It’s a long-standing holiday tradition! Adults and children alike will enjoy the sights and smells of the festive creations displayed at George Washington’s Ferry Farm!
This year’s theme is “George Washington Slept Here” and a list of contest winners can be seen here (PDF). Visitors may vote for their favorite and this ‘people’s choice’ winner will be announce after the holidays. The gingerbread houses remain on display until December 30.
Ferry Farm is open Monday – Saturday from 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m and on Sunday from 12:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. The site will be closed Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
Admission cost for viewing the gingerbread exhibit only is $4 adults, $2 students, under 6 free. There is an additional fee for a self-guided iPad tour of Ferry Farm. Visit www.ferryfarm.org for more details.
Mr. Gingerbread happily accepts votes for favorite gingerbread house.
All the gingerbread creations make the museum gallery smell delicious!
Visitors view the gingerbread houses during Sunday’s opening reception.
Young visitor looks one of the gingerbread houses.
“Valley Forge, 1777” by Matthew Yagla
“George Washington’s Birthplace” by Rachel Bosco
“Washington’s Headquarters at Valley Forge” by C.J. Crocker
“Young George at Ferry Farm” by Lachlan Eaton shows George chopping down a cherry tree.
“Ferry Farm” by Ryan Jackson
George slept here.
“Kenmore” by Diane Jackson
“Washington’s Headquarters at Fort Cumberland” by Gavin Carpenter
Interior view of the Ft. Cumberland headquarters.
“Mary Washington House” by Maggie Jackson
“Valley Forge, Washington Headquarters” by Valerie Jackson
“Hoovervilles” by Post Oak Middle School German Club
“Schlaf gut, Geroge! (Sleep well, George!)” by Chancellor Middle School German Class
“George’s Mount Vernon” by Chancellor High School German Club
“Martha & George in Love” by Courtland High School German Club depicts the Longfellow House.
“Chatham” by Girl Scout Troop 5057
“George Washington Surveying Natural Bridge” by Mr. & Mrs. John Simmers
George with his surveying equipment
“Washington’s Revolutionary War Headquarters” by Carrie Gonzalez and Shelley Brosius depicts the Ford Mansion in Morristown, NJ
“Gingerbread Friends at Ferry Farm”
“RACSB, RAAI Gingerbread House”
“Washington Headquarters, Longfellow House” by Nancy Rowland
Although Fielding Lewis certainly built a home capable of hosting the elaborate Christmas celebrations popular in 18th century Virginia, Historic Kenmore probably never saw occasions on such a lavish scale, with the possible exception of the family’s first Christmas in the house in December 1775. If the family hosted the traditional Christmas celebration, Fielding and Betty would have welcomed lots of friends and family, serving them fancy dinners and entertaining them with dancing and music. They and their guests might have enjoyed fox hunts as well.
Virginians regularly included fox hunts as part of their Christmas celebrations.[1] In an era long before environmental conservation, colonial Virginians viewed foxes as pests that endangered livestock, which is why they hunted them so relentlessly.[2]Additionally, during hunts, gentry men like George Washington could show off their hunting dogs and their skill at horseback riding while chasing foxes through the countryside.
George Washington loved fox hunting. In the year 1768, for example, he went on fox hunts 40 different times. These hunts often lasted hours. On a March day in 1768, he caught “a fox with a bobd Tail & cut Ears, after 7 hours chase.”
George owned numerous hunting dogs and “helped develop the breed known as the American Foxhound.” These hounds chased the fox and hunters on horseback chased the hounds. The chase required galloping horses to jump over streams, bushes, and fences and riders to duck under low-hanging tree limbs. Fox hunting allowed wealthy Virginians to show-off their horse riding skills and George was widely considered an excellent horseman.
Hunters also wore special clothes. George went hunting in “a blue riding frock and scarlet waistcoat threaded with gold lace and topped by a black velvet cap. He wore high boots and carried a . . . riding crop.”[2] He wore cuff links that said “tallio” on them – that’s what hunters would shout when they found a fox. These cufflinks were unearthed by archaeologists at George Washington’s Ferry Farm and their discovery hint at George’s interest in fox hunting even in his younger years. He also hung paintings of fox hunts on the walls of his home at Mount Vernon.
Cufflinks discovered in the parlor root cellar and yard of the Washington House at Ferry Farm show a fox running across grassy rolling hills with the word “tallio” engraved above. This is a popular 18th century motif.
Like the George’s paintings at Mount Vernon, Fielding Lewis included foxes in the decor of his home. At Kenmore, the Lewis children were always reminded of the sneaky ways of foxes when they looked at a picture above the Dining Room fireplace. The plaster image illustrates the Aesop’s fable known as “The Fox and the Crow.”
This plaster over-mantle in Historic Kenmore’s dining room depicts the Aesop’s Fable known as “The Fox and the Crow.”
One day a fox saw a crow flying with a piece of cheese in its beak and settle on a branch of a tree. “That’s for me!’ said Master Fox, and he walked up to the foot of the tree.
“Good-day, Mistress Crow,” he cried, “How well you are looking today; how shiny your feathers; how bright your eyes. Your voice must be more beautiful than that of other birds. Won’t you, please, sing me a song that I may know you are the Queen of Birds?
The crow, quite happy to hear such praise, began to sing her best – “Caw, Caw, Caw”, but when she opened her beak, the piece of cheese dropped to the ground and was snapped up by Master Fox.
A close-up view of the over-mantle shows Mistress Crow dropping her cheese to be scooped up by Master Fox.
“Aha, Mistress Crow,” said he. “That was what I wanted. In exchange for your cheese I will give you some advice for the future: “Beware of false flattery.”
This Christmas, some sneaky foxes have found their way into Kenmore.
A sneaky fox hiding somewhere inside Kenmore.
During the holiday season, younger visitors can help us look for them in a special scavenger hunt and learn about the colonial Christmas custom of fox hunting.
Zac Cunningham
Manager of Educational Programs
[1] Philip Vickers Fithian, Journal & Letters of Philip Vickers Fithian, 1773-1774: A Plantation Tutor of the Old Dominion, ed Hunter Dickinson Farish (Williamsburg, Va., 1943), entry for Dec. 18, 1773: 44
[2] Jane Carson, Colonial Virginians at Play, Williamsburg, VA: Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, 1998: 62-64
[3] Ron Chernow, Washington: A Life, New York: Penguin Press, 2010: 124-5.
As thanksgiving approaches we turn our thoughts to tradition, family, and feast. Thanksgiving traditions call to mind family around a table full of food, a roast turkey with cranberry sauce, or maybe even a romanticized recreation of New England meal from the 17th century. But what is the history behind that tradition? What would people of the 18th century Virginia thought of our feast? Would Betty and George Washington have sat down for a meal of turkey and mashed potatoes in late November?
Thanksgiving as a national holiday wasn’t born until the 19th century and many modern American concepts of Thanksgiving come from legend and advertising.
The First Thanksgiving 1621 by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris (1899). “The painting shows common misconceptions about the event that persist to modern times: Pilgrims did not wear such outfits, and the Wampanoag are dressed in the style of Native Americans from the Great Plains” says wikipedia.org. Public domain.
But when you peel back the layers of myth and romance in the above painting, in the advertising, and in the legends, you find a history deeply rooted in the 18th century and just as at home in Virginia as in Massachusetts.
While many people tend to look to colonial New England as the origin point for this late fall celebration, these bountiful autumn feasts have existed in places all over the world and for much longer. Many agrarian cultures have celebrated harvest festivals to mark the end of the harvest season. Families and communities came together, celebrated the bounty of the harvest, and gave thanks for all they had.
In the 1700s, Virginian households were familiar with a large fall feast. Produce that hadn’t been preserved had to be eaten. Cooler weather meant it was time to butcher and preserve meat. Soon, winter weather would make travel impractical. Any farm that enjoyed a bountiful year could celebrate with a large feast in the late fall.
But what would have been served at those feasts?
The dishes typically associated with Thanksgiving are inherently American. Turkey, potatoes, pumpkins, and cranberries are indigenous to the Americas and were unknown to Europeans prior to the 1500s. By the 18th century, Atlantic trade changed this. Some American produce like cranberries and pumpkins did not enjoy popularity in England. However, other American food had been fully accepted into kitchens and cookbooks on both sides of the Atlantic.
The Lewis family owned Hannah Glasse’s The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Simple, a cookbook from which Betty undoubtedly pulled many of her recipes. It contains multiple dishes modern Americans would consider typical Thanksgiving fare. It provides instructions for roasting a turkey complete with stuffing, making gravies for every kind of meat/preparation, and baking a plethora of desserts. It even contains a mashed potato recipe on page 193 that would be perfectly at home on any modern table.
BOIL your potatoes, peel them, and put them into a sauce-pan, mash them well; to two pounds of potatoes put a pint of milk, a little salt, stir them together, take care that they don’t stick to the bottom, then take a quarter of a pound of butter, stir it in, serve it up.
But if we are going to study Thanksgiving’s historic details, what about the term itself? Thankfully, we have George Washington himself to look to. Seventeen months after the ratification of the Constitution the newly elected President put forth a proclamation at the request of the Congress and Senate that…
Thanksgiving proclamation of 1789 by President George Washington. Library of Congress photo.
The day assigned was November 26, 1789, the last Thursday of the month.
We may not know whether or not Mary Washington ever sat her family around a large turkey dinner at Ferry Farm in late November, but we do know that a large harvest meal would not have been uncommon. Since Hannah Glasse’s cookbook rested on her shelf, we can have confidence that Betty Washington Lewis would have approved of our present-day mashed potatoes and roast turkey. Finally, we can read the words of Thanksgiving proclaimed to Americans by George Washington, as the new nation’s first president. When you sit down with family next week, remember that you are part of long tradition and celebrating something truly American.
Joe Ziarko
Manager of Interpretation & Visitor Services
A quick post today because everyone here at The George Washington Foundation are busily preparing for The Fourth of July at Ferry Farm this Saturday!
Still, we did have a bit of time to take a quick look through the archives for some images of celebrations in Fredericksburg’s past. First, we share a few 90-year-old newspaper clippings about the “Colonial Pageant” held in May 1925 to dedicate Kenmore as a historic house museum. You can read more about efforts in the 1920s to save the house here.
We also found snapshots of some fascinating floats that formed part of a parade to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the founding of Fredericksburg back in 1921. Unfortunately, we do not yet know all that much about the organizations or groups that made these floats or who is in these photos. Regardless, it’s interesting to see that float-building traditions haven’t changed terribly much since the Jazz Age.
This year, we hope you will Celebrate Independence Day with us at the place where George Washington spent his boyhood years. Our theme – “Let Freedom Ring” – honors home and country with a variety of activities and entertainment for the entire family.
Members of the Fredericksburg Spinners and Weavers Guild help a young visitor learn to spin thread during The Fourth of July at Ferry Farm in 2014.
From 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, you can visit the Washington house archaeology site and learn about Phase 1 construction at Ferry Farm, enjoy a patriotic flag retirement ceremony, interact with colonial and Civil War re-enactors, visit with members of the Patawomeck tribe, and participate in educational programs, crafts and games, and hands-on activities for the whole family, including a July Fourth hat contest! Learn more about Ferry Farm’s Independence Day celebration at http://kenmore.org/events.html.
Today – January 6 – marks the end of Christmas or, at least, it did two centuries ago. If we lived in the days of George Washington, Betty Washington Lewis, and Fielding Lewis and moved within their social circle, we would all be preparing for the grandest celebration of the Twelve Days of Christmas, which began on December 25. This grand event, known as Twelfth Night, was celebrated much in the same way that many of us mark New Year’s Eve with family and friends gathered together for food, drink, sweets, music, dancing, games, and conversation.
This past weekend, Historic Kenmore hosted just such a celebration in the form of a theatrical presentation titled “Twelfth Night at Kenmore.” Set in January 1776, as Fielding and Betty Washington Lewis end their first Christmas in their newly built home, “Twelfth Night at Kenmore” depicted an unusual seasonal celebration, as the growing American Revolution brings fear, doubt, and frustration to the Lewis family, their friends, and members of the enslaved community.
Kenmore is lit for the celebration.
Betty Washington Lewis (Amy Wolf) and daughter-in-law Nancy Alexander Lewis (Juliana Jones) ponder how the war might impact the family.
Betty welcomes her guests.
Guests listen to Betty’s welcome.
(l-r) John Lewis (Michael Taylor) and George Lewis (Will Goldstein), two of Fielding Lewis’s sons, are joined by Captain Richard Taylor (Scott Houk) , a local ship’s master, in the singing of a traditional carol.
Visitors, some who came dressed in colonial-era clothing, join in the singing.
Fielding Lewis (John Hollinger) leads the singing.
Our excellent musicians for the evening: Zach, Kelsey, Kaylee, and Luke Payne.
George Weedon, a leading Fredericksburg patriot and tavernkeeper.
Captain Taylor and George Weedon argue about the wisdom of suspending horse racing because of the war.
The men continue debating.
George Lewis (Will Goldstein) expresses his desire to enlist in the Continental Army.
Captain Taylor, John Lewis, and George Lewis play cards while discussing George’s desire to enlist.
Hetty (Ashlee’ James), an enslaved washerwoman and house servant for the Lewises, overheard party guests talking about Lord Dunmore’s offer of freedom to slaves and wonders if she ought to run away to the British side.
In the colonial-era, the Christmas season lasted into January and concluded on Twelfth Night, a festive evening to mark the end of the Twelve Days of Christmas and celebrated much like our New Year’s Eve is today. While the entire period featured frequent banquets and balls with much food and spirits, Twelfth Night was especially known for its revelry.
Just as we do today, many colonial Americans got into the holiday ‘spirit’ with a glass of something special and warming on Twelfth Night. Special drinks called for distinctive mugs, glasses, and containers that were both functional and designed to impress your party guests. In these containers, early Americans enjoyed familiar festive beverages like eggnog, hot chocolate, hot toddies, and punch. At the same time, some of their holiday drinks are now a thing of the past or perhaps only enjoyed by those imbibers with an appreciation for history.
Many of these holiday beverages were created out of a desire to preserve the taste of fresh fruits harvested in the summer and fall so they could be enjoyed during the winter months. Cherry ‘Bounce’ is a great example of this – in addition to being fun to say! Easy to make, cherry bounce was started in the early summer when the fruit is ripe. Fresh cherries (traditionally of the sour variety) were placed in bottles and topped off with brandy then stored for as long as you could stand to wait. Leaving the fruit to infuse as long as possible increased the flavor and lent a lovely red color to the brandy. The decanted off-flavored brandy was mixed with sugar and spices. Martha Washington possessed a recipe for cherry bounce that included cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg and George Washington was said to have loved it so much that he took some in a canteen with him on a trip over the Allegheny Mountains in 1784.
Copper wheel engraved wine glass.
Syllabub is another colonial beverage that has been forgotten. Originating in England, this odd-sounding half-dessert, half-cocktail, was created by combining spirts such as wine, sherry, ale or cider with fresh milk – preferably so fresh that it had just come out of the cow and was still warm! In fact, some recipes stated that a maid should milk the cow directly into a pan of your chosen spirit. Unfortunately, this technique probably also resulted in some ‘barn yard’ material ending up in the concoction. Sugar, spices and possibly citrus were then added. While there are many versions of syllabubs, it often involved a frothy mixture of whipped egg whites, curd or cream that can be spooned off and eaten while you drink the liquid whey that separates beneath. Served in a conical glass and sometimes displayed on a pyramid-shaped dessert tray with colorful jellies, syllabub made for a very festive holiday drink.
A Copper Wheel engraved dessert/fortified wine glass used to serve syllabub.
While many people may not have heard of syllabub and cherry bounce, wassail is a term that most are familiar with even if they’re not entirely sure what it is. Actually, wassail was both a beverage and an activity. Similar to today’s mulled ciders and wine, wassail was often served from a punch bowl passed around from person to person in an act of sharing and celebration. The old Christmas carol “Here We Come A-Wassailing” describes the act of going from house to house singing and wishing good cheer while also sipping the punch-like drink composed of hot wine or ale mixed with spices, apples and sometimes topped with bread or toast. But before you condemn our ancestors for drinking odd things, just think what future generations might think of what we consume today. And perhaps try a colonial holiday beverage or two this Twelfth Night and evoke the spirit of holidays past!
Hand-blown mug for hot beverages such as wassail.
You can experience a dramatic theater presentation depicting a Twelfth Night celebration (minus the alcohol) at Historic Kenmore on Saturday, January 3 or Sunday, January 4. Reservations are required and can be made by calling 540-370-0732 x24 or emailing hayes@gwffoundation.org. Visit the events page on http://www.kenmore.org for more information!
Mara Kaktins
Archaeologist, Ceramics and Glass Specialist
This year is our first-ever “A Wee Christmas — Dollhouses and Miniatures Show” at Historic Kenmore! “A Wee Christmas” has brought together many different dollhouses, miniature scenes, and figurines loaned by friends, neighbors, and staff for visitors to Kenmore Plantation to enjoy. The highly detailed, replica dollhouse of Kenmore on display in our Crowninshield Museum inspired this new holiday event. You can read a blog post about the history of the Kenmore dollhouse here.
The photos in the gallery below show several of the whimsical dollhouses and miniatures on display. To enjoy all of them up close, visit Historic Kenmore before the exhibit ends on December 30. Check out the events page on http://www.kenmore.org for more information!
“Country Church.” Submitted by James Opher.
A glimpse through the church’s front door.
Inside the country church.
“Antique Dollhouse.” Submitted by Susan Larson.
Susan bought her dollhouse during a visit to Fredericksburg, not knowning that she would soon move to the city.
“The Apple Blossom.” Submitted by David Budinger.
David built the house for his daughter, Meg (now Kenmore’s curator) around 1990.
Christmas tree inside “The Apple Blossom.”
“Plantation House.” Submitted by James Opher.
It was built in 1975…
…and renovated in 2014.
Inside the “Plantation House.”
“Bonaise” Submitted by Lucy Harmon.
“Bonaise” is a replica of the Harmons’ old farmhouse on White Oak Road in Stafford County.
Scene from “The Nutcracker.” Submitted by Anne Higgins.
“Victorian Dollhouse.” Submitted by Beth Waters Hunsinger & son Jackson Waters Hunley.
Santa gave Beth this house when she was about 9 years old.
Now, her son Jackson enjoys rearranging the furniture inside.
Interior of “Rammings’ House.” Submitted by Anna Jennings.
Made by Michael & Gloria Ramming in 1985, the house is a miniature of their home and furnishings in San Francisco, California.
“The Quilt Shop.” Submitted by Carol House.
The shop was featured in the Miniature Quilts magazine.
Tradition says that Mary Ball Washington, mother of George Washington, was well-known for her excellent gingerbread. The story goes that she even served her gingerbread to the Marquis de Lafayette when he visited Fredericksburg as part of his postwar tour of America in 1784. Inspired by this tale and as Mary’s home for three decades from 1738 to 1772, George Washington’s Ferry Farm hosts a Gingerbread Contest and Exhibit each December. This year’s event is the 28th annual and features the theme “Home Sweet Home.”
The photos in the gallery below show just a few of this year’s contest entries representing a variety of ages and skill-levels. We’re also sharing some photos of Ferry Farm decked out for the holiday season and want to thank the Ann Page Garden Club for beautifully decorating this year.
To see all the gingerbread creations and to vote for your favorite, visit Ferry Farm before the exhibit ends on December 30. Check out the events page on http://www.kenmore.org for more information!
“There’s No Place Like Home” by Valerie Jackson
“Welcome Home Sailors” by Daniel Jackson
“A Man’s Home is His Castle” by Matthew Yagla
“Home is Where the Doctor Is” by Massaponax High School German Club
“Tea Time” by Courtland High School German Program won Best in Show.
“Igloo Home” by Imogene Pastorek
“International Space Station” by The Szlyk Family
“Life’s a Beach” by The Abraham Family
“St. George’s Gingerbread Church” by Nicholas Perron
Dollhouses on display as part of our first-ever “A Wee Christmas” Dollhouses & Miniatures Show.
This holiday season, we’re excited to share with our visitors the many dollhouses and miniatures loaned by friends, neighbors, and staff to form our first-ever dollhouses and miniatures show that we’re calling “A Wee Christmas at Historic Kenmore”. A highly detailed, replica dollhouse of Kenmore on display in our Crowninshield Museum served as the inspiration behind this new exhibit. Like its real life counterpart, this unique Kenmore replica has a fascinating history all its own.
While on a visit to Fredericksburg in the spring of 1984, Florence White, an enthusiast of Georgian architecture, fell in love with Kenmore. She had been searching for years to find just the right place to make into a grand historical dollhouse. Kenmore with its simple, symmetric windows and imposing brick walls was perfect.
The dollhouse version of Historic Kenmore.
However, Florence needed someone who would construct this dollhouse with the degree of detail and intricacy that would mimic the elegant original. After a long unsuccessful search there came a chance meeting with Jim Freytag, a retired railroad man turned miniature enthusiast, and she knew she had her builder.
Jim’s first task was to visit the home that Florence wanted to replicate and gather as many details as he could. He wanted to make it as structurally authentic as possible from the number of bricks between the windows to the outside steps worn down with years of use. He toured the house taking notes on the particulars of each room, the furniture, the décor, and the layout. Photographs were not permitted inside the house so Jim purchased postcards in order to get better detail for the intricate plaster ceilings and mantels.
Some 2700 hours of work, 18,929 bricks and over $4000 later Florence had her Kenmore dollhouse. Jim had completed four bedrooms, a dining room, living room, drawing room, and study. They are each equipped with miniature pieces of furniture from a large cherry-stained Queen Anne table in the dining room flanked by two portraits of Colonel Lewis and Mrs. Lewis to canopy beds, brass candlesticks and leather boots in the bedrooms.
A view of the Chamber inside the Kenmore dollhouse.
Over twenty-six years later, the dollhouse now sits in the museum gallery at Kenmore’s visitor center for all to view. Each room still has the exact furnishings so painfully and meticulously created by Jim and positioned to Florence’s specifications. The house is a time capsule which shows Kenmore before renovations completed nearly a decade ago. Visitors can see pieces of furniture that are no longer on display and can understand the dimensions of the upper floor rooms which are not currently open to the public.
Florence’s devotion to detail and Jim’s immense skill leave us with a whimsical model of Kenmore which exudes all the elegance and beauty of the original that would have made the Colonel and Betty proud.
You can see Florence and Jim’s replica of Kenmore as well as all the other wonderful dollhouses and miniatures that make up “A Wee Christmas at Historic Kenmore” until December 30.
Lives & Legacies 