Loudoun Museum

09/28/2023

Collecting local tales through oral history lore.

The Loudoun Museum wants to hear the stories that haunt your neighborhoods and communities. Come share your spirited encounters or hair-raising rumors you have heard about mysterious happenings.

We are recording stories on the following dates:

First Friday: October 6th at 6:30 pm 14 Loudoun St. SW Leesburg, VA

Waterford Craft Fair October 6th, 7th, and 8th https://www.waterfordfairva.org/

We have a couple of guidelines: Your story must be based in or connected to Loudoun County (through people, places, and/or events). We request that stories are kept to a PG-13 rating as we plan to make these available to the public after recording!

Can’t make it to a recording? Email us at [email protected] with “Loudoun Lore” in the subject line.

09/08/2023

It is that Haunted time of year again! Hauntings takes guests on an 80-minute walking tour of historic Leesburg on October 27th and 28th. Tour Guides and Storytellers will share spine tingling stories about the historic homes, buildings, and their inhabitants from the past. On your tour you'll discover lingering ghosts, poisonous deeds, and historic tales that you won't soon forget!

Hauntings is the largest annual fundraiser for the Loudoun Museum and will support new exhibitions, collaborative programs with local businesses and non-profits, guest lecturers, educational programming, and community events.

Purchase tickets here: https://loudounmuseum.networkforgood.com/events/61800-hauntings-2023

09/06/2023

Tickets are selling fast for A Taste of History at our fall fundraiser! Join us and help us preserve, explore, and engage people around Loudoun County History!

Reserve your ticket now at: bit.ly/TasteForHistory_LoudounMuseum

09/02/2023

We are excited to announce a new way to explore our museum! Come visit us and go on a scavenger hunt of our current exhibits and artifacts. Bring your completed scavenger hunt back to the info desk for a prize.

08/28/2023

Join us for First Friday on September 1 for a FREE wet-felting activity presented with Waterford Craft School. Then come inside the Loudoun Museum to enjoy our extended hours!

08/11/2023

Join us for A Taste of History at our fall fundraiser! We will spend the evening celebrating history while enjoying a 5-course meal with guided wine pairings and silent and live auctions.

All proceeds will benefit the Loudoun Museum, helping us to preserve, explore, and engage people around Loudoun County History.

Reserve a ticket now at: bit.ly/TasteForHistory_LoudounMuseum

08/08/2023

Congratulations to our July volunteer appreciation gift-card winner, Clementine! We love being able to show appreciation to our wonderful volunteers as well as being able to support a local business like Gruto's!

Head to our website to learn how you can volunteer with us too!

08/05/2023

Join us September 7 at 6:30 p.m., in the room where it happens, as we welcome local historian and author Nancy Spannaus to the museum.

She will discuss her book, "Hamilton Versus Wall Street," Alexander Hamilton's key ideas, and how they were put into effect throughout history. Spannaus takes on many of the myths about Hamilton and fills some of the gaps in his story during her FREE talk.

RSVP through our website.

08/03/2023

The dog days of summer are truly here with temperatures breaking records all throughout the past month… Join us to help out our fluffy friends and make a tug toy that any dog would love! Take it home for your own pet or leave it with us to donate to local animal shelters and veterinary clinics.

Also, stop by the log cabin next door to see there pop-up exhibit about Leesburg’s most notable furry, four-legged residents and more!

07/27/2023

We at the Loudoun Museum are saddened to learn of the passing of long-time supporter Pat Rogers. Visitors could always rely on Pat for a welcoming smile and helpful advice. Our condolences go out to the Rogers family during this time.

Patricia G. Rogers, 77, of Leesburg, VA passed away peacefully after an unexpected health challenge at Inova Loudoun Hospital on July 16, 2023.

07/24/2023

We had the EXTREME pleasure to host the first session of the Extreme Journey Day Camp on the last day of their two-week session as they answered the question "How do people and places tell a story?" The group joined us for a scavenger hunt through our exhibits on Loudoun County history, a walking tour through historic Leesburg and a paper quilting project depicting what they had learned during their JOURNEY with us and their other camp experiences.

07/10/2023

Another great First Friday with a fantastic partner!

07/05/2023

Join us for First Friday on July 7 for a FREE paper marbling activity presented by Waterford Craft School. Then come inside the Loudoun Museum to view rarely seen artifacts from our collection that feature paper marbling. Stop by, create something, and enjoy our extended hours!

07/04/2023

From Leesburg to Lovettsville and beyond, you can join Independence Day activities and celebrations throughout Loudoun County!

Find more info here: https://www.loudoun.gov/5413/PRCS-Events

06/28/2023

Check out this great opportunity! Then think about making a day of museum visits and joins us downtown either before or after you enjoy VMFA exhibits.

FREE EVENT!

The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts’ (VMFA) state-of-the-art traveling museum and art studio will be at Virginia Village this Saturday, July 1 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The 53-foot, climate-controlled Volvo trailer will feature the exhibition, Revealing and Obscuring Identity: Portraits from the Permanent Collection. Learn more here >> https://bit.ly/3r65hwp

12/30/2022

2022 has been an exciting year of history, programs and exhibits at the Loudoun Museum. Here's wishing you and yours a Happy New Year!

12/21/2022

It's officially Winter and Christmas is coming soon! If you 're decking the halls this week, take a moment to read about the origins of some of these decorations and other Christmas traditions.

Winter is almost here, and even though retail stores have had Christmas decorations out since mid-October, those who celebrate Christmas are now starting proper preparations for this jolly holiday. Families are cutting down and decorating their own Christmas trees, hanging spruce garlands, mistletoe...

12/16/2022

Tomorrow, Saturday, December 17th the museum will be closed. We will reopen Sunday, December 18th, with our normal hours.

12/15/2022

Check out this c. 1935 magazine graphic from our collection promoting gift ideas! Looking for the perfect gift for the history lover in your life? Stop by the Loudoun Museum for books on local history or one of our Vintage Pursuits wine glasses! We're open 12/16 and 12/18, 10am-4pm

12/10/2022

Tomorrow, Saturday, December 10th the museum will be closing early at 2pm. We will also be closed Sunday for our Christmas at Selma event. We will reopen Friday, December 16th, with our normal hours.

12/06/2022

One of our most high profile supporters when we first opened was George C. Marshall!

In our first year, 1967, he allowed special envelopes with his likeness (the same image on the 20 cent stamp) to be sold in Leesburg to benefit the Loudoun Museum.

The cachets contained information about Marshall and historic Dodona Manor (George C. Marshall International Center). Today, one of the stamped and addressed cachets remains in our collection!

12/01/2022

Due to planned events, holidays, and staff availability, our December schedule will be slightly altered. Please check the calendar below for details on when the Loudoun Museum will be open, and enjoy this festive season!

11/11/2022

Happy Veterans Day, aka Armistice Day! On this day in 1918, a cessation of hostilities in World War I took effect at 11:00am after the signing of an armistice agreement between Allied and German military leadership.

In our collection, we have documented the experience of one Loudoun Soldier buried at Arlington National Cemetery, Lt. Alonzo McNealea, a veteran of both the Philippine American War and World War I-- he enlisted in 1899 and retired in 1927. As he travelled through Europe in 1918, McNealea kept a diary with brief entries on his daily experiences. This pocket-sized diary is a challenge to transcribe, but we look forward to be able to make some of its pages accessible to the public in the future! Thank you to all who serve.

11/03/2022

This letter from our collection was sent to Leesburg banker Bruce McIntosh---written and signed by Helen Keller!

Keller wrote him the letter in 1943 after he made a substantial donation to the American Foundation for the Blind. Keller began working for the organization in 1924, delivering speeches worldwide advocating for people with disabilities, submitting essays to newspapers and other publications to increase awareness, and sending correspondences like this one. She remained active with the AFB until her death in 1968.

10/25/2022

Thank you to everyone who helped celebrate our 31st annual Hauntings tours this past weekend! We got to hear some great stories about the "real night life of Leesburg" on sold-out tours both nights, Thank you as well to our volunteers and to our amazing sponsors who helped make this event possible!

Dynasty Brewing Co. Town of Leesburg, Virginia Burnett & Williams Loudoun Mutual Insurance Company Terracon Handmade by LMAC - Local Makers, Artists and Crafters Visit Loudoun

10/20/2022

10/14/2022

Our most recent acquisition: A vintage pedal car c. 1957! This toddler sized ranch wagon comes from a member of the Moss family who grew up in the rectory of St. James Episcopal Church in Leesburg (pictured are the Moss children playing in front of the Loudoun County Courthouse).

Pedal cars originated not long after real automobiles in the 1890s, and though consistently popular, they dwindled in production in the 1940s due to the need for various metals in the war effort. This pedal car comes from an era of resurgence in their production, at the same time as real cars became the preferred mode of transportation for most adults with the expansion of highways in the United States.

10/04/2022

'Tis the season!
There is plenty to do this fall in Loudoun County, and we made Visit Loudoun's list with our annual Hauntings Tours!
Also featured is Shocktober with their Haunt Party coming up this weekend--check out the Halloween events happening this month and support these great Loudoun County organizations!

You don’t have to wait until October 31st to enjoy Halloween events and activities in Loudoun this year. Discover spooky tours, pumpkin carving and more.

09/28/2022

Hauntings Dark Ale is back-- starting today! Support our Hauntings Sponsor Dynasty Brewing Co. by picking up a few cans, available now through the month of October.

And while you're at it, don't forget to sign up for our annual Hauntings tours--tickets are going fast!

09/23/2022

A few weeks ago, we posted about a recently acquired ledger from Moses Pascal Watson's Mill, which was saved from the 1864 Burning Raid and which contained an account of the end of the Civil War. You can now view the transcribed document and learn about some of the people that it mentions in our latest blogpost:

There are a number of diaries, letters, and other firsthand accounts written by civilians during the Civil War. In the Loudoun Museum collection, however, we've recently acquired an account of the end of the war in Loudoun County, found in a c. 1850s-1860s ledger from the Gristmill of Moses Pascal W...

09/13/2022

We're looking for guides for our upcoming Hauntings Tours on 10/21-10/22! We need people who will lead visitors from stop to stop through Downtown Leesburg. If you'd like to be a part of Hauntings this year, please contact [email protected] for more details.

09/08/2022

Mark your calendars--Loudoun Museum's Hauntings returns October 21st and 22nd, and our stops are officially announced:

Inside the Loudoun County Courthouse
The Eliza House
The Glenfiddich House
Inside the Presbyterian Church
Inside the Johnston House

Tickets will be available one week from today! Visit https://www.loudounmuseum.org/hauntings for details.

09/01/2022

Thank you to Locally Leesburg for featuring us in their latest video! We got a chance to talk about the history of our building, our upcoming Hauntings tours, and a few of the exhibits we have on display!

With a collection of over 8,000 artifacts, Loudoun Museum is dedicated to preserving and sharing the long history of Loudoun County. The museum has artifacts...

08/24/2022

Recently discovered in our Collections Inventory: A book of early 20th century dental records from Leesburg, VA--complete with fun stuff like extractions, cavities, crowns, fillings and more! These records come from office of Dr. Luther A Brown, whose practice was on Loudoun St, just down the street from the Museum. We now know more than we ever wanted to about the dental hygiene of Loudoun's population at the turn of the century.

08/18/2022

We've got a new community curated exhibit on display! Lincoln Preservation Foundation got creative telling the story of their organization and their work to restore the historic Grace Church! Stop by the Museum this weekend to see their exhibit, Fri-Sun 10am-4pm.

08/16/2022

Be a part of the most historical and phantasmagorical walking tours of Downtown Leesburg-- we are looking for sponsors for Hauntings 2022! Your business can reach thousands with our digital promotional materials, and personally reach up to 400 tour-goers with our beautiful new Sagetopia maps of the tour route! For the first 10 downtown businesses to sign up, we'll even put your location on the map! See our website or click here for details: https://loudounmuseum.networkforgood.com/events/46586-hauntings-2022

08/12/2022

Thank you to the Friends of Arcola Slave Quarters for such a great community curated exhibit! We loved hosting you throughout the spring and summer, and look forward to our next community curated exhibit by the Lincoln Preservation Foundation!