The Museum: Our Land is Our Legacy

In 2007, the Clarke County Historical Association began planning a new and exciting museum experience for visitors to our headquarters in Berryville.  On November 19, 2009, under the leadership of our late CCHA president Roger Chavez, that vision became a reality.

Designed around the unifying theme "Our Land is Our Legacy," the new museum exhibits, specially commissioned artwork, and state-of-the-art audio/video displays now allow us to share our collection in a way that is both educational and entertaining.



Artifacts on display in the museum’s three rooms include the money chest from Lord Fairfax’s Greenway Court land office, a pistol carried by a member of Company D, 6^th Virginia Cavalry (the “Clarke Cavalry”), a Chinese ceramic punch basin that once belonged to Nathaniel Burwell, racing  silks from Audley Farm, and a former slave’s corn-cutting knife from a home in Josephine City. 

Two of the rooms also feature films that combine historical photographs, contemporary footage, and the art of noted illustrator Richard Schlecht to tell a panoramic story of the pre- and early history of Clarke County and of the county's continuing efforts to preserve a unique and special way of life.

Clarke County Historical Association Museum
Hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 11-4 p.m.
Address:  32 East Main Street, P.O. Box 306, Berryville, VA 22611

	Lord Fairfax’s money chest, in which he kept gold collected from the sale of land grants, and a rare Goldsmith Chandlee tall case clock, which was made for Lord Fairfax as a gift for his nephew, Thomas Bryan Martin, for whom Martinsburg, West Virginia, is named.
A room in the museum is dedicated to the agricultural heritage of Clarke County and includes a wooden hay fork, ox yoke, seed spreader, and many wonderful photographs of farmers at work.
	A photographic survey of historic barns in Clarke County.
A painting of Nathaniel Burwell, founder of the Burwell-Morgan Mill and Carter Hall, is flanked by two antique grandfather clocks; on right is rare clock made by Goldsmith Chandlee of Winchester for Lord Fairfax's nephew, Thomas Bryan Martin; on left is a McCormick clock, reportedly repaired by John Brown prior to his arrest in Harper's Ferry in 1859.
	On right, a painting done by John Beale Bordley in 1836 of one of Josiah Ware's (of Springfield Farm) prize Thoroughbreds, Byron.   On left, a Chinese Export Basin (1780-1800), part of the original furnishings at Carter Hall.
The CCHA library has many documents and books pertaining to Clarke County history, including genealogies, cemetery records, architectural structures, and land surveys.  It also has a computer with internet access for research.
	Board member Steve Scott constructs an informational kiosk in the front yard of the CCHA museum.  The kiosk will have six panels, telling the story of various facets of Clarke County history and landmarks.
A drum, uniform, and photograph from the 1902 Berryville Cornet Band.

The Archives: Preserving and Accessing Clarke County’s Past

For a relatively small organization, CCHA boasts an extensive collection of church and burial records, historical photos, newspaper files, and other documents and memorabilia generously donated by county residents.

Our goal is to make our archive as accessible as possible to researchers. We provide two computer terminals in our library for the purpose. Researchers also can call upon the almost encyclopedic knowledge of CCHA archivist Mary Morris, who has assembled and catalogued much of our collection and is its living memory.

RESEARCH POLICY

In response to your e-mail inquiry, we will survey four pertinent local history source books and let you know how many times your topic or surname is referenced. This much can be done by e-mail at no charge. We regret we cannot answer detailed research questions via e-mail.

If you wish to authorize a survey of our initial findings, the fee is $10, which includes thirty minutes of research time and up to ten photocopies. This fee is payable in advance and must be accompanied by your complete snail mail address. If you wish to risk sending your VISA or MasterCard account number via e-mail, we will accept it for payment. You may be more comfortable sending check or money order via snail mail. In either event, we must have your snail mail address before we will proceed. 

If information is found that we feel warrants further research, we will contact you for instructions. The fee for research beyond the initial search is $15 per hour and 10¢ per photocopy.

We are a small historical association, not equipped to undertake research outside of our own archives. Frederick County has a historical society and a repository of extensive local history materials in the archives of the Handley Regional Library. Prior to 1836, Clarke County was a part of Frederick County, so the answer to many of your questions may be found there.  A list of fee-based researchers is available from the Handley Library Archives.
 

Handley Regional Library Archives Braddock & Piccadilly Streets PO Box 58 Winchester, VA 22604 540-662-9041 ext. 23 archives@hrl.lib.state.va.us Handley Regional Library

Winchester-Frederick County Historical Society 1340 South Pleasant Valley Road Winchester, VA 22601 540-662-6550 wfch@shentel.net Winchester History

CCHA depends upon the support of local residents and visitors to acquire records pertaining to local families. If you have information to share, we would be pleased to accept a copy. Donations are cataloged and made available to researchers.

The CCHA museum and archives are open to the public Monday through Friday, 1-4pm or by appointment. Researchers are charged a daily usage fee of $5. The usage fee is waived for CCHA members and residents of Clarke County. Publications for sale can be ordered via e-mail with a credit card or via snail mail.

If we may be of service, please feel free to contact us. We wish you well in your research. 
Mary Thomason-Morris, Archivist archives@visuallink.com
Jennifer Lee, Executive Director: ccha@visuallink.com