Germanna Foundation

Preserving the historic heritage of the original settlers of the Fort Germanna Colonies in Virginia

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You are here: Home / 300th Jubilee / Germanna settlement recalled, 300 years later

Germanna settlement recalled, 300 years later

July 21, 2014 By Germanna

Spotsylvania resident and Germanna descendant Cheryl Fishback (left) greets Germanna descendent Jutta Plaschke. (Peter Cihelka/Free-Lance Star)
Spotsylvania resident and Germanna descendant Cheryl Fishback (left) greets Germanna descendent Jutta Plaschke. (Peter Cihelka/Free-Lance Star)

 

Little Fork Church member Rick Furnival (left) chats with a group of Germanna descdendents. (Peter Cihelka/Free-Lance Star)
Little Fork Church member Rick Furnival (left) chats with a group of Germanna descdendents. (Peter Cihelka/Free-Lance Star)

 

(Fredericksburg Free-Lance Star, July 20, 2014) Three hundred years after the Germanna colonists arrived in Virginia, their descendents gathered Sunday to worship at the church the early settlers attended after expanding westward.

The gathering took place at Little Fork Episcopal Church, the Rixeyville-area sanctuary with the brick exterior, blue box pews and thick white-washed walls that remain nearly unchanged from the day it opened in 1776.

The primarily Lutheran colonists had limited options when it came to finding a place to worship.

On the colony’s 300th anniversary, their descendants hailing from all over the world, now representing various denominations, visited at the same church and heard a relatively unchanged message from Little Fork’s priest Brad Jackson.

Jackson’s sermon focused on people coming together and nurturing each other even if they are different.

The 57th annual reunion and conference kicked off this week with a special celebration marking its 300th anniversary of when the German colonists first settled in America.

The Germanna colony was a German settlement in present-day Culpeper and Spotsylvania counties that settled in two waves: first in 1714 and then in 1717. Virginia lieutenant governor at the time, Alexander Spotswood, encouraged the immigration by advertising in Germany for miners to move to Virginia and establish a mining industry in the colony.

Marc Wheat, Germanna Foundation president, said the anniversary was made more special by the arrival of a German delegation to celebrate the colony, including Volkmar Klein, the German parliament member who represents Siegerland.

He likened the 300th “jubilee” to biblical beliefs calling people back to their ancestral land.

“These descendants get to walk on the land of where their ancestors became Americans,” he said. “This is a wonderful and meaningful place for people and we are grateful to have this and thankful for being in Virginia for 300 years.”

For descendants, the foundation publishes histories and genealogical books, a newsletter, offers educational programs at the annual reunion, and offers group travel to Germany geared to the origin of the Germanna families.

Sunday was the culmination of the reunion, which included receptions, banquets, a genealogical conference, the Little Fork service and a picnic.

John Ragosta, a visiting professor of early American history at Oberlin College who has been a member of the parish for years, said the church’s history is intertwined with the westward expansion of the colonists.

Many of them stuck around the region, he said, based on the surnames found throughout history there.

“Walking in, if the Germanna folks from the 18th century looked around it would be very similar to what they saw then,” he said.

Bernd Julius was one of a delegation of about 35 from Germany who visited for the anniversary.

Even though he is Lutheran and used to a shorter church service than the Episcopalian weekly worship, he appreciated the ability to see where the colonists settled.

Julius is from Siegen, one of the cities in Germany where the colonists hailed from. He and others in Siegen have their own Germanna association that keeps genealogical records of the colonists and their descendants dating from the late 1700s.

“The anniversary was very special,” he said. “I was impressed.”

Bill and Helen Burch traveled to the area from Durham, N.C. Helen’s family, the Holsclaws, are Germanna colonist descendents.

This was the second time they had come to a reunion in Culpeper.

“It’s very touching to me to know we can come and do what they did,” she said.

Bill Burch said anyone with German ancestry in the area should look into a possible Germanna connection and attend the reunion.

“We’ve done a lot of research and reading,” he said. “But we learned a lot about the history of the colony here.”

Lindley Estes: 540/735-1976

lestes@freelancestar.com

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Filed Under: 300th Jubilee, Germanna Blog, In the News

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Research your Germanna roots! Become a member of the Germanna Foundation to get access to Germanna’s exclusive genealogy database with thousands of names.

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Germanna Foundation’s Mission and Stewardship

The Germanna Foundation tells America’s story of liberty through the frontier experience of her settlers and descendants using archaeological, historical, and genealogical research and interpretation. We are stewards over these important properties:

  • Fort Germanna Visitor Center campus which includes a Museum, Genealogy Library, the Hitt Archaeology Center, and the Germanna Memorial Garden
  • Siegen Forest – 170-acre Hiking and Nature Trails along the Rapidan river
  • 1714/1717 Fort Germanna Archaeology Site
  • Virginia Lt. Gov. Alexander Spotswood’s home “Enchanted Castle” Archaeology Site
  • 1757 Georgian-style Salubria Manor
  • 1800 Peter Hitt Farm

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Germanna Foundation

The Germanna Foundation
MAILING: P.O. Box 279
LOCATION: 2062 Germanna Highway
Locust Grove, VA 22508-0279
Phone: 540-423-1700
Fax: 540-423-1747
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Fort Germanna Visitor Center, Museum & Library

2062 Germanna Highway (Route 3)
Locust Grove, VA 22508
(Next to the Germanna Community College campus)

Hours of Operation:
Monday-Friday, 10:00 am to 4:00 pm
CLOSED Saturday and Sunday

Advanced reservations are required to use the library. Research time limited to 2 hours.

Masks are required in the Visitor Center at all times. Please maintain 6 feet distance. Limit of 4 people in the library; 5 people in the museum.

Out of town visitors are urged to call us at 540-423-1700 to confirm or to make special arrangements for groups.

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Hike Siegen Forest!

Behind the Fort Germanna Visitor Center is our 170-acre Siegen Forest nature and hiking trails along the Rapidan river. Trails continue to be OPEN. When visiting the trails, please practice “Leave no Trace” ethos and maintain proper social distancing. If you enjoy the trails, consider donating to the Germanna Foundation to help support their upkeep.

 

About

The Germanna Foundation is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization dedicated to exploring the Colonial Virginia frontier via the historic 1714 Fort Germanna and its German colonists and their descendants.

It conducts archaeological exploration and conservation, genealogical research and publishing, and historic preservation and interpretation.

The Foundation owns and maintains several historic sites and properties, such as Salubria Manor, that were part of or closely connected to the Germanna colonies, the town of Germanna, and the other early colonial Virginia settlements and towns in the Piedmont area of Virginia.

Copyright © 2021 The Memorial Foundation of the Germanna Colonies in Virginia Inc. (The Germanna Foundation) | Website by CJKCREATIVE.COM

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