Jaybird's Jottings

National Book Festival: A Look Back

“Our history as a people and a nation is a great story, pieced together like a quilt bit by bit, generation by generation. By reading together and sharing stories, we become part of the fabric of the American community.” - Laura Bush, White House Author Breakfast 2003

 

One of our favorite annual events, the National Book Festival, will take place Saturday at the Convention Center in Washington. Using the LOC’s NBF website and The Washington Post’s coverage, let’s take a look at its history.

 

September 9, 2001

25,000-30,000

Authors: 32

 

On June 14, The Washington Post writer Linton Weeks gave readers the first glimpse of the new event. The Library of Congress was the sponsor and the host was First Lady Laura Bush. She brought her love of books and experiences with the Texas Book Festival to the table.

 

The idea for the event came during conversations between the First Lady and Librarian of Congress James Billington, who helped led the effort. 32 authors appeared, including Stephen Ambrose, Michael Beschloss, Walter Moseley, John Feinstein, Alice McDermott, Robin Cook, Sue Grafton, Scott Turow, and nine children and young adult authors.

 

Like all of them would be, the event was free and held on a Saturday (later ones would be held on Saturday and Sunday, and then returned to Saturday only). Before settling into a stretch of holding the event on the Mall (2003-2013), the first one was held at the East Lawn of the Capitol at First and Independence. Estimated attendance was 25-30,000.

 

October 10, 2002

45,000

Authors: 61

 

Post 9/11 security fears had many worried the festival would not be held, but it went on and 45,000 attended. The event moved to the west lawn of the Capitol and the National Mall (Capitol to Fourth Street). The date moved to October 10.

 

61 authors appeared, including Henry Louis Gates, Jr, David Halberstam, David McCullough, James McPherson, Scott Simon, David Baldacci, Carol and Mary HIggins Clark, and 25 Children authors.

 

A special guest was Lyudmila Putin, wife of Russian president Vladimir Putin.

 

October 4, 2003

75,000

Authors: 71

 

The festival moved to the National Mall, the first of what would prove to be a 11-year run there. 60,000 attended. A children and teens pavilion were added.

 

The author count was 71 and included James Patterson, Julia Glass, Bob Schieffer, Lynn Sherr, Juan Williams, Robert Caro, David Maraniss, David Balducci, Laura Lippman, Nikki Grimes, Bob Lanier, and a dozen poets. In what would become somewhat of a tradition, NBA and WNBA players appeared and read.

 

The Washington Post published a special page titled, “Read All About Them, Seven Popular Authors Reveal Some of their Favorite Things.” Tracy Grant asked it to children authors R.L. Stine, Mary Pope Osborne, Nikki Grimes, Jane Yolen, Jerry Spinelli, Sharon Creech, and Steven Kellog.

 

October 9, 2004

85,000

Authors: 75

 

The festival’s beloved partner C-SPAN got some love in Neely Tucker’s article in The Washington Post, who also paired with the event (“Mall Event is Solidly Booked”). Grabbing a free large book bag with the C-SPAN name printed on it would become an essential part of the festival experience.

 

Waiting in line for that special autograph is also part and parcel of the festival. Rockville resident Sean Mahaffy waited for Neil Gaiman, “fantasy novelist and comic book cult figure.” He stood in line for four hours.

 

Warren Tsuneishi, a retired librarian, discussed his book “Voices of War,” a compilation of memoirs by the Library of Congress. The 83-year-old veteran of World War II survived an internment camp after Pearl Harbor.

 

Attendance was 85,000. Authors numbered 75, and included Representative John Lewis, Ron Chernow, Clive Cussler, Kate DiCamillo, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Douglas Brinkley, Cokie Roberts, Juan Williams, Louis Bayard, and a dozen in the Poetry category and ten in children, and nine in teens.

 

September 25, 2005

100,000

Authors: 80

 

For the fifth festival, attendance soared to six digits. After holding it in October for three years, the festival moved up to September 25.

 

The Mall was yet again a stage for all the world. In his article, Bob Thompson pointed out the remarkable juxtaposition of “Poets on Parade” and anti-war protestors streaming by the event.

 

Thompson also asked and answered the question, “How should we look at the National Book Festival?” His answers included, it’s a defense of the printed word, it’s a non-political event (Or is it?), it’s a television show, it’s a marketing opportunity, and it’s a community of writers and readers.

 

80 authors appeared and included Sandra Brown, David Baldacci, Laura Lippman, E.L. Doctorow, Gish Jen, Tom Wolfe, Buzz Aldrin, George R.R. Martin, David Brooks, Joseph Ellis, Andrea Mitchell, Judge Robert L. Carter, Sue Monk Kidd, and Jerry Pinkney.

 

September 30, 2006

Attendance: 100,000 plus

Authors: 74

 

The weather was always a concern and rain fell for this one. Nevertheless, the show went on under the tents. As always, thousands poured out of Metro’s Smithsonian station, conveniently located steps from the Mall.

 

Bob Thompson brought his notebook once again and highlighted Khaled Hosseini, author of “The Kite Runner.” His novel topped the charts and was made into a movie. Hosseini said the spark came after the Taliban banned kite flying in Afghanistan.

Thompson also reported on the importance of book titles and ones that got messed up in translation. His look at “video man” (Kurt Aldag) is fun to read.

 

The author list included Doris Kearns Goodwin, John Hope Franklin, Bob Woodward, Taylor Branch, Douglas Brinkley, Geraldine Brooks, Khaled Hosseni, George Pelecanos, Lisa Scottoline, Nathaniel Philbrick, Alice McDermott, Daniel Silva, Vince Flynn, Scott Turow, Shiela Moses, Yevgeny Yevtushenko, and Brad Meltzer.

 

September 29, 2007

Attendance: 120,000

Authors: 71

 

In keeping with their tradition, The Washington Post published a special pull out guide for their Book World section. The tradition of having NBA and WNBA players involved kept going with Al Harrington (Golden State Warriors) reading to children.

 

The author list included Carmen Agra Deedy, Holly Black, David Balducci, Diane Ackerman, Michael Beschloss, Ashley Bryan, James Swanson, Geoffrey Ward, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Martha Raddatz, Gene Luen Yang, Joyce Carol Oates, Jodi Picoult, David Ignatius, and Maria Celeste Arraras.

 

Bob Thompson got the beat call again and covered Joyce Carol Oates, whose latest was “The Gravedigger’s Daughter.” It was inspired by the life of her paternal granddaughter. Poet N. Scott Momaday talked about once visiting Georgia O’Keefe, who was taking more time than expected to bring him a drink from her kitchen. “It turns out,” he told the audience, “that O’Keefe had taken the pantry doors off the hinges.”

 

September 27, 2008

120,000

Authors: 73

 

The Washington Post was on top of things once again. Their coverage included a photo of Jenna Bush Hager, who “greeted a future reader while promoting “Read All About It,” written with her mother. 2008 was the final year of hosting for First Lady Laura Bush.

Bob Thompson’s lengthy article touched on Neil Gaiman and his latest book, “The Graveyard Book.” Dionne Warwick drew a crowd for her children’s book, “Say a Little Prayer.”

 

CBS New Correspondent Kimberly Dozier must have had a rapt audience for her talk on her book, “Breathing the Fire. Fighting to Report, and Survive, The War in Iraq.” Immaculee Ilibagiza, a Rwanda-American, received a standing ovation for discussing her brushes with death in her book, “Left to Tell, Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust.”

 

The author count bumped up to 73. It included the above and Salman Rushdie, Tiki Barber, Dionne Warwick, Tony Horowitz, David Maraniss, Cokie Roberts, Bob Schieffer, Daniel Schorr, Gordon S. Wood, Sandra Brown, James McBride, Arthur Frommer, Michelle Singletary, Jon Scieszka, and Andrea Davis Pinkney.

 

September 26, 2009

130,000

Authors: 80

 

Attendance continued to soar with 130,000 attending. Same for the authors with 80. Big names dotted the list, including John Grisham, Kadir Nelson, Jodi Picoult, Colson Whitehead, David Balducci, Walter Mosely, George Pelecanos, Daniel SIlva, Azar Nafasi, Judy Blume, Paula Dean, James Patterson, Jacqueline Woodson, Douglas Brinkley, Ken Burns, Annette Gordon-Reed, Gwen Ifill, and Jon Meacham.

 

President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama served as honorary co-chairs.

 

In The Washington Post, Marissa Newhall dished on what she saw at the opening reception for authors and donors. It included, “John Grisham -- Charlottesville resident and festival rookie -- recalled struggling to sell 1,000 copies of "A Time to Kill" in Mississippi in 1989, before "The Firm" made him famous.”

 

September 25, 2010

150,000

Authors: 63

 

Ever generous, David Rubinstein donated $5M to the festival. Attendance hit the 150,000 mark.

 

63 authors appeared, including Laura Bush, Suzanne Collins, Edward O. Wilson, Brad Meltzer, James Ransome, Judith Viorst, Isabell Allende, Scott Turow, Wil Haygood, David Remnick, Stacy Schiff, Evan Thomas, and Gordon S. Wood.

 

The Post’s Lonnae O’Neal Parker wrote an article titled, “Repeating family history; The National Book Festival's Adele and Elizabeth Alexander are both blood and ink relations.” Washington historian, author, and resident Adele Logan Alexander, who wrote the Introduction to the book, “The Guide to Black Washington,” read from her book, “Parallel Worlds: The Remarkable Gibbs-Hunts and the Enduring (In)significance of Melanin.” In another pavilion, her daughter, Elizabeth Alexander, a renowned poet who read a poem for President Obama, read from her book, “Crave Radiance, New and Selected Poems.”

 

The Post also published an article (no by-line) titled, What's the power of the pen? Authors jot answers.” Among the answers were:

 

Phillip Hoose (author of "Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice"):

 

"Can writers change the world? Are you kidding? Yahwey didn't whisper the Commandments to Moses and trust him to remember them. Moses carried a tablet -- which, come to think of it, looks like a Kindle -- back down the mountain and read the rules to his tribe.”

 

September 24-25, 2011

200,000

Authors: 112

 

The festival kicked off its second decade in style. For the first time, readers were treated to two days (Saturday and Sunday). The author count hit triple digits with 112 author. Attendance soared to 200,000.

 

The volunteers are always the backbone of the event. The LOC website said there were more than 1,100 for this one.

 

Authors included Julianne Moore, Cassandra Clare, Isabel Wilkerson Uma Krishnaswami, Joel Achenbach, Amy Chua, Bob Edwards, Hoda Kotb, Jim Lehrer, Sarah Vowell, Louis Bayard, Laura Lippman, Toni Morrison, Eric Foner, Adam Goodhart, David McCullough, Candice Mallard, Eugene Robinson, Dave Eggers, Garrison Keillor, Yusef Komunyakaa, Jonathan Yardley, Choo Choo Soul, Hip Hop Harry, Lisa Yee, and a Graphic Novel session, as well as a State Poets Laureate session.

 

The Washington Post’s coverage included Toni Morrison, who appeared for the first time. She was awarded the Creative Achievement Award.

 

September 22-23, 2012

200,000

Authors: 136

 

The Mall and Metro were packed once again with 200,000 attending. Coordinators were kept busy with an author list of 136, more than four times the first figure of 32.

It included Walter Isaacson, John Green, Jeffery Eugenides, Jewel, Mike Lupica, Jacqueline Woodson, Thomas Friedman, Steve Inskeep, Rep. John Lewis, Jeffery Toobin, Robert Caro, David Eisehower, Julie Nixon Eisenhower, Lien-Hang Nguyen, David O. Stewart, Bob Woodward, Sandra Cisneros, Marion Vargas Llosa, Michael Dirda, Jill Abramson, and 32 in the Family Storytelling category.

 

September 21-22, 2013

200,000

Authors: 111

 

This would prove to be the last year on the Mall. Don DeLillo received the inaugural Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction. Once again, attendance reached 200,000.

Authors numbered 111 and included Margaret Atwood, Marie Arana, Taylor Branch, DeLillo, Khaled Hoseini, Barbara Kingsolver, Rafael Lopez, Brad Meltzer, Joyce Carol Oates, Jeff Chu, Linda Ronstadt, Rick Atkinson, Scott Berg, Natasha Trethewey, Evan Thomas, James McBride, and U.S. Poet Laureate Natasha Trethewey.

 

August 30, 2014

65,000

Authors: 113

 

After 11 years on the Mall, the festival moved to the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. Ron Charles of The Washington Post reported on the reason.

 

The NPS began new procedures to help maintain the grass. With it came higher costs. Jennifer Gavin, project manager of the Library of Congress National Book Festival, was quoted as saying, “We spent months working with the Park Service to see if we could make this work. But when we looked at the costs — and they were considerable — we decided that the festival-goers would be better served by moving it into the convention center.”

 

The new location improved Metro taking and eliminated rain and weather worries. And surely, no one missed using the portable toilets. On the other hand, the Mall setting, with the Washington Monument and the Capitol as book ends, had its own special feelings.

 

The date, typically held in mid-September, also changed, moving up to August 30th. Yet another change was the return to one day. The hours were extended to 10 pm.

 

Peter Slen, C-SPAN Senior Executive Producer, Host of “In Depth,” and interviewer of many an author, set up right at the entrance.

 

The author tally of 114 was especially impressive given it was just the one day. Notables included Rep. John Lewis, Alan Greenspan, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Mona Simpson, Cokie Roberts, Ilyasah Shabazz, Rita Williams-Garcia, Rep. James Clyburn, Sandra Day O’Connor, Cathal Armstrong, Alice McDermott, Lisa See, Lynn Sherr, and E.L. Doctorow. Categories included picture book, science, special programs, and Great Books to Great Movies. There were also Culinary Demos (Let’s Read America).

 

September 5, 2015

135,000

Authors: 170

 

So many authors, so little time!

 

In its 15th year, the Festival had come a long way from its beginnings of 32 authors. More than five times that (170) appeared. The 15th also featured the public debut of Poet Laureate, Juan Felipe Herrera. He announced his laureateship project, “La Casa de Colores.”

 

Attendance soared to 135,000. Authors included Buzz Aldrin, Juan Felipe Herrera, Claudia Rankine, David McCullough, Naomi Shibab Nye, David Balducci, Ellen Oh, Maureen Corrigan, Walter Isaacson, Tom Gjelten, Erika Lee, David Maraniss, Al Roker, Ray Suarez, Barry Svrluga, Viet Thanh Nguyen, Joseph Ellis, Edward Larson, Maria Jose Navia, Mark Plotkin, Jeffery Deaver, David Ignatius, Tom Brokow, Annette Gordon-Reed, and Jon Meacham.

 

The festival highlighted Romance Fiction. In that category were Beverly Jenkins, Sarah MacLean, and Paige Tyler.

 

September 24, 2016

Attendance: Not Provided

Authors: 134

 

After a long tenure as the Librarian of Congress, James Billington gave way to Dr. Carla Hayden. For the first time, the event was live streamed on Facebook.

 

The LOC Prize for American Fiction was awarded to Marilynne Robinson. Stephen King was honored for “his work promoting literacy and reading with the Library of Congress Literacy Champion Citation.”

 

Authors included Hayden and King, Salman Rushdie, Bob Woodward, Newt Gingrich, Roberto Canessa, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Shonda Rhimes, Herve Tullet, Ken Burns, Newt Gingrich, Rep. John Lewis, Roberto Canessa, Kwame Alexander, Winston Groom, Monica Hesse, Angela Davis, Diane Rehm, James McBride, Jeffery Toobin, Geraldine Brooks, Rep. Steven J. Israel, and Eric Weiner.

 

Categories increased to 13 and included International.

 

September 2, 2017

Attendance: Not Provided

Authors: 110

 

In a surprise move, the festival moved up to September 2, Labor Day Weekend.

But once again, the author list was long and impressive. Notables included Margot Lee Shetterly, Condoleeza Rice, Cokie Roberts, David McCullough, Diana Gabaldon, Michael Lewis, David McCullough, J.D. Vance, Michael Eric Dyson, Ibram X. Kendi, Siddhartha Mukherjee, Ha Jin, Alice McDermott, Scott Turow, David Balducci, Marie Lu, Sabaa Tahir, Nathaniel Philbrick, and Veronica Murguia. Children authors totaled 31.

 

September 1, 2018

Attendance: Not Provided

Authors: 112

 

Attending the festival can involve making tough choices when the appearance time of your favorites overlap. Keeping your seat is also a strategy some employ. What a lineup this year had at the Main Stage with Dave Eggers, US Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Madeleine Albright, Amy Tan, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Jon Meacham, and Isabel Allende filing the bill from 10 am to 7 pm.

 

Other notables included U.S. Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith, Kate DiCamillo, Minh Le, Brian Selznick, Jacqueline Woodson, James Swanson, Jennifer Egan, Min Jin Lee, Celeste Ng, Annie Proux, David Ignatius, Brad Meltzer, Ron Chernow, Erica Dunbar Armstrong, Sujathat Gidla, Isabel Wilkerson, and Gordon S. Wood.

 

A new category, “Understanding Our World,” was added.

 

August 31, 2019

200,000

Authors: 148

 

As noted by the festival website, the Main Stage, History & Biography Stage, and Understanding Our World Stage, were moved to accommodate more audience members.

Authors numbered 148 and included Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Chef José Andrés, Actor Matthew Gray Gubler, David McCullough, Joyce Carol Oates, Michael Beschloss, Richard Ford, Raina Telgemeier, Henry Louis Gates, Jon Scieszka, Monica Hesse, Louis Bayard, Barbary Kingsolver, Douglas Brinkley, Evan Thomas, Amitav Ghosh, Kim Thuy, Julia Alverez, Jenny Xie, Frans de Waal, David Blight, Judge Richard Gergel, and Steven Pearlstein.

 

2020

Scheduled for August 29

Held Virtually September 25-27

 

There was a twist in the plot for the twentieth festival, as the Covid-19 pandemic led to it becoming virtual. The show did go on with the virtual appearances. The festival website notes there were more than 120 participants, but only lists the featured authors. They included Madeleine Albright, Colson Whitehead, Haben Girma, John Grisham, and Tomi Adeyemi.

 

September 17-26, 2021

Authors: More than 100

 

A second straight year of virtual programming that stretched across ten days. The theme was “Open a Book, Open the World.”

 

As noted by the NBF website, “For the first time, the Festival also included interviews presented with The Washington Post Live and through podcasts produced and distributed by NPR.”

 

Featured authors were Jason Reynolds, Roxane Gay, Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Michael J. Fox, Angie Thomas. Fiction roared with 31 authors.

 

September 3, 2022

Attendance: Not Provided

Authors: 74

 

The glorious return, the festival once again becomes an in-person event. Nevertheless, some of the events were virtual and live-streamed.

 

Featured authors included:

 

Janelle Monáe, Nyle DiMarco, Nick Offerman, Leslie Jordan

Geraldine Brooks, Clint Smith, Mitch Albom, Sabaa Tahir, Kate Clifford Larson, Candice Millard, David Maraniss, Celeste Headlee, Kirsten Chen, Xochitl, Nghi Vo, and Daniel Bergner. Categories included a Writers Studio.

 

August 12, 2023

Attendance: Not Provided

Authors: 74

 

The Festival made another date move, holding it on August 12.  The traditional categories gave way to Inspiration, Creativity, Curiosity, Discovery, Insight, and Understanding.

 

A look at the list of authors reveals a changing of the guard if you will, with previous long time notables giving way to new and future stars. But the list of authors remained impressive as always.

 

Concluding Thoughts:

 

In September 2020, Angela Haupt wrote an article in The Washington Post that provided an oral history of the first festival in 2001.

 

Author Gail Tsukiyama said:

 

“I was terrified. It was a big white tent, outside the Capitol, and there were a couple hundred chairs, and my first thought was, what if they’re all empty? Because that was a lot of chairs!”

 

She concluded by saying, “But something really wonderful about the National Book Festival is that the seats fill up. People come.”

 

They most certainly do…

“Perfection Scarcely Equaled:” Five National Historic Landmark Houses in Annapolis

How about this as a remarkable feature for a neighborhood in the US?

Standing within a radius of about 400 feet of each other, five brick mansion houses have a combined age of about 1,250 years.

Don’t know where else that is the case, but it certainly is in Annapolis.

As seen on the two maps we prepared, five large brick Georgian mansions, each a National Historic Landmark, the highest honor, are located close together between the State House and the Naval Academy.   

And the distinctions don’t stop there.

Three (Paca, Chase-Lloyd, Peggy Stewart) were the homes of Maryland Declaration of Independence signers.  Three (Paca, Brice, Hammond-Harwood) are five-part (large center section flanked by hyphens and wings on each side). Two (Hammond-Harwood and Brice) have American Revolution connections.   

In his book, “Annapolis Houses,” author Deering Davis heaps even more praise.

“During the decade, 1765-1775, six private dwellings were constructed in Annapolis which for sophistication of architectural design and superb detail both exterior and interior, reached a point of perfection scarcely equaled elsewhere on this continent before or since.”   

With the coming 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, this is a great time to put the spotlight on these homes.   They were all built in those heady days in Annapolis when the colonies were coming together to resist British laws and the town was blossoming as a capital city and seaport.   

Their construction was part of that period in the city that led to, as Jane W. Williams (“Annapolis, City on the Severn: A History”) put it,“the fulfillment of New World dreams.”   

In 1768, 90 vessels arrived.  In 1774, the figure was 269.   The population and attendance at theaters and horse races surged.   In 1771, George Washington was so enamored with Annapolis he lodged for eight days, dining with the likes of Charles Carroll, taking in four plays, and dancing at four balls.   Born in Chester, Charles Wilson Peale (1741-1827) began his prolific career as a portraitist in Annapolis around this time.   He would paint and become friends with Paca and Chase.  Lawyers, craftsmen, elected officials, tavern keepers, and merchants benefitted from the prosperous times, while the enslaved and others did not.   

Below is our five write-ups.   Please note that, commensurate with the available sources, we provide more information on the residents than the houses themselves.

As far as visiting, the Paca House and Gardens is your best bet.  Hammond-Harwood has some tours, but check the days and hours.  The Brice House is being restored and will become a museum.   The Chase-Lloyd is in a state of uncertain change.  The Rutland House is private.

 

Rutland-Jenifer-Stone (Peggy Stewart) House

1761-1764

207 Hanover St.

At first we were tempted to not include this one in our look.   It’s not quite as grand in size as the other four, is privately owned, and our map was getting crowded.    

But this house was the first of the group to be built and has Revolution stories including one involving the burning of a ship and its British tea.  It also brings Charles County into the fold, and Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer just might be the coolest name ever.   

Starting sometime between 1761 and 1764, a time when the colonists were not yet annoyed with Parliament, Thomas Rutland, an import merchant in Annapolis, financed this one.   

Little is known about Rutland, but we certainly do know about the patriot who Rutland sold it to in 1772.   Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer (1723-1790) was not a signer of the Declaration, but he distinguished himself during these years of Revolution, and signed the US Constitution.   The book, “Shapers of the Great Debate at the Constitution,” quotes delegate William Pierce as describing him as “a gentleman who is always in good humor.” His portrait by John Hesselius (1728-1778) shows a robust figure with a confidant pose. 

Jenifer was born at “Coates Retirement,” now known as Ellerslie (extant) near Port Tobacco.  The NRHP form notes it is privately owned and is one of Charles County’s most important landmarks. 

Note:  I wondered how Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer got his name.  Didn’t see anything on the web so I asked the park ranger at the Thomas Stone NPS site.  He said one thought is the St Thomas part was put in to distinguish it from the other Daniel Jenifers.  The St Thomas part comes from St Thomas Manor, the jurisdiction of the church in Port Tobacco.   Daniel lived within that parish area.

Jenifer’s father, Dr. Daniel Jenifer, owned the property.  Jenifer’s mother was Elizabeth Mason, a daughter of Robert Mason (1653-1700).   Jenifer’s brother was Daniel Jenifer (1723-1790).   Along with his partner Robert Townsend Hooe, Daniel Jenifer ran a merchant store in Alexandria from 1773 to 1778.   They exported wheat, flour, and tobacco.

As noted by “Graves of our Founders,” little is known about Daniel’s childhood.   He surely walked the short distance to the village of Port Tobacco many times, as it was less than a half mile from the family plantation house.   Before silting doomed it, the seaport activity there was robust and Port Tobacco served as the county seat from 1727-1895. 

Around 1766, Jenifer, who was never married, inherited Stepney, his father’s plantation near the South River south of Annapolis.  He lived there for most of his life. 

Like Chase, Stone, and Paca, Jenifer became a lawyer.   He served in public office before the Revolution, helped secure aid during it, served as president of Maryland Senate in 1777, the Continental Congress from 1778 to 1782, a member of the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, and signed the US Constitution.    

In March 1785, Jenifer, along with Thomas Stone, Samuel Chase, and George Mason, participated in the Mount Vernon Conference at Mount Vernon.  Washington had been interested in seeing navigation and commerce flow along the Potomac.  The Mount Vernon Compact as it was known, drew up a number of agreements.   As the Mount Vernon website notes, the conference “helped set a precedent for discussions into areas of mutual concern amongst the states.”

Jenifer is mentioned in George Washington’s diary a number of times.  Washington dined with him on September 29, 1771.   Jenifer was living at Stepney at this time.  Jenifer dined at Mount Vernon on November 21, 1771.

Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer moved to Annapolis in 1766 and acquired the house in 1772.   That summer he sold it to Anthony Stewart, a merchant in Annapolis and British Loyalist who owned the cargo ship Peggy Stewart (named for his daughter). 

In October, 1774, a mob in Annapolis forced Stewart to burn his ship and the British tea on it.  Stewart fled in 1779 and his wife sold the dwelling back to Jenifer.   

In 1783, Jenifer sold the house to Stone.   After Stone passed away in 1787, Jenifer re-acquired the property.   He lived there until his passing in 1790.   In 1801, Jenifer’s executors sold the house to Thomas Harwood in 1801.

As noted by the National Register for Historic Places nomination form, the house was extensively remodeled in 1894, including its hipped roof and rebuilt chimneys.  The interior has also undergone considerable remodeling.   

Through the years, the house was substantially modified.  The gable roof was replaced with a hipped roof.   The interior was extensive remodeled. 

 

Thomas Stone 1743-1787

In 1783, Jenifer sold the house to Thomas Stone (1743-1787), a lawyer, planter, delegate to the Continental Congress (1783-1784), and a signer of the Declaration of Independence.  As mentioned, Stone was Jenifer’s nephew.

“Tales in the Tree” describes Stone as a “mild-mannered intellectual and pacifist who eventually sided with his fellow aristocrats.”  He signed the Declaration and served on the committee that wrote Articles of Confederation in 1777.

Like Jenifer, Stone grew up (Poynton Manor) close to where the ships came in at Port Tobacco in Charles County.   His grandfather was Thomas Stone, first proprietary governor of Maryland.  Stone and Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer lived close to each other.

Like many others in this story, Stone was a planter, a part of the sad reality that kept their enslaved far, far away from any freedoms the colonial leaders in Virginia and Maryland desired and fought for.

Once again, "Graves of our Founders" gives us some of the best insight into the life of this founding father.   He rode on his horse ten miles to be tutored in Latin and Greek, a young mind that would learn the facets of law from Thomas Johnson in Annapolis.   Johnson (1732-1819) would go on to become a Delegate to the First Continental Congress and a Supreme Court Justice.

In 1768, Stone married Margaret Brown.  Her father was Dr. Gustavus Brown (1747-1804), who studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh and founded the Medical and Chirurgical Facility of Maryland in 1799.  Brown attended to Washington in his final days.  He lived at nearby Rose Hill.   Rose Hill (built c. 1783 in brick in the five part Georgian-style), is extant and is a private home just south of the Thomas Stone house and site.

Stone was admitted to the bar in 1774.  After a circuit practice that took him to Frederick and Annapolis, he opened an office in Port Tobacco.   In the same year, he joined the Charles County Committee of Correspondence, which opposed British taxation.   In 1775, Stone went to Philadelphia as a delegate to the Continental Congress.   He signed the Declaration of Independence, along with Paca, Carroll, and Chase.

The Stone home is Haberdeventure or Habre de Venture.  A marker at this historic house and site managed by the National Park Service notes Jenifer, Stone’s maternal uncle, influenced his political career.    Thomas read law at the office of Thomas Johnson in Annapolis, was admitted to the bar in 1764.  He  helped to draft the Articles of Confederation.

In 1783, Jenifer sold the house in Annapolis to Stone (1743-1787).  Margaret passed away in 1787 and Stone drew his last breathe just four months later. He was laid to rest at Habre de Venture.

When Stone passed away in 1787, Jenifer purchased it once again.  He held it until his passing in 1790.  His executors sold the house to Thomas Harwood in 1801.  It later underwent extensive remodeling and has been a private residence.  Four years later when Stone passed away, Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer reacquired it and owned it until 1790.

Thomas Harwood acquired the property in 1801.  The house, a private residence, was extensively remodeled in 1894.   

 

William Paca House

186 Prince George St.

1765

Annapolis historian Jean B. Russo gives us a terrific bio of Paca.  He (1740-1799) was born in the family home in Harford County and educated in Philadelphia.  Paca read law with Stephen Bordley (1710-1764), a well-known barrister in Annapolis.   Russo writes he absorbed the broadest eduction that the colonial world had to offer.   

In 1763, Paca married into money.  He and Mary Chew then began building their palatial mansion and extensive gardens. 

Paca emerged during those heady days of participating in the cause of independence.   Standing at six foot tall, he stood out in the city that would produce four signers of the Declaration of Independence.   It's worth pointing out that Maryland is the only state in which the homes of all its signers of the Declaration of Independence are extant.  A marker in Annapolis takes it one better and points out Annapolis is the only such city.

Along with his close friend and neighbor, Samuel Chase (1741-1811), Paca formed a Sons of Liberty chapter in Annapolis.    At age 26, he was elected to the Common-Council of the capital city.   It’s been written Paca preferred to take a back seat to others, but he was certainly a player in the hallowed halls of Revolution.  Paca served as a delegate to the First and Second Continental Congress, and inked his name on the Declaration in July, 1776.   

Paca dined with the Washingtons at Mount Vernon on July 23, 1774.  President Washington appointed him as Judge of the US District Court in Maryland (1789-1799).

In terms of who would rise to positions of power, in the colonial era, birth order was a crucial factor.  Typically, the first born son received all the benefits of primogeniture.   For the others, marriage could elevate social standing. 

In 1763, Paca married Mary Chew (1735-1774).   Her grandfather, Colonel Lloyd, owned the Wye plantation on the Eastern Shore.  Her wealth and familial connections allowed Paca, the second born, to complete the societal requirements of high-ranking gentry.   

In 1765, the couple completed their new home just two blocks from where the new State House would rise up (completed 1779) overlooking the seaport.    There was something very special about this part of the city.   Where most towns and cities used the grid system, Annapolis was laid out with streets that radiated out from the circle around the hill-topped State House.   A short walk down the hill and towards land that would become the Naval Academy, a handful of large brick Georgian mansions would rise up.  The Paca House was one of the first completed and stretched out in its five-part plan.   

As John Martin Hammond points out, “the interior of this house is not characterized by the elaborate ornamentation that distinguishes some other Annapolis homes.”  Nevertheless, the property shines in its grand size and in the back yard.

Virginia and Maryland have been blessed with some lovely formal gardens built in the colonial era and the Paca’s put together one of them.   Covering two acres, they consisted of four parterres — rose, flower, boxwood, and holly —  a wilderness garden, a bridge, a pond, and a Summer House.

After Mary passed away in 1774, Paca, in 1780, moved to the Wye Island plantation on the Eastern Shore.   He built Wye Hall, and drew his last breath there in 1799. 

Subsequent occupants of the Paca House include Thomas Jennings (Maryland’s Attorney General).  Before completing their Riversdale mansion in 1807, Henri Joseph Stier and his family, who had fled France during the French Revolution, rented the home.   Their daughter, Rosalie, married George Calvert.  The couple lived in Riversdale after Henri and his wife re-patriated.

In 1903, the Paca house was added on to and became Carvel Hall, a luxury hotel with 200 rooms.   The house served as the lobby.   Carvel Hall became the finest place to stay in Annapolis.   As told by WMAR in Baltimore, part of the story was Marcellus Hall.  He became the maitre d' and earned fame as a “bigger than life man” who was the first African-American to give guided tours in the city.

During the Carvel Hall era, the Paca House still stood tall, but the large gardens in the rear were covered by the additions, as well as a parking lot and a bus station.    

It’s hard to believe now, but in the mid-60s, there was talk of demolishing not only the added on parts, but also the Paca House.   One plan was for a high-rise office.

In 1965, Historic Annapolis came to the rescue and acquired the property.   In order to try and find the gardens, the added on parts were demolished.   Anne St. Clair Wright (1910-1993), daughter of a Rear Admiral and a beloved preservationist, raised $250,000 for the purchase of the house and land.   Retired Marine Colonel William W. Paca (1896-1978), a descendant, was also active in the effort.

With no written records to pore through, the effort turned in part to a 1772 portrait of Paca by Charles Willson Peale.   It shows a summer house and a trellis bridge in the gardens.   

Archaeologists, including Thomas Cuddy, discovered the pond, canal, bridge, and outbuildings dating to Paca’s time.  Experts fully restored the gardens and the house.   Using money she received as the recipient of the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s annual award, St. Clair Wright paid for the construction of the Chinese Chippendale Bridge. The house opened to the public in 1976.    

Fritz Hahn (hat tip) recently included the Paca House in his article (“Need beauty? These are 7 of the most gorgeous gardens in the D.C. area.”) in The Washington Post.   

Guided tours of the house are given, while tours of the garden are self-guided.   Currently, part of the price of admission is an exhibition, "We Hold These Truths: Maryland’s Signers and the Declaration of Independence at the William Paca House and Garden.”

In her article covering the restoration (“A Grand House Restored,” The Washington Post (August 29, 1976), Sarah Booth Conway concluded by saying:

“The Paca House restoration is typical of the way Annapolis itself is being restored.  Handsome historic buildings are courteously restored and are given the greatest tribute possible to age - a useful present.”

It all adds up to a wonderful place to visit.

 

Chase-Lloyd House

22 Maryland Avenue

1769-1774

Born in Somerset County, Samuel Chase was elected to the Maryland General Assembly in 1764.   He became a lawyer in Annapolis and along with his friend William Paca, he co-founded the Annapolis chapter of Sons of Liberty.   Chase represented Maryland in the Continental Congress.  Like his fellow Marylanders —Charles Carroll, William Paca, and Thomas Stone — Samuel Chase inked his name on the Declaration of Independence.   

In 1786, Chase moved to Baltimore.   Appointed by President Washington, he served as Associate Justice of Supreme Court from 1796 to 1811.   A blemish on his record was being impeached in 1804 by the US Senate, the charge of alleged political bias.  He was acquitted on the charges and remains the only such justice of the highest robes to be impeached.

Chase began construction in 1769.  Two years later, he ran out of money.  He sold the not-fully-complete dwelling to Edward Lloyd IV, a planter in Talbot County.   Williams writes it was Lloyd IV who persuaded master craftsman William Buckland to leave Virginia for Maryland in 1772 to finish the job.  Williams also notes Buckland’s work here, “remains the most exquisite.”    

Lloyd had married Elizabeth Tayloe, daughter of John Tayloe of Mount Airy (near Warsaw) in Virginia.  In the 1780s, Lloyd, who served as a delegate to the Continental Congress for Maryland, constructed the Wye House across the bay in Talbot County.  The great Frederick Douglass was enslaved there.   

Lloyd hired Buckland (1734-1774) to finish the mansion. In the book, "The Groundbreakers," we learn more about Buckland.   Born in Oxford, he came to America as an indentured servant to Thomson Mason, brother of George Mason.   Gunston Hall was his first design.  He worked on John Tayloe’s Mount Airy (“one of the finest Palladian houses in America”) and possibly Menokin.

In 1773, Buckland went to Annapolis, where he “emerged as the major architect of his time.”   The Chase-Lloyd is one of the first three-story Georgian houses in America.   Buckland “created a Palladian three-part doorway.”  The composition was “highly unusual and rarely seen prior to the American Revolution.”  The Palladian three-part window was also unusual.  Buckland would design this one and the Hammond-Harwood house across the street.   

The Chase-Lloyd is the only three-story high-style Georgian mansion in Annapolis.   It was completed in 1774.   As a marker notes, Buckland designed many of the interior features including the “magnificent cantilevered imperial staircase and elaborate decorative details.”

The National Historic Landmark forms writes:

“Its every detail evidences an effort to achieve the ultimate in magnificence.  Among finest of three-story brick Georgian houses. Many original features remain.  Interior richly ornamented.    Decorative details matched by few other colonial houses.”

Francis Scott Key, who attended nearby St John’s College and the Lloyd’s daughter Mary Taylor Lloyd, were married here.   

When Lloyd IV passed away, his son Edward Lloyd V inherited the mansion.  Hammond writes it was the scene of many brilliant social entertainments.   With Lloyd V elected Governor in 1809, the house became the Governor’s Mansion. 

In 1826, Lloyd V sold the house to his son-in-law Henry Hall Harwood.  In 1847, Miss Hester Ann Chase, daughter of Jeremiah T. Chase, acquired it.  She willed it to her nieces, Matilda and Frances Chase. 

Their surviving sister Hester Ann Chase Ridout (buried at Whitehall with her husband) inherited it.  Her will and trust directed that the house be used for older, needy women.  In 1889, The Chase Home was established.   Some of the house hold items and “minor colonial relics” remained.  Up until about 2022, it operated that way as a non-profit.   

In his 1914 book, “Colonial Mansions of Maryland and Delaware,” John Martin Hammond gives us glimpses of the house in those days.   Visitors wanting to see inside were not turned down.  The garden was “not so orderly as it once was,” but “still showed the plan” from its first days.   

In 1953, one year after Historic Annapolis was established, the home was opened to the public as part of an autumn tours program.

Now the house is in a state of uncertainty.   On June 23, 2024, the Capital Gazette published an Editorial titled, “Let’s stay committed to welfare of disadvantaged women.”  It was written by Elly Tierney, Annapolis, who represents Ward 1 on the City Council.

Among the things she pointed out are:

The Chase Home no longer operates as an independent living facility for women.  Despite this change, the organization remains committed to its mission, albeit through different means.   But this transition has left the Chase-Lloyd House vacant, raising critical questions about its future use and how best to honor Hester Chase Ridout’s legacy.

By embracing innovative solutions and staying true to Hester Chase Ridout’s vision, we can create a new chapter for the Chase Home — one that honors its rich history while addressing the urgent needs of today. Let’s seize this moment to make a lasting impact, proving that the spirit of the Chase Home is alive and capable of evolving to meet modern challenges.

 

Hammond-Harwood

19 Maryland Avenue

1774

 

1774.  What a year across the colonies.   After the British passed the Intolerable Acts, patriot ire led to documents such as the Fairfax Resolves in Alexandria and the burning of the Peggy Stewart in Annapolis. 

Mathias Hammond (1748-1786) was not a signer of the Declaration, but he was a wealthy planter, a vestryman of St. Anne’s Parish, and was part of the patriotic fire in Annapolis. 

His older brother, John Hammond built Acton Hall.  The Society of Architectural Historians tell us it features an unusual octagonal configuration for the rear facade, and that Mathias used the same approach.

And, with William Buckland as his designer, he built one of the largest houses in the city.

In 1773, Hammond represented Annapolis as delegate to Maryland General Assembly.  A year later Hammond hired architect William Buckland for the design.   As noted at our write up on the Chase-Lloyd House, Buckland had finished the design of that house across the street.    

Author and Annapolis historian Jean Russo writes a terrific bio on Hammond (The Hammond-Harwood Association, 1992).  She tells us he assumed his first major civil role in April 1773 when he was chosen as a vestryman for the St. Anne’s Parish, which had been established in 1692.   Among the other vestrymen was William Paca, his neighbor.  In May, Hammond and Paca began to serve as delegates for Annapolis to the General Assembly.   

Then came 1774.  Not only was it a landmark year across the colonies, but also in Annapolis.  All five homes in his part of the city were either completed or nearly finished.  Hammond hired William Buckland.  

Meanwhile, patriot fire was burning hot in Annapolis.   As Russo writes, from June 1774 to August 1774, Hammond was increasingly involved in the movement toward revolution and independence through his service in five conventions.   These extra-legal bodies were pushing the envelope of breaking away from the British rule and becoming a form of government.   

As mentioned in our discussion of the Rutland/Jenifer/Stone (Peggy Stewart) House, Anthony Stewart’s ship the Peggy Steward was burned.  As Russo puts it, it was because the cargo included tea on which the tax had been paid, in violation of the non-importation agreement.  Hammond was one of the leaders of the “radical group” that forced Stewart to set fire to his vessel.

While Paca and Chase would continue their patriotic service, Hammond ended his in August 1775.   It seems he retreated to Howard’s Adventure, his plantation home in Gambrills, and chose not to live in the grand mansion he built.

Some have suggested the reason was his bride to be from Philadelphia eloped with someone else.  Russo writes that there is no documentary evidence to support this folklore.   She does point out that it is unusual he never married.

The Hammond-Harwood website notes this house is the only structure with both the interior and exterior designed by Buckland.  He worked on it until his passing.  His apprentice John Randall completed the dwelling.  The National Register for Historic Places form notes it is “a colonial masterpiece.” 

The Groundbreakers notes the front door is an extraordinarily carved piece. 

Deering heaps praise on the Hammond-Harwood House, writing it is "without a doubt one of the finest medium sized houses of the world."   He also tells us Buckland’s granddaughter, Sarah Callahan, married Richard Harwood, and became mistress of the house.

Charles Willson Peale’s portrait of Buckland shows a sketch of this house beside him.  Hammond never lived in it, instead remaining at his plantation house in Gambrills.

After Mathias Hammond’s passing, the house stayed in the family until Ninian Pickney acquired it in 1810.  In 1811, Jeremiah Townley Chase bought the house for his daughter Frances and her husband Richard Loockerman.  They lived there until 1924.   

Hester Ann Harwood, a granddaughter of Frances Chase Lockerman, and daughter of William Harwood, was the final owner.  After she passed, some of the furniture was sold.

In November, 1927, The Washington Post reported that ten rare pieces of early American furniture, placed in 1774 by Hammond, was donated by Francis P. Garvin of New York.    They included six Chippendale chairs.  

St. John’s College acquired the house in 1926.  They began a decorative arts program there and opened it as a museum.   The Hammond-Harwood website tells us it was the first of its kind in the US.

In 1940, the Hammond-Harwood Association bought the house.  They offer tours.  A marker there points out it is home to one of the nation's premier decorative and fine arts collections.

The Hammond-Harwood House is celebrating its 250th birthday with a series of events starting August 14.

 

James Brice House

42 East Street

Note:  The James Brice House is currently closed due to restoration.

1767-1774

Archives of Maryland gives us the best look at the life of James Brice (1746-1801).   Born in Annapolis, he earned income as a planter and a lawyer.

Brice was not a signer, but served as a colonel in the Maryland militia in 1779, as well as an Annapolis alderman, Mayor, treasurer, state Senator, and acting governor in 1792.   The will of his father, John Brice (1705-1766), directed the building of a house in the city.

Williams calls him the anomaly of the group of Paca, Chase and Hammond, in that the foundation and plans for his mansion were the dying gift of his father, and he completed the house while still unmarried.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation wrote an article on the five-part Palladian house in 2018.   They tell us that Brice meticulously documented the construction of his house in a leather-bound book.   To the delight of historians and preservationists, a volunteer archivist discovered the book in 1971.  Specific details of house constructions are sometimes hard to know.  In this case, it started April, 1767 and was completed in 1774.

Historic Annapolis gives us the ownership timeline.   The Brice family owned it until the 1870s.  The Martin family then acquired, followed by the owners of the Carvell Hall Hotel in 1911.   

St John’s College acquired the house in 1927 and converted it to faculty apartments.  In 1953, Stanley and Helen Wohl then became owners.  In 1979, the International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftsmen purchased the house.

John Martin Harwood ("Colonial Mansions of Maryland and Delaware") also wrote about the house.  He calls this one “unquestionably the most magnificent colonial home in Annapolis.”

The NRHP summary points out the Brice House “lacks the embellishments of Palladian pavilions and classic pediment, but the boldness and simplicity of its masses and its imposing scale make it one of the most impressive brick buildings in American Georgian architecture.

The Society of Architectural Historians notes:  "Its clean, bold simplicity and imposing scale set it apart as one of colonial Maryland’s great houses."

They add:

"The ballroom is one of the great rooms of the Georgian period, and features a carved wood fireplace with exceptionally ornate lateral consoles flanking the opening, an ornamented frieze, and an eared overmantel panel."

In 2014, the State of Maryland acquired the house.  Historic Annapolis has been restoring it using experts who have worked on Mount Vernon and Monticello.  As their blog notes, it will become a museum, open on a regular basis for the first time.    

Historic Annapolis points out:

"the house holds the potential to go beyond the traditional historic house museum to tell a greater story, which will emphasize both the contribution of those who toiled to make the structure what is was in 1774, and highlight the skills of a new generation of builders, conservators and technicians who will restore the house to its former glory.  Nowhere else in Maryland can a similar story be told in such depth and richness as here at the James Brice House."

That last sentence is a bold statement, but from what we have seen with these five houses, they add up to to something very special in this great city.

We thank those who have preserved these homes through the years and continue to do so.  They stand as sentinels to the past, and will help us better understand the events of 250 years ago.   

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rectortown

One of the most interesting types of places in the region are the villages that have been preserved and have very few commercial places.   The ones I have been to are Waterford, Millwood, Buckland, and now, Rectortown. 

Like the others, Rectortown, located about six miles south of Middleburg and three north of Marshall in Fauquier County, is a special place.   Adding to its charm is the the surrounding preserved landscapes of this part of horse and hunt country and the uphill climb to an unspoiled view shed of the Shenandoah mountains.

First called Maidstone, Rectortown was founded in 1772 on land owned by John Rector.  Seems likely the name Maidstone paid homage to the town of Maidstone in Kent, where Thomas Lord Fairfax lived before coming to the colony of Virginia. 

The NHRP form says Rectortown is the oldest town in Fauquier County and describes it as a “remarkably intact collection of structures from the 18th, 19th and 20th century.”   

In some ways, the standout house is "Maidenstone Ordinary."  The form points out it was probably built in 1793 when Daniel Floweree ran it as a tavern.  I was fortunate to speak briefly with someone living there.  She was aware of its history and said previous residents shared some stories about it. 

Spread out across 115 acres, the Rectortown Historic District contains 76 contributing properties.  It includes two churches, a school, an Odd Fellows Hall, the post office, and historic residences.  Six properties date to the last half of the 18th c.  Materials include log, stone, and brick.   An African American community rose up after the Civil War.

George Washington knew this place and the area.  In 1772 he came into ownership of a 600-acre tract of land nearby on Chattins Run (southwest of Rectortown).  Founders Online tells us he gained it after viewing it with Bryan, Eighth Lord Fairfax, who owed him money.    

Fielding Lewis Jr. (1751-1803) a nephew of Washington (son of his sister Betty) wanted to build a house in Rectortown.   By this time, Lewis had fallen deep into debt.  In December, 1786, Washington replied to Lewis. He described “Recter Town” as:

“a place which, I presume, originated with, & will end in two or three Gin Shops, which probably will exist no longer than they serve to ruin the proprietors, & those who make the most frequent applications to them.” 

Another interesting feature of Rectortown is the railroad.  Starting in the early 1850s, the Manassas Gap Railroad came through the southern edge of the town.  The track, still active with the occasional freight runs by the Norfolk-Southern Railway, takes basically a straight east to west approach from Manassas except for south of here where it makes a hard right at Marshall, goes up a mile north to Rectortown, and then southward to Delaplane.

As pointed out by the NRHP form, the Rector family donated land to the Manassas Gap railroad to ensure the tracks would come through the town and pass by their established store.

In 1835, Rectortown had a population of 100, with blacksmith shops, mills, stores, and some artisans.  At its peak in the late 19c, the community had a school and church and several commercial enterprises.  Those buildings became homes.   The Post Office is still there, and the church, and a population of about 50.

Rectortown made the Alexandria Gazette from time to time.  In July 1823, Thomas Rector advertised “Entertainment at Milan Springs.  Goose Creek near the Village of Rectortown.”  Major General George McClellan certainly never forgot Rectortown.  He was relieved of his duties there in November, 1862.

As told by William Page Johnson (The Fare Facs Gazette, Winter, 2015), Rectortown was the scene of a murder in 1859.   Charles Rufus Ayres, who lived in Rectortown, was killed after an argument.   Worried she might be sold away, Mary, enslaved by Ayres, and her daughter Fannie (Ayres was the father) escaped to New York.  Fannie became the most photographed “slave child” in US history.

Rectortown stands quietly off the radar, but Vicky Moon, author of "The Middleburg Mystique," shined a light in an article (“Reliving farming’s bygone days in Rectortown,” May 25, 2018) in the Fauquier Times.  She points out one of the buildings near the railroad was a farm center, and once served as an International Harvester equipment center.   The building is "significant as a rare example of a mid-19c stone commercial building with a fairly intact interior." 

J. Randolph Embrey displayed farm equipment before passing away in 2018.   According to the NRHP, the current owner wanted it to become a museum.  It if comes to fruition, perhaps an exhibit would include gin bottles and a note that Rectortown turned out just fine...