Manassas His toric Resources BoardManassas His toric Resources BoardNovember 05, 2019Page | 1

City of Manassas, VirginiaManassas Historic Resources Board Meeting

AGENDA

Manassas Historic Resources BoardManassas Museum - Multi-Purpose Room

Tuesday, November 05, 2019

Call to Order - 7:00 p.m.

Roll Call and Determination of a Quorum

1. Approval of the Meeting Minutes

1.1 Approve Meeting Minutes for October 1, 2019Minutes October 1 2019 DRAFT

2. Announcements and Reports

2.1 Announcements and ReportsAgenda Statement - Amouncement and Reports

3. Old Business

4. New Business

4.1 Collection's Committee ReportCollection's Committee Minutes September 18, 2019Collection's Committee Presentation

5. 2020-2025 Strategic Plan

5.1 Strategic Plan - Work SessionAgenda Statement - Strategic Plan Worksession

Adjournment

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Manassas Historic Resources Board October 1, 2019 – 7:00 p.m.

Regular Meeting Manassas Museum

Call to Order: The meeting was called to order by Mark Olsen at 7:00 p.m. Determination of a Quorum: A majority of the board is present Board Members in Attendance: David Button, Connie Gilman, Mark Olsen, Jill Pascale, Ralph Smith, Don Wilson Honorary Board Members in Attendance: Sue Parker Board Members Absent: Lyshawn Dean, Rob Fisher, Robert Keller City Council Member Liaison: Michelle Davis-Younger, Council Member - Present Museum Staff in Attendance: Jean Griffith, Administrative Associate Community Development Staff: Elizabeth Via-Gossman, Director Other in Attendance: None Approval of Minutes of September 3, 2019: Don Wilson moved to accept the minutes as written, and Dave Button seconded the motion. The chairman opened the floor for discussion. There was no further discussion. The motion carried unanimously. Chair’s Comments:

Mark Olsen noted the Native Legacy exhibit opening October 4 and encouraged everyone to attend.

He also noted that the Osbourn High School Homecoming game is the same night. Council Comments:

Ms. Davis-Younger reported that the city’s new Social Service Director, Michele Gehr, has begun work.

The Airport LOVE sign, which is constructed from airplane parts, will have a ribbon cutting ceremony on October 1.

The Fall Jubilee is October 5.

The new Fire & Rescue Station 21 ground breaking is scheduled for October 31st. 2

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Parks & Recreation Committee Liaison - Bob Keller:

No report – Not present.

Director’s Report:

Elizabeth Via-Gossman reported that the Kinsley Mill Park Ribbon Cutting ceremony is on October 19.

Park Information Day is on October 20.

The Annaburg Community Meeting is on October 26.

Old Business: None New Business: None 2020-2025 Strategic Plan:

Strategic plan discussion. Close of Business: Mark Olsen asked for any other business. No further business was brought forward. The next meeting is scheduled for November 5 at 7:00 p.m. Adjournment: Dave Button moved to adjourn the meeting and Ralph Smith seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously to adjourn the meeting. The meeting ended at 8:30 p.m. ________________________________ ____________________ Mark Olsen, Chair Date

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City of Manassas

Parks, Culture & Recreation Historic Resources Board

9101 Prince William Street Manassas, VA 20110

Meeting Date: November 5, 2019 Time Estimate:

15 minutes

Agenda Title:

Announcements and Reports

Recommendation: Informational Only Motion: N/A Date Last Considered:

N/A

Summary and/or Comments:

Chair Announcements – Mark Olsen Council Liaison Announcements – Michelle Davis-Younger Parks & Recreation Committee Liaison Report – Robert Keller Director’s Report – Elizabeth Via-Gossman Business Services Supervisor Introduction – Elizabeth Via-Gossman

Staff Contact: Elizabeth S. Via-Gossman, AICP Evia-gossman@manassasva.gov (703) 257-8224

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Minutes of the September 18, 2019 Collections Committee

Present: Rob Fisher (Chair), Dave Button, Mary Helen Dellinger, Don Wilson, Martha Hendley, Bob

Keller and Lyshawn Dean

Absent: Sue Parker

The meeting was called to order by Rob Fisher at 10:00 AM.

The minutes from the meeting held on January 9, 2019 were reviewed. There were no corrections to

the minutes. Martha Hendley made a motion to accept the minutes. Dave Button seconded. The

minutes were approved.

Mary Helen summarized the work of the Collections Committee – its purpose and goals and what need

to accomplish at each meeting.

Potential donations to the collection One Civil War period letter, nicely bound, that was written by a Union soldier on July 30, 1861. The

letter details his experiences during the Battle of First Manassas. Mary Helen reported that this piece

will fit in nicely with the other Civil War letters we have. The Committee voted to ACCEPT the letter.

Two small felt banners from the Civil War Centennial celebration in 1961. Mary Helen reported that the

collection has some pieces that deal with event but nothing like these two banners. The Committee

voted to ACCEPT the banners.

One large map or poster showing the locations of Civil War area battlefields with troop dispositions.

This map was printed for the Civil War Centennial. The Committee discussed the map, noting that while

it is in great shape, it has been mounted to some type of board. Do we really need a piece like this when

images like this could be downloaded online? Don Wilson pointed out this could be a great exhibit

piece. Lyshawn felt we should keep the map for our study collection. There was also some discussion of

whether this could be reproduced for sale in the museum store. Mary Helen explained the difference

between accessioned pieces and those kept for the study collection, noting the different levels of care

and how they could be used. The Committee voted to ACCEPT the map but for the study collection.

Mary Helen paused the meeting for a moment and gave a brief overview of our Civil War collection.

This is one of the strongest areas of our collection and the next grouping of donations will add to that.

A collection of Civil War documents was presented next. The first group included one Special Order

written from Manassas, three letters written in the area by soldiers stationed here, two Thomas Jordan

signed documents and a loyalty oath for a PWC resident. The Committee discussed each of these pieces

in detail, focusing most of their time on the Thomas Jordan documents. Mary Helen noted that while

the documents do not have a local focus, the man who signed them has a very strong connection to

Liberia and is believed to have run a spy ring out of that home. We do not have his signature on

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Collection Committee minutes September 18, 2019 Page 2 anything else and this is the first time staff has come across it. The Committee voted to ACCEPT the

documents.

One booklet titled “Battle Second of Bull Run” published by the Manassas Panorama Company in

Washington, DC in 1886. There was some discussion about small booklets like this one, the types we

already have in the collection and whether or not this one would add anything to that. Rob

recommended this piece be placed in the files. The Committee voted to ACCEPT the booklet, but place

it in the files or give to the Education Department.

Four photographs of Civil War area Manassas. Mary Helen reported that two of these were scenes she

had not previously seen while the other two have been published and are well known. Don noted that

all of these are reproductions, printed off the original plate glass negatives. Don also agreed that two of

these views were not ones he was familiar with. He will compare them to images in the RELIC collection

from 1904 to see if there are similarities. The Committee discussed the images, noting they are of high

quality and would add to the collection. The Committee voted to ACCEPT the photographs.

Four large folders of documents, mostly receipts, invoices, letters and short notes, all from Manassas,

Prince William County and Alexandria. There are 255 total and they date to the latter part of the 19th

century. The Committee spent some time discussing the grouping as a whole, noting with particular

interest the document proving the existence of the Liberia School and the one that details the hiring out

of a slave from one owner to another. In all the Committee felt that there was quite a bit of interesting

information to be gleaned from these documents. The Committee voted to ACCEPT the document

collection.

Manassas Industrial School diploma for Abner LeRoy Adams, dated May 30, 1930. Mary Helen reported

that Adams was from Virginia but did not attend live locally. He moved here to attend the school.

Further, he was killed in action on June 6, 1944 in the D-Day Invasion. There was some discussion about

the timely nature of this gift as we have been very focused on the MIS site and this will help deepen our

collection around this school. The Committee voted to ACCEPT the diploma.

Small wooden writing desk or lap desk, in poor shape. Mary Helen noted that this piece was “found in

the collection” with no paperwork or donor information attached. Despite efforts to determine where

this piece came from, staff has not been able to figure it out. There is no way of knowing if this piece

has a local connection. The Committee voted to KEEP the piece but not accession it. The Curator will

place it out at Liberia for use as a prop in the house. If new information comes to light about the desk,

we can revisit it.

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Collection Committee minutes September 18, 2019 Page 3 One train lantern with intact blue glass globe. Mary Helen noted this was another “found in the collection” piece. This lantern has no known association with the Southern Railway but the intact globe is nice. The blue color has a specific meaning for working around trains and the collection does not have one likeit . The Committee voted to KEEP the lantern. If new information comes to light about the lantern, we can revisit it. “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.” This small paperback book arrived through the mail – unsolicited – with

no donor information included. Mary Helen has no idea where this came from or if it connects to

Manassas. The Committee voted to REJECT the book.

Small silver charm or medallion marked “Annie Muddleman” and “Manassas Institute 1892.” Mary

Helen noted this was another “found in the collection” piece but with one small clue – a handwritten

note attached to the envelope it was found in that said “2002.” Martha and Don had vague memories

of seeing this piece before and wondered if this was something the Committee already voted on. Mary

Helen said the records she has are silent on this. There was also some discussion about this piece being

found at the site of the Smithwood Estates. Mary Helen noted that she did find Annie Muddleman in

online census records and the date on the medallion corresponds with when she could have attended

the Manassas Institute. There was some discussion about the existence of records from the school –

there is not, or at least not any that would help us. The Committee voted to KEEP the charm. If new

information comes to light about the charm, we can revisit it.

The Committee requested a tour of all the storage facilities currently be used by the Museum to house

the collection. Mary Helen noted that would be four sites – McBryde Library at the Museum, Speiden

House, top floor of historic Town Hall and the large off site facility near Manassas Park High School.

Mary Helen will send around dates for a possible tour and get that scheduled before the end of October.

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 11:30 AM. No future meeting was

schedule.

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Collection Committee

Presentation to the

Manassas Historic Resources Board

November 5, 2019

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The Collection Committee of the Manassas

Museum met on September 18, 2019. They

considered potential gifts from six donors for a

total of twelve objects/lots of objects.

11 objects were accepted (8 for collection/3 for the files)

1 object was rejected

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Diploma from Manassas Industrial School

Abner LeRoy Adams Diploma, May 30, 1930

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Paciulli Collection

Chip and Ann Paciulli are local collectors that spent years purchasing documents

that relate to regional history. They offered over 300 pieces to the Manassas

Museum this past summer.

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Liberia School document

We have long thought that there was a school at Liberia run by the Weir family for local children. The only hard evidence we had of that was an ad in a local Alexandria newspaper announcing a new term. This fantastic document – probably one of the top ten in our collection – finally proves the existence of the school.

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Civil War letters

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Special Orders signed by

Thomas Jordan

Jordan was believed to have run a spy ring out of Liberia. We did not have anything written in his hand prior to this donation.

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Loyalty Oath for a Prince William County resident

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Slave document, 1848

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The rest of the Paciulli collection comprises 255 documents dealing with local businesses, land transactions, railroad history and legal matters.

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Train LanternThis nice example adds a lantern to our railroad collection with a blue globe. The color means men are working on the equipment and it is not to be moved.

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Silver charm from Manassas Institute,

1892

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Letter re: First Manassas

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Felt banners from Civil War Centennial celebration.

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City of Manassas

Parks, Culture & Recreation Historic Resources Board

9101 Prince William Street Manassas, VA 20110

Meeting Date: November 5, 2019

Time Estimate:

30 Minutes

Agenda Title:

2020 – 2025 Strategic Plan Work Session

Recommendation: Work Session

Motion: N/A

Date Last Considered:

N/A

Summary and/or Comments:

Work Session - Updating current Strategic Plan (worksheets/calendar provided at September meeting)

Staff Contact: Elizabeth S. Via-Gossman, AICP Evia-gossman@manassasva.gov (703) 257-8224

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