This Week in Historic Alexandria - August 19, 2024

August 19-25, 2024

What's New

Freedmen Cemetery (Credit: Carol Jean Stalun Photography for Visit Alexandria)

Candlelight Vigil and Wreath Laying at Freedmen's Cemetery

Contrabands and Freedmen Cemetery Memorial, 1001 S. Washington Street
Saturday, September 7
8 p.m. (shuttle service from Lee Center starting at 7:30 p.m.)
Free

The City of Alexandria invites the public to participate in the tenth anniversary of the dedication of the Contrabands and Freedmen Cemetery Memorial. The memorial honors the hundreds of African Americans who sought freedom and protection in Alexandria during the Civil War. This year's remembrance will honor the late Lillie Frinklea and her work with her friend Louise Massoud to create the Friends of Freedmen's Cemetery.

To learn more about the vigil, and ticketed programs and events on Sept. 6-7, visit alexandriava.gov/FreedmenMemorial

To purchase tickets for the Bus Tour of Pre-Civil Era Historic African American Churches and Sites of Alexandria (September 6), 10th Anniversary Luncheon (September 7), or the Bus Tour to Arlington House (September 7), visit alexandriava.gov/shop/Events.aspx.

Trans-Atlantic Book Club with Helsingborg, Sweden

Join Alexandria Library and our Swedish Sister Library, Bibliotek Familjen Helsingborg, for a virtual discussion of the novella Grown Ups by Marie Aubert on Tuesday, October 8, 2024, from 1-2 p.m. Registration required.

Starting September 1, a limited number of copies of Grown Ups will be available for registered participants at the Beatley Adult Information Desk. This discussion is open to both Swedish and American participants, but will be conducted in English.

Helsingborg, Sweden, is one of Alexandria's Sister Cities. Learn more about our Sister Cities here.

Upcoming Events

View the Historic Alexandria Calendar

Family Day with Young Historians
Gadsby's Tavern Museum, 134 N. Royal Street
Every Sunday, August 25 through Labor Day weekend
2 p.m.- 5 p.m.
Fees included in regular admission.

Every Sunday through Labor Day weekend, guests can meet our Junior Docents, young historians grade 4 and up, as they share the stories of the tavern. The afternoon includes historic chocolate-making demonstrations. Past visitors have described the student presentations as an "exciting treat" that brings a "fun element" to the tour. Don't miss out!

WMPA Lyceum Chamber Series
Alexandria History Museum at The Lyceum, 201 S. Washington Street
Sundays through September 15
3 p.m.
No tickets required, suggested donation $25

Washington Metropolitan Philharmonic Association "Lyceum Chamber Series" features different musicians each week. August 18 is Quodlibet, whose group includes flute, clarinet, and bassoon.

For more information, please visit https://www.wmpamusic.org/.

Yoga on the Magnolia Terrace-Happy Hour
Carlyle House Historic Park, 121 N. Fairfax Street
Friday, August 30
6 p.m.-7:30 p.m.
$20

Join our yoga instructor for an hour long Yoga class on Carlyle's Magnolia Terrace. Afterwards, enjoy a mocktail with yoga participants and staff. Mocktails will change based on the month and will be announced on our social media! Yoga Happy Hours are a fundraiser for new exhibit cases in the museum and sponsored by the Friends of Carlyle House.

For more details, visit the event website here.

Muster Friendship and Firefighting in Alexandria
Friendship Firehouse Museum, 107 S. Alfred Street
Saturday, September 14
9 a.m.- 2 p.m.
Free

Join us for a muster of over 15 antique, hand-drawn firefighting apparatus to honor the 250th anniversary of the Friendship Firehouse! Participating vehicles will include 19th-century suction fire engines and hose reel carriages. Friendship Firehouse Museum will be open throughout the event for free as well.

Friendship & Firefighting in Alexandria is sponsored by the Friendship Veterans Fire Engine Association and the Office of Historic Alexandria.

Story Time for Little Historians
Alexandria Black History Museum, 902 Wythe Street
Saturday, September 14
10 a.m.- 10:45 a.m.
Free

Dynamic storytellers use books written by and about African American people and other communities of color to engage with ages 5-8.

Liberation of Paris Garden Party
Lloyd House, 220 N. Washington Street
Saturday, September 14
6 p.m.- 9:30 p.m.
$75
Tickets can be purchased via Eventbrite "Liberation of Paris"

Celebrate the 80th anniversary of the Liberation of Paris at a festive garden party hosted by the British Officers Club, Washington, DC, and the Alexandria-Caen Sister City Committee. Enjoy swing music, dancing, delicious food, and a cash bar. 1940s attire welcome!

Alexandria Fire History Symposium
George Washington National Masonic Memorial, 101 Callahan Drive
Sunday, September 15
10 a.m.- 3 p.m.
Free, registration required.

Mark the 250th anniversary of the Friendship Fire Company on Sunday, September 15, and join the Friendship Veterans Fire Engine Association for the "Alexandria Fire History Symposium." Three panels of firefighting history specialists will discuss Alexandria's early and more recent firefighting history. Topics are: The Great Fires, Remembering Those Who Served, and Responding to Terror.

To register, please contact Jim McClellan at [email protected] by September 10th. For more details visit AlexandriaVa.gov/Historic.

Members of the Friendship Fire Company were volunteers motivated by their concern for safety and property. Now called the Friendship Veterans Fire Engine Association (FVFEA), the organization continues to support the Alexandria community.

Tavern Games Night: Rum Edition
Gadsby's Tavern Museum, 134 N. Royal St.
Friday, September 20
7 - 9:30 p.m.
$10
Tickets can be purchased online.

It's National Rum Punch Day! To celebrate, play tavern games and enjoy traditional rum punch-a popular tavern drink. Includes brief presentations about tavern entertainments and group games. Cash bar.

Classic Car Show
Alexandria History Museum at The Lyceum, 201 S. Washington Street
Saturday, September 21
10 a.m.- 1 p.m.
Free

Join us in the parking lot of the Alexandria History Museum at The Lyceum for a classic car show featuring a variety of "orphan" vehicles. This show will bring together cars that are no longer manufactured - hence the term "orphans" - and is scheduled to include cars made by Packard, Hudson, MG, Nash, Pontiac, and more.

The show is free and is co-sponsored by Packards Virginia and the Alexandria History Museum at The Lyceum. For more information, visit packardsva.org.

ACRP Documentary Screening
George Washington National Masonic Memorial, 101 Callahan Drive
Saturday, September 21
5:30 p.m. Fundraiser Reception
6:30 p.m. Theater doors open
7-8:30 p.m. Film screening followed by a panel discussion
Purchase tickets online.

The Alexandria Community Remembrance Project (ACRP) will debut a documentary film titled Resolved: Never Again. Filmmaker Robin Hamilton explores the port city's involvement in slavery and the domestic slave trade until the Civil War, an era followed by decades of racial terror when the lynchings of Joseph McCoy and Benjamin Thomas took place. The documentary also examines how Alexandria has been confronting parts of this past since 2019.

The evening opens at 5:30 with a Fundraising Reception where you can meet Filmmaker Robin Hamilton and individuals featured in the documentary.

All proceeds from this event support the work of the Alexandria Community Remembrance Project.

Support Historic Alexandria

Historic Alexandria receives City operational funding to support its mission; however, these resources do not cover the full scope of the department's strategic goals and projects. Donations, special revenue, and grant funding help supplement staff, conservation work, and educational programs. Please consider making a gift today.

Historic Alexandria Museum Hours

Plan your Visit

• Alexandria Archaeology Museum
  Tuesdays through Fridays, 11 a.m.-4 p.m., Saturdays, 11 a.m.-5 p.m., Sundays, 1-5 p.m.
• Alexandria Black History Museum
  Thursdays and Fridays, 11 a.m.-4 p.m., Saturdays, 11 a.m.-5 p.m., Sundays, 1-5 p.m.
• Alexandria History Museum at The Lyceum
  Thursdays and Fridays, 11 a.m.-4 p.m., Saturdays, 11 a.m.-5 p.m., Sundays, 1-5 p.m.
• Fort Ward Museum
  Thursdays and Fridays, 11 a.m.-4 p.m., Saturdays, 11 a.m.-5 p.m., Sundays, 1-5 p.m.
• Freedom House Museum
  Thursdays and Fridays, 11 a.m.-4 p.m., Saturdays, 11 a.m.-5 p.m., Sundays and Mondays, 1-5 p.m.
• Friendship Firehouse Museum
  Saturday, September 14, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
• Gadsby's Tavern Museum
  Thursdays and Fridays, 11 a.m.-4 p.m., Saturdays, 11 a.m.-5 p.m., Sundays through Tuesdays, 1-5 p.m.
• Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary Museum
  Wednesdays-Fridays, 11 a.m.- 4 p.m., Saturdays, 11 a.m. - 5 p.m., Sundays & Mondays 1 - 5 p.m.

  Note: Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary Museum and Alexandria Archaeology Museum will be closed August 21

Visit our website and follow us on social media to discover new things about your hometown. For more information, visit alexandriava.gov/Historic. Admission to City of Alexandria museums is complimentary for city residents.

For reasonable disability accommodation, contact Nicole Quinn at [email protected] or call 703.746.4554, Virginia Relay 711.

This Week in Alexandria's History

More from This Day in History

The Alexandria Library (now Barrett Branch Library) opened as a whites-only facility. To force integration, lawyer Samuel Tucker organized a sit-in. On August 21, 1939, five African American men-William Evans, Edward Gaddis, Morris Murray, Clarence Strange, and Otto Tucker-entered the library and requested a library card. When the librarian refused, each selected a book, sat down, and began to read. 14-year-old Robert Strange served as the lookout, notifying Tucker when the librarian called the police. Tucker alerted the press, and he and the press arrived to witness the police escorting the five men out of the library. The men were ultimately charged with disorderly conduct.

While Tucker hoped to gain equal access, the City instead built a separate facility. The Robert H. Robinson Library for African Americans opened in 1940. Tucker refused a library card to this separate facility, which was far from equal to the whites-only library. The library system did not begin desegregation until 1959.

Upcoming Commission and Committee Events

Commissions Supporting Historic Alexandria

• August 19 George Washington Birthday Celebration Committee (GWBCC)
  Lloyd House, 220 N. Washington Street
  7-9 p.m.

• August 20 Historic Alexandria Resources Commission (HARC)
  Lloyd House, 220 N. Washington Street
  7-9 p.m.

• September 3 Historic Alexandria Resources Commission, Advocacy Subcommittee
  La Madeleine, 500 King Street
  10 a.m.

• September 9 Alexandria-Caen Sister City Committee
  Sister Cities Conference Room, 1101 City Hall
  7-9 p.m.

• September 10 Alexandria Community Remembrance Project Steering Committee
  Alexandria Black History Museum, 902 Wythe Street
  5 p.m.

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