Historic Germanna

Historic Germanna connects communities with Virginia’s past and present through its historic, natural, and cultural resources.

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • About
    • About
    • Welcome
    • History
    • Mission
    • People
      • Board of Trustees
      • Germanna Foundation Council of Advisors
      • Staff
      • Committees
    • Germanna Foundation’s Strategic Plan (2018-2023)
    • Jobs and Volunteer Opportunities
  • Events
  • Membership
  • Donate
    • Friends of Germanna
    • Planned Giving
  • Database
  • Store
    • Germanna Records
    • Germanna Zazzle Store
    • Memorial Garden Pavers Order Form
    • Germanna DNA Project
  • Contact
    • Join Mailing List
  • Home
  • Conference
  • Travel
  • Visit
    • Evelyn Martin Research Library
    • Germanna Memorial Garden
    • Jobs and Volunteer Opportunities
  • Trails
    • Blue Trail
    • Orange Trail
    • Red Trail
    • Chimney and Witness Trail
    • 1957 Dedication
    • Preserving Our Land
    • Trail Blog
  • Salubria
    • History of Salubria
    • Visit Salubria
    • Reserve Salubria for a Special Event or Photo Shoot
    • Salubria Blog
  • Genealogy
    • Database of Germanna Descendants
    • List of Original Germanna Settlers and their Villages
    • Germanna Records
    • Travel to Germany with Germanna
    • Germanna DNA Project
    • Famous Germanna People
    • The Revolutionary War and Germanna
    • Conference and Reunion
    • Articles
    • Links
  • Articles
    • Germanna Blog
    • 5 Min with Germanna Videos
    • Germanna In the News
    • Events
    • History
    • Announcements
    • Siegen Forest Trails
    • Reunion
    • Genealogy
    • Salubria
    • Germany
    • Conservation
    • Books
    • People
      • In Memorium
  • Resources
    • Germanna Records
    • Library Book List
    • Photo Gallery
    • Newsletters
You are here: Home / About / Fort Germanna Visitor Center / Germanna Memorial Garden
Germanna Memorial Garden

Germanna Memorial Garden

For over half a century, descendants of the Germanna colonists have found their story at Historic Germanna. The Memorial Garden is a tribute honoring the memory of those ancestors.

The site is located behind our Visitor Center on historic Germanna land and sits at the entrance of our 170-acre Siegen Forest hiking trails along the Rapidan River.

Cloister

The open-air roofed cloister in the emorial Garden provides a shady, protected place for quiet contemplation or ceremonial commemorations.

The cloister provides shelter to and visual focus for the Memorial Garden Bell, donated by the Brawdus Martin Fort Germanna Visitor Center architect Douglas Harnsberger.  The bell had formerly called the faithful to worship at a Roman Catholic church in California, and after being refurbished by McShane Bell Foundry (which manufactured the bell in the early 20th Century), it was dedicated in the Memorial Garden in 2012.

Spottswood Grave

Colonel John Spotswood, son of Governor Alexander and Butler Brayne Spotswood, grew up at the Germanna settlement and his family home, now known as the “Enchanted Castle.” He was reinterred at the Memorial Garden on June 20, 2002 with a simple but dignified service conducted by Father Charles Syndor of St. George’s Episcopal Church in Fredericksburg, where Colonel Spotswood had served on the vestry in the 1750’s. His grave is marked out by an obelisk in the garden’s center.

Engraved Stone Pavers in the Memorial Garden

Surrounding the obelisk are rings of stone pavers, many of them engraved to honor or remember a Germanna descendant. If you would like to have a paver engraved, please see the below order form.

USS-Arizona-Rector-Weaver

Germanna Descendants on the USS ARIZONA

Two Germanna descendants memorialized on the stone pavers (left) served on the USS Arizona and lost their lives on “the date that will live in infamy,”December 7, 1941. Richard Walter Weaver was a 17-year-old Nevada boy and the sixth great-grandson of the 1717 Germanna colonists Phillip Joseph Weaver and his wife Susanna Klaar (the sister of colonist Hans Michael Klaar, ancestor of the Clores in America). A Kentuckian named Clay Cooper Rector, the son of Wendell Wesley and Lela Florence Cooper Rector. We don’t know for certain if they knew each other, but Richard and Clay were Germanna cousins.  Their families were related through the Germanna Broyles, Majer and Volck families. Richard also was a member of the Broyles, Finks, Fleischmann, Schön, Wayland families, while his cousin Clay also descended from the Germanna Bach, Fishback, Heimbach, Hitt, Hofmann, Otterbach, Rector, Rouse, and Ruop families.

Clay Cooper Rector was in charge of the storeroom on the USS Arizona, and the last family member to see him may have been his cousin Harrison Clay Rector, who left Pearl Harbor on the USS Anderson just two days before the attack.  Richard Walter Weaver had duty that fateful morning of December 7, 1941. He was seen sprinting to his station Number 6 on topside when the alarm sounded, summoning all men to battle stations. It was there that the first and most lethal enemy projectile struck.

Purchase Stone Pavers in the Memorial Garden

Some of the people remembered with engraved stone pavers in the Memorial Garden gave their lives in the defense of the United States.  Some paver stones were given to celebrate the birth of a child.  Others to honor a graduation or a retirement.

If you would like to honor or remember someone in your family in this way, please call the Germanna Visitor Center at 540-423-1700, or print and mail in this completed Memorial Garden Order Form. Each engraved paver stone is dedicated at the Historic Germanna annual Conference and Reunion. Or you can use our secure online form to place your order:

Order Germanna Paver

Photo Gallery of the Germanna Foundation Memorial Garden

(click on images to enlarge)

RECENT POSTS

  • Visit to Colonial Williamsburg Offers Exciting Revelations About Enchanted Castle Artifact
  • Fall Open House at Historic Salubria Rescheduled to September 30
  • Germanna Hosts History at Sunset Walking Tour
  • Archaeology Day Open House Happens August 12
  • Lab Nights with Germanna Archaeology: Seize the Clay
  • Salubria in Spring: Our First Salubria Public Access Day of 2023!
  • 2023 Bluebell Walk with Germanna Foundation and Old Rag Master Naturalists

Join Germanna Mailing list

Your donation to Historic Germanna helps support our mission:

Make a Donation

Become a Historic Germanna member or renew your membership:

Membership

The rich tapestry of Germanna’s history encompasses Indigenous peoples, English colonists, German immigrants and their descendants, and African and African American communities. Historic Germanna invites individuals to explore the diverse stories of the past through its places, research, and shared narratives, fostering engagement and inspiring a deeper understanding of our collective heritage.

Support us

Hours:
Monday: By appointment
Tuesday-Friday: 10:00am-4:00pm
Saturday: 1:00pm-4:00pm
Trails open dawn to dusk

Germanna sits on 170 pristine acres along the Rapidan River in Orange County. Visitors are invited to enjoy the Siegen Forest Trail System that includes four trails totally nearly 5 miles. Learn more

Historic Germanna
MAILING: P.O. Box 279
LOCATION: 2062 Germanna Highway
Locust Grove, VA 22508-0279
Phone: 540-423-1700
Fax: 540-423-1747
Contact us

Copyright © 2023 Historic Germanna | Website by cjkcreative.com