Historic Wanderings: March 2012

March 30, 2012

St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Hillsboro, MD

March 29, 2012

More Slave Burials on Barnsfield Rd., Fairfax County, VA?

Since I published my post Centreville, Rd., Changing Landscape last week, I have received several emails about this land and people's memories of it. I wanted to confirm that there are at least 2 cemeteries on Barnsfield Rd.

The cemetery on the South side of Barnsfield Rd. is known as the Turley-Hutchison-Wilcoxon Family Cemetery.

There is a slave cemetery on Barnsfield Rd. about 350 yards beyond said family cemetery. This cemetery is known as the Turley Slave Cemetery, it also lies on the South side of Barnsfield Rd.

I have been told there are other "slave burials" on the North side of Barnsfield Rd., but much closer to Centreville Rd. (Route 657).

If anyone has any info. Please let me know... The bulldozers are ON THE SITE.

See what the site looked like in May 2012

March 28, 2012

A Little Piece of Kamp Washington

Paul Nabti

Local Planner

Posted on March 28, 2012 at 6:35 pm

A Little Piece of Kamp Washington

Kamp Washington Display at Fairfax Library Credit Paul Nabti

"If you happen to be at the Fairfax City Library in the near future, be sure check out the display case next to the elevator on the second floor for a little history on Kamp Washington and the Sherwood family.

If you happen to be at the Fairfax City Library in the near future, be sure check out the display case next to the elevator on the second floor for a little history on Kamp Washington and the Sherwood family.

Though most people outside of the city don’t have a name for the area around the intersection of Main Street, Fairfax Boulevard, and Lee Highway, for those of us inside the city it is known as Kamp Washington. We call it this because of a small tourist camp that sat at that intersection for much of the first half of the 20^thCentury. Despite being the namesake for one of the most prominent commercial areas of the city, it is difficult to find pictures or other documents that show what the original Kamp Washington was like.

Thanks to a donation of numerous memorabilia from the Sherwood family, and countless cataloguing hours from Ross Landis (current Planning Commission member), a lot of material on Kamp Washington is now held in the Virginia Room at the library, a sampling of which is temporarily on display.

The Sherwood family, who were active members of the Town of Fairfax community, owned a tourist home next door and eventually bought Kamp Washington. The camp was eventually demolished to make way for commercial development, and the house was moved.

The display has some great photos of the home and the camp, as well as various other memorabilia. I’m not sure how long it will be up, so be sure to stop by soon."

Way To Go ROSS!

AND,

If you want to check out the Historic Wanderings of Ross & Maddy, click below...

Sherwood Houses, Fairfax City

More Sherwood Houses, Fairfax City

Some Fairfax City Architecture

March 27, 2012

Oh, By The Way, Joseph McGill is My Hero

The Slave Dwelling Project

Click below to learn about Joseph McGill's calling:

For the 2012 Schedule, click on over to Low County Africana:

http://www.lowcountryafricana.com/2012/02/21/slave-dwelling-project-2012-schedule/

Slave Life at Ben Lomond, Manassas, VA

Black History Month Post:
Photos taken at the excellent "Slave Life at Ben Lomond Tour" on February 26, 2012.
The Prince William County Historic Preservation staff here were superb! I was really impressed with their level of knowledge about Northern Virginia slavery and the Civil War. Ben Lomond goes right up on my list of sites that I would recommend to a visit to.

The slave cabin is AN ORIGINAL. But, keep in mind the cabin is not in its original location, staff informed me that it was moved across the property at an earlier date (see visuals below).