The Town Crier April-June - Historic Dumfries Virginia, Inc.

The Town Crier April-June
The Newsletter of Historic Dumfries, Virginia, Inc.
April-June 2016
Charter Day 2016
Charter Day: an 18th Century Celebration will be held
at Merchant Park on May 14th. This FREE Family Event
celebrates Dumfries as the oldest continuously
chartered town in Virginia. Chartered on May 11, 1749
this marks 267 years!!! We will have a truly amazing
community event with music, colonial demonstrations
such as Cooking, Colonial Drills and Dr. Turner Kitt, a
Historical talk and book signing by renown author —
Mike Cecere. We will have free activities and crafts for
the children to make and take. This wonderful event
was sponsored by the Town of Dumfries, Historic
Dumfries and The Weems-Botts Museum.
Special points of
interest:
 Historical Camp for
Kids page 2
 Park Rental page 2
 Membership Meeting
page 1
 Blue Star Museum page
3
You’re Invited to HDV’s Annual Member Meeting!
Complimentary Dinner Buffett by “Jerimiah’s Barbeque” at 6:30
Volunteer Recognition, a presentation as given in the sold out Alexandra’s lectures concerning the medicine used in the PBS “Mercy
Street Series,” and voting on the Board Officer's and Board Membership Recruitment. We appreciate your support and hope to see you!
Thursday, June 2, 2016 at 7:30 p.m.
Dumfries Community Center
RSVP Please!
If you are interested in joining our board of Directors
please call Joann at 703-221-2218
The Town Crier April-June 2016
Page 2
Merchant Park
Wonderful for Weddings, Birthday’s, Graduations and Family Reunions!
Our Merchant Park Rental calendar is filling up fast! What a great site for weddings, picnics,
reunions and social events. You can rent the entire park for the whole day which will include the
Pavilion, bandstand, two grills and restroom facilities; for $300 and for a very small extra fee of
$100 a full service kitchen. Hurry, spaces are filling up FAST!
Both the memorial bandstand / gazebo and 15 table pavilion (which seats 120 comfortably) is
equipped with electricity. There is a concrete apron in front of the bandstand for use as a stage.
Arrangements for use may be made by calling or e-mailing Joann at the Weems-Botts Museum.
Experience Dumfries rich history, while you create memories of your most important moments.
Please consider hosting your next event here at Merchant Park.
The bandstand in Merchant Park was erected by the Prince
William County Historical Commission in memory of William
Grayson, one of Virginia’s first senators and illustrious citizens
of Dumfries, as a feature of the observance of the American
Independence Bicentennial. The memorial was dedicated on
July 10, 1976, at the Dumfries Liberty Day celebration.
Senator William Scott of Virginia.
A Historical Colonial Camp For Children
What was it like to be a kid in 18th century Colonial Virginia? To have heard
Patrick Henry’s famous “Give Me Liberty” speech? Come spend five days
with us and find out!
Historic Dumfries and the Weems-Botts Museum will help you learn about
the Virginian Indians, the African-American Experience,
Colonists, Spies and Pirates. See how a child would have dressed, used manners, played and lived in
Colonial Virginia! Learn to make colonial foods and churn butter, do candle making, quill pen and ink
writing, make clay marbles, and learn how to play and dance like you’re living in 18th century Virginia! Join George Washington and Patrick Henry and explore the meaning of “Liberty.” Take a scavenger hunt in the oldest chartered town in Virginia, do a “dig” for artifacts, learn about the Revolution
and participate as one of the members of the “Dumfries Resolves.”
Five day interactive camp. Snacks and supplies included in fees. Please bring a bagged lunch.
Participants will meet at Merchant Park. Session: July 11-14, 2016 from 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. This
is designed for children between the ages of 7 and 10. Fee: $100.00 (Full Scholarships are available)
Advanced Registration is required and size is limited to 20 participants. Please call Joann Barron at
(703) 221-2218.
PLEASE HELP SEND A CHILD TO CAMP! IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO DONATE A TAX
DEDUCTABLE GIFT TO SEND A CHILD TO CAMP, PLEASE CALL JOANN! OVER 70% OF OUR
CHILDREN NEED A SCHOLARSHIP, PLEASE HELP US TO SAY “YES” TO EVERY CHILD
DESIRING TO COME TO COLONIAL CAMP!!!!
The Town Crier, April-June 2016
Page 3
Your Summer Adventure Begins at Weems-Botts! We are part of the PWC ED-OUT EXPLORER PASPORT PROGRAM!
HDV & Weems-Botts Museum Activities & Updates
We are looking Good!
Come see the new and up-graded look of the
Weems-Botts Museum, we have painted the
colonial room and Victorian parlor and added
a new exhibit to include Colonial Medicine and
an exhibit from Charlie Reid, long time
Dumfries favorite resident. If it has been a while since you
have been to the museum—it will be all new to you! Prepare
for a new look and hear new stories of our rich historic past!
Fun Fact:
In our performance
measures of our last
fiscal year—our Museum
attendance increased
from 7,749 in FY 13 to
18,900 in FY 15.
Who is Mason Locke Weems? Part I
Mason Locke Weems (October 11, 1759 – May 23, 1825), generally known as Parson
Weems, was an American book agent and author. He is best known as the source of some of
the apocryphal stories about George Washington. The famous tale of the cherry tree ("I cannot tell a lie, I did it with my little hatchet") is included in The Life of Washington (1800),
Weems' most famous work. This nineteenth-century bestseller depicted Washington's virtues
and provided an entertaining and morally instructive tale for the youth of the young nation.
Special Thanks!
Walmart: To provide money
to continue our Free
“Children’s Day at the
Weems was born on 11 October 1759 in Anne Arundel County, Maryland. He studied
theology in London and was ordained in the Protestant Episcopal Church in 1784. He worked
Museum.” Thanks so
as a minister in Maryland in various capacities from 1784 to 1792. Financial hardship forced
Weems to seek additional employment, and he began working as a traveling book agent.
much!!!
Weems married Frances Ewell in 1795 and established a household in Dumfries, Virginia. He
had a small bookstore in Dumfries that now houses the Weems–Botts Museum, but he
continued to travel extensively, selling books and preaching.
Dumfries is not far from Pohick Church, part of Truro Parish, in Lorton, Virginia, where both
George Washington and his father Augustine had worshipped in pre-Revolutionary days.
Weems would later inflate this Washington connection and promote himself as the former
"rector of Mount-Vernon parish."
We are a
Blue Star Museum!
The free admission
program is available to
active-duty military and their
immediate family members (military ID holder and five
immediate family members). Active duty military includes
Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and Coast Guard.
Blue Star Museums runs from Memorial Day through
Labor Day. Please Join Us!
NOVEC: For proving funds
for a living history park
display. One part is to build
an Archaeology Dig Site and
the second part is a Nautical
Knots Board in Merchant
Park!
Norma Fields: For taking
our very sad long Victorian
couch in the parlor and having the frame work redone
and the fabric
reupholstered!!!
Thank You!!!
Historic Dumfries, Virginia, Inc.
3944 Cameron Street
Dumfries, VA 22026
Phone: 703-221-2218
E-mail: [email protected]
Protecting and promoting the history of
Dumfries.
We’re on the web! Become a Facebook fan of the Weems-Botts Museum at Historic
Dumfries and visit us at www.historicdumfries.org
Weems-Botts is part
of the Fifth Annual
Explorer Passport!
53,000 PWC school kids have
this Passport to Fun! Turn it
in at the end of summer to
be eligible for cool prizes!
Historic Dumfries, Virginia Inc. Events Calendar
June 2, 2016 — HDV’s Annual Member Meeting at the Dumfries Community
Center. 7:30 P.M. Tea & Refreshments, Volunteer Recognition and board
membership votes! RSVP to Joann at 703-221-2218
July 3: Independence Day Celebration, “Children’s Day at the Museum” – Ice
Cream Social, Washington’s Favorite treat.
July 11th to the 15th, 2016— A Historical Colonial Camp for Children. See page
2 for more details!
All Sumer Long—PWC Explorer Passport and Blue Star Museum!!!
HDV Newsletter & Museum Credits & Information
● Executive Director, Author & Editor: Joann Barron
● Docent & Bookkeeper: Erica Bridges