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May 2022
May Faire
First Saturday in May Kick off the Spring season with May Faire, in Mathews County, Virginia the first weekend of May every year; join us for a community heritage festival. This year's festival will be held on Saturday, May 7th on the Historic Courthouse Green. The 2022 May Faire theme will be Celebrating Mathews Watermen. This year’s theme will be a tribute to those county residents who worked in the past and now work on the water: the oystermen, fishermen,…
Find out more »November 2022
Tompkins Cottage Museum Holiday Open House
Tompkins Cottage Museum Holiday Open House 43 Brickbat Rd. Sat., Nov. 19th 10 a.m.-1 p.m. https://www.mathewscountyhistoricalsociety.org/ Tompkins Cottage Museum will be open for visitors and holiday shoppers during the Holiday Farmers Market on Saturday, November 19th from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Stop by for a tour and do some holiday shopping for the history buff in your family.
Find out more »December 2022
Tompkins Cottage Museum Christmas Open House
Tompkins Cottage Museum Christmas Open House 43 Brickbat Rd. Sat., Dec. 10th 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Tompkins Cottage Museum Christmas Open House will be Saturday, December 10th as part of the Mathews Farmers Christmas Market. The Cottage will be open from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Stop by for a tour and do some holiday shopping for the history buff in your family.
Find out more »March 2023
Movie Day at the Museum
Back by popular demand! A matinee replay of HAPPY HOMES and FERTILE FARMS on SMILING WATERS An original movie, originally produced in 1999 by longtime county resident Eugene C. Hudgins, who narrates the film. Mathews County was the subject of his interest for many years. The history of the area was a special love of his and as he shows and talks about the county, one can feel the love and pride that he has for it. The Museum is proud and…
Find out more »April 2023
Tompkins Cottage Museum Open
Open April 1st - October 28th! The cottage, which is headquarters for the Mathews County Historical Society, is named for Christopher Tompkins, a local sea captain, planter, local merchant, and member of the state legislature. He bought the cottage property in 1837 and is the first known owner. Exhibits include a room dedicated to the history of Mathews County which serves as a gift shop, two rooms representing a home from the 1840s to the 1900s, and a room dedicated…
Find out more »May 2023
Memorial Day Weekend Exhibit
The Mathews Historical Museum will team with the Retired Officers of Mathews County Association (ROMCA) to present a memorabilia display over the Memorial Day Weekend! The display will be open to the public at no charge. It will consist of a wide variety of unique and personalized items reflecting ROMCA members’ military service during the past 75 years. There will be a ROMCA member present for all the sessions to answer questions, and also to provide information concerning ROMCA. The museum, will…
Find out more »June 2023
Movie Night at the Museum
Join the Mathews Historical Museum for a Friday Movie Night! The Museum cordially invites you to a showing of “TAKING FLIGHT,” stories of early Virginia aviation from 1864 to 1940. Doors open at 6:30 PM Movie at 7 PM This no-cost event is open to the public, at no cost.
Find out more »July 2023
Movie Night at the Museum
Local Gloucester resident, Mary Bush Shipko, aviatrix and a violinist in the Courthouse Community Orchestra, is guest speaker at Mathews Historical Museum Movie Night, Friday, July 14. Shipko’s remarks will precede a showing of Part II of a movie detailing Virginia’s role in aviation history. “Taking Flight—Stories of Modern Virginia Aviation, 1941 to Present Day,” Part II, is produced by Dave Miller of Miller Productions of Virginia. Miller is a prize winning independent film maker who is now focusing his efforts on Virginia stories and…
Find out more »August 2023
Movie Night: Horatio’s Drive
Join the Mathews Historical Museum for a free, family-friendly movie night! The Museum is screening the movie "Horatio's Drive." In the spring of 1903, on a whim and a $50 bet, Dr. Horatio Nelson Jackson set off from San Francisco in a 20-horsepower touring car hoping to become the first person to cross the US in a "horseless carriage!" Doors open at 6:30 PM, movie begins at 7 PM.
Find out more »October 2023
4th Mathews USLHS Grave Marker Event
SIX LIGHTHOUSE KEEPERS TO BE HONORED On Saturday, October 7, volunteers with the nonprofit organization, U.S. Lighthouse Society and its Chesapeake Chapter, will honor six Chesapeake Bay lighthouse keepers in special ceremonies at three cemeteries in Mathews County. During the ceremonies, each keeper will be honored with the unveiling of a United States Lighthouse Service grave marker. The chapter will conduct the first 30-minute long tribute to William Edward Davis at H.C. Smither Cemetery in Hudgins at 9:30 a.m. The…
Find out more »Afternoon Tea & Fashion Show
Join the Mathews Historical Museum for an Afternoon Tea & Fashion Show, featuring the "Underside of History," with 17th, 18th and 19th century garments! Tickets are $12 in advance, and $15 at the door- more information on how to purchase tickets is available at the Visitor Center & Doodlebugs.
Find out more »The Haunting of the Hudgins House
Join the Mathews Memorial Library for "The Haunting of the HUDGINS HOUSE... an Ever-Evolving Tale" with Benn Trask. This free event is open to the public, and refreshments will be served! The Hudgins House tale began in the fall of 1882 when lighthouse officials in Baltimore granted Assistant Keeper Augustine F. Hudgins of the Wolf Trap station a leave of absence to tend to an unusual family matter. The issue reportedly was a malicious spirit that was tormenting the lighthouse…
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