By: Lisa Timmerman, Executive Director

On 2/19/1979, the Town of Dumfries held a dedication ceremony for Cecil W. Garrison to honor his lifelong support towards the Dumfries community by both naming a Park for him and declaring a “Cecil W. Garrison Day”. Born on 08/27/1895, and proudly raised in Dumfries, Garrison was instrumental to the community. Not only did he work in the historic Cabin Branch Pyrite Mine until 1917, but he also had a lengthy career with the local and regional U.S. Postal Service employed for 41 years. From 1961-1974, he served as a Dumfries Town Council Charter Member, and eventually joined various committees such as the Dumfries-Triangle Sanitary District Advisory Board and the Dumfries Planning Commission. He proudly served as a Member of the Independent Odd Fellows Order and volunteered as a life member of the Dumfries Triangle Fire Department. He witnessed incredible change and growth in Dumfries and was even referred to as the “town historian” by Lee Lansing, one of the kickstarters and founders of Historic Dumfries Virginia. One thing that never seemed to change was his quirky and “feisty” humor with countless newspaper articles recording his legendary quips and folklore. While he claimed to have joined the Dumfries United Methodist Church to marry his sweetheart, Genevieve Brawner, he served as Superintendent of Sunday school at the church from 1918-1953, often lighting the fires to warm the children on cold days.

(HDVI Archives: Cecil Garrison, 2nd person on the left. Quantico Marine Corps Base: Quarter Master Building, 1917)

While we discussed the fires at Quantico Church in Dumfries Cemetery in a previous blog (click here!), we never delved into the interesting exchange between Hilda and Lee Lansing as they recorded their Dumfries memories. In honor of Garrison’s purported “feisty” character, let’s take a trip down to Quantico and back as we search for moonshine.

Arvilla Jackson and Sue Taylor’s interview with Hilda and Lee Lansing, 1998

A: Did we ask you about the moonshine business?

L: What about the moonshine business? We had [it] right here until 1944, a sheriff that wouldn’t go down Cherry Hill Road. He was scared to go down Cherry Hill Road.

A: Why?

L: Because the revenuers were not welcome down there, and people in Cherry Hill that had the stills make it known just not to come down there.

A: What about in this area? The Park area?

L: Same thing.

A: Who owned the stills?

H: I don’t know about the still, but they had bootleggers up there. During the war, there were gangsters.

L: That’s what burned down the last church in the cemetery. The church had stopped being used as a church, and somebody went over there, I think Cecil had something to do with it. But they were making moonshine in the church building.

A: Which church?

H: Episcopal, and that was in the cemetery. It was there when I was a kid, but it was burnt. I always heard that they were smoking.

L: Well you have to go by what Cecil says.

H: He’s dead, I’m living.

L: Cecil Garrison, he was our resident historian. He lived to be 95 years old. He told me, “Granny, you’re not being funny about this are you? I heard that it was a man named Cline that had the still over there.”

So, what did Cecil say? He recorded his oral history with The Weems-Botts Museum in 1988. Below are two transcribed sections documenting his conveyance of alcohol and his “involvement” in the church fire.

Ann Hoagland’s interview with Cecil Garrison, 1988

H: Where would they get the liquor? Was it sold here in Dumfries?

G: No, they’d buy it in Alexandria and ship it to Quantico. They’d ship the whiskey to Quantico by express. And, then they’d bring it up to [Dumfries]…

H: They would sort of order, you mean, somehow?

G: …in big gallon jugs.

H: They would ship it from Alexandria?

G: Yes.

H: And, it was shipped up on the train.

G: To Quantico.

H: To Quantico, and then someone would pick up up there. There’s how most of the supplies came into your father’s store also, wasn’t it?

G: I used to haul groceries from Quantico. You see, they sho[[ed everything by freight to Quantico for the stories. I used to haul the stuff that was my daddy’s.

H: Yes.

G: And, they hired me to haul the booze up to them.

H: Even though you were under age?

G: Well, I didn’t know. I wasn’t drinking anything, They used to come in boxes.

H: Yes. But, they would come in boxes. Did your daddy know what you were doing?

G: Yes. They’d give me 35 cents a box to haul it up here for them.

H: But, your father knew it was liquor?

G: Yes!

H: And, he let you…

G: And, my daddy didn’t drink!

H: Yes, I know. You had said your father was against alcohol.

G: Yes.

H: But, he let you transport that up there.

G: I was getting 35 cents a gallon out of it.”

H: Okay. How much would a gallon have cost at that time? Do you know?

G: I think it cost around $2.50 to $2.75.

H: Yes. Was it good whiskey, or would it have been…

G: I don’t know. I never did drink any of it.

H: Ys. I’m glad of that.

G: I started to steal a jug, but didn’t…

 [Unrelated content skipped for this blog]

G: Yes. The Episcopal Church, they had a nice church out there. During prohibition, a couple of guys went out there. They hadn’t used it for a long time. But a couple of guys went out and put a still in the vestry room.

H: Oh, they did!

G: And, the still blowed up and burned the church down.

H: Oh, my!

G: I know [illegible]. You see, how I knew it, I was cutting grass in my back yard, and I saw the smoke. I arrived there, and when I did, these two guys were running up through the woods. And, I look in the vestry room; it was all on fire.”

The ribbon cutting ceremony for Cecil W. Garriosn Park was held on 10/10/1981 with the Marine Corps Band performing throughout the ceremony. I think we can safely declare while Garrison was certainly a robust figure in the community with much lore, he kept his fingers out of the stills.  

Thanks to Shirley Peterson for donating many of her memories, photographs, and documents over the year!

Note: Working on holiday craft projects or desperate for ideas to start? Join us in the Weems-Botts Annex on Saturday, 09/17/2022 at 2:00pm to enjoy an hour of social networking and crafts as we relax and support our local history and non-profit! Donation - you decide the price - tickets here.

(Sources: HDVI Archival Records: Hoagland, Ann. Transcript (Draft) of Interview with Cecil Garrison. Prince William County Historical Commission Oral History Project, 02/1988. Note on draft: Due to editing for clarification purposes, this document cannot be classified as a true verbatim transcription of the conversation with the aforementioned persons; Jackson Arvilla and Sue Taylor. Oral History Transcript with Hilda and Lee Lansing, 10/08/1998; Town of Dumfries Cecil W. Garrison Park Dedication Ceremony, 02/19/1979 Program)

By: Lisa Timmerman, Executive Director

As summer vacations wind down, we join the local Works Progress Administration (WPA) agent Susan R. Morton in 1937 as she visited the Fleetwood Site near Nokesville, Virginia. The Historical Inventory Project asked workers to record the less well-known homes and workplaces of ordinary citizens, which differed from the Historic American Buildings Survey aim to record and document the significant architectural and historic landmarks. WPA field workers took to the streets across Virginia looking for these less significant sites and their work greatly varied. Morton usually recorded every scrap of information she could find, from local ghost stories to deed books to tombstones. Follow her down the path and imagine the site as she brings it to life with her impressive storytelling abilities.

(Virginia Historic Landmarks Commission Survey Form: Fleetwood, PWC, File no. 76-8, 1959)

“John Gibson bought of John Tayloe 724 acres in the year 1798, this being part of the Brenton tract. There is a record of “quit rents” on this property being paid by Alexander Ball, in the early part of the 18^th century, but nothing else can be found concerning the ownership prior to Col. Gibson (In spite of the fact that he was not of age at the time of this transfer date, it appears the same one of Orange, Virginia). Colonel Gibson left it in trust for his wife, and she in turn left it to her trusty slave, William Chinn. At his death it was sold by E.E. Meredith, Special Commissioner, to E.S. Bear. There have been several deeds of trust in the meantime, but no transfers out of the family. The heirs of Kate S. Bear, her three children, Harry E. Bear, Clifford Bear and Carolyn Read are the present owners.

“Fleetwood” stands on a hill with Cedar Run at the foot, and it can be seen for miles around the fertile countryside. Formerly there was a terraced garden, compost almost entirely of roses, which extended from the house to the water’s edge. In those days the road led in another direction, and what now appears to be the back of the house was then the front entrance. There are some find old trees left, a few coffeeberry, locusts and oaks, but the garden is gone, and turned into a pig pen, but in spite of that there are a few old roses which persist in coming into flower each spring to tell of past glories.

There are but a few of the old outbuildings left, a smoke house and one cabin, but there are ruins of numerous other outbuildings.

The house was once plastered over and painted white. It had fine old Venetian blinds, and a lovely entrance. It still has dignity. The interior woodwork is very fine, especially in the hall and drawing room. The windows at either end of the second floor are rather unusual, in that there is half a sash on each side of the chimney.

Colonial John Gibson was a rising young lawyer of Dumfries, and with the turning tide of population towards the middle and upper end of the country, came to this spot and added the large part of the house to the small wing then composing the old place. This old wing was known as the “Office Wing”. It was in this wing that Jack Gibson was burned to death in a drunken sleep, as he lay on the hearth rug, which it is supposed was ignited by a spark. Naturally this tragic death would give rise to the story that the wing was haunted. It was in this same wing that Jack Muschett, a nephew of Mrs. Gibson met an early and tragic death. The Gibson’s had no children, and following the death of Colonel Gibson, and the nephews, Mrs. Gibson was left alone. She was a Miss Muschett, of Dumfries, one of the Muschetts of “Rose Hill,” a family of Scotch merchants who were very prominent there. She was also very proud of an ancestor who had fought at Culloden. She was a character much beloved in that section, and was known as “Aunt Fanny” to her friends. “Fleetwood” was the scene of much hospitality, and was one of the noted homes in the enviorns of Brentsville.

After the War between the States, which had caused great devastation on this place, Mrs. Gibson was very poor, and at least became entirely dependent upon the labors of a faithful servant, William Chinn, a former slave (The Gibsons were large slave owners) who had refused to leave her. He found work wherever he could, and managed to keep things going until Mrs. Gibson’s death. She willed the place to him, Rev. Mr. Towles, the rector of the Church at Brenstville., and Haymarket being a witness to the will. William Chinn never lived in the main part of the house, as he said he did not think it “fitting.”

Colonel Gibson, his wife, and the two nephews are buried about four hundred yards southwest of the house. There is only one grave in the enclosure that has an inscription. The walled enclosure is now almost completely filled with a clump of poplar trees, lilacs and other shrubs.

“Sacred to the remains of Col. John Gibson. Here rests the Remains of John Gibson, formerly of the County of Orange. Settled in the County of Prince William, in the year 1807, aged 21 years, Son of John and Ann Gibson of the County of Orange, Virginia, who departed this life September 21^st, 1846, in the 62^nd year of his age.”

Informants: Mrs. H.B. Hibbs, Grant Avenue, Manassas, Virginia; Mrs. Celestine Brown, Nokesville, Virginia; Miss Maud Ewell, Haymarket, Virginia.

PWC Court Records: Deed Book Y, folio 359; Deed Book 33, folio 462; Deed Book 3, folio 298.”

Architectural Building Notes: Rectangular with cellar, two stories with attic noted as ½ story, gabled roof, three chimneys, plain wooden cornices, 19 windows – 15 panes – 8x19, some slats & Venetian blinds, large semi-enclosed portico now used as front entrance with a former piazza on opposite side, Doric columns, 12 large and 12 small rooms with 10 ½ feet ceilings, winding walnut balusters and rail with Wall of Troy decoration on woodwork, papered walls with wainscoting in drawing, uneven wide floors, two very fine & beautifully carved mantels, assessment: in bad repair, but could be restored to original beauty.”

Our files on the Gibson family includes Frances B. Muschett Gibson’s will written in November 1872. She desired to be buried next to her husband at Fleetwood noting she wanted a “marble slab” for her grave cover. Some other notable and interesting object mentions include portraits of Col. John Gibson, her portrait, a piano chair stool and music, large black lace shawl, mourning ring, gold watch, thermometer, silver tumbler, and snuff box. I did not see a mention of William Chinn in our copy of her will.

As Morton noted, the Gibson’s owned enslaved persons. The 1788 will of Jonathan Gibson (died 1791), mentioned the following persons divided among the family: Joe, Charles, Eugene, Ben the son of Polly, Milly & her two children & their increase, Tom, Isaac, Will, Rose & her two children, Jacob, old Lucy, Dinah, Ala, Polly, Sarah, Judah & Polly’s Joe, Davy, the son of Sarah deceased called Ben, Milly, Bethlehem, young Lucy, Nicholas, [Larger Minny or Larger, Minny], Ned, Cate, the children of Larger, Nanny, Celia, Robbin, Sharlett, and Linna.

For possible family tracing, please contact us at info@historicdumfriesva.org or 703-221-2218.

Note: Interested in folklore from our very own Lee Lansing Research Library? Join me virtually on Saturday, 09/10, 10:00am as I read stories and discuss our fascinating regional folklore! Free tickets here.

(Sources: WPA Historic Survey: Town of Dumfries, 1937; Library of Virginia: Foundations of the Past: The WPA Historical Inventory Project in Virginia by Edward D.C. Campbell, Jr. and Stacy Gibbons Moore)

By: Lisa Timmerman, Executive Director

Many of our oral history and narratives from Prince William County, c. 1920s, describe Dumfries as a small, segregated town with a few stores, businesses, and community spaces. While people traveled to Quantico and to Washington, D.C., the traffic on Route 1 was much lighter than it is today (2020). This is very important if you are a child (or adult) eyeing your sledding options.

Whether you have memories of grabbing a cafeteria tray or an actual sled, sledding is still a popular activity. While historians identified the first sledders to be the Egyptians using it to transport rocks and other heavy materials, the Romans purportedly rode their shields as sleds during the Cimbric War, 113-101 B.C. Russians and eventually the French embraced sledding for entertainment, and the activity became more popular in America in the 1860s when Henry Morton began mass producing wooden sleds with metal runners. By the 1910s, safer sleds, those with some actual steering, hit the market calming the public’s alarm over their children’s safety. While we do not have specifics on the types of sleds used in Dumfries, a white woman in her 80s remembered tying their sleds to actual vehicles:

“She’d take the children. All the people would take their sleds and hang on to one sled and she’d have about a dozen sleds pulling them all around these streets. Then we could get up on top of the hill, which was 234 then, which is Duke Street now, but it was 234. And go from the top all the way down to the bridge that was Number 1 Highway. Someone would be down there at the crossroads, where Number 1 came, and made a turn to go across the bridge. It didn’t go straight through there to stop the traffic…They’d stop and maybe it was one or two car cars until we came through on the sleds.”

(HDVI Collections: Ice Skate Sharpener, 20th c., owned by Cecil Garrison, gifted by Jack Garrison, currently not on display)

If travel were possible, you could enjoy ice-skating with your friends. The earliest documented ice-skating can be seen in a 1539 Map of Scandinavia, but the earliest skates date to 1800 BC made from bone. While the oily nature of bone helped gliding when gaining momentum, you needed to use a stick to help “jumpstart” your fun. By the 13^th century through the 18^th century, ice-skates evolved using wood with a metal blade attached underneath. Skating became more popular once more affordable and mass-produced skates hit the market, and designers trimmed and lengthened the blades for speed and transportation, helping to evenly distribute a skater’s weight. According to one oral history, children enjoyed skating at Gibson Mill Dam:

“…[W]e used to ice skate in the winter time out there. They built big fires and ice skated. The blacks and the whites. It was a copper dam. The timbers that shorn up the dam itself were mostly chestnut, and the couplers were mostly 8x8 ft and these were continuous all the way across the stream and the couplers were filled with stone.”

(HDVI Collections: Leather Skates and Cotton Socks, early 1900s., owned by Cecil Garrison, gifted by Jack Garrison)

Dewitt Bates reminiscences of early Prince William County included methods to keep your food cold if you had access to a well:

“I don’t know how that they paid the heating bill, but, when you got through eating, there wasn’t nothing left…If they have anything left, if they have a well, they put it in a bucket and put it down and rest. And I’ve seen milk in a well that way…Then finally, they would get a icebox. They’d get a piece of ice…Yeah, we made one one time. We took a great big box and put the ice inside. Yes, Sir. I’ll tell you, the old people, they come on, but they had a good time though.”

These reflections give us a glimpse of life in Prince William County from risky wintry fun to methods of food preservation and safety. The next time you drive through Dumfries on Route 1, imagine the shocked faces and expressions people must have had to see an adult willingly tie sleds onto the back of their car.

Source Note: The three narratives are available in the Lee Lansing Research Library. The National Park Service record, “Prince William Forest Park: The African American Experience”, included the African American Oral History Project in an attempt to recreate “…the history of African Americans residing on land that is now part of PW Forest Park…creating a microhistory of ordinary people’s lives by exploring the circumstances of daily living within the context of the larger society.” This record captured both black and white person’s experiences. In 1999, The Eastern Prince William Ministerial Association sponsored an event titled “Breaking the Legacy of Racism: Honoring the Displaced Families of Prince William Forest Park”, which sought “…to address through repentance, prayer, and fellowship the hurt caused by the displacement of families when the Federal government took the land for PW Forest Park and by the racism inherent in the design of the Park (that is, separate, non-connecting entrances for whites and blacks).”

Note: Our last program of 2020 is this Saturday, 12/19, @ 10am! Sign up with your family and enjoy our Children’s Day at the Museum Sponsored by Walmart presentation on Winter Weather Myths! Not only will we talk about a winter favorite, the woolly worm, we will also suggest activities for your home! Click here for free tickets.

(Sources: Payne-Jackson, Arvilla and Sue Ann Taylor. Prince William Forest Park: The African American Experience. National Park Service: National Capital Region, June 2000 (Lee Lansing Research Library); Nelson, Tom. The Dewitt Bates Oral History: Recollections of Batestown. Prince William County Historical Commission, April 1984; Science Friday: Mayer, Johanna. The History of Ice Skates, March 2018; The Wall Street Journal: Foreman, Amanda. A Brief History of Sledding: An American Symbol that’s older than Egypt’s Pyramids, February 2017)

By: Lisa Timmerman, Executive Director

Our Charter Members and older Town of Dumfries residents remember the Merchant family – the last family to occupy the historic house before it became a museum. While oral histories can be puzzling, they are some of the best ways to remind us of the actual people in history. Grab a warm mug of coffee, tea, or cocoa and join us as we virtually sit in the Victorian parlor of the Merchant house. Let your gaze fall upon the cast iron stove as you reminisce the wonderful strength and fellowship of the Dumfries community in the early to mid-1900s.

“They [“Great Aunt Annie” and Violet Merchant] heated their house with a “pot-bellied” stove that took small chunks of wood. The little stove needed constant attention during the winter months just to keep the house moderately warm! They also had a huge old cook stove in the kitchen which they rarely fired up, preferring to do their small amount of cooking on the pot-bellied stove in the parlor, summer and winter. I had often noted that at the end of their porch was a stack of kindling sized wood piled almost to the ceiling. One day I found out how it got there.

One Sunday after Church I went over for the usual visit and had heard the sounds of wood being split as we chatted. Then there was a soft rap on the door. It was not always easy to end my visit so I used that and an excuse to say, I must be going. Cousin Violet accompanied me to the porch and greeted “Henry” an elderly but very fit black man, “I’m all finished Miss Violet,” he said doffing his hat to her.

“How much will that be, Henry?” Somehow I knew I was hearing an often repeated ritual, that the price was always the same. He didn’t answer right away but acted like he might be adding it up in his head. Finally he said, “bout fifty cents.” She took out her old black change purse and carefully counted out small coins. I knew I had to get off the porch quick. This was the fifties and no one cut a cord of wood in kindling pieces for fifty cents! I had a lesson in kindness and humility that I was to be grateful for the rest of my life. Everyone in the town “helped” and was “kind” these dear old ladies, but only Henry let them keep their pride in tack while doing it.”

(Photograph: Violet Merchant, 01/1957. Recognize the room?)

Other oral histories confirm that Violet Merchant received the generosity and goodwill of her neighbors and family. “Mrs. Cecil Garrison and June Bishton, and other neighbors were very good to Violet. Often they would take her to their home because the old house was cold and drafty during winter storms. In later years, they prepared and took food to her and were most kind to her in many ways. Mrs. Bishop brought Violet her mail, stamps and also many goodies to eat. Mr. Bishop was often asked to repair furniture. He rebuilt the back steps with the help of a friend.”

As you walk through the historic house, you will note the odd nooks and crannies, the changing dates of the structures, and the different ways people utilized each room. One of our responsibilities at Historic Dumfries is to add the people back to the house, help you hear their voice and place them in their historical context. While Violet lived by herself in the house after her mother’s death, she was not alone. Imagine her conversations with Mrs. Genevieve Brawner as they discussed Christmas decorations for Dumfries United Methodist Church or Violet’s smile as she sat on the front porch and discussed the changes to Dumfries. “They are the yesterday years; but memories contain many happy hours spent in the old Merchant home…”

Special thanks to Jeanne Martin for sharing her wonderful stories and reminiscences.

Note: You can help us end our year on a strong note by supporting our non-profit historic organization! Whether you would like to donate directly or support us through our memberships and programs, we are grateful for everyone’s consideration and support.

(Sources: HDVI Archival Files; Mountjoy, Thelma. The Genealogical and Oral History of the Richard Merchant Family of Dumfries. HDVI, 01/04/1979)

By: Lisa Timmerman, Executive Director

Mutual Assurance Policy documents do not generally excite people unless they know the potential of such boring sounding insurance documents. While fire prevention and response evolved in Virginia somewhat piecemeal, these early insurance documents are little deposits of hidden gems as residents and business owners in the 1700s-1800s described their property, documented renovations/additions, and even drew little pictures of their prized structures.

First, fires. Large fires devastated early colonial settlements, from homes to capitol buildings, and could easily burn stored and drying tobacco. Legislation in major cities and towns throughout Virginia prevented the construction and repair of wooden chimneys and by 1755 Virginia statutes penalized people for starting fires in or near tobacco warehouses due to its potential for catastrophic damage. Officials fined white freemen but lashed the enslaved population. The fine and physical abuse increased by 1783 for anyone building a wooden chimney or sparking a fire within 200 yards of the warehouse – now enslaved persons received twenty lashes.

The Virginia Assembly took a major step toward fire precaution and awareness by incorporating the “Mutual Assurance Society Against Fire on Buildings of the State of Virginia” on 12/22/1794. Incorporated into a special act, this state-wide plan imposed a $3 million fire subscription requirement, which eventually led to the formation of the Mutual Assurance Society in 12/1795 with its first policy issued in 02/1796. All mutual societies shared the same basic characteristics – owned and operated by policyholders exclusively for their benefit. Officials determined rates by the materials of the structure and articles stored within them, evaluated every 7 years or when owners made changes to their property. Policy holders received the interest accumulated on the reserve fund if more than the amount necessary to pay annual claims for losses and damages. If the costs exceeded the income, the society could require members to pay quota, depending upon the sum insured and the rate of the hazard. This practice continued until 1817.

(04/12/1805, Revaluation of the Building formerly declared for Assurance by David Boyle)

These little gems can help us follow families. Meet David Boyle! Residing and operating in Dumfries, David Boyle filled out a Form of the Declaration for Assurance for his “one building on Main Street at Dumfries, now occupied by said Boyle, situated between James James’ store house and Oronoka Street”. He valued the store and dwelling house property at $1000 on 01/13/1798. On 01/13/1816, the Assurance Society revaluated the “Dwelling & Store House” situated between “Oronoco Street South & the house of Geo. Smith and fronting on Oronoco Street”, valuing his property at $2,000 on 04/12/1805. The Agent agreed, “We the underwritten, being each of us House-Owners, declare and affirm that we have examined the above mentioned property of David Boyle and that we are of opinion that it would cost in cash two thousand dollars to build the same, and is now actually worth two thousand dollars in ready money…” A small sketch often accompanies the legal documents noting materials, size, and structure purpose. For Boyle, his buildings were built and covered with wood and he chose not to insure his stable or meat house, although the agent still noted their presence. Fast forward to 10/1827, we find the heirs of David Boyle valuing a dwelling house at $500 near “Delia Smith east and west” property. Popular in Dumfries, many families purchased it including John McKae, William Barnes, Timothy Brundidge, John Gibson & wife, and Nathaniel Macrae to just name a few. The amount of information gleaned, along with actual sketches (!!) is enough to excite a historian for days.

One major book for HDVI was the discovery of Mason Locke Weems’ form in 1812. While he no longer used the Weems-Botts historic house for his book storage, this document proved he was still in town with both a dwelling house and store house. Besides for valuing the total property at 12,000, he noted “Two buildings om the Cross Street leading from Quantico Creek over Harrison’s Hill & at the point of intersection with the Main Street in the Town of Dumfries now occupied by myself and situated between the land of Murrays Devisees on the west and the cross street above mentioned on the east separating me from Jacob Merchant.” What questions we wish we could ask!

(12/04/1812, Declaration for Assurance in the Mutual Assurance Society by Mason Locke Weems)

These documents then become little puzzle pieces as we can determine the ownership of certain lots and their purpose and even map the changes over time. As you walk and/or drive in Dumfries, think of the historical landscape we cannot see today – from stores to homes to mills. Close your eyes and pause – perhaps you can still hear the crowds, shared laughs, despair, and sounds of a town long gone, but not forgotten.

Note: Curious about your family? While we delayed our seasonal opening, we are still providing digital research services. While members can access these files for free (annual memberships range from $10-$30), anyone can request our services for a fee. On a much younger note, our next Children’s Day at the Museum Sponsored by Colonial Downs Group is Saturday, 05/15! Focusing on the humble ladybug, you can find more info here!

(Sources: HDVI Archival Files: Dumfries Fire Insurance Policies; Library of Virginia: Collection – Mutual Assurance Society Policies for Richmond City and Henrico County – History of the Society, https://lva-virginia.libguides.com/mutual-assurance; Mutual Assurance Society of Virginia: Our History (https://www.mutual-assurance.com/history); Clarke, John B. The Fire Problem in Colonial Virginia. The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, vol. 57, no. 3 (July 1949): 244-251)

By: Lisa Timmerman, Executive Director

 Driving through Dumfries provides a curious mix of 18-20^th century buildings depending upon where you look. While you can visit The Weems-Botts Museum (face-to-face and virtually!), you may miss or overlook the rich and unique character of our charming small town in the early 1900s.

According to our oral history records, Myrtle Virginia Rainey met Elvan Fitzhugh Keys at Dumfries United Methodist Church in 1917. Mr. Keys bid two dollars on a boxed lunch prepared by Ms. Rainey, an auction that featured a homemade lunch with the chef! The lunch of fried chicken and cake made with fresh coconut led to a lifelong romance and companionship. Thanks to family records and the Dumfries community willingness to share their stories and letters with HDVI, we can read some of the letters they wrote to each other during the flu pandemic.

Dumfries, Virginia. 02/10/1918, Myrtle Rainey to Elvan Keys:

“Dearest Elvan,

Hope you got back to Quantico all OK last night. But I guessed you was tired and sleepy when you got there. All the school have gone to Quantico to see Billy Sunday they come after me but Mamma and Papa is both sick now and I have so much work to do. Don’t let that old Spanish Influenza keep you away. I am not a bit afraid of it. Hope you can come up Wednesday nite for preaching. I am going to preaching tonight but it is so lonesome without you. Please bring me your picture you come over next time. Mammie Sisson has just looked over my letter for mistakes. If there are any left consider them kisses.

I remain as ever your true friend. PS. Please answer real soon.”

Quantico, Virginia. 02/11/1918, Elvan Keys to Myrtle Rainey:

“Dearest Myrtle,

I went to the office at noon and got your lovely little letter. I think it was so sweet of you to write me and I was awful glad to get your letter. I was sorry to hear your father is now sick. How is your mother? I got back safely Sunday night but it was a lonely walk with nothing but my ugly shadow to keep me company. I am always lonesome when I leave you. The snow looked like diamonds glittering from the trees. I most know you are skipping all over this letter to see if I am coming up Wednesday night so I might as well tell you now as later on that I will be unable to come. But I would only be able to stay one hour. It takes me so long to walk there and back. I would come if I could stay longer. No I won’t forget the picture.

As ever yours”

By the fall of 1918, the Influenza pandemic noticeably hit Virginia and at least 16,000 Virginians died. Jumping from military bases to cities to small towns caused mass disorder, and health officials advised Americans to wear masks and remain socially distant. Highly contagious with severe symptoms ranging from high fever to aches, many people also caught pneumonia and subsequently died. The Virginia State Board of Health reported that in thirteen months, the virus infected 326,195 people, killing 15,679 of them. Keep in mind that some rural and isolated areas did not file death certificates and many people may have remained ill at home, further spreading the infection in the family. Thanks to the nurses, doctors, and volunteers, Virginia eventually reopened (when they lifted the ban on public gatherings in late October 1918, another surge occurred early in December 1918). Interestingly, people petitioned Governor Westmoreland Davis to allow the selling of more alcohol to pharmacies as officials hoped alcohol could aid in combating the illness. Sadly, this pandemic faded from American memory due to a combo of factors: avoidance from the government whether to directly respond or even acknowledge it, other historically significant events, such as the Depression, WWII, etc.

While we can empathize with the frustration and desire to see our friends and family, we can also open our tablets, phones, and other devices to stay connected with our communities. Instead, Mr. & Mrs. Keys relied on memories, mailed letters, and pictures to not feel so lonely and remind themselves of better times. Mr. & Mrs. Keys survived the pandemic and by all accounts led a very happy life. For their 25^th wedding anniversary, Mrs. Keys spared no expense to throw a party. “She was famous in the town for entertaining and she wanted this one to very special. She wanted to celebrate a quarter century of a happy marriage in a big way…One hundred invitations were sent, the cake ordered, the house cleaned from top to bottom, special clothes purchased, menu planned, the silver polished, tables and chairs borrowed, tablecloths bought. The house hummed with activity for two months before the party.” Mrs. Myrtle Keys died in 1969 at the age of 66 and Mr. Elvan Keys in 1977 at the age of 80.

Special thanks to the Keys family, Jeff McGlothlin, and Jeanne Martin for sharing their wonderful stories and reminiscences.

Note: You can help Historic Dumfries Virginia by joining our non-profit organization today! Thanks to all HDVI members that continue to support us and local history. Interested in a virtual presentation on Dumfries? Set your price with a donation ticket to our “An Artful Fellow: Slavery in Dumfries in the 18^th Century” presentation – tickets here).

(Sources: HDVI Archival Files; Encyclopedia Virginia: The Influenza Pandemic in Virginia (1918-1919)).

By: Lisa Timmerman, Executive Director

In 1889, the Cabin Branch Pyrite Mine opened and operated, eventually changing ownership from the Cabin Branch Mining Company to the American Agricultural Chemical Company before its closure in 1920. After the devastation of the Civil War, the discovery of “fool’s gold”, aka iron sulfide, was a boon to the local economy as sulfur was an ingredient in items such as soap, glass, rubber, fertilizer, and the production of gunpowder for World War I. While companies and businessmen profited from this venture, the 200-300 laborers, including children, risked their lives for small wages and often unsafe working conditions.

In 11/1899, the Fredericksburg Free Lance described the operations with predictions for its future, “Three shafts have been sunk about 140 feet deep, and tons of ore are gotten out daily by a force of 60 men. The ore is shipped by the company’s own 7 miles of well built narrow gauge road to a point in the Potomac River. The sum of $500 to $600 is paid by this firm [Dedrick & Co.] weekly for labor. The whole surrounding country seems a bed of pyrites ore and a bright future is before Dumfries.” The mine became a major industry to the area with 70 buildings (company store, blacksmith shop, hen house, icehouse) and employed both black and white persons but housed them separately. Crews worked the mine in 10-12 hour shifts as the mine operated 24 hours a day, pay ranging from 50 cents (children’s daily pay) to potentially $4.25 a day/shift. Crews consisted of blasters, persons who ignited the dynamite and supervised others, powdermen responsible for carrying and placing blasting powder, muckers who loaded ore into wagons, cart pushers who transported the ore to the surface, and timberman who provided stability to the shafts with wooden. The mine employed children to sort the ore into piles based on size. The Mine generally assigned black persons to lower positions and the wages did not reflect the reality of supporting a family; instead, the Cabin Branch Community (Hickory Ridge, Joplin and Batestown) supported each other and relied upon being self-sufficient by growing crops, hunting, and taking multiple jobs. One unidentified black woman in her 50s noted, “…His father was one of those that worked in the mines and of course it was hard work. They would go in there and stay for…he couldn’t recall whether it was days or months because he was so young. He remembered his dad going away, staying for a long time, and finally coming. And then, he could see him coming from the distance and he would see him covered with the soot and grime and all. And it just seemed like he was gone forever…” Another person remembered, “Everybody was really blessed an not really deprived…They were a self-contained community. They were pretty proud of…the fact that they pulled together and they could make it together.”

(Cabin Branch Mine Coupon Book, Coupons worth 10 cents)

Accidents certainly happened with reports appearing in local newspapers. On 06/13/1903, the Alexandria Gazette reported “A colored man, named Smith, about 40 years old, was taken to Washington from Dumfries, early last night. Smith was suffering from numerous injuries…In the mine there is an incline railway on which cars weighing 1,200lbs when empty are need to carry the ore to the opening of the mine. Smith was struck by one of these cars, by so severely injured that Dr. William P. Canton surgeon for the company, deemed it necessary to have him taken to Washington.” Mr. Smith suffered from a broken right leg, both shoulder blades dislocated, and a splintered upper jaw. Turning to a transcribed partial list of laborers compiled by Ronald Turner, we find two potential Smith’s – Bord Smith and Robert Smith, both noted as laborers further identified by their race. While the prognosis for recovery was good, deaths also occurred in the mine, and the resulting court cases provide an enormous wealth of information about mine operations.

In the case Quinton L. Hutchinson’s Administrator vs. Cabin Branch Mining Company, Climenia Hutchinson, the widow and mother of their infant child, sued the mine for 10,000 in 1909, “…a large and ponderous mass of stone, slate, mineral and earth fell from the side of the said mine and in and upon said plaintiff’s intestate, without any negligence or fault on the part of said plaintiff’s intestate, and by such falling in of said stone, slate, mineral and earth so negligently permitted to hang loosely in and about said mine and the sides thereof, the said Quinton L. Hutchinson, plaintiff’s intestate, was injured and crushed about the body, back and hips and so injured that he died shortly thereafter, to-wit…” Physicians examining the body noted he had bruising over his entire abdomen along with displaced segments of his spinal column, with ruptured internal blood vessels caused by pressure of the material. The plaintiff called upon many laborers in the mine to testify regarding the day of the accident and the conditions of the mine, including Mr. J. Clarence Williams, born “Well, Dumfries is as close as I could get at it”, as Mr. Williams was present at the time of Mr. Hutchinson’s death and personally knew him. The mine employed Mr. Williams as a mucker, receiving a 1.50 a day/shift, he testified to the condition of the mine and the chain of command – the defense questioning his experience and specifically asking about the race of the men working near where Mr. Hutchinson died. Frank G. Williams, race not identified, worked the machine, and received $2.00 a day/shift – he was with Mr. Hutchinson at the time of his death. “Well, of course, I know he was killed, that’s all. A piece came over on him and he hollered, and for a second or two, I didn’t know hardly what had happed for a second or two.” An estimated two-ton piece of ore or slate fell and pinned Mr. Hutchinson. Based on witness testimonies and mine policies, the court instructed the jury to determine eleven issues, ranging from workplace safety to the possible negligence of Mr. Hutchinson – however, the jury needed to determine if the mine could have averted the accident after discovery of any supposed worker negligence. The jury awarded Mrs. Hutchinson assessing her damage at $1750.00. Cabin Branch Mining Company quickly appealed and won when the Prince William County Court reversed the decision, stating the judgment was erroneous, and ordered Mrs. Hutchinson to pay the costs “…expended in the prosecution of its writ of error”, a total of $357.55. According to our records, the family buried Mr. Hutchinson in Dumfries Cemetery, born in 1882 and died in 1909.

(Cabin Branch Pyrite Mine, 1907, National Park Service)

Many of the men interviewed lived in or near Dumfries and worked in the mine for over ten years – some even continued working for the company but not in the section where Mr. Hutchinson died. White miners lived in Dumfries, some rented from the Merchant family (now the Weems-Botts Museum), while the black laborers in the records noted they lived as close as they could to Dumfries and identified it as home although the town remained segregated. By 1920, the mine no longer operated due to a variety of factors, ranging from a marked decrease in demand of gunpowder after WWI and the discovery of cheaper sulfur elsewhere.

National Park Services owns the property today and you can even walk the Cabin Branch Pyrite Mine Trail leading you to Quantico Creek and other foundations of the Park’s past life as a mining industry. While there are scattered traces of the Mine operations and even a burial of one of the miners, we rely upon oral histories, court records, letters, folklore, and other sources to help tell the stories from the mines. 

Note: April is rushing in and The Weems-Botts Museum is ready with three virtual opportunities! From preparing for the cicadas with your family & friends to having a tea basket arranged for you, we are here to provide interesting, varied, and delicious programming! Click here to find links to all of our seasonal programs! 

(Sources: HDVI Archives: Cabin Branch Mine Newspapers transcribed and compiled by William Schneck, 04/29/2010 ; Payne-Jackson, Arvilla and Sue Ann Taylor, Prince William Forest Park: The African American Experience, National Park Service National Capital Area, 06/2000; Turner, Ronald R. American Agricultural Chemical Company & Cabin Branch Mining Company Workers Dumfries, VA 1910-1920, accessed on 03/24/2021 via http://pwcvirginia.com/sites-structures.htm; National Park Services: Prince William Forest: Cabin Branch Pyrite Mine (1889-1920), https://www.nps.gov/prwi/learn/historyculture/cabin-branch-mine.htm; )

By: Lisa Timmerman, Executive Director

“So on March 5, 1904 he opened his office on Main Street in Dumfries. His first patient was a man with a fever of 106 [F] malaria and chills. Next was a delivery, a baby girl born to a family who had a general store in Dumfries. His first $10.” While today we face different challenges, Annie Keys Cline Shumate’s reminiscences demonstrated how the medical community in Northern Virginia worked tirelessly on the medical front lines.

Dumfries had numerous needs for medical services in the early 1900s. Besides for childbirth deliveries, illness, and accidents, doctors traveled to the Cabin Branch Pyrite Mine, which operated from 1899-1920, encompassing the communities of Hickory Ridge, Joplin, and Batestown. By 1917, the military established Marine Corps Base Quantico drawing additional people to the area. Mrs. Shumate recalled a smallpox “siege” in 1912 along with the 1918 flu pandemic. As with COVID-19, there was “…no rest for the doctors any where.” She stated, “Dr. Cline worked with the Marine Corps but the young marines were dying because this was [a] new disease and no real remedy was then known…Activity brought on pneumonia and death. During the winters he had 14 cases in his home. Dr. Cline had little time for family or rest, for so many needed attention.” Although Dr. Cline died in 1931, Dr. B.F. Phillips and Dr. A.J. Ferlazzo continued to serve the community.

Midwives were crucial to the community. Annie Thomas Williams took over her mother’s practice and recalled assisting both Dr. Phillips and Dr. Ferlazzo, even noting how they filled and signed the birth certificates for her, necessary as she temporarily worked without a license. She recalled, “There were so few doctors, women about to deliver often had no one to help.” Mrs. Williams first worked as a housekeeper in Dumfries earning $1 a day. During the 1920s and 1930s, Mrs. Williams became essential to the local area, as she delivered children and worked for Major General Harry Lee, Commandant of Quantico Marine Base, as a nurse for his children and the children of other Marine families. Although the flooding and destruction of Hurricane Agnes wreaked havoc on her home leading to the loss of her medical records, former Dumfries Mayor Sam Bauckman estimated that she delivered well over 300 babies. In an interview with The Potomac News celebrating her 100^th birthday in 1993, she recalled how she rode out usually in the “dead of night” despite weather hazards. “One time I woke up and didn’t know where I was…Fredericksburg, Accotink, Manassas, Garrisonville – I just didn’t know, I was gone so much.” “Some nights were so bitter cold. They’d come knock at 12 or 1. I’d say no and I’d lay in bed. Then I’d get to thinking that they might suffer or die.”

(HDVI Archives: Annie Williams, Charter Day, 05/11/1990)

Mrs. William’s oral history did not record active opposition from local doctors, instead noting how they trained and supported her. Advancements in medical treatments, a growing reliance on hospitals for deliveries, and racism towards the black and immigrant communities all contributed to the decline and public opinion regarding midwifery. Some obstetricians deliberately led a campaign against midwives, ignoring data that supported the quality care received and instead focused on racist stereotypes. While this campaign focused on white families with the necessary income, black families often did not have a choice, especially if white physicians refused to deliver black children. The popularity of midwives trended longer in the South until expanding access to health care, a shortage of obstetricians, and an increasing demand for natural birth led to expansion in the nurse-midwifery practice in the 1940s.

Today our medical practitioners continue to put their lives on the frontline as those did in the early 1900s, whether Dr. Cline was treating infectious patients at his home or Mrs. William’s mother, Nancy Thomas, was entering homes to deliver children. According to these oral reports, the Dumfries and surrounding region were unique in that physicians and midwives, regardless of race, worked together for the health of the people.

Note: The Weems-Botts Bibliophiles will be meeting for the first time on Saturday, 01/23! Join us as we discuss three short sci-fi stories from Isaac Asimov, Allan C. Clarke and Clare Harris, focusing on the historical context, the authors, and surprising conclusions to these fantastic tales! Click here to purchase a ticket for the tea, stories, and link to actively participate or to enjoy later!

(HDVI Archives: View of Dumfries in the early 20th century)

(Sources: HDVI Archives: Abstract of an Interview with Annie Thomas Williams at her home, 07/18/1988; HDVI Archives: “Doctors” Oral history of Annie Cline Shumate submitted by her daughter Mrs. Hilda E. Brown Ammerman; Potomac News: Lifestyles, LaSonde, Chris, Marking a Century of Faith, Work, 07/07/1993; National Library of Medicine: National Center for Biotechnology Information. Dawley, Katy. Origins of nurse-midwifery in the United States and its expansion in the 1940s. Journal of Midwifery Womans Health, Vol. 48, No. 2, March/April 2003).

By: Lisa Timmerman, Executive Director

Virginia folk legends embrace every aspect of our state, whether recording the details of a famous person, event, or location. Folklore is literally everywhere, from the graffiti found in public restrooms to documented narratives collected during the Virginia Writer’s Project in the 1940s. While the name “Bull Run” may automatically trigger Civil War history in your mind, go back further with Miss M.A. Ewell interviewed by Susan R. Morton in Haymarket, undated (1937-1942). Based on the date of Ms. Morton’s other interviews in PWC, this was probably recorded in 1941. Ms. Morton indicated she heard the same version of this tale told by others in the community.

(Kitchin, Thomas. A new map of Virginia from the best authorities. [London: London Magazine, 1761] Map. https://www.loc.gov/item/2001627679/)

When the first settlers made their way along the Carolina Road which led from the Susquehanna to the Carolinas, the mountains to the west were of sinister repute. Wolves abounded, catamounts yowled in the night, and always there was the danger of brigands who hid there to waylay the travelers along the trail, to say nothing of the fierce Indians. So cattle that escaped from the droves along the road were often left behind rather than risk the dangers of a prolonged hunt for them on the mountainside. Thus it was a young bull breaking away from some settlers bringing their stock with them was left to roam at will. It grew to unusual proportions, and together with its great size, became so fierce that it was before long felt to be as great a menace to the peace of the community within a few miles of the mountain as the wild animals that roamed there at will. Hunters came home with tales of being chased by this ferocious beast, who seemed to have a great dislike for men. His body was massive and the footprints showed a cloven hoof that might have belonged to some animal that roamed the hills before the advent of man. His roar could be heard over half a mile, yet, in spite of his size, which would have been supposed to make him ungainly, he was so swift that nine had ever been able to [get] within shot of him. With the approach of winter he came near the dwellings of the settlers at the foot of the mountain, frightening women and children, several of whom had had a narrow escape; so it was finally decided to form a group of well-armed men and run the bull until captured, the one to fire the fatal shot to have the meal.

The news of the proposed chase was spread throughout the countryside, and it was a challenge to the men to show their courage and skill, as well as a promise of a good supply of meat. The day designated found a large sports-loving group assembled at the foot of the mountain where the trail could be easily followed. Some of the men went from a sense of duty to rid the section of a menace; others in the hope of adding to their frugal fare in the winter to come; and the younger men for the joy of such heroic sport. They started at sunrise, and it was not until after several hours of hard work and futile riding that they came in sight of their quarry, who took them in mad pursuit over the rough trails, through heavy underbrush, showing remarkable speed for an animal of his size. Some of the horses became exhausted, some riders too, until finally as the autumn dusk became near there were but a very few left. However, the bull had slowed his pace, and finally he turned in a small ravine and was about to charge when two almost simultaneous shots felled him.

This led to an argument as to who had fired the shot that reached his heart first. But it was finally settled to the apparent satisfaction, and the victor proceeded to claim the spoils. Finding the carcass more than he could handle, he promised a hundred weight to anybody who could stay and help him skin it and cut it up. This was accomplished, but darkness was upon them by then, so the helper left with a forequarter for himself, and a hindquarter strapped to the back of the victor’s horse, which he was to lead back and get the man;s son to come with a fresh horse as well as his to carry down the remainder of the meat. He built a fire to warm himself as well as keep prowling beasts away. He cooked himself bits of the meat while he waited with growing impatience for the returning rider. He was very exhausted from the day’s work and excitement, and it was cold as the night drew on, so he wrapped himself in the hide of the bull and before long was in a sound sleep.

So sound in fact that he did not hear a rider approach. The rider, instead of his expected son, was the one that had helped with the skinning of the bull. He had merely taken it to his home, kept the other horse there, and returned with a fresh horse to get the rest of the meat, expecting that by a delay he would find owner asleep. He proceeded to cut ip the meat so that it could be tied to the horse. He worked hastily in the darkness so he could get away before the return of the owner, whom he thought had merely gone a short distance in search of help. To complete the job, he tied the tail of the bull to the horse and started off at a gallop to get out of sight as soon as possible. All at once he heard terrified screams and curses coming out of the hide, the sleeper being so rudely awakened and realizing that he, as well as the meat, was being stolen. [He] soon caught the culprit, a desperate fight ensuing. Searchers later found them both, too battered to make their way home, and an easy prey for wolves.

While unique to the area, the folklore of the bull falls into recognizable world-wide motifs. Thompson’s motif-index and the Aarne-Thompson-Uther Index (ATU) are extremely helpful when analyzing folktales. These descriptive and exhaustive catalogues identify common motifs across all cultures, providing a structured and organized hierarchy that we can use to find similar folktales. This folk legend falls within three of those motifs: Devastating Bull, Bellow of bull heard over great distance, and Task: killing fierce bull. According to Thompson’s motif-index, these cross with both Greek and Irish folktales. The people telling their narratives relied upon their family’s experiences, oral stories, and their own knowledge to craft an understanding of the region they inhabited. According to Folklorist Thomas E. Barden, place names “support the attitudes and morals of their group, express its anxieties, give advice, and recognize and sometimes resolve social and personal ambiguities.” It can also entertain, identify important issues to the culture, features of the land, and change/evolve. While Miss Ewell told a tale warning of dangerous animals, greed, and honesty, perhaps you heard something different from your family and friends. Folklore and history are not static – as we continue analyzing primary documents and pulling at the threads of folktales for tasty historical nibbles, we constantly evaluate and gain better insight into the people living in Virginia.

Note on transcribed interviews: A subsidiary of the WPA Federal Writers’ Project, Virginia field workers collected over 3,850 folklore across sixty-two counties from 1937–1942.

(Sources: Barton, Thomas E., ed. Virginia Folk Legends. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1991)

Note: Did you know we host everything from classes crafting beautiful winter décor to monthly sessions focused on literary & historic short stories featuring a delicious tea from local shop Leaf & Petal? You can find all our current seasonal events here!

By: Lisa Timmerman, Executive Director

Works Project Administration (WPA) agent Susan Morton must have had a fascinating time exploring the Town of Dumfries and surrounding regional area for the WPA of Virginia Historical Inventory project. She traveled to each site, talked to people from the area, and consulted everything from court records to engravings on tombstones. Besides her poetic descriptions of the sites, her historical summaries, and her inclusion on everything from local folklore to knowledgeable town residents, she included documents and ledgers that caught her eye. She located and transcribed the “List of Slave Expenditures Kept by B. Grayson” from a book kept at “The Shelter,” home of Bailey Tyler, Haymarket, Virginia. It is possible the copies we have are missing an additional page as we were not able to locate a document containing the final sum & overall transaction.  

“List of Slave Expenditures Kept by B. Grayson” from a book kept at “The Shelter,” home of Bailey Tyler, Haymarket, Virginia.

This document most certainly was connected to the influential Grayson family. William Grayson (1742-1790) led many military & prominent political positions during his long service to the state of Virginia. While it might look like a simple list, there are many clues contained within it that could help someone locate one of the enslaved persons the Grayson family owned. For example, note the difference in fee between Davy and Peter, both working on holidays. This likely was from a perceived disorder or injury, although the recorder could have been vague and neglected time differentials. Everything from bees to clothes peppered the above expenditures detailing what the enslaved persons had access to and their possible priorities on the plantation.

Note: This blog will temporarily go on hiatus as HDVI interviews applicants for the position of Executive Director! I have thoroughly enjoyed writing these weekly articles and will miss the wonderful local history contained within our precious archives.

(Sources: WPA Historic Survey: Town of Dumfries, 1937)