Gloucester County is home to many remarkable sites in Virginia’s history. One of these is Gloucester Hall, the 17th-century seat of the Pate family. It was here that Nathaniel Bacon […]
The Revolutionary World of Lewis Burwell
Written by Sara Lewis, Development Officer As we celebrate with fireworks and watermelon and reflect on nearly 250 years of American independence, we are reminded of the Burwell family of […]
Lives from the Catlett Family Cemetery at Timberneck: Robert, Mary, and John Thruston
Sara E. Lewis, Development Officer, Fairfield Foundation The headstone of John Thruston (1831-1839), who died at the age of eight, is the oldest surviving memorial in the Catlett family cemetery […]
“The best church I have seen in the country” Excavations in search of the 17th-century Abingdon Church
It has been 20 years since we first excavated at Abingdon Church following Hurricane Isabel. That storm, which swept through our area in September 2003, cut power and downed trees […]
Racing the Tides: Fellowship Update from Sean Restivo
Written by Sean Restivo, Fairfield Foundation Fellow Summer 2023 Shorelines and islands are unique spaces of interaction, both among humans and between humans and nature. Once lost, the information that […]
Apotropaic Symbols at Timberneck
Written by Tom Karow and Lori Black Timberneck Farm is slowly revealing more of its hidden history more than two years after restoration work began on the circa 1793 house […]
Lives from the Catlett Family Cemetery at Timberneck: Hettie Catlett (November 5, 1852-March 31, 1875)
Written by Sara Lewis, Development Officer Born in the fall of 1852, Hettie Catlett was the ninth child of 49-year-old John W. C. Catlett of Timberneck (1803-1883) and the fourth […]
The Plant-Cutter Riots and Fairfield Plantation
“… whereas many evil disposed persons Inhabitants of this Colonycontrary to their duty and Allegiance on the first day of May in the34th [year] of the King’s Reign and since […]
King William Courthouse and Quarles Tavern Archaeology
King William County, Virginia boasts our nation’s longest continually used courthouse. The 1725 structure is set back from Route 30 amid a cluster of brick buildings inside a pair of […]
Mary Willis Burwell’s Portrait Returns to Gloucester
Written by Sara Lewis, Development Officer On a fall day in 1736, when Lewis Burwell (1711/12-1756) married Mary Willis (1718-1746), it may have been crisp and sunny with orange-yellow leaves […]
