This project arose out of a seemingly random email. Dr. Jessica Taylor (Virginia Tech) caught a reference to the Watkins Motel and Florist at Gloucester Courthouse when she was conducting background research for our collaborative oral history project on Main Street (supported by the Gloucester Main Street Preservation Trust). She passed along a link to […]
Mobjack: Starfish, Pickled Herring and Hidden Stories of Mathews County
One of the best parts of our work is the idea that you can discover something new and exciting every day. Most of you see this excitement from our archaeological excavations, and if you visit our facebook page you can see how frequent these discoveries occur. But there are other discoveries to be had, ranging from fascinating oral […]
Archaeology in Mathews County: What do we know? Where do we go from here?
“You can’t set foot in Mathews County without tripping over a piece of history.” Many of you have heard this before, and you’d be hard pressed to argue against the sentiment. Mathews County, along with Gloucester, Middlesex, and perhaps the majority of the Old Dominion is so infused with history that it is an important part of how […]
Mathews County Oral History and Folklore: Old House Woods and More!
This week for the first time, University of Florida students, along with Fairfield intern alum Jessica Taylor, will record oral histories and folklore in Mathews and Middlesex Counties. Nine undergraduates, two graduate students, and one senior research staffer are all extremely excited to fall in love with Virginia history. If you see them, say “Hi”! […]
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 […]
Finding African-American Cemeteries and What to do Once You’ve Found Them
Antioch Church in Gloucester was built by African-Americans who had been slaves at Fairfield and other local farms. While there are many marked burials here, mostly from the 20th century, earlier cemeteries in the area have yet be located. On February 8th we had the opportunity to give a brief presentation to the Middle Peninsula […]
Rotten Eggs and Other Mischief: Halloween Traditions on Gloucester’s Main Street
The following is the third installment in a series of blog posts focused on the oral history project directed by University of Florida graduate student Jessica Taylor, aimed at recording oral histories about the Edge Hill Service Station and Gloucester’s Main Street community. Prior to conducting the interviews, Jessica outlined for us the importance of oral history. […]
“The cool guys in Gloucester, the cool girls in Mathews”: Oral History Reveals Courtship Strategies of Gloucester Youth in the 1940s and 50s
In August, The Fairfield Foundation wrapped up interviews for an oral history project directed by University of Florida graduate student Jessica Taylor, aimed at recording oral histories about the Edge Hill Service Station and Gloucester’s Main Street community. What struck Jessica as a common thread through many of the interviews was the interplay between the spread […]
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 […]
Recognizing Historic African-American Communities in Gloucester County
“Struggle, achievement, strife and reward are words that define the growth of African-American communities in late 19th-century Gloucester County Virginia.” This is the first sentence in our booklet “Fairfield Plantation and the Emergence of an African-American Community” (2009) (Fairfield Plantation and the Emergence of an African-American Community) and it barely scratches the surface of what […]
