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June 2020
Gwynn’s Island Museum Open
Visit the Gwynn's Island Museum Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays 1pm-5pm
Find out more »Mathews Maritime Museum Open
The Mathews Maritime Museum will reopen Fridays and Saturdays 10 AM to 2 PM, and continue through the summer months Fridays and Saturdays. We welcome visitors to view 2 new exhibits. A history of the steamboat era and its importance to Mathews County when it was the life line of this area. Also a display of the rich history of Fitchetts Wharf from the shipwright activities of the early 1800’s, to its prominent role during the Civil War including the blockade runner C.…
Find out more »Tompkins Cottage Museum circa 1820
Open 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturdays, starting June 27-Oct. 31, 2020 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 and serves as a gift shop, two rooms representing a home from the 1840s to the 1920s,…
Find out more »Thomas James Store circa 1820
Open 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturdays, starting June 27-Oct. 31, 2020 Take a self-guided tour of one of the best-preserved early 19th--century stores in the southeastern U.S. This rare commercial structure has retained much of its original fabric; shed-roofed rectangular wings were added around 1900. Interpretive signage explains what the various marks and features represent. The Thomas James Store is owned and maintained by the Mathews County Historical Society.
Find out more »MCHS Book Launch – Historic Homes
MCHS Book Launch “Historic Homes and Properties of Mathews County, Virginia” Sat., June 27th at 11 a.m. Tompkins Cottage Museum 43 Brickbat Rd. | Mathews, Va. Volume 4 of “Historic Homes and Properties of Mathews County, Virginia” will be launched in a reception at 11 a.m. at Tompkins Cottage Museum. This 4th in a series of five books features ten of Mathews County’s antebellum historic properties: Auburn, Augustine Diggs House, Augustine F. Hudgins House, Cedar Grove, Gwynnville, Henry Sibley House,…
Find out more »October 2020
Lighthouse Keeper Grave Marker Ceremonies
On Saturday, October 3, volunteers with the non-profit Chesapeake Chapter, U.S. Lighthouse Society, will honor seven Chesapeake Bay lighthouse Keepers in special ceremonies at three cemeteries in Mathews County. The Chapter will hold the first 30-minute-long tribute to Keeper Walter M. Shawn at the Trinity Church Cemetery in Foster at 9:30 am. Keeper Henry Luther Dow will then be honored at the St. Paul United Methodist Church Cemetery in Susan at 11:15 am. After a break for lunch, five keepers…
Find out more »November 2020
Tompkins Cottage Museum Holiday Open House
Tompkins Cottage Museum will be open for visitors and holiday shoppers. Stop by for a self-guided tour and do some holiday shoppingfor the history buff in your family. All items will be 20% off.
Find out more »April 2021
Book Signing @ Tompkins Cottage Museum
Book Signing @ Tompkins Cottage Museum Sat., April 17th | 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. 43 Brickbat Rd. | Mathews, Va. Thomas T. Wiatt, a distant cousin of Sally Tompkins through the Todd and Field families, will be on hand at Tompkins Cottage Museum on Saturday, April 17 from 10:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. to sell and sign copies of his recent book, Captain Sally: A Biography of Capt. Sally Tompkins, America’s First Female Army Officer. Wiatt was born in Savannah,…
Find out more »July 2021
Maritime Heritage Day Festival
The Mathews Maritime Foundation (MMF) will be having a Maritime Heritage Day Festival Sat., July 17 10 am - 3 pm Come join us at this outdoor event which will take place on the lawn beside the Maritime Museum. Tents will be set up showing various activities and projects we are currently working on. Many photos of past and present will be displayed. MMF members can sign up for a Sunday Cruise on our buy boat The Peggy, or for…
Find out more »September 2021
Boat Building & Restoration – MMF
Boat Building & Restoration Mathews Maritime Foundation, Gwynn's Island Boat Shop Ongoing, every Sat. through November, from 9am-Noon At the Gwynn's Island Boat Shop on State Rte 633, Grimstead, VA 23064. Here's a link to find it on Google Maps: https://goo.gl/maps/7YbwVevfUCrr4EQ39 Free Stop in, take up a tool and help, or just watch and learn. An easy way to gain skills in boat repair and restoration. All ages welcome. Photo: Canoe building at the Boat Shop
Find out more »November 2021
Mathews Historical Museum open
Hot dogs & chili, chips, water, @ $6, served from 11:00-1:30 New exhibit of memorabilia of Captain Robert Roland Hudgins is featured, a commercial fisherman and menhaden captain. His family has allowed access to his photographs so that residents and visitors may learn about his life as a Mathews waterman.
Find out more »Tompkins Cottage Museum Open House
Tompkins Cottage Museum will be open for visitors during the Holiday Farmers Market on Saturday, November 20 from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. The new Christmas ornament of the Mathews County Historical Society will be available for purchase. The 2021 ornament features New Point Comfort Lighthouse, first illuminated in 1805, the third oldest surviving lighthouse on the Chesapeake Bay, and the tenth oldest in the nation. Other items for sale include all MCHS publications and Captain Sally Tompkins dolls. Martha…
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