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SHENANDOAH MUSEUM CONSERVES HISTORY AND ART
- June 29, 2012
- on 6/29/2012
- MoJo: Maggie Wolff Peterson
In a time before the Civil War, when West Virginia was part of the state just to its south, Virginia was huge and abundant, a territory offering both lazy and swift rivers, mountains and hollows, and the wide Shenandoah Valley with its rich bottomland for farming.
The Museum of the Shenandoah Valley, located in Winchester, Va., conserves history and artifacts from a region stretching south to Natural Bridge in Virginia and as far north as Martinsburg, WV. The collection spans everything from fine art to kitchen tools, arranged in rooms themed to show not only the history of the region, but of the man who made the museum possible.
Julian Glass was a direct descendant of Col. James Wood, the founder of Winchester, whose home, Glen Burnie, provides the museum grounds. Glass was a world traveler and collector of fine things, some of which are displayed in the museum now.
Also impressive are the Glen Burnie gardens, which are diverse. In one section, roses are manicured while in another, a kitchen garden is maintained. A trellised arbor known as the Grand Allee provides a shaded walkway to one side of the grounds. Statuary punctuates the landscape, as do folly houses, tiny jewel box spaces in which to rest and contemplate the scenery. The Pink Pagoda features classical architecture, painted pink. Elsewhere, a water garden features Asian-influenced design and a deep creek stocked with trout. A self-guided audio tour, “Stories in the Soil,” stops at 19 locations in the gardens with more information.
The art collection of Julian Glass is now conserved in the museum. He was a collector of fine pieces, including portraits by Gilbert Stuart, whose iconic image of George Washington is probably America’s best known. Glass, the last resident of Glen Burnie, created a foundation that at his death, conserved the home and established the museum.
Admission to the museum is free on Wednesdays, and Tuesday to Sunday, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., the museum café offers lunch, dessert and nearly two dozen varieties of tea. Other programming includes the Gardens at Night, a tour of the grounds from 6 to 9 p.m. on the second Friday of each month.
Complete information is at shenandoahmuseum.org.
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