The Battle of the Hook returned to Gloucester this weekend! As this mock battle unfolded, we reflected on the changes to Gloucester County since 1781, and how the intervening history affects us today. We are no longer colonies battling against the British empire, yet the Revolutionary War, and the ideas and ideals that emerged from […]
Archaeology at the Battle of the Hook!
Raise your hand if you like archaeology. Okay, now raise your hand if it’s been too long since you last visited the beautiful grounds of Gloucester’s historic Warner Hall. Anybody with a love of local history? How about a Revolutionary War enthusiast? Go ahead, raise your hand for those things, too. Or maybe colonial re-enactments […]
Celebrating the history of the Gloucester Woman’s Club and Edge Hill House
The Gloucester Woman’s Club is holding their 100th Anniversary Open House on October 5th at their home, the Edge Hill House. In preparation for this event, we have been helping the Woman’s Club create new interpretive guides for visitors and historically-inspired scripts for costumed interpreters. The tour explains some of the unique stories of this historic house, allowing guests to […]
Help Make The 2013 Amazing Raise A Success For The Fairfield Foundation!
It’s that time of year again! We are gearing up for the third annual Amazing Raise online fundraiser event, which is coming up next Wednesday and Thursday, September 18 and 19! If you’re unfamiliar with the Amazing Raise event, here’s some brief background information: The Community Foundation of Greater Richmond is hosting a 36-hour online […]
AiP Workshop Builds a Better Future for Fairfield’s Foundations
Our third year of working with Adventures in Preservation brought about our most successful workshop yet! The mix of archaeology, architecture, and architectural conservation resulted in new discoveries, new friends, and a new model for our work preserving the Fairfield manor house. Over five fast days (and a half day behind the scenes tour of Colonial Williamsburg), […]
Why preserve Fairfield? And how?
The northeast facade of the Fairfield manor house, as it looked shortly before it burned in 1897 (image courtesy of the Virginia Historical Society). Why are you preserving these old foundations? We get questions like this a lot, and they are good questions. Why do we take remnants of the past, whether bits of paper, […]
Bricks and Mortar: Using archaeology and preservation to save the past
Chocolate and Peanut Butter. Peanut Butter and Chocolate. These are undeniably two great things that go great together. The same should be true of archaeology and architectural conservation. Excavations frequently uncover the material remains of long lost buildings and landscape features, while these same architectural elements often inform our understanding of the past through their […]
Fairfield Foundation Launches The Center for Archaeology, Preservation and Education (CAPE)
This week a plumbing leak in our long-time lab facility covered the floor with an inch of water, making the space temporarily unusable. Although we were better prepared for this lab flood than an identical one in April 2012, we are left without a fully operational lab. We are forced once again to shift our operations to a temporary facility, limiting our […]
Successful Fundraiser Supports Fairfield’s New Education Center
On May 4th, the Fairfield Foundation announced our new education and preservation center at the former Edge Hill Service Station in Gloucester and discussed with supporters our plans for the future. We extend our deepest gratitude to Nam Vu and his family for their gracious hosting of this fundraising event. Sponsors included the Gold Sponsor- Chesapeake Bank, […]
The Return of the Dig History! Archaeology Camp at Abingdon Glebe
If you missed out on last year’s successful Dig History! Archaeology camp for students at Abingdon Glebe, not to worry! The Fairfield Foundation is joining once again with St. James Anglican Church to host a three day camp filled with archaeology, education, and of course, fun! If your child roams your backyard with a metal […]