Museum of the
Shenandoah Valley
This morning we traveled via carpool caravan to the Museum
of the Shenandoah in Winchester, Virginia.
This regional museum complex, dedicated to the art, history, and culture
of the Shenandoah
Valley, includes a historic house dating to the 18th century, six
acres of gardens, and a museum designed by architect Michael Graves.
The Glen Burnie Historic House
The Glen Burnie Historic House traces its history to
surveyor James Wood, who settled this land in the early 18th century and
donated portions of his land to establish the city of Winchester,
Virginia in 1744. The land
was received in a grant from Lord Thomas Fairfax. Wood’s son, Robert, constructed the central
portion of the Glen Burnie House in the 1790s.
The house’s ownership passed through generations of Wood, then Glass
family who expanded and modified the house over the years.
Beginning in 1959, the house was transformed into a country
estate, and the Glen Burnie Gardens was constructed. The last owner, Julian Wood
Glass Jr., created the Glass-Glen Burnie Foundation prior to his death in 1992,
and entrusted the Foundation to open the site to the public as a museum.
As part of our house tour, we also explored some of the six
acres of gardens on the museum grounds.
The outside temperature hovered near 94 degrees, with a
feels-like-temperature of 412 degrees, so much of the enjoyment of the gardens
was lost due to the sweltering heat. We
couldn’t move fast enough from one shady spot to another.
The museum complex contains four main galleries.
The Shenandoah
Valley Gallery
Prehistory and history of the Shenandoah Valley are explored
in the museum's large Shenandoah Valley Gallery. Objects on display include furniture, silver
and other metals, baskets, textiles, paintings, folk art, long rifles, and
ceramics, for which the valley is famous.
The Julian Wood
Glass Jr. Gallery
This gallery presents the private collection of paintings
and drawings by recognized artists as well as examples of 18th and 19th century
European furniture and American Federal-period furniture.
The R. Lee Taylor
Miniatures Gallery
This gallery presents an outstanding collection of furnished
miniature houses and rooms by R. Lee Taylor who worked with Julian Wood Glass
Jr. to create the Glen Burnie Gardens. On
display are five houses and four rooms by R. Lee Taylor showcasing the work of
more than seventy-five miniatures artisans. Also on display are four
shadowboxes by the late valley miniatures artist William P. Massey, who created
his work during the 1930s to 1940s.
The Changing
Exhibition Gallery
This gallery was closed during our visit. It displays several temporary exhibitions
throughout the year.
Trolley Tour of
Winchester
After a fine lunch of sandwiches set out by Barbara G. and Connie T., our group boarded a local trolley to tour parts of
Winchester. Fortunately, the trolley had
basic air conditioning that made riding around tolerable.
Patsy Cline House
Our first stop was the Patsy Cline House. The house at 608 S. Kent St. is in a working-class neighborhood of Winchester, Virginia. It was the house of Virginia Patterson Hensley, who later became the country music star known as Patsy Cline. She moved out of the house when she got married at the age of 21 to Gerald Cline, but returned intermittently afterwards. The house is furnished with the actual furniture of the Hensley family.
Our first stop was the Patsy Cline House. The house at 608 S. Kent St. is in a working-class neighborhood of Winchester, Virginia. It was the house of Virginia Patterson Hensley, who later became the country music star known as Patsy Cline. She moved out of the house when she got married at the age of 21 to Gerald Cline, but returned intermittently afterwards. The house is furnished with the actual furniture of the Hensley family.
The house is a simple two-story, three-bay log building with
a front porch, a tin roof, and about 1,000 square feet of space. The sole
bedroom is on the second story and all four members (mother, sister, brother,
and Patsy) of Patsy's family slept there. The house is a log cabin built in the
early-19th century. Walls or wallboard
now cover almost all the logs.
Our docents were very knowledgeable of the Hensley family and
how the house was used throughout the years.
We boarded our trolley and continued our tour of
Winchester. Although our guide presented
an excellent story of the city, the highlight of the afternoon came when we
stopped at the apple/peach orchard where they sell ice cream and strawberry or
peach slushies. (Remember that the
outside temperature was 94.)
After returning to the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley, we
loaded into our cars and drove back to the campground in Harpers Ferry.
