Tag Archives: Northern Neck

The House, The Landscape, The Northern Neck and Beyond

Summer is in full bloom at Menokin

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If you are planning to shoot summer photos for the Menokin “Seasons” Photo Contest, now is a great time to come.

Here’s a link to the contest rules and application.

Field scabious, or Knautia arvensis may be found in dry fields, grassy places, and flowers between July and September
The Menokin butterfly garden, under the care of the Northern Neck Master Naturalists, is gorgeous this year. Full and lush, it is a nectar smorgasbord for our winged friends.
This tiger swallowtail is enjoying his early bird special.
Black eyed susan, or Rudbeckia hirta, with other common names, such as Brown-eyed Susan or Brown Betty.
Have you ever tried to take a picture of a hummingbird moth? They don’t hold still at all.
This bee knows its balm. Monardas or Bergamots are wild flowers in the mint family, widespread and abundant in much of North America. Flower colors can range from pink to lilac, scarlet or deep red/purple.
Eastern purple coneflower, or Echinacea purpurea. It’s cone-shaped flowering heads are usually, but not always, purple.
The Landscape, The Northern Neck and Beyond

It’s a Boy! Eastern Box Turtle at Menokin.

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The Eastern box turtle (Terrapene carolina carolina) is a subspecies within a group of hinge-shelled turtles, normally called box turtles. T. c. carolina is native to the eastern part of the United States.

This handsome fella was crossing the lane at Menokin this morning on our way into work. Alice and I stopped to say hello. We remarked on his beautiful coloring and striking red eyes.  A little research into the Eastern box turtle revealed just what those eyes mean.

Eastern box turtles have a high, dome-like carapace and a hinged plastron that allows total shell closure. The carapace can be of variable coloration, but is normally found brownish or black and is accompanied by a yellowish or orangish radiating pattern of lines, spots or blotches.
Eastern box turtles have a high, dome-like carapace and a hinged plastron that allows total shell closure. The carapace can be of variable coloration, but is normally found brownish or black and is accompanied by a yellowish or orange-ish radiating pattern of lines, spots or blotches.
Skin coloration, like that of the shell, is variable, but is usually brown or black with some yellow, orange, red, or white spots or streaks. Eastern box turtles feature a sharp, horned beak, stout limbs, and their feet are webbed only at the base.
Skin coloration, like that of the shell, is variable, but is usually brown or black with some yellow, orange, red, or white spots or streaks. Eastern box turtles feature a sharp, horned beak, stout limbs, and their feet are webbed only at the base.
Males normally possess red eyes (irises) whereas females usually display brown eyes. In the wild, box turtles are known to live over 100 years, but in captivity, often live much shorter lives.
Males normally possess red eyes (irises) whereas females usually display brown eyes.
In the wild, box turtles are known to live over 100 years, but in captivity, often live much shorter lives.

Just think, this turtle may have been around when Menokin was still standing.

The House

Harvard Design Students Present Their Ideas for Menokin

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By Sarah Pope
Executive Director, The Menokin Foundation

Away from the quiet fields of Menokin, I traveled to bustling Cambridge, Massachusetts on May 5 for a much anticipated day at the Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD).  Twelve architecture graduate students in Professor Jorge Silvetti’s studio, “Ruins, Memory and the Imagination,” would be presenting their individual projects for a Conservation Research Laboratory; a Visitors Center; and Visitors Waterside Harbor at Menokin, as well as the design of all elements necessary to structure and present the Menokin site narratives to the visitor.

Students created a spectacular three-dimensional wooden model of the terrain of the Menokin site, along with the Menokin house site, that will be on display at our Visitors Center.
Reviewers on the studio panel were: Linda Pollack, AIA, ASLA Associate, Marpillero Pollack Architects, New York, NY; Reid Freeman, AIA, Principal at Architecture Operations DPC, New York, NY; Carlos Jimenez, Carlos Jimenez Studio, Houston, TX; Tim Love, AIA, Utile Inc. Architecture and Planning, Boston, MA; and Michael Hayes, Professor of Architectural Theory, Harvard GSD.

The students had been working on their projects for several months, following a weekend-long site visit in February to Menokin and the Northern Neck.  The Menokin Foundation provided the opportunity for these students to explore contemporary architectural design solutions to tell the story of our historic site.

We’re planning for a future curated exhibit and publication that presents the Harvard students’ innovative ideas to the public.  More details will be forthcoming, but in the meantime, here are themes and associated designs that floated to the top for me as I watched the project presentations:

1)      Designing for flexibility: one student designed very cool mobile archaeological stations or pods that can be moved around the site as we continue our investigations.

2)      Finding inspiration in painting and fine arts: another student found inspiration from the lines he saw on the Menokin landscape, and his proposed Visitors Center evoked the work of artist Marco Migani.

3)      The changing terrain of the site: plateau and ravine, water and woods, open and enclosed: I was particularly enamored by one student’s design of a bridge and attached Visitors Center that spans a ravine to the south of the Menokin house site.

4)      Siting and perspective-relationship of new buildings to Menokin: Some students anchored their Visitors Center to the Menokin house—at certain corners of the house or on its central axis—that created a visible dialog between the historic and contemporary structures. Others tucked their new facilities away from the house site into the tree line of our expansive woods, reinforcing the flat, openness of the plateau surrounding the house site.

Above all, the interpersonal, human aspect of this studio—meeting the students, getting to know them and enjoying their unique perspectives on Menokin—was extremely fulfilling to me, as well as to our Trustees, staff, and friends who met the students in February.

The Landscape, The Northern Neck and Beyond

Here’s What Geocachers Are Saying About Menokin

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Geocaching_logoI have read about this place. Never knew I would make it here. Thanks so much! Awesome place and enjoyed the walk and history!

 

Geocaching_logoMenokin was definitely on our to-do list. It was better than we anticipated. We had the muggle-free run of the place.

 

Geocaching_logoI finally made it down to Menokin. I have been wanting to visit this site for some time now. Nice location.

 

Geocaching_logoI’ve seen these caches on my maps for many months and glad to finally get here. This area is nothing like I imagined.

 

Geocaching_logoIt was difficult to find a cache for this county that didn’t take us completely out of our way. But reading this cache description, we knew this would be the perfect place to stop. We checked out the visitors center as well, and found the volunteer to be extremely helpful and friendly. We are already planning a return trip.

 

Geocaching_logoI am having a great time walking the grounds here.

 

 

The Landscape, The Northern Neck and Beyond

Tree Huggers at Menokin

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The Northern Neck Chapter of Master Naturalists are conducting a flora and fauna survey of Menokin as part of the Chesapeake Bay Gateways Grant from the  National Park Service that was received in 2012.

The purpose of these volunteers is to help Menokin prepare trails/areas for viewing sheds and soft kayak/canoe public access sites. In addition, the survey will provide information for:

  • designing content for maps, guides and on-line resources
  • researching best alternatives for piers and viewing stations
  • locating and identifying native plants and restoring native habitat displaced during the construction process

In return, these volunteers will receive:

  • practice in the roles, taxonomy, and identification of native plants in Virginia
  • an understanding of living shorelines
  • volunteer hours
  • great walks in the out of doors

A recent team of volunteers shared some photos of their work measuring beech trees in the woods along the nature trail.

Cathy Sachs documents the GPS coordinates of this lovely beech tree in the woods at Menokin.
Kate Daniels measures the diameter of the tree.

A botanical survey of Menokin prepared by Lise Maring, Northern Neck Chapter of the Master Naturalists, is available on our website. Scroll to the bottom of the Selected Articles and Books section and click on the link.

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The Northern Neck and Beyond, The People

“…bind ourselves to each other…with our lives and fortunes.”

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Wednesday, February 27, 2013 marks the 247th anniversary of the signing of the Leedstown Resolves in Westmoreland County, VA in 1766. The document was the first organized protest of “taxation without representation” and was in opposition to the British imposition of the Stamp Act which required colonists to pay a duty on exports. Signers pledged “to bind ourselves to each other….with our lives and fortunes.”

Stamp actThe Northern Neck of Virginia Historical Society (NNVHS) will present its annual program commemorating this historic event at Menokin, the home of Francis Lightfoot Lee, who, along with his brother Richard Henry Lee, signed both the Leedstown Resolves and the Declaration of Independence.

Signers highlighted in past years have been resolution author Richard Henry Lee and brother Francis Lightfoot Lee, as well as  Alvin Moxley, Meriwether Lee, William Sydnor, Moore Fauntleroy, Francis Waring, and William Roane.

The 2013 commemoration will feature the lives of signers Richard “Squire” Lee of Lee Hall, Robert Wormeley Carter of Sabine Hall, John Belfield of Belle Mount, and Joseph Peirce of Templesman.

The Leedstown ResolvesThe program is being prepared by the NNVHS and hosted by the Menokin Foundation at the Martin Kirwan King Visitor’s Center at Menokin, located at 4037 Menokin Road in Warsaw, VA. Driving directions are available on the Menokin website at or by calling 804-333-1776. The program begins at 10:00 a.m. and all are invited to attend.

The House

Archaeology at Menokin: The 2012 Michael Hoffman Award

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In early September of this year, Menokin received some gratifying news. The Council of Virginia Archaeologists (COVA) announced that The Menokin Foundation was the recipient of the 2012 Michael Hoffman Award.

COVA AwardThis award is named in memory of a Professor of Anthropology at the University of Virginia and is presented to organizations for significant contributions to archaeological site investigation and historic preservation within Virginia.

Menokin was nominated for the award by David Brown and Thane Harpole with DATA Investigations. In particular, Brown and Harpole noted Menokin’s efforts to identify and evaluate archaeological resources associated with the circa 1769 Menokin property as a significant contribution to Virginia archaeology. They also commended our long-term management plan as a model for other historic house institutions in the area.

DATA Investigations team members are at Menokin this week with performing a survey along the trails and waterfront in search of evidence of indigenous habitation sites. Several local school groups will be taking field trips to Menokin during “archaeology week” to assist in trail marking and to learn more about this important step in the process of interpreting Menokin’s landscape.

Stay tuned for updates of all the activities taking place here this week.

The House, The Northern Neck and Beyond

Menokin has weathered the storm.

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While Hurricane Sandy wreaked havoc over much of the East Coast the past few days, the Northern Neck of Virginia seems to have thankfully dodged a big bullet. I am glad to report that the old girl is still standing and no worse for the soaking.

Other than a flooded  lane and some wet carpet in the Visitor’s Center, everything is shored up and just how we left it. That’s pretty good news for a mostly collapsed house.

I hope the rest of you fared as well.

The Northern Neck and Beyond

Menokin photography contest deadline extended to November 15

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What were we thinking? Having an October 15th submission deadline completely rules out the beautiful fall foliage for the photo contest.

So we have our heads screwed on straight now, and have extended the deadline for submissions to November 15th. The reception will take place on November 30th. All other rules still apply.

Come on by. The property is open, even when the Visitor’s Center is not.

 

 

The House, The Northern Neck and Beyond, The People

In case you missed it….

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The Virginia Historical Society has posted a video of the recent banner lecture, Planter Oligarchy on Virginia’s Northern Neck, which was co-sponsored by Menokin. The video features a fabulous introduction by Menokin’s own, Sarah Dillard Pope, Executive Director of the Menokin Foundation.

Also includes a shout out to Tayloe Negus and Tayloe Emery, both Hampden-Sydney alums, who help established the relationship between Dr. Coombs and Menokin.

Enjoy!

http://www.vahistorical.org/news/lectures_coombs.htm
VHS Banner Lecture Video