4th Independence Day Parade. Stop by our Streetfest table in front of the Museum for a free poster. And remember, if it’s hot that day, the Museum is air conditioned!
The HSC Speaker Series will resume on September 6 with a talk by Dr. Ben Bankhurst of the Shepherd University history department, who will speak about Loyalism in the Lower Valley during the American Revolution. This event will also serve as the HSC Annual Membership Meeting. The final talk, Important Architectural Features of the Shepherdstown Historic District, will be held on October 18. It will be presented in partnership with the Shepherdstown Historic Landmarks Commission.
And, on September 9, the annual Fall Fundraiser will be held at the Thomas Shepherd Grist Mill. The event will be hosted by the Mill’s owners, Shannon and Adam Thomas. Invitations will be sent to HSC members later this summer.
On a personal note, my term as HSC President and as a Board member ends in September. I have enjoyed meeting many of you at various HSC events and communicating with you through our newsletter and press releases. Jerry Bock, the current vice president, will take over as president of the Board in October. Like many “retired” HSC Board members, I plan to continue to volunteer with HSC. It’s a great organization to work with. Come join us and find out for yourself!
Best,
Donna Bertazzoni
President, HSC Board of Directors
Historic Shepherdstown Newsletter Feb. 24, 2023
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Historic Shepherdstown newsletter – December 2022
Dear Members and Supporters of Historic Shepherdstown,
Season’s Greetings! As we head toward the start of 2023, we at Historic Shepherdstown Commission and Museum want to thank all of you for your financial and volunteer support this past year. We want to share just a few highlights of what you’ve helped us accomplish since our last newsletter.
Recognition of Clarence E. CEM Martin III
At the holiday party in December, Historic Shepherdstown recognized former State Del. CEM Martin, who was instrumental in helping to save the historic Entler Hotel complex from destruction. In 1978, CEM represented both Jefferson and Berkeley Counties in the state legislature. Ret. Gen. William Van Ryzin approached him on behalf of town residents, raising concerns about plans by Shepherd College to raze what was then known as Rumsey Hall and replace it with a parking lot. Working with other legislators from the area, CEM introduced the bill that ultimately resulted in the state Board of Regents selling the Entler complex to the corporation of Shepherdstown for $1. Residents of the town renovated the building and Historic Shepherdstown Commission accepted the responsibility to maintain it on behalf of the town. The Museum opened in 1983, and we plan to celebrate its 40th anniversary during 2023. A copy of the bill hangs in the museum beside some before-and-after pictures of the renovations.
After leaving the legislature, CEM worked with Martin & Seibert in Martinsburg for many years. More recently, he has been involved in initiatives to stop human trafficking, has served as a Vatican liaison, and is a fellow of the Catholic University Institute of Policy Research. He has received a number of honors and awards, including ones from both Pope Benedict and Pope Francis, an honorary doctorate from Shepherd University, and a Distinguished West Virginian Award, the highest civilian honor awarded by the governor.
CEM and his family – his wife Judy and his daughters McKenna Martin and Morgan Martin Boyer – attended the reception. HSC presented CEM with a plaque, which read:
Presented to Clarence E. CEM Martin III in recognition of your important role in saving the Historic Entler Hotel, and it was signed Historic Shepherdstown Commission and dated December 9, 2022.
In his remarks, CEM made it a point to thank everyone involved in Historic Shepherdstown for their efforts through the years to ensure that the history represented by the museum and the other buildings in the complex has remained accessible to both local residents and tourists. Thank you, CEM Martin!
Tour of Historic Houses of Worship
HSC is once again co-sponsoring the Tour of Historic Houses of Worship from 4-7 p.m. on the day after Christmas, Dec. 26. Seven churches, the War Memorial Building, the Historic Shepherdstown Museum, and the Shepherdstown Opera House will all be open to visitors. The best place to pick up brochures for the self-guided walking tour is the War Memorial Building, although a limited number of brochures will be available at the other locations on the tour. To mark the beginning of the event, participating local churches will ring their bells at 4 p.m. The tour is a wonderful way to introduce out-of-town visitors to Shepherdstown.
Museum update
We welcomed more than 1,100 visitors to the Historic Shepherdstown Museum this year and hosted field trips from Shepherdstown Elementary School, the Shepherdstown Day Care Center, and Shepherd University. We ran ghost tours during Boofest, gave out candy during the town’s Halloween celebration, and entertained a special visitor – Santa Claus – after the annual Christmas parade.
As we’ve noted before, a new exhibit opened in May, Educational Opportunities for Black Jefferson County Residents Before and After Brown v. Board of Education. We received a $1,500 mini-grant from the West Virginia Humanities Council to help fund that exhibit.
We now have a second new exhibit in place. We received a $7,000 grant from Americana Corner, which enabled us to get our S. Howell Brown 1852 Map of Jefferson County Virginia with Farm Limits restored. That map is the centerpiece for “Great Dreams: Maps of Shepherdstown and Jefferson County from the 17th through the 21st Centuries.” The Jefferson County Historical Society donated a copy of S. Howell Brown’s 1883 Map of Jefferson County West Virginia with Farm Limits to the museum in August. It is being restored and will become part of the new exhibit in the spring. The grand opening of the map exhibit will be held during our Spring Opening Reception in April.
Holiday ornaments still available
This year’s holiday ornament, featuring the James Rumsey Steamboat, is still available for purchase via our website. Previous years’ ornaments are also available. Because we mail them, we would expect that any ornaments ordered at this point would arrive after Christmas.
Membership update
Our annual membership drive will begin at the end of January. We will be mailing our appeal letters, and we hope you will continue to support our efforts to tell the story of Shepherdstown and the surrounding area.
Have a wonderful holiday season. We are looking forward to seeing you in 2023 as we celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Historic Shepherdstown Museum.
Best wishes,
Donna M. Bertazzoni
President, Historic Shepherdstown Board of Directors