Saturday
& Sunday
May 28-29

Memorial Day Weekend Crafts Gala

It's become an annual event in the Lost River Valley -- Memorial Day weekend at the cooperative, watching the many talented fiber artisans in the area demonstrate their skills.

Spinners, weavers and more will demonstrate at the Lost River Museum and Lost River Artisans as we celebrate our Anniversary!

Live music is also in the mix, as the Dave Gant Band performs Saturday from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday will also feature a set of live music from Jan and Neil Gillies, from 1 to 3 p.m.

The Heritage of Photography - Artisan Demonstration

This artisan event, featuring LRAC member Albert C. Mach, will include hundreds of cameras, ranging from the 1800s to some of the latest digital models of today. Brownies, Hawk-eyes, Starlights, Starmites, and many others will be included.

In addition to the display of cameras, Mach is bringing displays of early Daguerreotypes, Ambrotypes, tin types, and glass plate negatives -- and he will share the histories of each of the early printing processes. A copy of the oldest picture in the world will be featured, as well as prints of many very early pictures from the first inventors, along with their histories. A number of pictures will also be displayed that have been taken with some of these vintage cameras, as most of them still work!
 
Highlights include six large, old, glass plate, view model cameras -- the kind you saw in the 1800s where the photographer got under the hood.
 
Also, Mach will show his collection of stereo cameras starting with one from France made in 1875, two from the U.S. made about 1900, and one from Germany made about 1920. The 1950s models that were so readily available will also be included, along with several more from the last 30 years. Also, Mach is bringing a host of stereo viewers, projectors, slides, and cards. Twenty-first century stereo equipment and techniques will also be shown and discussed.    
 
If you have vintage equipment, please bring it, as Mach would enjoy seeing it and talking with you!
 
Times and technologies have changed, but many of the techniques necessary to take a picture in the 1800s are still being used today, so come, see, listen, learn, be amazed, reminisce, and enjoy a little part of your day on Saturday, June 11!

We'll have artisans on hand Sunday during the Fourth of July weekend, so don't miss the opportunity to visit the LRAC gallery, Lost River Museum, and see some of our fine artisans at work!

The fabulous voice of Liz Flood will highlight the afternoon, as the singer performs from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday.

Also, glass artisan Frank Burdell will treat visitors to a special demonstration: creating marbles! Watch as he creates some molten magic from noon to 3 p.m. on Sunday.

Also, don't forget that we'll be open on Monday, July 4, so spend your holiday with us!

Civil War historian Woodrow “Jay” Simmons will lead an auto tour of Civil War sites in Lost River, Moorefield and Romney on Saturday, July 23rd. The tour will include military strategy, but the main emphasis will be on the human side of the war—stories of real people, their courage and loyalty, triumph and loss, subterfuge and honor.

“No one is better equipped to tell the story of the men and women who lived through this war in our region than Simmons,” Lost River Museum director, Nancy Powell notes. “He has meticulous researched the lives of so many people and he is a gifted story teller.”

Participants can drive their own cars or arrange to carpool with other drivers. Each car will have a two-way radio and written directions. The tour will begin at the Lost River Museum on Route 259 in Lost River at 8:30 am. Participants can also join the tour at the Confederate monument in Olivet Cemetery in Moorefield at 9:15 am.

The tour will then feature a brief walking tour of Moorefield sites, a drive north on the Trough Road, stopping at important sites along the way. In Romney the group will visit the Confederate memorial at Indian Mound Cemetery, tour the Davis House, lunch at the Hampshire County Visitors Center, and explore Fort Mill Ridge. The tour will return to Moorefield, following the route of Union General Averell’s surprise attack through Reynold’s Gap to Old Fields and the Battle of Moorefield. It will end with the “second battle of Moorefield” where Confederate forces defeated the Union units sent to capture McNeill’s Rangers and burn the South Branch Valley.

Participation in the tour is free, but participants are asked to sign up with the Lost River Museum by e-mail to Nancy Powell at nhpowell@verizon.net or by phone to 301-275-4906.

You can download the registration form as a pdf here.

Registration forms are also available at the Lost River Museum. Participants should bring a bag lunch. The museum will provide cold soft drinks. Water, a snack, and insect repellent are also advised.

This is the first of three special events the Museum is sponsoring this year.McNeill’s Rangers will return to their old territory to camp at the museum for two days of living history Saturday, August 13th and 14th. Soldiers will gather round their cook fires and the valley will again sound of rifle and cannon fire.

On August 20th, the Museum will hold a seminar on the Civil War with Joe Geiger, State Historian of West Virginia speaking on the unique story of West Virginia’s creation as a state. George Wunderlich, director of National Museum of Civil War Medicine, will relate the innovations of Civil War medicine to medical care our wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan receive on the battlefield today. Stephen French will share highlights from his award-winning The Jones-Imboden Raid Against the B & O Railroad. Wunderlich, who is also a maker of traditional banjos and an expert on minstrel music, will cap the day with a presentation and performance of Civil War era music

These programs are made possible with support from Hardy County Tour and Craft Association, the sponsor of Hardy County Heritage Weekend, The West Virginia Humanities Council, a state affiliate of the National Council for the Humanities, and the West Virginia Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission.

Civil War Encampment with McNeill's Rangers

Rifle and cannon fire will again echo in the Lost River Valley when McNeill’s Rangers camp on the grounds of the Lost River Museum Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 13-14. Visitors are welcome to walk through the camp and talk with the Rangers about their uniforms, weapons, and camp life and to learn about the exploits of the legendary McNeill’s Rangers.

The camp will open to visitors at 9 a.m. on Saturday. Canon firings will be at 11 a.m., and 1 and 3 p.m. Live fife and drum music will begin at 7 p.m. The Camp will again open at 9 a.m. on Sunday. The Worship Service will begin at 10 a.m. and cannon firings will occur at 11a.m., and 1 and 3 p.m. The camp will close at 4 p.m. Surprise activities may occur at any time.

Although officially part of Colonel John D. Imboden's Northwestern Brigade, McNeill’s Rangers often operated independently as a bold and flexible guerrilla force, using their intimate knowledge of back country trails to became the scourge of Union supply lines. They also took part in larger campaigns such as Gettysburg and the Jones-Imboden Raid through West Virginia.

In a typical action, on Feb. 16, 1863, McNeill’s Rangers suddenly appeared on the Northwestern Turnpike (now U.S. 50), five miles from Romney. With only 23 men, they attacked a supply train guarded by 150 infantry and cavalry, terrified the defenders with their rebel yell, and captured 27 wagons, 72 prisoners, and 106 horses. In their most famous exploit, 65 Rangers slipped through the lines of 7,000 Union troops in Cumberland, Md., to capture and slip away with two Union generals.
Today’s Rangers are members of McNeill’s Rangers, Camp No. 582, of the Sons of Confederate Veterans.

The Encampment by McNeill’s Rangers is a special event sponsored by the Lost River Museum to recognize the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War. On Aug. 20, the Museum will hold a seminar on the Civil War at the Lost River Methodist Church. A special exhibit on the Civil War in the valley continues through Oct. 30.

These programs are made possible with support from Hardy County Tour and Craft Association, the sponsor of Hardy County Heritage Weekend; the West Virginia Humanities Council, a state affiliate of the National Council for the Humanities; and the West Virginia Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission.

The Lost River Museum welcomes visitors weekends from 10 to 5 pm through Thursday through Sunday through September and Friday through Sunday in October. It is located in the historic Harper Barn on SR 259 in Lost River, WV. For more information and directions, visit the website www.LostRiverCraft/museum.

Museum sponsors Civil War seminar

On Saturday, Aug. 20, beginning at 8:45 a.m., the Lost River Museum will hold a seminar on the Civil War taking up three very different aspects of our Civil War history.

George Wunderlich, director of the National Museum of Civil War Medicine, will put faces and names to those who fought, who were injured, and the surgeons and caregivers who attended to their needs.  He will describe how the war forged innovation in medical care. The plan of triage, evacuation, hospital, and supply organization not only saved the lives of countless Civil War soldiers, but it continues to save lives on today’s battlefields in Iraq, Afghanistan, and in civilian life wherever emergency medical help is needed.

West Virginia's State Archivist Joe Geiger’s presentation will examine the issues and processes that led to the creation of West Virginia, including the election of Abraham Lincoln, the outbreak of the Civil War, the Reorganized Government of Virginia, and the Wheeling conventions. As the director of the state archives, Geiger serves as State Historian. For the past 13 years, he has been an adjunct professor of history at Marshall University.

In the third presentation, attention will shift back to the men who fought the war. Steve French will share highlights from his new, award-winning publication, "The Jones-Imboden Raid Against the B & O Railroad." McNeill’s Rangers took the war to the north with their raid on Mercersburg, Pa., and assisted Imboden’s Brigade in the Gettysburg campaign. Participants will be treated to new information about the legendary Rangers.

After lunch, George Wunderlich, who is a maker of traditional banjos and an expert on minstrel music as well as history, will cap the day with a presentation and performance of Civil War-era music

The seminar is free to the public. It will be held in the air-conditioned Social Hall of the Lost River United Methodist Church on WV 259 at Lost River. Participants are invited to bring their own lunches or they may order a lunch by calling 304-897-7242 or 301-275-4906. Cold soft drinks will also be available for purchase.

This program is made possible with support from Hardy County Tour and Craft Association, the sponsor of Hardy County Heritage Weekend; and The West Virginia Humanities Council, a state affiliate of the National Council for the Humanities.

Participants in the seminar may also want to visit the Civil War exhibits at the Lost River Museum. The Lost River Museum welcomes visitors from 10 am to 5 pm Thursday through Sunday through September and Friday through Sunday in October. It is located in the historic Harper Barn on WV 259 in Lost River, W.Va.

For a flyer detailing the seminar schedule, please click here.

Period music on the lawn

The Shenandoah Valley Minstrals will perform Civil War-era music on the lawn of the Harper Barn on Saturday, Sept. 3 starting at 2:30 p.m.

In addition to the performance, we plan to have artisans on the lawn, so stop by and visit this Labor Day weekend!

The Lost River Artisans Cooperative will again be a Welcome Center for Hardy County Heritage Weekend. To learn more about Heritage Weekend, visit their website at http://www.heritageweekend.com/

In addition to artisan demos on the lawn, we also will hold a silent auction to benefit the Lost River Museum, which is located on the ground floor of the Harper Barn. LRAC artisans are donating hand-crafted items that will be displayed along with bid sheets. Stop by Heritage Weekend and make a bid!