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Third Cultural Landscapes of the Northern Neck Symposium
October 22-24, 2010 In October 1929 Mrs. Fairfax Harrison, new chair of The Garden Club of Virginia’s Stratford Committee, spoke enthusiastically to the Robert E. Lee Memorial Foundation board. Reflecting the great dedication that still hallmarks The Garden Club of Virginia’s work, she reported that her group “hoped to recreate the surroundings of the Great House in such a way as to revive the spirit of the time.” Continuing, she asked “the privilege of developing the grounds in the full and complete way in ‘the grand manner of the 18th century’.”  The goal of this year’s symposium is to look closely at some of the important early formal gardens and pleasure grounds in this region through lectures at Stratford Hall and visits to historic garden/landscapes. What then indeed was “the spirit of the time,” and what was the “grand manner” into which it breathed life? How, moreover, may colonial and early national period Chesapeake region gardens and gardening have varied from early 20th-century interpretations? While some of the latter may have embraced the cowslips described by Philip Fithian at Nomini Hall, did anyone envision planting out a formal garden in turnips, as once did Landon Carter at Sabine Hall? And then there is boxwood! Please join us for the discussion. About the Stratford Hall Cultural Landscape Laboratory Dating to the late 1730s, the Stratford Hall Great House and its grouping of outbuildings are highly remarkable examples of colonial Virginia architecture. Stratford Hall’s history is equally striking: it was not only the site of a large-scale 18th-century tobacco plantation enterprise, but also the home of the only two brothers to sign the Declaration of Independence and the birthplace of Robert E. Lee. Since 1929, Stratford Hall has been cared for, and made it accessible to the public, by the Robert E. Lee Memorial Association. Adding great interest to the Great House complex is Stratford Hall’s extensive acreage, consisting of nearly 1,900 acres and over two miles of Potomac River shoreline. Previously not studied as a whole, this large property has tremendous potential to reveal a fascinating landscape story from the pre-historic era to the 21st century. Work is underway to examine this landscape holistically and thoroughly. This effort brings together a team consisting of Stratford Hall staff, faculty and graduate students from the University of Georgia’s College of Environment and Design, and historic landscape professionals from the Georgia-based Jaeger Company …working in tandem with the board of the Robert E. Lee Memorial Association and other important stakeholders. Who Should Attend The Stratford Hall symposia are intended for those who are entirely new to the study of cultural landscapes. However, those familiar with Virginia’s early landscape history will encounter exciting ways of thinking about the topic anew. Participants will be in stimulating company with opportunities to discuss the lectures and tour destination findings in congenial settings. Special Needs Tours take place rain or shine. Walking at each tour site is necessary, as well as at Stratford Hall. Please notify us when you register of any physical or medical conditions interfering with normal pace walking or negotiating stairs. Please also notify us of any dietary restrictions. Program Fees The cost for the basic program for Friends of Stratford Hall is $180 per person ($190 non-FOSH), which includes the Friday lecture program, Saturday site visits, two lunches, breaks, and handout materials. The optional Sunday tour program is $20 for Friends of Stratford Hall ($25 for non-FOSH). Register as soon as possible as space is limited. Lodging To inquire about lodging at Stratford Hall please contact (804)493-8038, ext. 8039 or ext. 9696 , or email lbrooks@stratfordhall.org. Lodging is also available in the nearby town of Warsaw, Virginia, as well as in Fredericksburg. For a listing of options please contact Jon Bachman at jbachman@stratfordhall.org, or call 804-493-8038, ext. 1039. SCHEDULE [Subject to change]
Friday, October 22 Saturday, October 23 Sunday, October 24
SPEAKERS Peggy Cornett has worked at Monticello since 1983, first as assistant director of gardens and grounds. From 1992 to 2009 she directed Monticello’s Thomas Jefferson Center for Historic Plants, and currently she serves as Monticello’s curator of plants. Her Popular Annuals of Eastern North America, 1865-1914 was published by Dumbarton Oaks in 1985, and she writes for numerous periodicals and publications. She is editor of Magnolia, the quarterly bulletin of the Southern Garden History. Peggy has a B.A. in Botany and English from UNC-Chapel Hill and a M.S. in Botanic Garden Administration from the Longwood Graduate Program at the University of Delaware in Newark. Peggy chairs Stratford Hall’s Historic Landscapes Advisory Panel.
Beate Jensen is Building and Grounds Preservation Supervisor at the Gari Melchers Home and Studio at Belmont in Falmouth, Virginia, where she has been employed for over 10 years. Beate has a degree in historic preservation from the University of Mary Washington, with an emphasis on landscape history and preservation. While at Belmont she has worked with The Garden Club of Virginia to restore large elements of the early 20th-century landscape of painter Gari Melchers and his wife Corrine. Beate also serves on the Stratford Hall Historic Gardens Advisory Panel.
Lucy Lawliss has been Superintendent at the George Washington Birthplace National Monument and Thomas Stone National Historic Site since 2008. Employed with the National Park Service for 19 years, Lucy served for 10 years as the lead Historic Landscape Architect for the Southeast Region and 4 as the national lead for the Cultural Landscapes program in Washington, DC. She has her BLA and MLA with a certificate in Historic Preservation from the University of Georgia.
Eric MacDonald is Assistant Professor at the University of Georgia’s College of Environment and Design. There he is responsible for directing Stratford Hall cultural landscape research activities. His teaching and research focuses on environmental design history and cultural landscape interpretation and management. Dr. MacDonald's research in cultural landscape management and environmental history has been recognized by awards from the American Society of Landscape Architects, The Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts, and a Fellowship in Garden and Landscape Studies at Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection.
Ken McFarland retired recently as Stratford Hall’s director of education. He continues to assist with the cultural landscape study, however, along with helping to develop programs such as this symposium.. Ken has degrees in history from Virginia Commonwealth University and UNC-Chapel Hill and a longtime interest in garden and landscape history. A past president, of the Southern Garden History Society, he is associate editor of Magnolia, the Society’s quarterly publication. Two articles by Ken on the Stratford gardens have appeared in Magnolia.
Sarah Dillard Pope, Executive Director of the Menokin Foundation, has worked in the preservation nearly 20 years and has a particular interest in cultural landscapes and community development. She worked with the National Trust for Historic Preservation and then for the National Park Service, as well as with the Virginia Main Street program. A native of Essex County, Virginia, Sarah has been Menokin Foundation Executive Director for 5 years. The Foundation’s mission is to preserve and interpret the home and grounds of Francis Lightfoot Lee so as better to understand the fields of architecture, conservation, ecology and other areas of the humanities. Sarah holds an undergraduate degree in art history from William and Mary and a masters in historic preservation from the University of Georgia.
Dennis J. Pogue, Ph.D., is an Associate Director of George Washington’s Mount Vernon Estate and Gardens, responsible for all preservation-related activities. Employed at Mount Vernon since 1987, he served seven years as the Chief Archaeologist, directing the permanent archaeological research program. In 1994 Dr. Pogue also began directing the newly created Restoration Department, overseeing all restoration and research activities relating to the historic site. In 1999 he joined Mount Vernon’s senior management team as an associate director, while continuing to direct the Restoration Department. Dr. Pogue has served on the Stratford Hall Historic Resources Advisory Panel since its inception in 1994.
Mollie Ridout is Director of Horticulture at Historic Annapolis, where she oversees the William Paca Garden. She is a native of Annapolis and has had a lifelong interest in the landscape of the Chesapeake region. She received an MS in Landscape Architecture at the University of Wisconsin and pursued further graduate studies in the Geography Department at Penn State, focused on historical and cultural landscapes.
Please print and fill out the attached registration form and mail to:
Any questions about the program can be emailed to Jon Bachman or Ken McFarland or, if by phone, 804-493-8038, ext. 1039 (Jon Bachman). |
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