News

Almost exactly four years after archeologists recovered three 18th-century ships from under the Old Town Waterfront, Alexandria is planning on sending at least two of them back to Davy Jones’ Locker.

Three ships were discovered under the Robinson Landing construction site in March 2018. While the most intact of the trio was sent to Texas A&M for study and will get a new Torpedo Factory exhibit next month, the other two have sat in water tanks in the DASH bus barn. At a meeting of the Waterfront Commission, City Archaeologist Eleanor Breen said that sometime this year the city will start moving the ships out of their 12×24-foot tanks and out to Ben Brenman Pond (4800 Brenman Park Drive).


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During the Civil War, the former home of Revolutionary War hero Henry “Light Horse Harry” Lee was converted into a hospital for wounded Union soldiers. On Saturday (March 19), the Lee-Fendall House will briefly be converted into a hospital with living history reenactors.

The home of the former Virginia governor, and father of Confederate General Robert E. Lee, was also the site of the first-known successful blood transfusion.


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Fans of Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series have another treat on Sunday (March 6) in Old Town. In addition to the season 6 premier on Sunday, there will also be an Outlandish Tour of the Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary Museum.

The Apothecary Museum is known for incorporating popular culture into their work. For years, their Harry Potter tours have been popular for potions-masters-in-the-making.


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George Washington birthday parade returning on Monday — “Celebrate Presidents’ Day and the first president’s 290th birthday at the George Washington Birthday Parade on Monday.” [Alexandria Times]

Study: coastal flooding to increase as seas rise 1 foot by 2050 — “Several areas in and around Alexandria are vulnerable, according to an updated interactive tool.” [Alexandria Living Magazine]


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An x-ray treatment of an artifact found at Robinson Terminal South has revealed more details about an artifact stuck into a strip of corrupted iron alloy.

The much smaller artifact came from the same area as the buried ships found in 2018. The artifact is a watch fob, a popular 18th and 19th-century accessory, but only part of the original piece was visible. A report by conservator Arianna Johnston from the Maryland Archeological Conservation Laboratory highlighted what their lab learned with further study.


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A local working group has been making its way through plans to update and improve Fort Ward Park, and last week the project got a timeline for when the public could see some of those changes.

Following the Civil War, the fort was home to a sizable Black community that was later pushed out by the City of Alexandria in the name of obtaining park space and historical preservation of the Civil War-era fort.


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With the George Washington Birthday Parade Celebration coming back to Alexandria, nearly 20 restaurants in the city are competing in the #GWCherryChallenge.

The challenge, which pits restaurants against each other to make the best cherry-oriented appetizer, entrée, beverage, or dessert, runs from Feb. 1 to Feb. 15. The winner will be announced on the official parade website.


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There’s been a lot of discussion about changes happening inside the Torpedo Factory, but at least one group in Alexandria wants a little more attention paid to what will happen to the building itself.

At the Historic Alexandria Resources Commission (HARC) Advocacy Committee meeting last Tuesday, the group said there needs to be a seat at the table in Torpedo Factory discussions representing the historic elements of the building.


News

The City of Alexandria is planning to host a public meeting next month to discuss plans to overhaul Fort Ward Park.

The site was a fort constructed during the Civil War as part of a ring of defenses protecting Washington D.C. The site currently has a museum and frequently hosts reenactments of daily life during the Civil War.


News

Alexandria’s land records date back to the 18th century, and the city’s Clerk of the Circuit Court just secured more than $43,000 in grant funding to conserve those records and digitize them for public enjoyment.

This is the second year that the clerk’s office has been awarded the grant, which is made possible through the Circuit Court Records Preservation program from the Virginia Court Clerks Association and the Library of Virginia. Approximately $4.7 million was awarded to clerks offices throughout Virginia this year.


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Ahead of the Freedom House’s scheduled opening this spring, the Office of Historic Alexandria is asking for donations to help with some new exhibits and operations for the museum.

The museum was originally scheduled to open earlier this year, but that opening was pushed back to April 2022.


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