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 child of Frances “Fanny” Burwell Catlett (1814-1903), his second wife. Hettie’s birth was not celebrated in any known letters or journals, perhaps since, in the […]
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 nested walls. These include a late 19th-century jail to the east (now offices and restrooms), a mid-19th-century clerk’s office to the southwest (now the King […]
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 rustling under foot, a day not unlike today. Although we don’t know exactly where the nuptials took place, we can imagine that they were as […]
Looking Towards the Future: A Peek Inside the Development of Fairfield’s New Online Museum
Guest blog by summer intern Ashleigh Cannata, a graduate student from the University of Maryland, College Park. Often museums are seen as places strictly with four walls, endless winding hallways, and a plethora of information it would take days to get through. However, following the COVID-19 pandemic and its lasting effects on our daily lives […]
Summer Archaeology Camps 2022
Blog written by Rachel Boyd, Public Outreach Coordinator The summer is over, and school is back in session. Hopefully our summer camp kids will talk about their time at Fairfield Plantation, learning what it was like to be an archaeologist… or how many tunnels they dug in the backfill. The beginning of fall is a […]
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 […]
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, […]
Dr. Walter Reed and Yellow Fever: Part 2
In case you missed it: Dr. Walter Reed and Yellow Fever Part 1 When the Civil War broke out, Walter Reed’s older brothers, Tom and James, fought on the side of the Confederacy. The Reed family had left Gloucester County and were living in the Piedmont countryside. Walter, who was barely a teenager at the […]
Dr. Walter Reed and Yellow Fever: Part 1
The Fairfield Foundation announced a collaborative partnership with the Gloucester Preservation Foundation last year. As part of our agreement, we will care for Dr. Walter Reed’s Birthplace and the surrounding property while hosting public events and educational experiences there. Though Reed was in Gloucester for only a short time, the house where he was born […]
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