Historic Dumfries is looking for more stories about the town’s past

DUMFRIES– A little over one year since the Weems-Botts museum renovated, changed the way they portrayed their history and reopened.

The change was welcomed by the community and tourism in Dumfries is on the rise.

Dan Cook, tourism marketing manager for Prince William County states in an email, “Museum staff projected attendance to be 18,000 in Fiscal 2019 and had reported 11,500 in FY17.  The museum and its two hotels are the main tourism drivers in the town.”

Lisa Timmerman is the new executive site manager. She took over managing the museum from Karleen Kovalcik several months ago. They share a similar vision for the museum and the historical narrative they want to portray to the public.

Timmerman states in an email, “Ms. Kovalcik and I both emphasize that [Historic Dumfries] is a non-profit organization and that focusing on our haunted folklore does not support our mission. Instead, we focus on the historic heritage of the house and community, educating people on what a fantastic nautical history Dumfries really has. However, we still want to engage those who love a ghost story, and we do so with our Ghost Walks in October – every Saturday from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.”

Kovalcik and Timmerman were looking deeper for more stories to accurately portray the full history of the museum, like the one of Violet Merchant.

“Violet Merchant was quite the superstar, and truly demonstrated the independence of early 20th century women. We knew that she worked in Washington D.C. in the early 1900s, but we also located a 1915 “Report of Ratings – Skilled Laborer” from the United States Civil Service Commission “grading” her work and even appearance. Her photographs show a brilliant and dedicated woman. We are also learning more about the other children as well. For example, we suspect that Mary was not actually secluded due to her illness, and are still researching our files to learn more from the primary document,” Timmerman said.

Timmerman has a clear vision for the future of the museum that includes really engaging the public.

“My vision is to help showcase the awesome history of Dumfries and remind every one of the treasure nearby in Prince William County. As a small museum, we offer many ways for the public to engage with us directly, and I am always happy to take guests on a tour or chat about the latest historical trends in museums. We are always happy to welcome new visitors as well, and my volunteers really help bring different and fresh perspectives to our museum,” Timmerman said.

This month, the Historic Dumfries will hold a Children’s Day at the Museum sponsored by Walmart on Saturday, Dec. 15, 2018. The event will focus on historic holiday traditions in the U.S. through the late 1800s.