News From Central Rappahannock Heritage Center

On Sale:

Daisy Turner's Kin

On Sale:

The Circle

Unbroken

Newly Acquired Collections

Can you help identify this photo?

Volume 7, Issue 10

October 2017

Central Rappahannock Heritage Center

Newsletter

A place that loses its history loses its soul

Message From The Chairman

It is with great pleasure that The Heritage Center ushers in its new look with this month's edition of the newsletter!

For the past year, local philanthropist Nick Seay has worked with the Board of Directors and a committee from The Center to update its image in an effort to increase our visibility in the region. Nick donated his time and vision in achieving a fresh new look that will serve The Center well in its next 20 years. Not only did he donate his time but he generously funded the re-branding campaign through his Nicky Seay Charitable Fund of The Community Foundation.

In 1977, Nick Seay founded the highly successful Washington, D.C. visual communications firm Seay Design Office. In 1987, Nick, along with Jack Beveridge, joined forces to form Beveridge Seay, Inc.

Nick is considered a specialist in corporate brand and identity systems. He has developed extensive identity projects for Exxon Mobil, USAirways, National Rehabilitation Hospital, the Jesuit Conference of the United States, and numerous corporations, associations, and nonprofit organizations. He has also lectured on brand and identity systems at many institutions, corporations, and universities.

Nick has received over two hundred national and international awards for communication excellence and has served as a juror for major international exhibitions. His work is included in the Library of Congress Permanent Collection. He is a member of the Design Management Institute and the American Institute of Graphic Arts, serving four years as the president of the AIGA Washington chapter.

Nick received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design, a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture, and a Masters of Architecture. He was awarded a Graphic Design Fellowship and an Architecture Fellowship from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and received a Teaching Fellowship from the University of Virginia. Mr. Seay has taught architecture and graphic design at the graduate school of the University of Virginia and undergraduate schools of Virginia Commonwealth University, Corcoran School of Art, and Northern Virginia Community College.

On behalf of the Board of Directors and our entire membership, I would like to express our profound gratitude to Nick for his overwhelming generosity!

The 2017 annual membership meeting was held on Wednesday, September 27. Local resident and attorney Walter Sheffield presented a lively program on Jack Jouett, " the Paul Revere of the South". Many thanks to Mr. Sheffield for his willingness to serve as our guest speaker!

There are still a few tickets available for The Center's 7th annual Rappahannock Repast. It will be held on Sunday, October 8, from 4-7 pm at historic Braehead Manor. The event is a major fundraiser for The Heritage Center and all proceeds will go towards continuing its mission to preserve the area's history.

Meredith Beckett

CRHC Chairman

Welcome New Members

Mr. E. Gerald Brown	Ms. Phyllis Lamont
Ms. Bobby Kerr	Ms. Carolyn VanDerJagt

CRHC memberships support the imporant work done by the Center. The Center fills a unique role in the region, the preservation of our people's history, which we make available for research. We are a 100% all volunteer, non-profit organization. Please join us as part of the Heritage Center's preservation team! As a CRHC member, you will be helping to preserve our priceless local history. Click here to become a member today!

Membership

Thank you for your support,

The Central Rappahannock Heritage Center

Ghosts

Paranormal is defined as an occurrence or event without a scientific explanation. The central Rappahannock area is rich with stories of ghosts and hauntings, which seem to peak around Halloween.

With so many historic sites, homes, churches, cemeteries, schools and battle sites, there are ample opportunities for the paranormal. At this time of year, ghost tours and ghost walks are popular. In 2003, the Washington Post reported that over 1,500 people had participated in Halloween Ghost Walks organized by Mary Washington College. The Virginia Ghosts and Hauntings Research Society said that Fredericksburg is one of the most haunted cities in the United States.

Some of the best known ghosts are the ladies in white said to haunt Chatham Manor, Lamb's Creek and St. George's Episcopal Churches. The Chatham lady's story involves a lost love. No one seems to know about the other two. Perhaps they are unsatisfied souls looking for solace.

Alexander Spottswood haunts Federal Hill. The Spur Magazine (September 1957) had a story about a white cow with a bell, who delighted in frightening young children.

The friendly spirit at the Rising Sun Tavern is a prankster. He unplugs lamps, pulls at the wenches' skirts, and ruffles the rugs. No one is frightened, just puzzled and amused.

Residents of The Chimneys at 623 Caroline reported crashing china, rocking chairs and other unexplained disturbances. It has been the home to numerous restaurants over the past decades, none of these businesses has been able to survive for more than a few years.

At Mannsfield, near the Fredericksburg Country Club, there have been reports of men in grey, where Confederates camped. Nearly every building in the area was used as a hospital following battles at Chancellorsville and the Wilderness in May 1864.

The Heritage Center may have some "ghostly" aspects. Maury Commons was built as Fredericksburg High School, on a former paupers' graveyard.

You never know what you might find when you come visit the Center.

Beth Daly

CRHC Member

Newly Acquired Collections

Acquired collections for the month include:

Volumes I through V, Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography, a 1998 reprint originally published in 1915

A seven box collection of genealogy, archeological investigations, feasibility studies, tax maps, books, and many other items involving Stafford County