Next lecture, Sunday, Nov. 5, "Remembering John Hanson"
November 2017 Newsletter
Next Lecture - Sunday, November 5 at 2:00 Upcoming Lectures Video of Eugene Scheel Lecture On YouTube Visit our Newly-Renovated Museum Nearby Events of Interest About the Lovettsville Historical Society & Museum
Next in the Lovettsville Historical Society Lecture Series
Remembering John Hanson: The First President of the United States Presented by Peter Hanson Michael
Sunday, November 5, 2:00 pm
On November 5, 1781 – just weeks after the American victory at Yorktown – the United States officially came into being, and John Hanson of Maryland was selected as the “President of the United States in Congress Assembled.” The Articles of Confederation had been drafted in 1777, but were not ratified until March of 1781. The Articles authorized the newly-elected Congress to meet on the first Monday of November, when it elected John Hanson as President.
On November 5, 2017, the Lovettsville Historical Society will present the story of John Hanson, the man whom many – including George Washington himself – regarded as the first President of the United States. The story will be told by Peter Hanson Michael, a descendant of John Hanson, and author of the 2011 biography Remembering John Hanson: The First Lincoln. As Mr. Michael writes in the Forward to the book:
“Remembering John Hanson collects the Hanson record which re-illuminates that he was an indispensable Founder in forging United States independence, raising money, materiel and militias to prosecute the Revolutionary War, solving the impasse over the western lands, brokering the Articles of Confederation, creating the first United States government, keeping the nation whole, and serving as the first President of this original government.”
Mr. Michael will explain why it is that, although Hanson was highly regarded by the generations following our War of Independence, he is barely remembered today. And he will solve a number of the mysteries of Hanson’s life, as well as putting to rest some of the myths surrounding him – including the Internet-spread claim that Hanson was America’s first Black President.
Mr. Michael resides at Cooling Springs Farm, an Underground Railroad site, on Ballenger Creek Pike above Point of Rocks in Frederick County, Maryland. He is president of the John Hanson Memorial Association, which sponsored the John Hanson National Memorial in Frederick, Maryland. He is also publisher of the Underground Railroad Free Press.
The program will be held at St. James United Church of Christ, 10 East Broad Way, Lovettsville, Va., at 2:00 p.m. Admission is free, but donations are welcome to defray expenses of the program and to support the activities of the Lovettsville Historical Society.
Upcoming Lectures & Events
December 3, 2017 at 2:00 pm -- Annual Meeting of the Lovettsville Historical Society. For all members and prospective members. Meeting will include exhibition of the Museum's new design and displays, review of the past year's activities, and election of a new Board of Directors. The Annual Meeting will be held at the Lovettsville Museum.
2018 Lecture Series -- now being scheduled, will run from February through November.
Announcing the launch of the Lovettsville Historical Society's YouTube Channel.
Our first uploaded video is "Mapping the Short Hill With Eugene Scheel," a lecture hosted by the Lovettsville Historical Society & Museum on October 15, 2017. This is the fascinating background story, in his own words, of the making of the meticulously hand-drawn map of the Short Hill Mountain, Loudoun County, Virginia, by Mr. Eugene Scheel, mapmaker and historian from Waterford, Virginia.
In coming months, the Lovettsville Historical Society will be posting more videos from our past lectures. Stay tuned!
Visit the Newly-Renovated Lovettsville Museum
The Lovettsville Museum, which first opened in 1976, recently received a much-needed interior refresh and three new exhibits. The impetus for the makeover was the impending Lovettsville Oktoberfest celebration in September 2017, plus two remarkable donations to the Museum. See our renovation and our newest exhibits in the series of photos below.
The inspiration for the renovation was the generous gift of a flat screen television from museum supporters Darryl and Angela Leuck of Lovettsville. The TV is now mounted on the west wall of the main room of the museum, and video recordings of past LHS lectures run on a loop for the enjoyment of museum visitors.
It didn't seem right to mount the television on the time-worn wall, without first applying a fresh coat of Ultra Pure White paint on the wainscoting in the main room of the Museum. Melani Carty, LHS Board member, volunteered her time to paint the room. She discovered that five coats of paint-and-primer-in-one were required to completely cover the original surface. After painting the walls, she painted the front door a classic red to match the Pennsylvania Dutch hex sign donated by Tim Keena.
After the room was repainted, new lighting was needed to highlight the exhibits and show off the bright white walls. Jonathan Carty, Boy Scout volunteer and Woodgrove High School junior, removed the existing two small ceiling sconces, and replaced them with 36 energy-efficient LED track lights.
Jonathan also recently assisted with planting a new garden of mums in front of the museum, rewired and repaired the vintage telephones inside the museum, and has decorated the exterior of our two-story building with Christmas lights for the past three Decembers.
During the renovation, the Town of Lovettsville generously donated two large aerial photographs of downtown, dated 1982 and 1995. Mike Zapf, LHS Board member, created a wall display by mounting aerial photos on the east wall of the main room of the museum, and surrounded them with reproduction vintage maps. Visitors to the Museum during Oktoberfest were fascinated with this exhibit, studying how Lovettsville has changed rapidly since the 1980s. The next phase of construction on this display will involve adding aerial photos from 1937, 1957, 1968, and 2016.
Another new exhibit is "Selfie Station" where visitors can try on ladies' millinery and mens' toppers from the museum's collection of vintage hats, and take pictures of themselves.
The new "What the Heck IS This Thing???" exhibit is a guessing game involving the more curious objects in our museum. Younger visitors are amazed and stupefied by our typewriter (a keyboard, but you can't save what you type?!), the Kodak Brownie film camera (you had to wait a week to get your pictures developed?!), and our working vintage telephones (cranking required?!). Adults are stumped by the Joltmeter and the Toledo Torch.
Come visit our Museum and test your knowledge of obsolete 19th and ealry-20th century farm and household implements.
The Lovettsville Museum is located next to Town Hall at 4 East Pennsylvania Avenue, Lovettsville, Virginia. Hours are Saturdays 1:00 to 4:00 or by appointment. Admission is free.
Other Nearby Events of Interest
Nov. 1 – 30 -- Exhibit at Thomas Balch Library: The Loudoun County Court House, by Sarah Markel and Alyssa Fisher. Thomas Balch Library, 208 W Market St., Leesburg, VA.
Thurs., Nov. 2, at 7:00 pm – “McClellan's Headquarters at Antietam, Not What You Think.” For many years everyone believed, including Antietam National Battlefield, that McClellan's headquarters was at the Pry House. After much research, the facts support another place. Presented by Thomas Clemens, retired professor of Hagerstown Community College and Licensed Antietam National Battlefield Guide. Sharpsburg Library, 106 East Main Street, Sharpsburg, MD 21782.
Sat., Nov. 4, at 2:30 pm -- Civil War Soldiers and Their Quilts. Join National Museum of Civil War Medicine volunteer and textile historian Mavis Slawson in the Delaplaine-Randall Conference Room to discuss how quilts were important to Civil War soldiers in many ways, used for camping in the field, as saddle blankets, tablecloths, and myriad other purposes. At the time of the Civil War, “quilt” was used as a term for almost any bed covering, but making true quilts involved much time and work. In the first year of the Civil War, more than one million men answered the call to arms. Sewing women also responded to this call. Mavis will discuss what happened to their quilts and also how injured soldiers created quilts for themselves while in hospitals. The talk is included with admission to the National Museum of Civil War Medicine and is FREE for Museum members. National Museum of Civil War Medicine, 48 East Patrick Street, Frederick, MD 21701. 301-695-1864.
Sat., Nov. 11, at 9:00 am -- Historic Wooden Window Restoration Workshop. The Preservation Alliance of WV will offer a one-day Historic Wooden Window Restoration Workshop at First Zion Baptist Church, 1030 W. Ridge Street in Harpers Ferry on Saturday Nov. 11 beginning at 9 AM. During the hands-on course, you will learn glass cutting, glazing, paint stripping and wood consolidation as well as a discussion of mothballing and double-hung sash window terminology, design and operation. Learn skills that you can apply in your own home. Participation is $10 and will include lunch. Please reserve a spot by Nov. 8 by emailingharpersferryfoundation@gmail.com.
Sat., Nov. 11, at 11:00 am – Lovettsville Veterans Day Ceremony. The Town of Lovettsville will honor our Veterans during a ceremony on Saturday, November 11th at 11:00 AM at the Veterans Memorial in the Town Square.
Mon., Nov. 13, 7 PM-- After the War Ends: Preserving Reconstruction Era History in Border State Maryland. The Annual Meeting of the Heart of the Civil War Heritage Area will feature a lecture by the Chief Historian of the National Park Service, Dr. Turkiya L. Lowe, to speak on After the War Ends: Preserving Reconstruction Era History in Border State Maryland. The evening will include Heritage Area highlights and a dessert reception. Frederick Community College Conference Center, 7932 Opossumtown Pike, Frederick, MD 21702. 301-600-4031.
Thurs., Nov. 16, at 7:30 pm-- "The Generalship of Ulysses S. Grant and the American Civil War.” Author Dick Sommers will be presenting "The Generalship of Ulysses S. Grant and the American Civil War," and signing copies of his book, Richmond Redeemed. The event hosted by Hagerstown Civil War Round Table is at Homewood Suites, 1650 Pullman Lane Hagerstown, MD. For more information visit: Hagerstown Civil War Round Table.
Dec. 1 – 31 – Exhibit: Between the Hills: White, Mosby, Mobberley, and their influence on the Civil War, by Greg and Patti Paxson. Thomas Balch Library, 208 W Market St
Leesburg.
Jan. 1 – 31-- Exhibit: The Mexican War-Connection to VA, by Gregg and Patti Paxton. Margaret Mercer Room, Thomas Balch Library, 208 W Market St., Leesburg.
About the Lovettsville Historical Society & Museum 4 East Pennsylvania Avenue, next to Town Hall Year-Round Hours: Saturdays1:00 pm - 4:00 pm, or by appointment
The former Potterfield Meat Store, now home to the Lovettsville Historical Society & Museum, was operated by Thomas Potterfield, who lived in the large house next door. The Potterfield Meat Store was built in the early 1900’s as part of his meat business, which he likely started when he returned from the War Between the States in 1865. The actual butchering shop and hog scalding trough were in a building that was once located behind the Meat Store. Both pork and beef were sold in the store. The meat not immediately sold was kept in a large wooden icebox that held 200-pound chunks of ice in a top compartment.
The horse-drawn vehicles were kept in a small wing of the building, now the second room of the museum.The main room of today's museum is where the meat was once sold. Mr. Potterfield also hauled meat to sell in Brunswick and also sold groceries there. After Thomas Potterfield's death in 1912, the business was carried on by his sons, Robert and Edward Potterfield.
In May 1974, the Lovettsville Town Council appointed a committee to restore the building. After several fund-raising events, the Museum was opened for the first time during the 1976 Septemberfest. The building underwent further improvements, including the complete restoration of the small wing, which became the Lovettsville Library. The official opening of the Lovettsville Museum & Library took place in September 1979. In the following months, additions and improvements were made, as funds became available through the Town and its citizens, and the building came to look as it does today. The Library is now located on north Light Street.
The displays in the Museum consist of donations, mostly from local families, some old, some not so old, but all represent our community’s heritage and various facets of a past way of life.
The Museum also contains an archives and research library of genealogies, maps, books, photographs and other resource materials that illustrate the history of Lovettsville and its inhabitants.
In addition, the Lovettsville Historical Society offers a monthly lecture series, monthly newsletter, group tours by appointment, gift shop, Facebook page, and online store for memberships, merchandise and financial contributions.
The members of the Board of Directors are most grateful to all who have made donations or contributions to support the mission of the Lovettsville Historical Society & Museum.
If you enjoyed this newsletter, please consider supporting our mission to protect and preserve the history and heritage of Lovettsville, the German Settlement, and our unique corner of Loudoun County, Virginia, by visiting our website to purchase a membership or make a financial contribution. The Lovettsville Historical Society, Inc. is a tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Contributions to the Society, and membership dues, are tax-deductible under the Internal Revenue Code.
