Urbanna Founders Day gives glimpse into life, issues of early Virginia

Urbanna Founders Day 2023, celebrated this past Saturday, will be remembered as one of the best yet in its 10 years, many attendees said.

There was a spirited debate on the separation of church and state by characters portraying Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry. On the waterfront was the tall ship “Luna,” a reproduction of an 18th-century sloop that was used in colonial times to haul goods from one port to the next and spread the news.

Camped in town was a crewman of Captain John Smith who explored Chesapeake Bay after founding Jamestown in 1607.

Historic buildings were open for tours, including Lansdowne circa 1740, which was once owned by Dr. Arthur Lee, who along with Benjamin Franklin signed the Revolutionary War’s treaty of alliance with France which brought the French into the war on the side of the colonists; the Middlesex Woman’s Club building, which was the county courthouse from 1748-1852; and the James Mills Scottish Factor Store with the rare “Mitchell Map” of early America.

“It was everything we had hoped it would be, and in many ways it was better than expected,” commented Peni Roberts, a member of Friends of Urbanna, which since 2014, has produced Urbanna Founders Day, held on the first Saturday of August.

Balladeers perform Saturday at Urbanna Baptist Church prior to the Jefferson-Henry debate.
In colonial times “everyone” danced. (Photo by Tom Chillemi) Docked at the Urbanna Town Marina for Urbanna Founders Day was a working replica of an 18th century coast trading sloop. Luna is a sort of floating classroom for preservation of colonial maritime history by the Colonial Seaport Foundation of Deltaville. Luna is 35 feet at the waterline, has a beam of 13 feet and draws nearly six feet of water. (Photo by Tom Chillemi) Aboard Luna, crew members prepare a sail to be rigged. From left they include Captain Tom Ivy, Hamish Callendish and Jock Collamore, who is a principal of the Colonial Seaport Foundation of Deltaville that operates Luna. (Photo by Tom Chillemi) The bow sprit of Luna was decorated for Urbanna Founders Day.
In foreground is the windlass for raising the anchor. (Photo by Tom Chillemi)
“Thomas Jefferson” (Kurt Benjamin Smith) makes a point for keeping church and state separate, as “Patrick Henry” (Richard Schumann) waits his chance for rebuttal during the debate at Urbanna Baptist Church on Urbanna Founders Day. (Photo by Tom Chillemi) The fife and drum corps rallied the crowd at the Middlesex Woman’s Club before marching to the debate at Urbanna Baptist Church. (Photo by Tom Chillemi) New Layer “Anas Todkill” demonstrates the use of a “matchlock” musket. (Photo by Tom Chillemi) Native American artifacts were displayed by explorer Anas Todkill. (Photo by Tom Chillemi)

Debate

Those who attended the Jefferson-Henry debate were abuzz. “I savored the healthy debate,” said Jamie Barnhardt of Hartfield. “It was captivating and realistic and it made me feel like I’d been transported back in time.”

Barbara Lovelace, a Friends of Urbanna member and history buff, commented, “The debate topic was a hot one in the new republic and in Virginia. The Anglican Church has essentially existed as the prior government and taxed the people to support the church.”

Patrick Henry wanted to modify but continue the idea of taxing citizens to support the church of their choice. Jefferson wanted the new government to avoid funding any church. Each had a bill in the Virginia legislature to support his views.

“State Church”

Southside Sentinel Reporter Larry Chowning and historian introduced the speakers with some colonial history.

“When permanent English settlement started in Middlesex in 1649, the Church of England, the Anglican Church, was the ‘state church’ supported by funds coming from a mandated tithe or tax enforced by the magistrates of this county.

“The Baptist preacher “Swearing” John Waller, along with county citizen William Webber, spearheaded Middlesex County’s great religious awakening in 1771 and defied the longstanding English law that the Anglican Church was the only ‘legal’ church in the county where one could worship.

“In August of 1771 John Waller, William Webber, Robert Ware, and James Greenwood were imprisoned in the jail here in Urbanna. These men were charged with ‘carrying on a meeting against the authority of the land.’ Henry Street of Laneview, who protested the arrests, received a lash from the constable’s whip and carried a scar from it for the rest of his life,” Chowning said.

“During that religious awakening period in Virginia, Methodists and Presbyterians faced the same type of resistance as the Baptists from local constables…”