Relic on the Lethe

Despite Winchester having a fairly sizable proportion of Irish settlers, Saint Patrick's Day has generally been a low-key affair for the town. Before Celtic Fest became an annual downtown event, organized St. Patrick's Day celebrations were more informal affairs. The earliest mention I was able to find (so far) even mentioning the day in a local publication was in the Winchester Republican , March 29, 1834: At the celebration of St. Patrick’s day, in N. York, by the society of the “ Friendly Sons of St. Patrick ,” Mr. Power, the comedian, was toasted as "the Irish ambassador." In reply, he delivered a neat and pertinent speech, and offered the following sentiment, which was warmly applauded: “The Shamrock—to whatever soil transplanted— and may the hearts of Ireland’s sons continue as fresh as its leaf, and the union be as indissoluble.”  As you can see, it wasn't even for a local commemoration. That took until the early 1900s, with a (perhaps anticlimactic) mentio...

I was invited to speak at the event unveiling a new historical plaque concerning the Conrad House and the door at the Joint Judicial Center on Friday (part of why the blog has been fairly quiet recently). The presentation will be printed in an upcoming version of the Journal. As usual, I took some questions from the audience at the end of my lecture. That's always a good way to see what I might have overlooked in my first pass through a topic. While I don't know if anyone at the presentation who asked questions will follow up with my blog, here are a few answers to their questions (and others).  Due to the more recent nature of many of the questions and heavy reliance on the Winchester Star, you may need to have your Handley Regional Library card barcode handy and create a free account at newspaperarchive.com to access the full articles linked here. The Property Layout: The property consisted of four lots in total originally: two faced Cameron Street, and two faced Kent Street,...

The Alexandria Herald of January 29, 1823 , reprints a ghostly encounter in England between Lord Londonderry and a boy over twenty years earlier. The unnamed mansion of this event is located in the north of Ireland, and the writer claimed everything from the setting to the architecture and furnishings would predispose anyone to start seeing ghosts and other wild apparitions. Here is a condensed version of the story with select quotes from the original article: After acquainting himself with the room he had been assigned, settling into bed, and turning out the lights, Lord Londonderry perceived a light gleaming on the draperies of the lofty canopy over his head. Conscious that there was no fire in the grate—that the curtains were closed—that the chamber had been in perfect darkness but a few moments before, he supposed that some intruder must have accidentally entered his apartment; and, turning hastily round to the side from which the light proceeded— saw—to his infinite astonishment—n...

Happy October! It's time for spooky stories and frightening photographs, and I hope to share a selection over the next month. These will be in a slightly shorter format to allow for a few more posts during the spooky season. Here's the first in the series! From the Suffolk News-Herald, June 20, 1934 is a fine "ghost photograph" of the old courthouse in Cynthiana, Kentucky. The pioneer-era structure is where David Sheely was wrongfully sentenced to death. (Content warning for the link, as the original source includes an uncensored photograph of a lynching.) Not being familiar with this story as it's a bit outside my usual local history sphere, I looked into the case for more details. The tale begins when David was accused of murdering his wife Nancy in June of 1847. After a day of fishing, David and some friends returned to his cabin on Beaver Creek (or sometimes Crooked Creek) and demanded Nancy clean and prepare the fish they caught at 2 AM. She refused, and all...

While perusing local news items in the July 16, 1896 Daily Item , several notes on construction projects and locations in Winchester jumped out. Let's see if we can track down where these building may be, and if they are still in existence. Miss Marie Wood, daughter of Col. Robt. C. Wood , of New Orleans, is the guest of her aunt, Mrs. B. T. Dandridge on Braddock street.  This was a well-known house that no longer stands. Mrs. B. T. Dandridge is Betty Taylor Dandridge , who acted as First Lady when her mother declined the role. The house, located at 116 N. Braddock St., was demolished in 1934, but several images of it are available at the Stewart Bell Jr. Archives . Mr. J. S. Haldeman, of the creamery on Kent street, received yesterday 5000 pounds of milk and manufactured 387 pounds of butter.  One of Haldeman's buildings still stands at 21-25 South Kent St. ( another building in the complex was demolished to provide parking). Although much altered by later uses, the buildi...