2023 Holiday Ornament

2023 Holiday Ornament available

Historic Shepherdstown Commission’s annual holiday ornament is now on sale. The 2023 ornament features Christ Reformed Church. It is available by mail at the Museum Shop or in person at the office in the Entler Hotel or the Christmas in Shepherdstown markets, also at the Entler Hotel.

Christ Reformed Church initially opened in Shepherdstown in 1747, and celebrated its 275th anniversary in October 2022. Its final service was held in January 2023. The 1798 stone belltower holds the oldest bells in Shepherdstown. The brick building, which housed the congregation until recently, was built in 1839 and expanded in 1881. Its graveyard features the graves of 11 Revolutionary War soldiers and patriots. The building will have a new life as a performance space for the Contemporary American Theater Festival.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Entler Hotel

Shepherdstown’s BooFest and the Historic Shepherdstown Museum Ghost Tours

Halloween is coming and that means it’s time for Shepherdstown’s BooFest and the Historic Shepherdstown Museum 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. This year, tours will be offered on Saturday, October 28, and Sunday, October 29, every half hour from 1:00 to 3:30 PM.

Halloween Tour and Investigation at the historic Entler Hotel

WHAT: HAUNTED HOTEL – A Halloween tour and investigation at the very haunted Entler Hotel sponsored by Historic Shepherdstown
WHEN: 8 pm through 9:30 pm, October 21st and October 28th
ADMISSION: FREE, WITH DONATIONS APPRECIATED!
Join R.I.P. and MAPI, two of the most experienced paranormal investigation groups in the local area, for a Halloween Tour and Investigation at the historic Entler Hotel, where spirits from various eras of Shepherdstown’s history have been seen, heard, and felt. We’ll be your guides throughout the rooms of the Entler Hotel.
Please note that no one under 17 will be admitted. Valid ID required if requested.
Limited to 20 guests on each tour. Email Historic Shepherdstown at [email protected] to register.

 

Battle of Shepherdstown commemoration, September 16 and 17

September 17 is the 161st anniversary the Battle of Antietam and Tuesday and Wednesday, Sept. 19-20, mark the anniversary of the Battle of Shepherdstown, which was the final battle of Robert E. Lee’s 1862 Maryland campaign. Saturday and Sunday, September 16-17 the Shepherdstown Battlefield Preservation Association will be setting up a table in front of the museum on German Street to give visitors an opportunity to view artifacts and learn facts about the Shepherdstown battle and its significance.  Be sure to stop by to learn more about this important battle. 

Harpers Bazaar illustration

Shepherdstown Remembers Antietam, September 17, 2023

The bloodiest day in American military history took place on September 17, 1862, in Maryland just across the river from Shepherdstown.

To mark the Battle of Antietam‘s anniversary, on Sunday, September 17 at 3 p.m. and 5 p.m., the Shepherdstown Opera House will host the first theater screening of “Shepherdstown Remembers Antietam“, an original film written and produced by local history researcher Jim Surkamp. The film describes the Battle’s impact through the eyes of Shepherdstown-area residents of the time, many of whom mobilized to aid wounded and hungry soldiers.

This event is co-sponsored by the Shepherdstown Opera House, the Historic Shepherdstown & Museum, the George Tyler Moore Center at Shepherd University and the Shepherdstown Battlefield Preservation Association.

Check OperaHouseLive.com for tickets for the 5 p.m. show at the Shepherdstown Opera House, 131 West German Street, Shepherdstown.

 

2023 Preservation Award Winners

Historic Preservation Month award winners

May is National Historic Preservation Month and we celebrated by honoring individuals involved in preservation efforts in the Shepherdstown area.  We are delighted to announce our award winners for 2023.

The Preservation of Historic Properties award was given to Steve and Harriet Pearson, for the renovation and rehabilitation of the Shepherdstown Opera House.  To watch their Speaker Series talk on the process of the renovation see https://youtu.be/-kD47VvjKIk

Harriet and Steve Pearson with Donna Bertazzoni and Jerry Bock

The Preservation of Historic Legacies (James C. Price) award went to Jim Surkamp, for his years of actively promoting and preserving the local history, sharing his knowledge of historically significant families, and creating numerous videos about historic events in Shepherdstown.

Jim Surkamp and Donna Bertazzoni

The Service to Historic Shepherdstown Commission award was given to two important long-time HSC volunteers, A. Jerry Bucey and Nick Blanton. Bucey is receiving the award for his dedicated service on the Board of Directors and for his work on the Executive Committee, as co-chair and member of the Building Committee, and as chair of the Cemetery Committee. Blanton served one term on the HSC board, and since then has been a dedicated volunteer member of the Building Committee and the Museum Committee. He has also been the liaison with the Rumseian Society and has been the lead volunteer with the James Rumsey Boathouse and replica boat, frequently volunteering to tell the James Rumsey story during student field trips.

Blanton Bucey

Nick Blanton and Jerry Bucey, service to Historic Shepherdstown with Donna Bertazzoni and Jerry Bock.

THIS PLACE MATTERS

Find out why

THIS PLACE MATTERS

Visit the exhibit featuring

Historic Shepherdstown Museum

Jefferson County Museum

Shepherdstown Battlefield Preservation Association

at

Next to the Sweet Shop

May 27, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

May 28, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Historic Shepherdstown Speaker Series Presentation, Awards Scheduled

May is Historic Preservation Month, and the first Historic Shepherdstown Commission Speaker Series presentation and annual Historic Preservation Awards ceremony is scheduled for 7 p.m. on May 17 at the beautifully renovated Opera House on German Street in downtown Shepherdstown.

Author Kevin Pawlak, a Shepherd University graduate and local history expert, will discuss the recently released book “John Brown’s Raid: Harpers Ferry and the Coming of the Civil War, October 16-18, 1859”, which he co-authored with Jon-Erik Gilot.

Immediately preceding Pawlak’s talk, Historic Shepherdstown Commission will present the 2023 Historic Preservation Awards to this year’s recipients. The Preservation of Historic Properties award will be given to Steve and Harriet Pearson, for the renovation and rehabilitation of the Shepherdstown Opera House

The Preservation of Historic Legacies (James C. Price) Award is going to Jim Surkamp, for his years of actively promoting and preserving the local history, sharing his knowledge of historically significant families, and creating numerous videos about historic events in Shepherdstown

The Service to Historic Shepherdstown Commission will be given to two important long-time HSC volunteers, A. Jerry Bucey and Nick Blanton. Bucey is receiving the award for his dedicated service on the Board of Directors and for his work on the Executive Committee, as co-chair and member of the Building Committee, and as chair of the Cemetery Committee. Blanton served one term on the HSC board, and since then has been a dedicated volunteer member of the Building Committee and the Museum Committee. He has also been the liaison with the Rumseian Society and has been the lead volunteer with the James Rumsey Boathouse and replica boat, frequently volunteering to tell the James Rumsey story during student field trips.

The May 17 presentation is the first of four Speaker Series planned for 2023. All of the events are free and open to the public. The additional talks are:

  • June 21 at the Byrd Center Auditorium on the Shepherd University campus: Lori Wysong, director of the Jefferson County Museum, will make a presentation on Prohibition in Jefferson County, including temperance, bootlegging, and present-day legacies of Prohibition. Wysong’s presentation will tie into a new exhibit on Prohibition, which opened at the Jefferson County Museum in early May.
  • September 6 at the Byrd Center Auditorium: Dr. Ben Bankhurst, who holds the Ray and Madeline Johnston Chair in American History at Shepherd University, will speak on Loyalism in the Lower Valley during the American Revolution. Bankhurst is also the Co-Director of the Maryland Loyalism Project, a public archive and database documenting the experiences of Chesapeake Loyalists in the Era of the American Revolution. This event also serves as our HSC Annual Membership Meeting.
  • October 18 at the Byrd Center Auditorium: Important Architectural Features of the Shepherdstown Historic District, which will be presented in partnership with the Shepherdstown Historic Landmarks Commission.

Questions regarding the Speaker Series may be directed to the Historic Shepherdstown office by calling 304-876-0910 or emailing [email protected].

 

Historic Shepherdstown Museum opening April 15 with map exhibit.

Map exhibit

Historic Shepherdstown Museum map exhibit

In 2023, Historic Shepherdstown Museum will be celebrating the 40th anniversary of its opening with a new exhibit, “Great Dreams: Maps of Shepherdstown and Jefferson County from the 17th through the 21st Century.” The museum reopens for the season on Saturday, April 15, at 11 a.m.

The exhibit features 20 maps, including six original maps owned by the museum. The maps are grouped by era: Early Maps, Civil War maps; and 20th and 21st Century maps.

The Early Map exhibit includes what is believed to be the earliest plat map of Shepherdstown, then known as Mecklenburg. The map, which is owned by the museum, has been dated to the 1760s by paper conservators. Also included in the Early Map era are copies of the first map of British America drawn by John Smith; Charles Varle’s 1809 map, which includes the first depiction of Jefferson County; and Thomas Shepherd’s original 222-acre land grant.

The Civil War maps include one pre-war map, an original of S. Howell Brown’s 1852 map of Jefferson County Virginia. That map was donated to the museum by Mary Hartzell Dobbins and was restored in 2022 thanks to an Americana Corner grant, which also funded the exhibit.

Brown and noted mapmaker Jedediah Hotchkiss both served in the Confederate Army during the Civil War and both drew detailed maps of actions in the Shenandoah Valley.  The Civil War maps include depictions of the Battle of Antietam by Brown and the U.S. Government; the Battle of Shepherdstown by the American Battlefield Trust; and actions near Kearneysville and Shepherdstown in August of 1864 by Hotchkiss.

The final era depicted features an original 1883 S. Howell Brown map of Jefferson County, West Virginia, and a 2007 Jefferson County map by local cartographer Lori Simmons. The Jefferson County Historical Society donated the Brown map, and Simmons donated the 2007 map. Also included in that grouping are an original 1890 plat map of Shepherdstown by local architect S. P. Humrickhouse, an original 1920s Shaw and Whitmer map of Jefferson County, and an overlay of the Shepherdstown Historic District produced by the Jefferson County GIS/Addressing office.

The map exhibit is the second new exhibit the museum has opened in the past 12 months. Educational Opportunities for Black Jefferson County Residents Before and After Brown v Board of Education opened in May of 2022.

Also new to the museum this year is the Baptismal Font from the former Christ Reformed Church in Shepherdstown. The font was handmade in 1881 by S.P. Humrickhouse, who drew the 1890 plat map of Shepherdstown featured in the map exhibit.

The museum will open on April  15 with hours 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Sundays. The suggested donation is $4 per person. Admission is free for members of Historic Shepherdstown, the military, children, and students. Special tours are possible if a volunteer docent is available. Call 304-876-0910 on Tuesday, Wednesday, or Friday to inquire.