Home > Calendar Select Month January February March April May June July August September October November December    Select Year 2007 2008    Monthly Meeting, APVA Mary Washington Branch Thursday, May 1, 2008 10:00 a.m. The program for the Branch's monthly meeting will be "The Role of the Curator" by Catherine Dean, APVA Curator. Cost:  No fee Location:   Central Rappahannock Regional Library Auditorium Caroline St. Fredericksburg, VA Contact:   Myra Wiggins, Administrative Assistant Mary Washington Branch mwhouse@apva.org     What Does It Mean to be in a Historic District? Friday, May 2, 2008 2:30 p.m.-6:00p.m. For many homeowners within the boundaries of a historic district, this means wondering why they cannot make alterations to their own property without getting permission from an architectural review board or historic commission. Where do these boards get their authority? What about those people considering buying a property in a historic district? What are the obligations of the real estate agent to disclose the fact that the listing is in a historic district? Are there opportunities, such as tax credits available to property owners in historic districts; and if so, where does one go for assistance? All of these questions and more will be answered during the workshop--What it Means to be in a Historic District: A Primer for Property Owners, Real Estate Professionals and Architectural Review Board Members. APVA Preservation Virginia, the Virginia Department of Historic Resources and the Town of Blacksburg have partnered to offer the workshop. The program is free and open to the public. Due to limited seating, RSVPs are recommended. Visit here. Cost:  Free Location:   Blacksburg Municipal Building 300 S. Main St. Blacksburg, VA Contact:   For additional information or to register, e-mail or telephone Terry Nicholson, Town of Blacksburg Museum Administrator, at 540-558-0746. museum@blacksburg.gov     Nelson County Spring Tour, APVA Ruth Anderson McCulloch Branch Tuesday, May 6, 2008 The APVA's Ruth Anderson McCulloch Branch has announced a 6 May tour of historic sites in Nelson County. This year’s spring tour follows successful past tours of sites in Botetourt and Rockingham County. The tour offers participants the opportunity to visit 19th- and early 20th-century sites that are not open to the general public. Among the sites is the 1814 Federal-style Pharsalia Plantation. Built for farmer and mill owner, William Massie, the earliest part of the structure consists of a range of four rooms divided by chimneys and a center passage. Located on the eastern flanks of the Blue Ridge, the property includes an impressive complex of outbuildings and breathtaking views of orchards and vineyards. Oakridge Estate was the fiefdom of Thomas Fortune Ryan, a Nelson County native who became one of the ten wealthiest men in America. In 1901, he acquired an early 19th-century home that he transformed into a fifty-room mansion surrounded by gardens. Oakridge became a virtually self-sufficient town, complete with its own schools, utilities, and even a private railroad station. The tour will also include a visit to Swannanoa, a Renaissance marble palazzo perched on the crest of the Blue Ridge. This “summer place” was completed in 1913 for the Richmond railroad tycoon, James Dooley, and his wife, Sally May. Towers, terraced gardens, a 4,000-piece Tiffany stained glass window, and a Persian office are among the highlights of this mansion with spectacular views of the Shenandoah Valley and the Piedmont. Participants will also visit the Walton’s Mountain Museum, housed in the Schuyler schoolhouse attended by Earl Hamner, Jr., the creator of “The Waltons” television series. There one can view replicas of rooms of the Walton house seen on the series and hundreds of items of Walton memorabilia. As in the past, the APVA Branch will organize transportation, admission fees at all sites, guided tours, and lunch in an historic former tavern, currently under development as a county historical museum. Location:   Nelson County Contact:   APVA Ruth Anderson McCulloch Branch P.O. Box 525 Lexington, VA 24450 Telephone Don Hasfurther at 540-258-1550     Quoit Club Tour, HRF/APVA Thursday, May 8, 2008 Join the APVA Historic Richmond Foundation's Quoit Club and participate in its 8 exclusive tours a year. Membership is $75 ($65 for HRF/APVA members). So far this year, the Club has sponsored an event at the National Theatre, toured VCU's West Franklin Street and the Scott House in April. Details to Maymont TBA. Location:   Maymont Richmond, VA Contact:   HRF Executive Director Assistant Megan Greenday 4 E. Main St. Richmond, VA 23219 Telephone 804-643-7407 Fax 804-788-4244 mgreenday@historicrichmond.com     Jamestown Landing Day Saturday, May 10, 2008 9:00 a.m.-5:00p.m. Lots of activities happening on this fun-filled day: --Explore Historic Jametowne’s sites and museums. --Experience the work of 17th-century glassmakers and iron smelters. --Discover “The Buried Truth” with archaeologists as they unearth the original 1607 James Fort site. --Meet early settlers and watch the St. Maries Citty Militia demonstrate firelock drills. --Become enthralled with stories of the Virginia Indians following their first year of contact with the English. --Listen to the Early Music Program of 17th-century Europe as a contrast of the refinements left behind in England compared to the harsh realities of living in the New World. --Virginia Indian Presentation. --Gather for a special ceremony with descendants of Virginia Indians and Jamestown colonists to commemorate the peoples present at Jamestown’s founding. Jointly sponsored by the National Park Service and APVA Preservation Virginia. Cost:  Entrance fee Location:   Historic Jamestowne 1367 Colonial Parkway Jamestown, VA 23081 Contact:   757-229-0412--or--757-229-1733 tpatton@apva.org     2008 Virginia's Most Endangered Historic Sites List To Be Announced Tuesday, May 13, 2008 10:00 a.m. APVA Preservation Virginia is poised to announce this year’s List of Virginia's Most Endangered Historic Sites on the banks of the James River at Historic Jamestowne. 2008 marks the eighth annual Most Endangered Historic Sites list, a product of the Endangered Sites program. The list is determined annually by a statewide committee overseen by the APVA. The purpose of this crucial list is to raise awareness of and build support for threatened historic, archaeological and cultural resources that include buildings, structures, districts, cultural landscapes and archaeological sites. Threats to these resources may include but are not limited to neglect, abandonment, urban sprawl and inappropriate zoning. "Despite a great deal of progress in the preservation movement throughout Virginia, the threat to the Commonwealth’s historic resources continues to grow. The sites on this year's list embody the diversity and complexity of Virginia's story and the variety of threats that endanger it," said Elizabeth Kostelny, APVA Executive Director. Location:   Historic Jamestowne 1367 Colonial Parkway Jamestown, VA 23081 Contact:   APVA Director of Marketing and Public Relations Tina Calhoun 804-648-1889, x-316 tcalhoun@apva.org     APVA Thomas Rolfe Branch Meeting Monday, May 19, 2008 The Branch will hold its meeting at the Wakefield Foundation with guest speaker Valerie Balentine, Head Gardener at Bacon's Castle. Come one, come all, and enjoy Ms. Balentine's presentation on the unique 17th-century garden at the Castle. Cost:  No fee Location:   The Wakefield Foundation, Inc. 100 Wilson Ave. Wakefield, VA 23888 mail@wakefieldfoundation.org Contact:       Spring Meeting, APVA Northampton Branch Monday, May 19, 2008 5:00 p.m. Kirk Mariner, author of Off 13: The Eastern Shore of Virginia Guidebook, has studied the maps and writings of Captain John Smith from his 1608 visit to the Eastern Shore. He will present his findings in a talk, “Captain John Smith’s Revisit—Revisited.” The program will follow the APVA Preservation Virginia’s Northampton Branch spring reception and dinner at the Eastville Inn. A cash bar reception will begin at 5:00 p.m. followed by dinner at 6:00 p.m. Dr. Mariner is an ordained Methodist minister who has served churches in Hopewell, Northern Virginia and Williamsburg where he retired in 2005. He is an Eastern Shore native who has written numerous books and articles about this area, including Revival’s Children: A Religious History of Virginia’s Eastern Shore and God’s Island: The History of Tangier. Eastville Inn Chef Charles Thain will prepare a tasty spring tavern dinner featuring breast of chicken with Smithfield ham, scalloped potatoes and asparagus. Salad, rolls, dessert and tea or coffee are included. All are welcome. Thursday, 15 May at noon is the deadline for reservations. The Northampton Branch was founded in 1913 to save the 1731 Courthouse in Eastville from demolition. The Branch has managed the historic court buildings for Northampton County since that time. The Eastville Inn is an integral part of the Northampton County Court Green that is one of the oldest and most complete in Virginia. The Branch and Northampton County, with major funding from the Norfolk Foundation, restored and reinterpreted the Green for the 2007 Jamestown Commemoration. The historic buildings are open during regular County business hours from April through September. The APVA also owns Holly Brook and Pear Valley in Northampton County. Cost:  $30 per person, including gratuity Location:   Eastville Inn Eastville, VA Contact:   Please make checks payable to APVA Northampton Branch and mail by 14 May to Diane Stewart, 8239 Stewarts Wharf Rd., Exmore, VA 23350; telephone 757-442-3912 JHWehner@gmail.com