Museum announces May 21 fundraiser at circa 1760 Providence

Providence, one of Middlesex County’s early architectural treasures, stands along the Piankatank River in the eastern part of Middlesex County near Hardyville. It is a fitting location for the Middlesex County Museum and Historical Society’s spring fundraiser, which is set for 2-4 p.m. Sunday, May 21. It will be an exciting and insightful educational opportunity, event organizers say.

Providence weathered wars

The home has weathered the dangers of two wars. “During the Revolutionary War, British soldiers under Lord Dunmore camped on nearby Gwynn’s Island, raided the place but did no damage to the home,” reads a passage from “Historic Buildings in Middlesex County, Virginia 1650-1875.” “However, during the War Between the States it was shelled by a Union gunboat and a cannonball remains in a kitchen wall.”

Rev. Dr. Prichard to speak

The keynote speaker for the fundraiser, the Rev. Dr. Robert W. Prichard, will deliver a talk entitled “The Political, Economic and Religious State of Virginia in the 1760s.” The Rev. Dr. Prichard, a Locust Hill resident, is professor emeritus of church history at the Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria and is the current vice president of the Middlesex County Museum and Historical Society.

Details…

The gathering will include appetizers and a cash bar.

Providence, which is now owned by the Cawthorn family, is located at Two Bland Point Road, Deltaville. The Colonial Seaport Foundation’s Luna, a replica of a 1768 Virginia two-masted sailing sloop, is expected to dock at Providence for the fundraiser and be available for tours.

Tickets may be purchased on the website at middlesexmuseum.com.