
This Week in Historic Alexandria - February 17, 2025

february 17–23, 2025
What's New

Final Public Presentation: Murray-Dick-Fawcett House Comprehensive Plan
Monday, February 24, 2025
6–7:00 p.m.
Register for the virtual presentation: Zoom Webinar Registration
Join the Office of Historic Alexandria and Glavé & Holmes Architecture for the final presentation of the Murray-Dick-Fawcett House Comprehensive Plan. This is your chance to learn about plans for the site’s preservation, interpretation, and future as a City-owned museum.
The Murray-Dick-Fawcett House, located at 517 Prince Street, was purchased by the City in 2017. The 1770s structure has been recognized as a unique architectural example of a frame middle-class home that remained largely unaltered over time. The final report and a recording of this presentation will be available on the project website.
We invite you to participate in this opportunity via zoom!
Learn more: Comprehensive Plan – Murray-Dick-Fawcett House

VOTE in the VAM Top 10 Endangered Artifacts Competition
The 1872 Patriotic Convention Ribbon that is a part of the Lewis Cass White collection at Fort Ward was selected to be a part of this year’s Virginia Association of Museums (VAM) Top 10 Endangered Artifacts competition. This 153-year-old ribbon is severely deteriorated and in danger of losing fragile pieces, especially along the top edge. Plus the delicate silk material is torn and frayed. The ribbon’s condition prevents it from being exhibited and handled properly by curators. Please help us to conserve this object and vote daily (on all of your devices!) through Feb 28 for our ribbon to help us win additional prize money toward conservation!
https://www.vamuseums.org/vote-for-vas-top-10-endangered-artifacts

Alexandria Archaeology Summer Camp - Registration Opens March 4!
Alexandria Archaeology Summer Camp
Monday - Friday, June 23-27
9 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Ages 13 - 15
$400, with scholarships available
Registration is limited; apply here
Help City archaeologists excavate a real archaeological site and preserve Alexandria's historic resources! Campers, ages 13 - 15, will learn scientific excavating and artifact processing methods.
Registration opens on Monday, March 4. Registration is limited and applications are processed on a first-come, first served basis. The week-long camp is $400 with scholarships available. Sign up by first making a payment for the camp at The Alexandria Shop or by calling 703.746.4399, and then sending in an application online or picking up forms from the Alexandria Archaeology Museum, 105 N Union St., #327. Refunds cannot be made after May 2, 2025. Camper space is not guaranteed until payment is made.
Upcoming Events
View the Historic Alexandria Calendar
Martin Luther King Jr. Poster Exhibition
On view in the Vola Lawson Lobby of City Hall, 301 King Street
Saturday, February 1 - Friday, February 28
Free
The Alexandria Black History Museum, in partnership with the Office of Historic Alexandria, sponsors an annual Student Poster Exhibition for Alexandria City Public School students in grades 2-5. The 2025 theme is Mission Possible: Freedom, Justice, and Democracy. The Posters will be on view in the Vola Lawson Lobby of City Hall throughout the month of February. This is a 30+ year event that has over 200 ACPS students and their families attend. View the posters online.
Glimpses of Historic Alexandria: A Carol Stalun Exhibition
Lee-Fendall House Museum & Garden, 614 Oronoco Street
Saturday, February 1- Sunday, April 27
Learn more.
Lee-Fendall's newest exhibit, Glimpses of Historic Alexandria, showcases a collection of photographs by local Alexandria photographer, Carol Jean Stalun. This special exhibition brings together many of Stalun's works that are focused on historic sites around the city of Alexandria. Learn the history of these sites as you walk around the Lee-Fendall House that was built over 200 years ago. Admission into the exhibit is included with general admission.
Future of Market Square
Virtual meeting
Thursday, February 20
Register online at alexandriava.gov/CityHall.
The journey to reimagine City Hall and Market Square is reaching an exciting milestone, and we want YOU to be part of it! Join us on Thursday, February 20, 2025, 7-8:30 p.m., for a virtual meeting as we kick-off Series #4 of community meetings to help shape the future of this transformative project.
At this session, you’ll be among the first to share your ideas on how the revitalized City Hall can best serve the community – suggest programs, activities, and experiences that could shape the future of City Hall! This is a free event and is open to all. Advanced registration is required.
Meaningful Conversations about Racism and What to Do About It
Topic: Safety and Self-Actualization
Alexandria Black History Museum, 902 Wythe Street
Thursday, February 20
7 - 9 p.m.
Free
Join us for a continued series of meaningful conversations aimed at exploring and celebrating the diversity of cultures and peoples in our community. We will address the attitudes and behaviors that continue to divide us and seek solutions grounded in the understanding that we are all part of an interconnected, interdependent human family.
The Poppaw Queen (90 mins) film screening followed by a Q&A with the film's director Malachi Elijah Robinson.
The Alexandria History Museum at The Lyceum, 201 S. Washington Street
Friday, February 21
Doors open at 6:00 pm; film at 6:30 pm.
$15 tickets available at Eventive.com and at the door.
In honor of Black History Month, the Alexandria Film Festival will present The Poppaw Queen, a historical documentary directed by Malachi Elijah Robinson that chronicles the story of Mary Queen and her descendants' historic fight for freedom. Mary Queen, "The Poppaw Queen," was born in South America and illegally sold as an indentured servant in Maryland around 1715. In 1796, some of Mary Queen's descendants petitioned for their freedom in the courts of Maryland, D.C. and the U.S. Supreme Court on the claim that she was born a free woman. Many recovered their freedom while others did not and remained enslaved, some of whom were sold to support Georgetown University in 1838. The film honors her memory and explores the suppressed history of slavery in Maryland, followed by a moderated Q&A with the director.
Vive Lafayette Wine Challenge
Gadsby’s Tavern Museum, 134 N. Royal Street
Friday, February 21
7-9:30 p.m.
$100
Purchase tickets.
To commemorate the Bicentennial of the Marquis de Lafayette’s February 21, 1825, visit to Alexandria, join us at Gadsby’s Tavern Museum for a France vs. Virginia wine challenge. Meet the Marquis de Lafayette, enjoy tavern games, listen to live 19th-century music, and taste six wine varieties paired with heavy hors d'oeuvres and charcuterie. We’ll pit France vs. Virginia with six different grape varietals and you’ll have a chance to vote for your favorite in each category. Please note the event takes place on the second floor of the building. Due to the historic nature of the building, there is no elevator.
Preservation Tours: Lost Buildings of Alexandria-The Berg & Parker-Gray
Lee-Fendall House Museum & Garden, 614 Oronoco Street
Saturday, February 22
1-2 p.m.
$20
Purchase tickets.
Join Carlyle House and Lee-Fendall House on a tour of “Lost Alexandria.” Explore parts of the historic neighborhoods of The Berg & Parker-Gray. Learn why these buildings were not preserved.
Tour begins at Lee-Fendall House, 614 Oronoco St. This tour includes walking over many city blocks. Walking shoes required, bottled water suggested. Held rain or shine. Tour will be cancelled in extreme weather.
Specialty Tour: A Magical Apothecary
Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary Museum, 105-107 South Fairfax Street
Sunday, February 23
11 a.m.-noon
$15, $12 Historic Alexandria members
Purchase tickets.
Learn about the muggle botanical science that inspired the potions and herbology of Harry Potter's wizarding world on a tour of this 19th century apothecary, and make your own magical potion! Recommended for ages 8 and up.
Choir of William and Mary Concert for a Cause
Old Presbyterian Meeting House, 323 South Fairfax Street
Sunday, February 23
4 p.m.
Free
The Choir of the College of William and Mary will perform a concert at the Old Presbyterian Meeting House, 323 South Fairfax Street. The Choir is starting its 101st year. The concert is free, but a voluntary offering will be collected to benefit two $3000 scholarships established by the Alexandria Community Remembrance Project. These scholarships, first awarded in 2024, recognize and remember this City's known lynching victims: Joseph McCoy (1897) and Benjamin Thomas (1899), by providing scholarships to two Alexandria City High School students annually.
Now Is the Winter of Our Lafayette: The National Tour January-March 1825
Location: Online via Zoom
Wednesday, February 26, 2025
7 p.m.
Free
Register online.
Historian and author Elizabeth Reese will explore the Marquis de Lafayette’s travels during his 1824–1825 tour of the United States, with a particular focus on his time in the National Capital Region, including Alexandria. This insightful talk will highlight his relationships with key figures, the enthusiasm of his American admirers, and how his progressive values shaped his interactions and legacy.
Lecture: Robert Colby
Alexandria History Museum at The Lyceum, 201 South Washington Street
Thursday, March 6
7-9 p.m.
$15, $12 for Historic Alexandria members
Purchase tickets.
Robert Colby is an Assistant Professor of History at the University of Mississippi. His first book, An Unholy Traffic: Slave Trading in the Civil War South, was published in 2024 by Oxford University Press. His research has won awards from the Society of American Historians and the Society of Civil War Historians and has been published in the Journal of the Civil War Era, Journal of the Early Republic, and Slavery & Abolition. Proceeds from the event support Freedom House Museum.
Between Fort Sumter and Appomattox, Confederates bought and sold thousands of men, women, and children through a persisting trade in enslaved people. They did so for a multitude of reasons, including to adapt to the conflict, to invest in their desired slaveholding future, and to fend off the onset of emancipation. These transactions had profound impacts on the enslaved, their lives and families, and the ways in which they pursued freedom during the war. The surviving traffic in humanity thus shaped the experience of the Civil War and its aftermath for all inhabitants of the wartime South.
Specialty Tour: A Toast to the Ladies!
Gadsby’s Tavern Museum, 134 N. Royal Street
Friday, March 7 and Saturday, March 8
6-7:30 p.m.
$20, $15 Historic Alexandria members
Purchase tickets.
This special tour and discussion will highlight the many women over the centuries associated with Gadsby’s Tavern Museum. From Hannah Griffith, the first woman to operate a coffeehouse in the tavern, to the spearheading preservationist Rebecca Ramsay Reese, these women’s stories will spark conversations about political, economic, and social conditions for women in the past and the present. Please note the tour involves ascending and descending stairs Ticket includes tea, which can be carried throughout the tour and discussion.
Story Time for Little Historians
Alexandria Black History Museum, 902 Wythe Street
Saturday, March 8
10 - 10:45 a.m.
Free
Designed for children ages 4-8, this event introduces young learners to African and African American culture through stories and songs.
Minnie Howard Historic School Integration Sign Unveiling
Alexandria City High School, Minnie Howard Campus, 3775 W. Braddock Rd.
Limited seating, parking in the lot at the front door.
Saturday, March 8
11 - 11:30 a.m.
Free
During the height of segregation, five young Black students of the Belk and Bradby families integrated the white Minnie Howard Elementary School. A new historic interpretation sign will be unveiled on Saturday, March 8 honoring these students and families. Join the Office of Historic Alexandria, the Belk and Bradby families, and the community for a special program and ribbon cutting.
An Evening of Irish Music
Alexandria History Museum at The Lyceum, 201 South Washington Street
Saturday, March 8
7 p.m.
Ticket $10/$15 at the door, Children 17 & Under $5. Free Snacks. Beer & wine for sale.
Purchase tickets.
Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day early with The Irish Breakfast Band. Most Irish Breakfast Bank performances feature 15 or more musicians, often several fiddles and flutes, a guitar or two, a drummer, a hammered dulcimer, banjo, pipes, and at least one vocalist. The band performs extensively in the Washington Metropolitan area at festivals and other events including the Washington Folk Festival, Art on the Avenue (in Alexandria) and local concert series. Proceeds from ticket sales, cash bar, and tips benefit the Office of Historic Alexandria.
Specialty Tour: Poisons at the Apothecary Museum
Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary Museum, 105-107 South Fairfax Street
Sunday, March 9
11 a.m. - 12 p.m. (Please arrive between 10:45-11 a.m.)
$15, $12 Historic Alexandria members
Purchase tickets.
Come explore the sinister side of medicine on the Apothecary Museum’s Poisons Tour. This one-hour tour explores several different types of poisons, their historic uses at the Apothecary, and what we know today. Recommended for ages 18 and up. Tour is 11a.m. to 12 p.m. Please arrive between 10:45 - 11 a.m. as the museum is not open to the public until 1 p.m. and the doors will be locked when the tour begins at 11 a.m.
Confronting Whiteness: Seeing Beyond Colorblindness for Deeper Conversations on Race, led by Rev. Dr. Benjamin Boswell.
Charles Houston Recreation Center, 901 Wythe Street
Multipurpose Room
Monday, March 10
6:30-8:30 p.m.
Registration Required.
Free
This interfaith workshop will help people better understand the pervasive culture of whiteness that seeps into our everydayness. Those attending will gain tools to challenge the growing belief in “colorblindness” and on a personal level, will help us recognize and end practices and habits that support white supremacy. This is the foundation we need to build better relationships and repair our community. Please register soon for this free workshop as space is limited. Some snacks will be provided.
Specialty Tour: Midwifery
Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary Museum, 105-107 South Fairfax Street
Friday, March 21 and Saturday, March 22
6:30 p.m. (Please arrive between 6:15 and 6:30 p.m.)
$15, $12 Historic Alexandria members
Purchase tickets.
Midwives did more than deliver babies! Explore the role, knowledge, and challenges of Midwives through the lens of the Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary Museum and its collection of historic medicines and archives. Content note: this tour will cover the complex history around contraception, abortion, and miscarriage; recommended for ages 18 and older. Tour begins promptly at 6:30 p.m. and late guests will not be able to be admitted. Please note the tour includes ascending and descending stairs.
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
Alexandria Archaeology Museum
Tuesdays–Fridays, 11 a.m. – 4 p.m., Saturdays, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m., Sundays, 1 – 5 p.m.
Alexandria Black History Museum
Thursdays & 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 & Fridays, 11 a.m. – 4 p.m., Saturdays, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m., Sundays, 1 – 5 p.m.
Fort Ward Museum
Thursdays & Fridays, 11 a.m. – 4 p.m., Saturdays, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m., Sundays, 1 – 5 p.m.
Freedom House Museum
Saturdays, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m., Sundays, 1 – 5 p.m.
Friendship Firehouse Museum
Saturday, March 29, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Gadsby’s Tavern Museum
Thursdays & Fridays, 11 a.m.– 4 p.m., Saturdays, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m., Sundays, 1– 5 p.m.
Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary Museum
Wednesdays–Fridays, 11 a.m.– 4 p.m., Saturdays, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m., Sundays 1 - 5 p.m.
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 historicalexandria@alexandriava.gov or call 703.746.4554, Virginia Relay 711.
This Week in Alexandria's History
On February 20, 1775 George Washington cast a vote for himself in Alexandria in a successful bid to be elected as a delegate to the State Convention. 174 years later, on his exact birthday, February 22, 1949, 75,000 spectators turned out for Alexandria’s George Washington Birthday Parade tribute in his honor.
Upcoming Commission and Committee Events
Commissions Supporting Historic Alexandria
February 18 Historic Alexandria Resources Commission
Lloyd House, 220 N. Washington Street
7-9 p.m.February 19 Alexandria Historical Restoration and Preservation Commission
Lloyd House, 220 N. Washington Street
8-9:15 a.m.February 19 Alexandria Archaeological Commission
Lloyd House, 220 N. Washington Street
7 p.m.February 24 Public Records Advisory Commission
Archives and Records Center, 801 South Payne Street
7:30 p.m.February 26 ACRP’s Schools and Libraries Action Committee
Alexandria Black History Museum, 902 Wythe Street
6 p.m.March 3 George Washington Birthday Celebration Committee
Lloyd House, 220 N. Washington Street
7-9 p.m.March 10 Alexandria-Caen Sister City Committee
City Hall, 301 King Street, Sister Cities Room 1101
7-9 p.m.March 12 Alexandria Historical Restoration and Preservation Commission
Lloyd House, 220 N. Washington Street
8-9:15 a.m.March 12 ACRP’s Steering Committee
Alexandria Black History Museum, 902 Wythe Street
5:30 p.m.March 17 Sister Cities Committee (SCC) - Dundee and Helsingborg
Lloyd House, 220 N. Washington Street
7-8:30 p.m.March 18 Historic Alexandria Resources Commission
Lloyd House, 220 N. Washington Street
7-9 p.m.March 19 Alexandria Archaeological Commission
Lloyd House, 220 N. Washington Street
7 p.m.