Powell W. Gibson (1875-1959) is best remembered in Shenandoah Valley history as the principal of the segregated Douglas School in Winchester for a quarter of its nearly century-long history. 

by Curator of Collections Nick Powers

Later this month, Winchester historian Judy Humbert will share some of her recollections of the Douglas School that Gibson helped build in the second of the MSV’s new Lunch & Learn series.

This hoard of papers, along with personal photographs, made its way into the MSV in 1996 as part of Julian Wood Glass Jr.’s estate. Since that time the materials have been sitting in collections storage with their contents largely unknown and inaccessible to researchers and staff members.

By Registrar/Collections Manager Lauren Fleming

There is a saying that history is not always pretty. That sentiment is certainly true of material culture—everyday objects created and used by people in the past.

By Registrar/Collections Manager Lauren Fleming 

Fall in the Shenandoah Valley means one thing: color. The leaves on the many oaks, maples, dogwoods, and other native trees begin to fade from deep green to brilliant hues of red, orange, and yellow.

By Curator of Collections Nick Powers

Have you met some of our favorite furry friends?

Potter Samuel Bell (1811-1891) of Winchester made this pair of molded whippet figurines in 1841. Whippets are an English sighthound breed descended from greyhounds. The Bell family of potters made numerous whippets as decorative pieces for Valley homes, some of which retain their original paint decoration.

Raise a glass to celebrate National Beer Day with this beer stein in the MSV Collection! National Beer Day began right here in the Old Dominion in 2009, but Virginians have enjoyed “cold ones” for centuries.

A one-of-a-kind piece of Valley folk art from the MSV Collection is an honoree  in Virginia’s Top 10 Endangered Artifacts Competition. Online voting for the competition is taking place through midnight on January 31. Learn the about artist Robert Cross and vote for the MSV!

It’s cold and flu season, which means people turn to their preferred doctor to alleviate coughing, sore throats, runny noses, and worse. In late 1800s and early 1900s Winchester, one of the men who filled that role was Dr. William Joseph Whitlock (1849-1921). An herbal physician and his own best salesman, Whitlock left behind several small medicine cabinets that advertised his “Whitlocks’ Renowned Remedies,” including one in the MSV Collection.