Local historian and Washington family descendant Walter Washington and architectural historian John Allen will kick off the Historic Shepherdstown Commission’s 2018 Speakers Series on April 18 at 7 p.m. Their talk is entitled “History and Architecture of the Washington Family Homes of Jefferson County.”

Walter Washington restored and maintains Harewood, the historic home of his ancestor Samuel Washington, brother of George Washington. He is currently President of Friends of Happy Retreat, the home of Charles Town, WV founder Charles Washington. He is also a former chair of the Jefferson County Historic Landmarks Commission and former board member of the Jefferson County Historical Society.

John C. Allen, Jr. authored Uncommon Vernacular: The Early Houses of Jefferson County, West Virginia, 1735-1835, a comprehensive and meticulous exploration of the county’s historic houses. He is also former chair of the Jefferson County Historical Landmarks Commission.

The talk will take place in the auditorium at the Robert C. Byrd Center for Congressional History and Education on the Shepherd University campus.  The event is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served after the presentation.

The 2018 Speakers Series will feature four additional programs:

• June 13, Karen G. Cooper, Shenandoah County Historical Society and Shenandoah Germanic Heritage Museum, “Germanic Heritage in the Shenandoah Valley.”
• September 12, Matthew Webster, Kate Hughes, Katie McKinney, all of Colonial Williamsburg, and Nicholas Powers, Museum of the Shenandoah Valley,”Artisans in the Lower Shenandoah Valley.”
• October 10, Dennis Frye, Chief Historian, Harpers Ferry National Historic Park, “Antietam Shadows: Mystery, Myth & Machination.”
• November 14, Jerry Thomas, Professor of History Emeritus, Shepherd University, “From the Old South to the New in the Lower Shenandoah Valley: The Life and Times of Alexander Robinson Boteler, 1815-1892.”

All of the talks with take place at 7 p.m. at the Byrd Center for Congressional History and Education.

On August 30, Dr. James J. Broomall will speak on “Crossroads: Civil War Comes to Shepherdstown.” Dr. Broomall is an Assistant Professor of History at Shepherd University, and Director of the George Tyler Moore Center for the Study of the Civil War.  His talk, part of the Historic Shepherdstown Commission 2017 Speakers Series, will take place at the Robert C. Byrd Center for Congressional History and Education on North King Street on the campus of Shepherd University.  It is free and open to the public.

The event will begin at 6:45 with a short HSC Annual Meeting, followed by Dr. Broomall’s talk at 7:00 p.m. At the Annual Meeting, members will vote on new Board Members and a new Five-Year Plan.

Dr. Broomall earned his doctorate at the University of Florida.  His forthcoming book, “Personal Confederacies: Southern Men as Citizens and Soldiers,” is under contract with the University of North Carolina Press. In it he describes the emotional lives and gender identities of white southern men and their families, before, during and after the Civil War. This presentation will feature voices of civilians and soldiers to capture how the American Civil War threaded itself through the small community of Shepherdstown, Virginia, and the adjoining region.

The final 2017 Speakers Series talk will take place on November 8, when local historian Doug Perks will present “Changing Faces—Mr. Jefferson’s County,” old and new images of local people and buildings, highlighting the changes over time.

For further information, please contact Teresa McLaughlin at [email protected] or 304-876-0910.

David Bullock will speak on “Forgotten 18th Century Roads: Shepherdstown and the Philadelphia Wagon Road” at 7 p.m. on March 8. The talk will be in the auditorium of the Robert C. Byrd Center for Congressional History and Education located on King Street on the Shepherd University campus next to Scarborough Library. Parking is available on the street or behind the library. The event is free and open to the public.

Dave Bullock attended Shepherdstown Middle School, Jefferson High School, and Shepherd College. His family has lived in the area since 1857. He had an abiding interest in history and has spent considerable time studying maps and other documents to learn about lost local roads that once shaped the history of the area. His talk will focus on the Philadelphia Wagon Road, which was central to Shepherdstown’s prosperity in the town’s early days. The Philadelphia Wagon Road started in Philadelphia and ended in Georgia. It has been given credit for much of the settlement of the backcountry of the South. Originally, the Wagon Road was a trail used by Native Americans called the Warrior Trail.

Mr. Bullock’s talk will kick off the Historic Shepherdstown Commission’s 2017 Speakers Series.

The Speakers Series schedule for the rest of the year will feature three additional programs. On May 24, textile historian and quilt expert Fawn Valentine will present a two-part event. First, from 1 to 3 p.m., she will provide “readings” of historic quilts. Local quilt owners will be invited to bring their quilts to learn more about designs, motifs, patterns, and cultural influences (not financial appraisals). Preregistration will be required. More information will be forthcoming. Second, on the evening of May 24, Fawn Valentine will give a talk on quilts and quilt makers. On August 30, at the Historic Shepherdstown Annual Meeting, Shepherd University History Professor and Director of the George Tyler Moore Center for the Study of the Civil War Dr. Jim Broomall will speak on “The Brother’s War: The Civil War Experiences of Virginia and West Virginia Soldiers.”  On November 8, local historian Doug Perks will present old and new images of local people and buildings, highlighting the changes over time.

All of the talks will take place at the Byrd Center for Congressional History and Education at 7 p.m. The Quilt Reading will be at the Entler Building. 129 E. German Street.

For further information, contact Historic Shepherdstown Administrator Teresa McLaughlin, 304-876-0910 on Tuesday, Wednesday or Friday or e-mail [email protected].