October 21, 2015: Boteler's Cement Mill, by Dr. Karen Gray

Boteler’s Cement Mill

Dr. Karen Gray, who has been studying the C&O Canal and nearby areas for 40 years, will give an illustrated talk on the historic Boteler Cement Mill near Shepherdstown as part of the Historic Shepherdstown Speakers Series.

Boteler’s Cement Mill, located near Packhorse or Boteler’s Ford, one half mile below Shepherdstown, played an important role in the 1862 Battle of Shepherdstown, and in the construction of the Canal and of many Federal buildings in Washington. It has been designated a Jefferson County Historic Landmark by the Jefferson County Historic Landmarks Commission.

The talk is set for October 21 at 7 p.m. at the Auditorium of the Byrd Center for Legislative Studies, located next to the Scarborough Library on the Shepherd University Campus. The talk is free and open to the public.

Speaker Series, November 7, 2015 – The Tumultuous History of the McMurran Hall Clock Tower

The Tumultuous History of the McMurran Hall Clock Tower

Saturday, November 7, 2015, 11 a.m. Reynolds Hall
The Origins of McMurran Hall: Rezin D. Shepherd, the Clock Tower, and the Town Hall. Featuring speakers Jim Surkamp and Dan Tokar.

McMurran Clock Tower

27. Great Western Hotel

214 W German. This rambling two-story stucco house has a colorful history. During the Revolutionary War a log tavern on the site became a rendezvous for American forces. A large yard behind provided a drill ground for troops. Joseph Entler bought the property in 1808 and established Entler’s Tavern (not to be confused with the Entler Hotel). At some point in the early 19th century the establishment became known as the Great Western Hotel. During the War of 1812, it served as a barracks for troops. After the war, Entler catered to the wagon trade. Many drivers and workers with wagon trains, Conestogas, ox carts and the like stayed here before and after crossing the Potomac at Pack Horse Ford. A 25 horse limestone stable behind the hotel enhanced its appeal. The hotel sustained much interior damage by soldiers during the Civil War and never reopened as a hotel. After extensive repairs it became a private residence.

 

28. Four Way Stop

at the intersection of Duke and W German Sts. Has been called through the years somebody’s corner: Byers’, Beltzhoover’s and Weis’s, depending on who lived on the corner at the time. Occasionally during the 20th century it had a stoplight. Negotiating the turn has proved a challenge for large trucks of recent times.

29. Weis House and Pottery Kiln

NW corner of German and Duke Sts. In the early 1800s the Weis family began turning out a reddish brown pottery in a wooden house on this site. In 1815 a fire spread from the kilns behind the house and destroyed the wooden structure. The Weis’s then built the large brick house. The smaller brick structure attached to the west side of the house became a shop for the display of Weis pottery ware, now prized by collectors. Like many of the products of early artisans, examples of Weis pottery may be seen at the Historic Shepherdstown Museum.

30. Site of James Rumsey House

SW corner of where Duke (Route 480) and New Sts once intersected. The log cabin in which James Rumsey lived (1785-1788) stood on this spot where now stands a brick house built in 1860. A plaque on the side of the house identifies the site. The town’s first jailhouse, a limestone structure, stood in the middle of New Street adjacent to the Rumsey house site from 1794 to 1865.

31. New Street United Methodist Church

SW corner of New and Church Sts. The original building, constructed of wood, also stood here, but burned in 1854, leading to its replacement by the current brick structure. Differences over slavery caused a split in the Methodist Church in the antebellum era, and the Northern Methodists retained control of the building. In 1868, Southern Methodists built what is now known as the War Memorial Building on German Street. Northern and Southern Methodists reunited in 1940 at the New Street site.

32. St. Agnes Catholic Church

NW corner of Washington and Church Sts, one block south of the United Methodist Church. Dedicated in 1891 in honor of Agnes Gibson (1853-1941), a lay person who played a major role in raising funds for the building of the church. It is now the St. Agnes Chapel. On July 28, 2008, the St. Agnes congregation dedicated a striking new church edifice located at 106 South Duke Street, behind the parish house.

33. Crooked House

204 Washington St., built c. 1790 and home to the Miller family for over a century. Solomon Miller and his wife Sophia Cookus Miller were both children of Revolutionary War veterans and produced a family of artisans including weavers, carriage makers, painters, cabinet makers and needle crafters. Eleazer Hutchinson Miller was a painter of watercolors and oils, etcher, and illustrator whose work is on display at the Corcoran Gallery in Washington and at the Historic Shepherdstown museum. Mid-twentieth century owner Edmund Jennings Lee IV (great grandson of Edmund Jennings Lee, the uncle of Robert E. Lee) was born in Shepherdstown, became an Episcopal priest and spent 25 years as a missionary in China as well as several years as headmaster of Chatham Hall girls’ school in Virginia. He and his wife retired to “the Crooked House,” a name he coined.

34. Episcopal Rectory and Shepherd Burial Ground

104 W New St. The large federal style brick house, constructed in 1814, was purchased by Thomas Van Swearingen in 1815 and sold to John Baker in 1817. It has served as the rectory since 1846. The Shepherd burial ground, inside the adjacent stone walls, was established in 1776 upon the death of Thomas Shepherd and is said to contain his unmarked grave. Over thirty family members are interred here, the last in 1941. On the opposite side of the street, a boys school known as the “Salt Box School” operated in the decades before the Civil War under a New England trained schoolmaster, John Pierce.