By Sara Lewis, Fairfield Foundation Development Officer The Fairfield Foundation, a 501(c)3 organization in Gloucester, Virginia, has used its flagship Fairfield/Carter’s Creek archaeological site in White Marsh as one of its locations for historic preservation and educational outreach since 2000. The organization is planning to open the site to the public as a place for […]
Restoring the Timberneck House
The Fairfield Foundation began the restoration of the Timberneck House in 2020 as part of a long-term lease agreement with the Commonwealth of Virginia to repair and use the house for exhibits and short-term accommodation. This undertaking involves many facets, including historical research, archaeological investigations, design work, building preservation, and more. One of our primary […]
Lives from the Catlett Family Cemetery at Timberneck: Frances King Burwell Catlett (November 14, 1814-April 3, 1903)
By Sara Lewis, Development Officer This blog is part of a series about the Catlett family members buried at Timberneck in Gloucester County. Her tombstone behind the house where she lived for 59 years reads: “Fanny K., / Wife of / John W. C. Catlett / And third daughter of / Col. Armistead and / […]
Archaeology at Timberneck House
If you’ve had a chance to visit the new Machicomoco State Park, then you’ve likely seen the historic Timberneck house near the Interpretive Area. Timberneck was built c. 1793 for the Catlett family, who owned and lived on the property until the early 2000s. Previously the land had been home to the Mann and Page […]
Successful Event at Cappahosic
The Fairfield Foundation held its annual Historic House Party at Cappahosic House in Gloucester County on October 2. This year’s event was one of our most successful, with over 140 attendees who together raised more than $18,000! The funds raised from this event help support the restoration of the Timberneck House at Machicomoco State Park, […]
Lives from the Catlett Cemetery at Timberneck
William Burwell Catlett (December 29, 1847-October 18, 1865)Blog written by Sara Lewis, Fairfield Foundation Development Officer and lover of genealogy The Catlett cemetery at Timberneck is the final resting place for many members of the Catlett’s extensive family. Our effort to preserve and interpret the house includes stewardship of the cemetery, and our goal is […]
The Hall Site, Revisited
Blog post written by Katie Brauckmann, staff archaeologist, Fairfield Foundation. In 2018 , I wrote this blog about our ongoing work at the Hall Site (44MT0173) in Mathews County. Three years later, I’m back again to give an update now that our work in the field and the lab has concluded! Ashley McCuistion excavates the […]
“In death – no! even in the grave all is not lost.”: 19th-Century Coffin Hardware in Urbanna, VA
Blog post written by Elizabeth Donison, staff archaeologist, Fairfield Foundation. Most of us can agree that 2020 was a year of reckoning with our notion of death, and the Fairfield Foundation’s various projects seemed to align with this challenging and often depressing year. Some of you might remember our participation with the mid-19th-century graves under […]
The Thruston Library: What One Family’s Books Tell Us About Their Past
By Jordan Knepper, Fairfield Intern The Complete Poetical Works of Alfred Tennyson (Hurst & Co Publishers, New York, 1880). Written in the back is “Tennyson died in 1892 at the ripe age of 85.” It was given to Mattis C. Harwood by L.T. Jones, December 21st, [18]’84. Jordan Knepper was a digital intern with The […]
