Museum of the Shenandoah Valley

John did not realize when he made the reservation for the rv park here in Winchester Va. that we would be sitting in one of the more historical towns of the state.  We got a hint of that very quickly when we started collecting the brochures of the area.   Winchester was founded in 1752, so its' history goes back to the Colonial era when young George Washington was a surveyor in the town.  During the Civil War the town changed hands between the Confederate and the Union armies over 70 times, and even as much as 13 times in one day!  Yesterday we visited the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley to learn more of the legendary past of the valley.   The museum does a great job, through numerous displays, of showcasing the natural resources of the area as well as the people who have lived here over the centuries.  On the museum grounds is the Glen Burnie House, the older sections of which were built in 1793.

Colonel James Wood and his Mary settled on the land in 1738.  He was the founder of the town of Winchester.  It was his son Robert who built the older parts of the house which we see today.  The estate has remained a home of the Wood Glass families from 1738 to 1990.  During the Civil War each side occupied the house several times, fortunately the house was not damaged.  Julian Wood Glass Jr. and his partner Lee Taylor restored the home and gardens in the 1960s.   They were able to restore the then decaying house into a country estate with the fortunes Julian Glass had inherited from the Oklahoma oil industry.  Much of what we saw, while touring the house and gardens, was the changes those two made while living here.  The gardens include vegetable and herb, rose, perennial, as well as Chinese and a parterre garden.  The latter garden is pictured below.  It is a formal garden consisting of bedding plants or shrubs, as well as gravel paths, laid out in pattern.  A statue of Mercury stands in the middle of the garden.

We were told by one of the docents of the house that the Chinese garden has elements of a Japanese garden as well, perhaps it should be called Asian.  The moon gate and bridge over a small pond is pictured below.

I will conclude this posting with a picture of the rear of the home.  It perhaps gives you a better idea of the size of the home.  Today we plan to tour the historic sites of Winchester.