Gari Melchers, 1920 <> Charles Street, Fredericksburg, 2021
Although Gari Melchers’ painting is called St. Georges, that’s actually Fredericksburg Presbyterian in the foreground, with the steeple of St. George’s behind it on the other side of Princess Anne Street.
Home to 50 years of Christmas Messiah concerts on Princess Anne Street, Fredericksburg, Virginia. And, from further away, the other side of the spire as seen from Chatham Manor across the Rappahannock River in Stafford County.
The newly restored (June 2019) belfry and steeple on the old Union Church in Falmouth (c. 1819), via zoom lens from the south lawn at Belmont, the Gari Melchers Home and Studio. (The restoration was reported in this Free Lance-Star article).
I took another shot a few days later without the zoom lens: a wider view of Falmouth from Belmont’s blue bathroom window. Most prominent is the 1966 Falmouth Baptist Church, but the Union Church spire can still be seen in the trees further to the right.
A few more photos from Belmont: the eagle greeting arrivals to the front door, the vertical sundial between the bathroom windows above the sun room (at 10:19am, Feb 14th, 2020), and the south side of the house (at 3:44pm a week later). The sun room was a 1920s (?) Melchers addition to the 1795 house.
The horseshoe staircase outside the back door has a century-old ornate railing which we hope to see renovated soon. This is the center panel, seen from inside the house, looking down the hill to the back gate.
Saint George’s Church, the Renwick old courthouse, and the new courthouse, taken before a Saturday morning run from Hyperion, Fredericksburg, Virginia
Saint George’s Church and the Renwick old courthouse, Fredericksburg, Virginia
I spent some time here sitting in a traffic jam yesterday at the Falmouth light, and realized I don’t remember ever noticing this building before. Apparently it’s an important bit of the history of Old Falmouth Village: an African-American church just outside the officially designated historic district.
Built 1880. Cedar Run Parish founded 40 years earlier, but original church burnt during Civil War. Shared rectors for many years with nearby Grace Episcopal. For several years in the 50s, had Rev. Charles P. Moncure as rector, perhaps a relative of the Aquia Church Moncures.
Built 1865, a country church on a woodsy dirt road. A nice view across farmland to the east.
Hadn’t realized the Bradford Pear would get this big. Nor did the city. The cafe is the Recreation Center (opposite Bike Works), where Erin says you get the best chili dog in Fredericksburg. Friend Morgan of Tree Fredericksburg says they are not good trees (despite their beauty); they tend to split and are very messy. “Bradford Pears are a disaster… grow way too tall to be planted under power lines!”
Entering Fredericksburg after crossing the Rappahannock River by the Chatham Bridge. That’s Saint George’s on the left, behind the Old Stone Warehouse, then Bike Works in the middle, and William Street as the avenue of Bradford Pears. Below, having turned right onto Sophia Street then looking back over the river into Stafford County, see Chatham Manor up on the hill, where Lincoln addressed the troops and Walt Whitman served as a Civil War hospital volunteer.
Working the polls at Hartwood Church