|
Ross Sullivan of Cherry Hill Forge in King George County works on a hook during a blacksmithing demonstration. Friends of the Wilderness Battlefield sponsored an event at Ellwood that featured various demonstrations.
Linda George of King George Weaving makes dish towels
Neil Smith, 14, of Wilderness plays an 18th-century bowling game at Ellwood |
By KELLY HANNON
Architecture, not an arm, brought visitors to the historic Ellwood farm this weekend.
The property is renowned as the final resting place of Confederate Army General Stonewall Jackson's wounded, amputated limb. The appendage is buried in Ellwood's family cemetery.
But the rest of the farm, straddling the Orange and Spotsylvania county lines off Route 20, has a rich history.
The centerpiece is Ellwood Manor, built in the 1790s. It was used by the Union and Confederate armies in different years of the Civil War, as both a hospital and strategy center. The Marquis de Lafayette, a Revolutionary War hero, stopped here for breakfast in 1825 on his way to Fredericksburg.
"It's just amazing it's lasted this long," said Janet Baker of Orange, visiting Ellwood for the first time yesterday with her husband, Edward. They were impressed the home was still standing, displaying its original color, dove, a rust red.
Friends of the Wilderness Battlefield organized a series of stations Sunday on Ellwood's grounds. The theme, "Taming the Wilderness," focused on home life and construction practices of the 1790s. Children could play games of the era. Visitors strolled from tent to tent to learn about wood joinery, log hewing, blacksmithing, looms and kitchen tools.
The home was also open yesterday. During the summer, the home is open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, and weekends during the fall and winter. Volunteers from Friends of the Wilderness Battlefield give 30-minute tours.
The property was sold to the National Park Service in the 1970s, and apart from a few changes, Ellwood Manor looks much as it did when it was built.
"When you go in, you will see the original floor is still there," said Craig Rains of Orange, a Friends of the Wilderness Battlefield board member.
The nonprofit group has more than 250 members from 29 states. It has raised $270,000 to restore Ellwood Manor, and needs another $90,000 to complete the project.
The group assists the National Park Service by mowing Ellwood's large lawn, landscaping, organizing events and giving tours.
Susan Titus of Spotsylvania made guests grateful for the convenience of modern appliances and ingredients yesterday at the "Food Preparation" tent.
Ellwood is thought to have had a bake oven in its exterior kitchen, which would've helped slaves at the farm bake multiple loaves of bread at one time.
Otherwise, dishes would've been baked individually over a fire, a time-consuming process.
Preparing food required constant effort in the 18th century, Titus said. And when women were not cooking, or directing a kitchen, they had to think ahead to manage and preserve a food supply for the winter.
"The dailyness of it got you down," Titus said. "The same kinds of things had to be done daily."
Friends of the Wilderness volunteer Carolyn Elstner has a family connection to Ellwood.
Her father, Gordon Jones, a former obstetrician in Fredericksburg, lived here as a child, and her grandparents, Leo and Blanche Jones, lived in Ellwood when she was a child and young adult. They turned Ellwood over to the Park Service in the 1970s.
Elstner demonstrated games children would've played at Ellwood when it was built--lawn bowling, ring toss, and throwing corn husks through a ring.
It came naturally. As a girl, she played games on Ellwood's lawn with her brother and sister.
But the duty of living in a historic home meant games were often put on hold.
The family graciously received curious sightseers long before Ellwood was a national park. "You'd see this car come down the road and you knew your game would be interrupted," Elstner said, laughing at the memory. "And it was."
Kelly Hannon: 540/374-5436
