Earlier in June, the 1st, 2nd and 3rd graders from Aylett Country
ACDS students hiked to Cat Point Creek on their recent visit to Menokin.
Day School came to Menokin with their teachers, Mrs. Katona and Ms. Brooks. While here they hiked down to Cat Point Creek and learned about the wildlife which lives in the Rappahannock River Valley Watershed.
After the trail hike we went and visited the house and talked about how buildings are made and what Menokin looked like before it fell down.
Then we ran across the fields back to the Visitor Center, (because, well, that’s how these kids travel) and took a lunch break.
After lunch, the group went into the barn to learn a little about how buildings get made. We talked about the different professions involved in building and what architects do. Building with blocks is a great way for students of all ages to use critical thinking skills, cooperatively make design choices, learn to take turns, and build a structure through teamwork.
Vanitra Moran and Menokin Education and Outreach coordinator, Alice French, pose with the installed banner.
A new art exhibit was revealed on Friday, June 17th in Richmond County. VilDon Edutainment organized the installation at the Warsaw Main Street Park to acknowledge the many non-profits in Richmond County and celebrate their missions in our community.
VilDon owners Vesa Alejandro and DJ Jackson created this educational non-profit program to promote the arts and education with youth in our region.
Each organization worked with volunteers to create a pictorial image of their mission to be painted on the banners. Art teacher Jacy Atkins of Essex Intermediate School worked with two 8th graders to create the Menokin sign. The artists, Avery Chapman and Vanitra Moran, collaborated on the design and painting.
Art teacher Jacy Atkins (center) poses with Vanitra Moran (left) and Avery Chapman (right) with the finished painting.
Collaboration gets the job done.
This beautiful pieces represents the Menokin Foundation’s commitment to preserving our cultural heritage and our environmental heritage within our community. We are thrilled to have such talented students represent us.
The image captures all of the wonderful details that make Menokin a special place.
Additional participating non-profits included Northern Neck Food Bank, Rappahannock Community College, Richmond County Musuem, Richmond County Public Library, 4-H, Rotary Club, SBDC, VilDon Edutainment, Warsaw Richmond County Main Street Program, Warsaw Richmond County Chamber of Commerce, and the Wildlife Refuge Center.
Guest Blogger: Alice French, Director of Education and Outreach
With the opening of our new road and kayak launch, Menokin has been partnering with regional schools and environmental institutions to bring attention to what a wonderful place Cat Point Creek is. One of the most recent programs here was developed by students from St. Margaret’s School in Tappahannock.
This Spring, Kevin Goff’s “Bay Studies” class used “project-based learning” (PBL) to tackle a problem for Menokin: “How can we design educational materials and an ecotour on Menokin Bay that will help Menokin visitors understand the ecology and natural history of Cat Point Creek, the Rappahannock River, and Chesapeake Bay, as well as environmental challenges facing the bay ecosystem in the 21st century?”
This project was THE driving goal of the entire 10-week course, providing the occasion for the students to learn about the bay and its tributaries. PBL as an instructional approach gives students a great deal of voice, choice, and creative control over how the class progresses, how the project develops, and what the final product will look like. It’s rather different from typical class projects, which tend to be supplemental to traditional instruction, and either individual or small groups. Here it’s ONE project that the entire class tackles collaboratively, right out of the gate.
Upon completion of the class, their Final Exam was to present the Eco Tour to Menokin Staff and associates. The tour reflects an understanding of the complex ecology and natural history of Rappahannock River Valley Watershed and its many different habitats: open water, wetlands, seagrass meadows, oyster reefs, seafloor and shorelines. It also notes how human activity is stressing this beautiful and valuable ecosystem and what we can do to preserve and protect it.
The girls did a wonderful job, and as Menokin’s chief educator, I am pleased to be able to use the material and props they developed for future programming. I was even able to use some of the material immediately, when 1st, 2nd, and 3rd graders fromAylett Country Day School came to visit and walk the trail to Cat Point Creek on June 6th!
Partnerships like this, allow everyone to learn and grow while having a great time, too. We look forward to future activities with St. Margaret’s and continued programs with all educational institutions within our community.
Menokin Matters to many people. Over 200 of them came to a Gala on Sunday, May 15, to honor two — Helen and Tayloe Murphy — for their decades of service to Virginia, the Northern Neck, the Garden Club of Virginia and the Northern Neck, and the Menokin Foundation.
Most agree that Menokin Matters. But to many of them, as of Sunday, it now matters a little bit more. This is true for many reasons, all of them sound and valid. But for most, it is because of the words of this man. Calder Loth.
Calder Loth – Retired Architectural Historian with the Virginia Department of Historic Resources and Honorary Trustee of the Menokin Foundation.
Calder has been a huge part of the Campaign to Save Menokin long before there was a campaign; long before there was a Menokin Foundation; long before the house was a ruin; long before the woodwork was removed. His knowledge of, and passion for Menokin are unparalleled. He was the obvious choice to be the keynote speaker at the Gala.
I am privileged to have the opportunity to share his speech with you here. Believe me when I tell you that reading these remarks in no way touches the magic of hearing them spoken aloud by Calder. Among his many gifts, public speaking is truly one.
Comments by Calder Loth at the May 15, 2016
Menokin Foundation Gala in Honor of Helen and Tayloe Murphy
You may wonder why I was asked to speak to you about Tayloe and Helen at this event. I did too. I think it may be because Tayloe and I are among the few people still alive who daringly ventured into Menokin while the house was still completely intact. I trespassed in 1965 with two of my U.Va. colleagues.
Tayloe is too polite to trespass; I’m sure he got permission.
Nonetheless, Tayloe has known and fretted about Menokin longer than any of us. Being a native of the Northern Neck, and one with family connections to this place, and, more importantly, a student of our nation’s history, he can appreciate more than any of us what a priceless and significant historic place this is, even as we see it now.
Decades before the Menokin Foundation was formed, Tayloe worked, albeit unsuccessfully, to purchase Menokin for preservation. But it couldn’t be bought then.
Beginning in the late 1960s, as the house crumbled and the interior woodwork disappeared, all we could do was despair— at least until the summer of 1985 when I received a phone call from Dora Riccardi. She told me that she and her brother Edgar Omohundro were the owners of Menokin.
She said she’d received a letter from the National Park Service threatening to remove the property’s National Historic Landmark status because of its deteriorated condition. She didn’t want that to happen. She said she and her brother were now willing to sell Menokin to an entity that would preserve it.
And she wanted to know if I would help them. Well sure! What else could I say? But I did say it could take a while, and it did.
My first thought was to work with an educational institution. The University of Mary Washington seemed an obvious choice. Some months later Mary Washington organized a meeting at Wakefield to explore options.
Attending that meeting was Tayloe Murphy…. the first time I met him. He asserted his passion and concern for Menokin and promised to do anything he could to help our efforts.
Also attending was a retired corporate executive, who kept needling me about realistic strategies for which I had no good answers.
Rather than get impatient, I said to myself, this guy seems pretty organized, and has time on his hands; we can use him. It was Martin King. The rest is history.
Martin initially felt we needed to work with the APVA, now Preservation Virginia. So in August of 1985, APVA staff member, Richard Rennolds, and I met here with Edgar Omohundro just to see what we were up against. I don’t know if any of you have ever seen a Mayan ruin before restoration, but that’s what this place looked like— jungle-like.
In the course of the discussion, we asked Mr. Omohundro, what happened to the interior woodwork. Was it sold or stolen? He said no. He said he couldn’t protect the house from thieves so he had the woodwork removed in 1967 and stored in a vacant house nearby. We asked if we could see it. He said sure.
Whereupon we went to the subject house, and like King Tut’s tomb, we looked in, and saw wonderful things. It was all there. But the house was unsecured. Its front wall was actually bulging out. Richard said this stuff is not safe here and offered to move it to secure storage at Bacon’s Castle; and there it remained for more than a decade.
So fast forward to 1995. By then, Edgar Omohundro was the sole owner. Taking advantage of this situation, Martin King proved to be a negotiator more skilled than Donald Trump. He convinced Omohundro to give Menokin (500 acres with waterfront!) as well as the woodwork, to the Menokin Foundation. That was pretty brazen. There wasn’t any foundation. It had to be quickly formed. Martin then asked Omohundro whatever happened to the carved keystone from the front entrance. Omohundro said “Why it’s under my back porch, you can have that too.“
Well, the foundation was duly formed with Martin as President and Tayloe as Vice President.
Now I could go on and on about all that’s happened since the Foundation was formed twenty years ago. But I need to say what a privilege it is this day to celebrate Menokin, whose original occupant, Francis Lightfoot Lee, put his life on the line by signing a document that created our nation.
His action, and that of his colleagues—the signers, has impacted all our lives and millions more. And we are making Menokin a site that will continue to change lives.
The ancient Romans talked about the Genius Loci, the spirit of the place, the effect a place has on one’s psyche. The Genius Loci has profoundly permeated the Northern Neck. This rural peninsula has produced people who have changed the course of history, even world history. I don’t know what it is about the Northern Neck that made that happen, but it did happen. Our challenge here is to nourish that spirit, and to protect the tangible evidence of that spirit in order to continue to make it happen.
The Genius Loci of the Northern Neck has certainly permeated Helen and Tayloe Murphy. What is it about this area that instills in one the energy, drive, determination, and dedication, to serve? Some of that just might be a character trait that’s fast becoming rare: Noblesse Oblige–the instinct that tells one: I am privileged, therefore I have the privilege to enrich others who are not as privileged as I.
Our Constitution did away with a legalized hereditary nobility. But I don’t think any would say that Tayloe and Helen are not of a noble class—not noble in terms of social status, but noble in character and dedication, just as was Francis Lightfoot Lee.
To read the full list of their records of service would keep us here well into the night. So I will just focus on their relation to this place. As we all know, Tayloe long served this region as a delegate in the General Assembly. And through that office he helped secure funds for the huge canopy that has protected the ruin for the past sixteen years- a reliquary for our precious relic.
When Governor Warner picked Tayloe to be his Secretary of Natural Resources (and no one has been better qualified for that office before or since), Tayloe properly resigned from the Menokin board to avoid conflict of interest. So who could replace him? Helen! Indeed, Helen became Foundation President, and gracefully guided us for several years of a challenging period.
And if she didn’t have enough to do, she has also served as the Chairman of the Virginia Department of Historic Resources (my office), and President of the Garden Club of the Northern Neck, and the Garden Club of Virginia.
Now when Helen’s term on the Menokin Foundation concluded, can we guess who replaced her? A well-qualified former cabinet Secretary.
It was during Tayloe’s and Helen’s tenures as foundation president that the concept evolved for treating Menokin in a unique way—not an ordinary restoration or reconstruction, but what I call a high-tech anastylosis.
An anastylosis is the scholarly term given for the treatment of ancient Greek and Roman ruins– that is gathering up the stone fragments of a ruined temple and fitting them into a reconstruction, with all the missing elements in new stone.
With Menokin, we are putting the missing elements back in glass– in a very high-tech system of architectural engineering that has never been done before. It will offer a new way of interpreting colonial architecture and construction techniques. And it will be really interesting looking!
So — high-tech anastylosis—a 21st-century approach to restoration and interpretation.
It has taken countless hours of working with numerous architects, contractors, and specialists to develop a feasible design out of a nebulous but enticing concept. And the stabilization of the mansion’s original stone foundation to support the new structural materials is starting this summer, finally!
Your support is making this happen. Your continued support will bring this captivating concept into reality. Seeing it come together will be intriguing to watch. And viewing this construction process will be an essential component of our education program.
With the mention of education, we should ask: why are we doing this?
Foremost, we are paying off a debt to Frank Lee, for what he did for us 240 years ago. In so doing, we are making Menokin a learning place, not an ordinary tourist attraction.
Our high-tech anasytlosis will be Menokin’s unique focal point, its main draw. But Menokin is multifaceted. Menokin is also a nature preserve— a nationally significant bird habitat. Our 500 acres has prehistoric archaeology: Menokin has nourished people for more than a 1000 years. We have slave archaeology and potential for unique garden archaeology. And with all our original architectural fabric, we can offer the study of architectural conservation and preservation theory.
But very importantly— we can also focus on patriotism, making Menokin a venue for deliberating the ideas of citizenship and public service. Menokin has true Genius Loci.
So this is a really a splendid occasion—one to celebrate Menokin on the cusp of a new and exciting period of its history, and an occasion to thank you for helping to make this happen, and to invite you to sustain the momentum.
And what an honor it is today to honor two people, Helen and Tayloe Murphy, who have so graciously served this site, this region, and this Commonwealth in so many ways, for so many years, and are still doing so.
So please give them our heartfelt applause.
And applaud we did. Hearts were opened. Energy and resolve were confirmed and renewed. Support flowed in (well over $100,000 raised in one evening!).
What is this magic that Menokin holds over us? Why do we work so hard and so long to save it? The answer is obvious. This place matters.
If woodwork could talk, the Menokin collection could write a novel.
Menokin Trustee, Calder Loth and former Development Director of the APVA (now Preservation Virginia) Richard Rennolds (my brother-in-law) were instrumental in gaining stewardship of the woodwork upon locating it in the possession of Edgar Omohundro, the final surviving owner of Menokin, who had removed it for safekeeping.
Peanut barn
The peanut barn at Bacon’s Castle sheltered Menokin’s paneling from the weather for several decades, until it returned home in the early 21st century. The location was chosen because the aforementioned Richard Rennolds had lived at Bacon’s Castle for a number of years as an APVA employee and was able to make the arrangements.
So, a visit to Bacon’s Castle has long been on my bucket list, as well as the “Must See” list of the intrepid ladies of Menokin. Fortunately for me (not so much for the other ladies) I was finally able to make the trip, as it coincided with a Mother’s Day trip to Williamsburg.
Ferry ride across the James
The ferry ride across the James from Jamestown to Surry County hasn’t changed all that much in the 30+ years since my last ride as a college student. The boats are bigger and there a few more of them, but the lines are still long and the view is still spectacular.
Everyone has their version of a ghost story, as Bacon’s Castle is known to be haunted. Even my husband chimed in with a few from the nights he had spent there with his brother’s family. Luckily no hairs were raised on this visit. But the winding stairwell from the first floor to the garret rooms on the top floor ended in bloodstained floorboards that always reappeared despite vigorous scrubbing. The boards have been replaced, much to my husband’s disappointment.
Spinning wheel in a garret room
None of the furnishings are original but there are some period pieces that were curated from England to help tell the story of the house and its inhabitants.
The brick work and carved paneling are original and ornate. The removal of paint layers revealed children’s drawings on the wall of the what is now affectionately referred to as the “graffiti room.”
Graffiti RoomJacobean Compass Rose
This compass rose motif (pictured below) was in the center of exposed beams that frame the ceiling in more than one of the main level rooms of the house.
Several original outbuildings still stand in varying degrees of decay, including some storage barns, a slave cabin and a smoke house. The organic, weathered fabric matches the feel of property and the area, which has weathered many centuries of hard use and neglect. Like Menokin, the exposed structural elements lend authenticity and character to the visitor experience.
I am so glad that I was finally able to tour this remarkable place and I encourage you to add it to your own bucket list of historic sites to visit. I can’t say that it’s on your way from anywhere to anywhere, but it’s certainly worth the detour.
Bacon’s CastleBarnRusty hinge
Outbuildings behind house.View of slave quarters from upstairs window.Detail of hash marks to help hold plaster.
Several weeks ago, my family and I made a visit to Menokin to view the historic property, have a picnic lunch, and listen to a talk on Nancy Lancaster by Dr. Susan Rawls. My group was made up of three generations: my grandparents, lifetime learners of late 18th and early 19th century Virginia architecture and antiques; my mom and her two sisters, all avid proponents of preserving Virginia’s local, natural, and historic places; and me, a self-proclaimed photographic historian. In common, we have a love for Virginia and her stories. Menokin had something for each of us, and proved to be a visit that we won’t forget.
Visiting Menokin in late March, 2016.
We started our day at the visitor’s center, which not only provides a meeting place for lectures, but also stores the historic paneling from the house. On exhibit was a beautiful mantel that my grandfather just could not believe. The mantel had a breastplate carved to resemble fish scales, exemplifying the culture in which it was sculpted: the Northern Neck fishing towns. While my grandfather has been around the historic proverbial block a few times in his long life, he commented that he had never seen detail quite like that. Also on exhibit was the keystone from above Menokin’s front door and several other pieces of Menokin’s interior and antiques.
Fish scale breastplate on the mantel.
From the exhibit and lecture space, we walked through a door into a storage area where the majority of Menokin’s interior is thoroughly cataloged and safely tucked away. We saw beautifully painted mantels, doors, wainscoting, and more. At the center of the storage room was the structure that would surround the front door, with the window fan standing tall. Each of us took a turn standing under it and looking up. We were all impressed with the carpentry work and the great preservation of Menokin’s interior. I was particularly impressed with the little silver tag labeling system that Menokin used on the exterior materials, and it reminded me of my grandfather’s canning lid system that he always used to organize the pieces of historic cabins he was rebuilding. There are just some good, simple ideas that even technology can’t replace.
My mom, Sheri, viewing Menokin’s front door structure.
Tag organization system for pieces of Menokin.
After viewing both the interior and exterior material storage facilities, we took a walk down Menokin Trail to visit the home itself. Every bit of our tour was led by Leslie Rennolds, Interim Executive Director for Menokin and a fellow Fauquier County native, and we were so happy to have her telling us the story of Menokin. Climbing through the several floors of the house, we all admired the architectural detail seen through the rubble, including the fireplaces, the bricks and stones, and the work that has already been done so far in saving the structure for future learning and exploration. The picnic table behind Menokin made for a beautiful picnic spot, and we got to eat our lunch just below the big, old house, right as the spring flowers and trees were getting started.
Exploring the inside of the Menokin.Menokin’s brickwork.
Our afternoon was filled with a very interesting and informative lecture by Dr. Susan Rawls from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and, afterwards, a walk down to Cat Point Creek. One of the great things about the Menokin Foundation is that not only are they concerned about the preservation of an important Virginia house, but they also want to protect the natural resources that make up the large Menokin property, including access to Cat Point Creek. I’m looking forward to making use of the public access point they have provided for kayaks and canoes to get onto the creek!
Access to Cat Point Creek provided by Menokin.
My family had a memorable visit to Menokin, and we are very thankful to the Menokin Foundation for working so hard to make such an invaluable piece of Virginia’s history and landscape open and accessible to the public. We all hope to continue making visits to Menokin, and learning more about it’s past and future each time. It is an incredible Virginia resource, and we are so glad that it’s being preserved.
Family photo inside Menokin.
Tom and Liz Thorpe enjoying their trip to Menoki
You can view more photographs of our family trip to Menokin through my Flickr album.
EDITORIAL NOTE: The Thorpe family honored Menokin in an even greater way by being the first to purchase a Menokin Stone. These building opportunities are designed to support our efforts to stabilize and enclose Menokin.
Excellent story. Would love to see those spoons in person.
Silver serving spoon, back 18th C. Stamp Act spoon made for Landon Carter (1710–1778). Needing spoons for his home, Sabine Hall in Richmond County, Carter ordered a set from London, stipulating that if the Stamp Act was repealed they be of silver; if not, of lowly horn or bone. The act was repealed and Carter’s agent had the silver spoons engraved with Carter’s initials, the date 1766, and the triumphant inscription “Repeal of the American Stamp Act.”
I’m sure you have all heard the news about the devastating tornadoes and thunderstorms that ripped through our area yesterday. We are all still reeling as reports and pictures of the destruction are starting to circulate.
Menokin was spared, and for that we should all be grateful. But it was truly divine intervention, because at nearby Naylor’s Beach eight houses were destroyed. That’s only about four miles from Menokin as the crow flies.
Tornado destruction at Naylor’s Beach near Menokin
It also passed over the dump on Newland Road which is probably less than a mile away.
Tornado touched down less than a mile from Menokin
As we go about our important work of saving Menokin, we are informing people how dire the situation is, and how one large weather event could demolish the house. Last night’s tornado drives home that point. We must redouble our efforts to get Menokin stabilized and protected. We may not be so lucky next time.
Too close for comfort. This large cedar tree lost half its volume. For scale reference, I was able to drive my car through the opening.Tragic beautyScaffolding and bracing are all that is keeping Menokin standing. Large cracks continue to grow.
It’s funny when you work at an historical site how people always assume that because it’s old, all of its past is known and there is nothing new to discover. Of course, we are famous at Menokin for disproving that year after year and this past year we again learned something new about the people who lived here.
A few years back, I visited a local senior living facility in Richmond County to give a presentation on Menokin and spoke about how we tell stories. I was interested in developing an oral history program related to our county’s past, and I was looking for a place to begin. After chatting with the group for a bit, one of the women told us she thought her grandfather, Daniel Gordon, was born a slave at Menokin and then freed under the Emancipation Act. She is his granddaughter, Evelyn Gordon Parker, still a Richmond County resident, who also writes for the Northern Neck News. Wow, I thought. How amazing is that? She told me she had visited Menokin once before, and a few weeks later, returned with some photographs of her family, including one of her grandfather and grandmother.
Back row: Gordon girls: Elsie, ?, Cornelia, and cousin Margaret Saunders; Front row: Daniel Gordon and wife Maria Wright Gordon
This past winter, I visited with Evelyn and her sister, Juanita Gordon Wells to record and document some of their memories. Her grandfather has an amazing story, which I shall wait to share in a later post. But for now, I think the other really cool thing is how we learn about our past. This man raised his family with very strong values of faith, family and education. Over the years, the pride and strength of these values were instilled in one generation after another. And sometimes there are parts of history that are known better within families through oral traditions than are found in courthouse records. In 2011, The Gordons published a cookbook, recounting their early roots as well as family recipes.
Interviewing Gordon family sisters.
Evelyn’s brother, Thomas Daniel Gordon, was interested in recording the family history and established the first family reunion in 1979. These reunions continue to grow. They have traced their relatives all over North America with family members all the way up to Halifax, Nova Scotia! Each time the family meets, they travel to a different location and this summer of 2016, the Gordon Family will be coming back to Virginia! We have invited them to visit Menokin for a special family tour.
Evelyn Parker and Juanita Wells telling their story.
As a result of our chance meeting, Menokin has since begun to further document the history of the Gordons. I hope to tell their story in ways that can help others discover and understand their past through video and classroom experiences, and continue to explore the lives of other Northern Neck residents. We are also seeking research assistance from a graduate student to help complete the missing links in their phenomenal story and see this as a great opportunity to develop an ongoing digital history for the future.
Thank you, Evelyn and Juanita, for helping us begin this exciting work.
#ColorOurCollections with the Menokin Foundation this February 1st through 5th!
Select your favorite image below, get your creative juices flowing, and color in a piece of the Menokin collection. Share your artwork through your social media accounts using the hashtag #ColorOurCollections, and email them to us so we can share too: menokin@menokin.org.
#ColorOurCollections is a week-long special collections coloring fest organized on social media by the New York Academy of Medicine: http://nyamcenterforhistory.org/
Day School
