Events

May Through June 26 George Washington, Architect George Washington, Architect will be at the Wicomico Heritage Center through Sunday, June 26, 2000. This exhibition explores a little-known aspect of George Washington's life as a highly accomplished and self-taught builder whose home at Mount Vernon has become an icon for early American design and whose architectural influence extended well beyond his famous Virginia estate. Divided into four parts, George Washington, Architect examines Washington's influences, his design and building efforts at his Virginia plantation, his vision of a grand American capital city, and his architectural legacy. Throughout, the exhibition explores the character of the man, his life, and his times through the prism of the 18th century. For nearly two hundred years, hundreds of architects have adapted Washington's designs for their own structures. The exhibition's final section on Washington's architectural legacy proposes that George Washington created an architectural vocabulary that was somehow distinctly American. As noted by architectural historian Richard Guy Wilson, "Mount Vernon is one of the most widely imitated, if not the most copied house in this country. Easily the most famous house in the United States, Washington's home, in its additive character, its quest for grandeur at the domestic scale, and its inventiveness, is quintessentially American." The curatorial staffs of the Mount Vernon Ladies Association and the Octagon jointly organized the exhibition. Dennis J. Pogue, Director of Restoration at Mount Vernon, served as content specialist with consulting historian/curator Richard Love and architectural historian Pamela Scott. It is interesting to note that Washington's grandmother, Mildred Washington Gale, was married to George Gale, founder of Whitehaven. Martha Custis Washington claims Eastern Shore roots as the Custis family was originally from Northampton County on Virginia's Eastern Shore. Echoes of the Shore - The Voices, the Cultures, the Treasures in Wicomico County 1890-1910 Experience life in Wicomico County during the decade preceding the turn of the 20th century and the decade immediately following. It was a period of rapid growth nationally and locally as "modern" conveniences became accessible and affordable to the rapidly growing middle class. There was an emerging "American" identity and women were developing their own identity and independence as never before seen. Wicomico County was no exception. The blend of cultures and emerging traditions is the focus of "Echoes of the Shore". Ladies of all cultures and backgrounds, kept up with the latest fashion and modern conveniences thanks to the Sears Catalog and popular fashion magazines such as Ladies Home Journal. Much literature was available on topics ranging from fashion do's and don'ts to advice on the best remedies for common ailments. Technology was having a dramatic impact on communication, travel and labor-intensive tasks-some changes were welcome and some, perhaps not. Come experience the lives of the people in Wicomico County . . . . HEAR * The voices describing the traditions in an African American home; * Popular music of the period; * About Sunday worship in an African American church. SEE * An authentic 1902 Oldsmobile Curved DASH automobile; * A scale model of the 1903 Wright Flyer; * Thomas Edison's Mimeograph; * Authentic ladies fashions and accessories of the period. ????? * What TYPE of sewing machine? * What IS the "mystery" artifact?

Directions From U.S. 50, take Nanticoke Road. Turn left on to Pemberton Drive. Follow Pemberton Drive approximately 2 miles. Pemberton Park will be on your left.