Donations
Thank you to John Lewis for donating seven historic reproductions of American flags. We are looking forward to using these items in upcoming exhibits.
Thank you to Neil & Sunny Hoffman for donating this Cucullaea Giganta to the museum. It is such a nice specimen, and we appreciate your kindness!
Thanks to Neil & Sunny Hoffman for all their hard work on a Westmoreland County Fossil exhibit at the Historic Courthouse. These "Fossil Hunters" also brought some free sharks' teeth for the kids as well as a worksheet to figure out what shark the tooth is from. Thank you for all your support. We truly appreciate all you do for the community.
We also want to thank them for donating the Megalodon shark tooth as a raffle item. We also want to congratulate Barbara Carpenter on winning the Megalodon Tooth.
WCM wants to thank Preservation Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula (PNNMP) for their hospitality and generosity during the July 20th presentation about the portrait of William Pitt. It was fun and educational event!
WCM wants to thank Westmoreland County Public Schools for inviting us again to the Opening Day for Teachers on August 4th. Thank you to Rosemary Mahan for representing the museum this year.
Thank you to Dave and Tim for partnering with us for the free airplane model craft. They braved the rain, and the children enjoyed this fun event.
September 9, 1-7 pm
Pitt, Peale, and the Patriots Symposium
The afternoon symposium will kick off with a keynote by J Patrick Mullins of Marquette University exploring the historic importance of the Charles Willson Peale painting of William Pitt and the emblemology. This will be followed by a talk on Peale's artistic career by Lucinda Edinburg, curator of the Hammond-Harwood House in Annapolis with a focus on Peale's sojourn in England when he painted the portrait. Bradley Stevens, painter of Stratford Hall's reproduction, will speak on his work to capture the spirit and style of Peale's portraiture. F. Carey Howlett and asSandy Jensen, will describe the research leading to their design and fabrication of an historically-appropriate frame and will demonstrate the labor-intensive traditional techniques for reproducing eighteenth-century gilding.
The symposium will be held in the Council House where the reproduction portrait will be on display. At the conclusion of the Stratford Hall portion of the event, attendees will be invited to view the original portrait at the Historic Montross Courthouse and enjoy a cocktail reception at the Inn at Montross.
September 18-22: Constitution Week
Westmoreland County Museum will be celebrating Constitution Week. We will have a copy of the Constitution on display, donated by Eileen Scholar. The Historic Courthouse will also have other educational information!
Saturday, October 7, 11 am-12 pm
Jim Bish, author and former teacher, will be speaking on Saturday, October 7th beginning at 11 am in the Wakefield Building.
Published in 2023 by Virginia historian James Bish titled, I Can’t Tell A Lie: Parson Weems and The Truth About George Washington’s Cherry Tree, Prayer at Valley Forge, and Other Anecdotes, examines the stories you have heard and thought were false. Mr. Bish makes you rethink those conclusions in his award-winning book. If you have not heard him speak, he brings history alive. He will also touch on Washington family's involvement in the Virginia's colonial iron industry. It will be fire!