Upcoming Events:
Antique Appraisal Day
February 2
Cavaliers, Courage & Coffee
April 19
May 17
June 21
July 19
August 16
November 1
Civil War Conference
October 3-4
Exploring Olde Loudoun Bus Trips
April 6, 13, 20, 27
Fireside Mosby Program
February 9
March 8
Winter Lecture Series
February 3
February 17
March 2
More info here...

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The Mosby Heritage Area Association is a membership driven 501 (c) 3. organization focusing on education and preservation. Your tax-deductible membership supports our work and entitles you to advance notice of our upcoming programs, services and events, as well as our annual newsletter
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Newsletter Archive:
September 2007

October 2007

Novemeber 2007

The Mosby Heritage Area Association Newsletter - January 2008

Statement From The President
by Gayle DeLashmutt
Happy New Year from the Mosby Heritage Area Association. We wish all of you a wonderful and prosperous 2008.

We have begun 2008, at full speed with a number of interesting and educational events on our calendar. Our third annual Antiques Appraisal Day will be held on February 2nd.  The Winter Lecture Series, is spanning January, February, and March featuring lectures on the African American Experience in the Mosby Heritage Area.  The Gray Ghost Interpretive Group will be telling stories from the Civil War in the Mosby Heritage Area during the Fireside Mosby program in February and March.  MHAA will be publishing a Scavenger Hunt for Western Prince William County. There is more information on each of these items below.

In early January, the Loudoun Board of Supervisors approved the Journey Through Hallowed Ground resolution, as Loudoun County became the final jurisdiction to join those located along the 175-mile Journey from Gettysburg to Charlottesville. The Journey is designed to promote historic education and tourism across a four-state area. MHAA is one of the original supporters of The Journey and many historic sites located in the Mosby Heritage Area are included along the historic route. 

With the election of a new Board of Supervisors in Loudoun, there appears to be a changed attitude among the elected officials toward open space, environmental and, historic preservation issues. In an effort to take advantage of the change, more than 25 environment and historic preservation groups formed the Loudoun County Preservation and Conservation Coalition.

MHAA is taking an active role in the Coalition as we work to create a unified voice to educate these elected officials and to carry a new message to the voters of Loudoun about the importance of our natural and historic treasures.

Gayle DeLashmutt
President MHAA

Antiques Apraisal Day - February 2
There are less than two weeks remaining until The Mosby Heritage Area Association’s (MHAA) Antiques Appraisal Day.   MHAA will partner with the Potomack Company, Appraisers and Auctioneers, of Alexandria for our third annual Antiques Appraisal Day.

When: February 2, 2008
Where: Highland School in Warrenton
Time: 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM

A team of expert appraisers will be on hand to help you solve the mystery behind that odd piece of silver or curious vase that Uncle George left your mother. Specialists on furniture, paintings, silver, porcelain, pottery, decorative arts, Asian antiques, European antiques, clocks, books, Civil War relics, Americana, and more will be on hand to answer your questions.

In addition to our expert appraisers, MHAA is pleased to have our expert crew of volunteers returning for the third year. Our knowledgeable volunteers are:  Alan Croft, Dick Hoover, Marcia Carter, Ben West, Doug Whitesell, and Turner Reuter.

Need to move the vase from Uncle George along? Empty a closet? Make more room in the attic? The Potomack Company will advise you of the value of your treasure and may be able to include it in one of their future auction sales.

In the last several years items ranging in value from $100 to a 12 starred silk American Flag valued at $50,000 have been included in the appraisals. It’s a learning experience for all those attending.

While you’re there, leave a bid on the exciting items in our Silent Auction! 
Some of the silent auction items offered are a trip to Colorado, a week in Williamsburg, a night at the Red Fox Inn with breakfast, a one-hour in home therapeutic massage, prints, wine, and  brunch for two at The Hidden Horse.

Admission and parking are free. Proceeds from the Silent Auction and the $25 appraisal fee per item will benefit MHAA’s educational programs. For further information call 540-687-6681.

Fireside Mosby February 9 and March 8
During the winter months of February and March 2008, the Gray Ghost Interpretive Group will be telling stories from the Civil War in the Mosby Heritage Area inside by the fireside at the Rector House in Atoka (4 miles west of Middleburg off Route 50).  The program features first person interpretations of citizens of Mosby’s Confederacy will tell the story of Colonel John Singleton Mosby and his Rangers as it effected their lives.  These are great programs for the family!

The first program held on January 12th highlighted incidents that occurred during January 1863 and January 1864 as well as others.  The other winter programs, February 9 and March 8, 2008, will begin at 7:30 p.m. and end at 9:30 p.m. 

In April the program shifts to the outdoors and becomes Cavaliers, Courage and Coffee.  The April program will also move from Atoka to Front Royal.  Watch for details in the newsletter or check out our website.

Cost is $5 for adults and $2 for students.

For further information contact the Mosby Heritage Area Association at 540-687-6681 or www.mosbyheritagearea.org.

Winter Lecture Series - The African American Experience
The MHAA 2008 Winter Lecture Series will focus on the African American Experience in the Mosby Heritage Area. Now in its 13th season, the WLS will feature a changed schedule in the New Year. The first Lecture was held on January 20. The remaining three lectures will be held every other week, beginning February 3 and running into March. The old schedule was every week for four weeks. In addition, the starting time is changed to 4 p.m.

The Schedule:

1st lecture – January 20th:  Sorry you missed this excellent lecture.

David Larsen speaking at the Carver Center in Purcellville

2nd lecture – February 3rd
“Recovering African-American History; Building the African-American Museum of Fauquier County”,
Guest Speaker: Karen Hughes White, African-American Museum of Fauquier County, The Plains, VA,
Location: the African American Museum in The Plains, VA. 4 p.m.

3rd lecture – February 17th
“Building an African-American Community in Warren County in the Twentieth Century”,
 Guest Speaker: Charles Barbour
Location: Ivy Lodge, which is the headquarters of the Warren Heritage Society on Chester Street in Front Royal, VA.  4 p.m.
           
4th lecture – March 2nd
"Unsung Heroes of the Civil War Era; African-Americans of the Mosby Heritage Area."
Guest Speaker: Dr. Deborah Lee
Location: Goose Creek Meeting House in Lincoln, VA. 4 p.m.
        
New time on Sunday afternoons – 4pm. Light refreshments will be served. The Lectures are free but donations are welcome.

For further information contact the Mosby Heritage Area Association at 540-687-6681 or www.mosbyheritagearea.org.

Historic Western Prince William County Scavenger Hunt to be Released
Back in 2002, the Mosby Heritage Area Association came to the realization that getting families to explore the Mosby Heritage Area was a crucial part of our mission.   This gave rise to our scavenger hunt program, beginning with a two-sided map of Loudoun in 2003, growing to our present series of guidebook-style scavenger hunts with a t-shirt award for completion.  Our plan is to complete a scavenger hunt for each county in the Mosby Heritage Area by early 2009.   Currently, we have scavenger hunts for Clarke, Fauquier, and Loudoun counties both online and in booklet form. 

This spring we are releasing our newest hunt, the History Western Prince William County Scavenger Hunt.  As with previous scavenger hunts, this newest addition is designed for students working with their families.  It can work as an excellent activity for visiting companies and organizations, tourists, and anyone interested in exploring western Prince William.   The scavenger hunt’s tour begins and ends in historic downtown Manassas, but courses its way west through the more rural part of Prince William in the Mosby Heritage Area, visiting historic estates, battlefields, churches, graveyards, mills, public buildings, villages, and towns.  There are Mosby sites, African-American sites, high schools, one-room schools, museums, quiet, seldom-visited historic sites, town sites, and wooded mountain sites.  All of the sites visited are visual and in some ways, tactile.  The visitor can feel history at these places, which is why they were selected for the scavenger hunt. 

As with previous scavenger hunts, students completing this scavenger hunt receive a Mosby Heritage Area t-shirt.   On the front reads “Got Mosby?”   On the back—a little more creative perhaps—“No—Mosby’s Got YOU!”  with a reference to the capture of General Stoughton, Fairfax Courthouse.   These shirts are also for sale on our web page or at our Atoka offices for Valentine’s Day.

Did You Know?
On Thursday, September 4, 1879, one of the most famous African-Americans of all time visited the Mosby Heritage Area.  Frederick Douglass, born into slavery in Maryland, an escaped slave whose freedom was later purchased, a passionate abolitionist orator and writer before the Civil War, and a key figure in advancing the rights of freedmen after the War, came to Loudoun County to speak.  He arrived at the Purcellville station on the Washington, Ohio, and Southern Railroad (later, the W & OD) and was escorted by parade to a stand and seats that been erected in the woods, probably south of town.  According to The Mirror, the forerunner of the Loudoun Times-Mirror, Douglass spoke to “not less than 1,500 negroes and some 300 or 400 whites.”   In his address of some two hours, Douglass stressed the need for “the conduct of one toward the other” to “be shaped in accordance with the changed order of things” and indicated his believe that “when the true relations between the races were fully established, and each observed toward the other the laws of justice and humanity, the South would become as great and prosperous as the North.”   On the Friends of Balch Library web site you can access the full story: http://www.balchfriends.org/Glimpse/news/9.11.1879.htm.
The high school fought for by black citizens of Loudoun in the early 1940s still proudly bears Douglass’ name as it fronts East Market Street in Leesburg.  Today, it is the alternative school for Loudoun County Public Schools, and is the destination of the annual Dr. Martin Luther King Day commemorative march.  Still, few in our region know that Douglass visited Loudoun.

Do you know of other sites in the Mosby Heritage Area that Douglass visited?  Please let us know!

Place To Visit
The Town of Brentsville was founded in 1820 and served as the county seat of Prince William County from 1822-1893.  Brentsville replaced Dumfries as the county seat due to its central location in the county.  The site contains over 25 acres of cultural and natural resources that include the 1822 County Courthouse (pictured here), County Jail, ca. 1825 Hall Log Home, ca.1875 Union Church, 1928 One Room Schoolhouse and several archaeological sites.  The site hosts a mile long nature trail and a self guided history trail highlighted with a dozen interpretative markers.  The Brentsville Courthouse Historic Centre is listed on the National Register of Historic Place and is a Virginia Landmark.  The site is free and open seven days a week, from sunrise to sunset.  Tours are offered on weekends, from May – October and may be set up by calling the site office.
Brentsville Courthouse Historic Centre
12229 Bristow Rd.
Bristow, VA 20136
703-365-7895 

MHAA Store
Through the month of February, MHAA is offering a special buy.  Purchase the two Historical Events of Mosby’s 43rd Virginia, Part 1& 2 CDs for $40 (postage and handling included).  The two CDs normally sell for $46.  Purchase today!

Special No Longer Available.