Three wedding parties will fill the John Wesley Community Church this year, and volunteers have lent their time, talents, and materials to spruce up the 1891 building built by Waterford's African American Methodist congregation.  

A new coat of paint on the interior walls was provided by prospective bride, groom, and family members of one wedding on the schedule: Jennifer Riedel, daughter of Waterford residents Karl and Kathy Riedel and her fiance Hans-Martin Wied.

Members of the Properties Planning and Management Committee and other volunteers have been working to repair and reinstall pews, and the chandelier has been rehung (in photo at right, John Souders, Margaret Good, and Jim Sutton accomplish the task). Some repairs to the ceiling are next on the list.

Another bride to be, Mary Mandt, will join volunteers to wax and polish the pews prior to her May wedding.  

And the entrance to the church's basement fellowship hall has a new doorstep replacing the cinderblocks. With stones donated by Ann Belland, and time and muscle provided by Foundation Board members Mary Hutton (pictured at left) and Jim Sutton and properties director Margaret Good, the rocks were laid into the turf outside the door. A bit of grass seed and a bit of rain will complete the job.  

Restoration of the church is ongoing. The Properties Committee is engaged in planning and soliciting funding for reinstallation of fellowship hall flooring and the staircase from the hall to the sanctuary.  

Our May  festivities will begin on the grounds of the John Wesley Community Church for the dedication of an historical marker honoring the formation of the Loudoun Rangers, the only cavalry unit from Confederate Virginia to fight for the North during the Civil War. A color guard and contingent of cavalry reenactors from the Loudoun Rangers will assist at the ceremony, then proceed up to the grounds of the Waterford Old School.

A dedication of Waterford's Civil War Trails sign will follow at the Waterford Baptist Church, the site of a fiercely fought engagement between White's Cavalry and the Loudoun Rangers. The sign describes Waterford's history as a "cursed Quaker settlement" loyal to the Union.  Visitors may then attend a ceremony at the nearby Union Cemetery, led by the Sons of Union Veterans and the Sons of Confederate Veterans, honoring all the Civil War soldiers buried there.

After lunch (available for purchase) on the lawn of the Old School, activities will include a book signing by Taylor Chamberlin and John Souders, authors of Between Reb and Yank, the new book on Civil War North Loudoun; a talk by esteemed Civil War historian Horace Mewborn at the Baptist Church; and a walking tour of select Civil War sites in the village, ending at the historic home of Samuel Means on Bond Street.  

Civil War Day in Waterford is free and open to the public. For more information, consult our website, or call the Waterford Foundation office, 540-882-3018, ext. 117.

Soon the student portraying "Jonathan Kenady," our oldest 1880 student at age 18, will proudly carry the new flag to its post outside, as the students stand at attention with their hands on their hearts as the classs commences (the Pledge of Allegiance wouldn't be written for 20-30 years, yet).  The student who role plays the dunce (in a set-up) has the honor of bringing the flag back in at the end of the day.  

--Bronwen Souders  

Fair preparations begin, again