Posts Tagged ‘Clarke County’

Silent Auction Lark After Dark

Posted on Wednesday, December 16, 2009 by PJ in Events
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This past Saturday, Christ Church, Millwood, hosted its annual Silent Auction and Dinner at the Millwood Country Club. Guests numbered over a hundred, and the sounds of clinking cocktail glasses and excited chatter filled the air as guests,

Items Displayed at one of five tables

Silent Auction items displayed at one of five tables

clad in gay holiday attire, mingled and strolled between the five display tables to enter their bids.  Auction items ranged from original oil paintings, antique china dishes and vases, a handsome china rooster, copper cookware, sterling silver, and a hand-crafted coffee table to certificates for gourmet desserts, a lunch and trail ride along the Shenandoah, a skeet shooting outing, tax preparation, and a five-page web site.   Tempting trays laden with specialty cheeses and crackers, caviar and salmon delicacies accompanied the cocktails before guests sat down to an elegant table setting and enjoyed roast beef served with a delectable mushroom gravy, roasted vegetables, salad, rolls and carafes of red and white table wine, topped off with a slice of good old-fashioned (and very tasty) apple brown betty.

Dinner at Millwood Country Club

Dining at Millwood Country Club

Dinner was followed by the live auction conducted by auctioneer Billy Watkins. Satiated with good food and wine, the guests engaged in lively bidding, garnering  a significant showing of generosity for a number of  tempting items, such as the one-week stay in a five-bedroom vacation home on the coast of Maine.

The evening concluded with the announcement of raffle ticket winnings, among which was a dinner for two at L’Auberge Provençal—a top 100 Zagat-rated restaurant in nearby White Post. Proceeds from the fundraising event will benefit the ministry of Cunningham Chapel Parish.

The Cemetery at Old Chapel: A Step Back in Time

Posted on Wednesday, December 09, 2009 by Kathy Fisher in History, Long Branch
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Old Chapel Marker. Click to view enlargements

The Old Chapel Marker

What better way is there to revisit family history than to stroll through the Old Chapel Cemetery in Millwood?  The lovely, serene grounds make you feel like you’ve stepped back in time to the Revolutionary and Civil War eras.

Hugh Nelson Gravesite. Click the image above to view headstone inscriptions.

Hugh Nelson Gravesite. Click the image above to view headstone inscriptions.

Gray, moss‑covered headstones, worn by the elements over many generations, mark your path as you wander among some of the resting places of the Nelson, Page, and Randolph families, and other notable kin.  Politicians Edmund Jenings Randolph (1753-1813) and Robert Page (1765-1840)[1] are buried there.  Sallie Page Nelson of Long Branch, along with her husband Hugh Nelson, Jr.—both buried at Old Chapel—can count as their ancestors a Signer of the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Nelson, Jr., of Yorktown.  A pew at Old Chapel still marks Sallie’s name.

Edmund Jenings Randolph was an American attorney, Governor of Virginia, Secretary of State under George Washington, and the first United States Attorney General.  He was selected as a delegate to the Continental Congress in 1779, and served there until 1782.  During this period he also remained in private law practice, handling legal issues for George Washington.  Randolph was elected Governor of Virginia in 1786, when he also led a delegation to the Annapolis Convention.

Robert Page served in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War.  He was an attorney, a planter, a member of the Virginia State House of Delegates in 1795, and later a U.S. Representative from Virginia.

Whether you have relatives buried there or not, Old Chapel Cemetery is a fascinating outing for those seeking an adventure into the past in a setting that has not changed since the 1700s.


[1] The Political Graveyard.  http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/VA/CK.html#RAZ0VIAL5

First Snow

Posted on Sunday, December 06, 2009 by Anne Palmer Johnson in Announcements
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Photo of Cash's First Snowfall (c) http://thesoulofahorse.com/blog

Photo of Cash's First Snowfall (c) http://thesoulofahorse.com/blog

This morning, residents of Clarke County awakened to the splendor of snow glistening, and the sweet silver song of a lark… were you  listening?

We are truly blessed with the beauty that abounds and surrounds us all throughout Clarke County, Virginia.

The surprise, joy, and awe of one’s first snow are captured in the shining eyes of this fun-loving youngster. Many thanks to Joe Camp, creator of Benji and author of The Soul of a Horse, for sharing this precious photo. Joe’s book, incidentally, is a perfect Christmas gift for horse lovers, big and small, and everyone else!

Hark! A Lark Cometh to Clarke County VA

Posted on Thursday, November 12, 2009 by PJ in Announcements
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Announcing A Lark through Clarke Stable Tour

This year marked the 50th anniversary of the famed Hunt Country Stable Tour, hosted by Trinity Episcopal Church in Upperville, Virginia. Next year, on the second Saturday in October, the “Lark Through Clarke County Stable Tour and More” will make its debut, departing from Christ Church in Millwood, Virginia. Historic Cunningham Chapel Parish will launch its inaugural tour of Clarke County, Virginia, on Saturday, October 9th, 2010.

Clarke County is filled with Revolutionary and Civil War landmarks and is home to many of the country’s oldest and finest horse farms and country estates. Owners will open the gates to their handsome stables and training facilities for visitors to explore during the tour.

Just a 60 mile drive from downtown Washington, DC, plan now to drive out to beautiful Clarke County with your family and friends next fall — the tour will take you over lovely scenic byways where you will enjoy pastoral and mountain views.

This blog will bring you a behind-the-scenes look as the event evolves. You also can register now at the Clarke County Stable Tour web site  to receive forthcoming tour updates, an online brochure and ticket information, as they  become available.