Guest blog written by Colleen Betti, current doctoral candidate at UNC-Chapel Hill and long-time Fairfield Foundation friend. In 1912, Gloucester County’s surveyor and superintendent of public schools, R.A. Folkes, illustrated a map showing all of the public schools in the county. At the time, he identified 20 black schools and 20 white schools. This nearly […]
Expanding the Boundaries of Preservation at Walter Reed Birthplace
One of the most satisfying moments for any preservationist is knowing, beyond a doubt, that they have preserved a part of the past for the benefit of future generations. At the Fairfield Foundation, we look at preservation in the broadest sense possible – whether saving a building, preserving an old document, or recording stories through […]
Fairfield Foundation: 15 Years and Going Strong
In 2015, the Fairfield Foundation celebrated its 15th anniversary as a non-profit dedicated to archaeological research and education at Fairfield Plantation in Gloucester County and at historic sites across the Middle Peninsula and beyond. In January and July of 2015, we shared in the Gloucester-Mathews Gazette-Journal a selection of our favorite artifact finds and a sample […]
The Main Street Oral History Project
We recently launched a special page on our website dedicated to local oral history. Our first contribution to this initiative is The Main Street Oral History Project: preserving and presenting the remembered history of Gloucester’s Main Street community, through its people, places and buildings. It began with the 1930 Edge Hill Service Station, which is currently […]
What is the C.A.P.E?
The Center for Archaeology, Preservation and Education (The CAPE!) at the former Edge Hill Service Station in Gloucester is going to be our new home and headquarters. But it will be so much more than that! As a regional preservation center and archaeology lab, the CAPE will be a place where the public can learn […]
CAPE Update: Restoring Our Preservation Headquarters
We all know the saying “The more things change, the more they stay the same.” Well, this feels particularly true of our recent work at the CAPE. Volunteers and local craftsmen continue to work diligently on the center’s restoration, but it’s hard to tell as you drive by. So we’re here to give you […]
The Battle of the Hook, and researching Gloucester’s Revolutionary War landscape
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 […]
We Need To Talk: The Importance of Oral History
The following is a guest blog by Jessica Taylor, doctoral candidate at University of Florida, and Lead Interviewer on our project to record oral histories about the Edge Hill Service Station and Gloucester’s Main Street community. As easy as it is to have a conversation about the old days over dinner, the prospect of doing an […]
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 […]
