Rappahannock Historical Society

10/12/2026

Photo of "The Oaks" an old Slaughter family property on Tiger Valley RD. The original part was built in 1749 by an Episcopal Rector, Mr. Strother to serve as the rectory. It had four rooms built of locust logs. According to family lore, Queen Anne gave a dipper to the church to be used by the congregation. This hung on a huge oak tree near the spring by the church. The tree was still standing in the 1970s. The home remained in the Slaughter family for many years, the last of that family to live there being Anne Slaughter Keyser and her husband Aubrey Keyser. It was enlarged in 1824 and again in 1864. During the second renovation, the remains of several coffins were found near the house. They were recovered and left undisturbed.

10/06/2026

Hi all, I just wanted to let everyone know that our yearly members meeting is going to be held at the Town Hall in Washington on October 25th at 3 pm. Hope to see all of our members there. It is also open to the public.

10/05/2026

Picture featured in the October 24, 1968 edition of the Rappahannock News. Steve Hobbs, Steve Bailey, and Stewart Hawkins of the Washington Fire Department had all received certificates after completing fire school at the Amissville Fire Hall. Steve Bailey is the son of Leon and Marilyn Merrill Bailey and Stewart Hawkins was the son of Milton and Dorothy Burke Hawkins.

09/28/2026

An item at the Historical Society Museum; arrowheads and axe heads, along with two rattlesnake rattles, found along the Hazel River in Jenkins Hollow. Mr. Tom Pillar found them as he dug his garden spot.

09/21/2026

Picture of the Coates House in Old Hollow, also called Schwartz Hollow. Here Charles William Coates and his wife Nellie Compton Coates raised their family. Charles was born in 1858 to Robert Charles Coates and Nancy Ann Thornhill Coates. He married Nellie Compton on May 6, 1886. She was the daughter of James Edward and Hannah Deane Compton. She was twelve years younger than Charles. They had nine children between 1887 and 1906, with one of the boys dying in infancy. Daughter Nellie married James Barnett Wood; Alice married Alfred Miller Verner. Charles William died in 1941 and Nellie in 1948 when she fell at home fracturing her hip. Both are buried at the Sperryville Cemetery.

09/21/2026

This Saturday, September 26th. Don't forget. You can purchase early bird tickets until the end of the day Friday. $20.00 now. $25.00 at the gate.

Join us for John Jackson Blues Festival partnering with Rappahannock Historical Society, a fundraising event hosted by Rappahannock Historical Society Inc on…