"Old buildings were meant to be viewed at 2 miles an hour (walking), not 20 miles an hour."

--Stanley Miller

The 2005 edition.

As some may know, the Education Committee has begun revising and updating our very popular descriptive booklet Walk With Us Through Waterford. This pamphlet distills our knowledge of the village and its buildings into bite-sized entries of interest to residents and visitors alike. It was first published in 1999 with the help of University of Virginia intern Susan Hellman, an architectural historian, who pored over deeds, wills, tax records, censuses and family histories. Thousands of copies have been snapped up since.

The 1999 edition.

Every house will be mentioned, though space constraints preclude more than two or three sentences and a photograph for each. Thus the publication is just a first step in the committee's efforts to expand the files it maintains on each major structure in the village. Residents are encouraged to share things learned during their period of stewardship. Eventually, additional stories and information will be made available on the Foundation website.

Waterford residents have discovered many new bits of history about their homes. Did you know, for example, that a chandelier in Waterford includes a pendant that once hung in the White House? Or that one house was owned by the daughter of the country's first Nobel prize-winning physicist? And that Abraham Lincoln's first Supreme Court appointee attended school in the village? 

Some buildings have undergone extensive changes, many of which we have been able to document. And chains of title are being fleshed out, building on the work of the late John Divine, Ebbie Rollison, the Chamberlin family, and others.

Anyone with contributions or questions is encouraged to contact the Education Committee, through the Foundation office.

--Bronwen Souders, Chair, Education Committee