May Faire 2024 to Showcase Mathews County Rural life
Mathews County’s spring heritage festival, May 4, “May Faire 2024:A RURAL LIFE,” will celebrate all aspects of the county’s rural charm. Since 2017 the Mathews Historical Museum has sponsored the Mathews spring festival, focusing on various aspects of the county’s rich history. This year is no exception. The focus will be on the heritage of the county, with special emphasis on those hardworking individuals who helped shape the county. Museum President, Tom Robinson, notes, “We will harken back to those days when Mathews was a major agricultural community, when its many large farms shipped corn, soybeans, daffodils and other crops nationwide.” Thus, all of this year’s May Faire’s activities throughout Main Street and the Court Green will reflect the rural theme.
*At the Court House, at 9:30 am, aerial photographers David and Linda Grow will show “Mathews From the Air, Then and Now” going back 60 years; at 11:30, renowned horticulturist Brent Health will discuss “100 years of daffodils” in Mathews; and at 1:00pm, Mathews middle school teacher Michelle Hill Williams will showcase her students’ work and speak about her Family and Consumer Science class activities.
*Inside the Museum’s headquarters, 200 Main Street, a brand new interior will greet visitors. After significant renovation this past year, festivalgoers will enter into a display of fabrics, textile arts, home furnishings and products that will “explore the evolution of various aspects of our lives,” notes exhibit chair, Cheryl Dale, a specialist in lifestyles of earlier days. Also, there will be a pre-grand opening peek of the Hunley General Store,” a gift to the museum from the Hunley family. General stores in Mathews, only a century ago, were a major way of life. This new display, still under construction, will have its grand opening in June. Also inside the museum, works by the winners of the Museum’s newly initiated photography contest will be on display, as will the art of the county’s schoolchildren.
*Outside: At 9:00am, Joe Reid’s antique fire engine will sound her horn and the day’s festivities will begin. The Children’s Corner, the May Faire mini-farm on Brickbat Street, with piglets, bunnies to pet, and baby chicks set to hatch that day; a huge Clydesdale horse; a pony that children can actually paint!; and an antique corn grinder that will spit out corn so that the children can feed the chicks; an antique apple cider grinder; music on stage by local guitarist Hunter Owens and Mathews finest, The Flattones; the May Pole dance performed by area children, the high school band and announcement of the Pound Cake winners will add to the excitement.
*Special attraction: To close the day’s activities, an appearance at 3:00 by the Colonial Williamsburg Fife & Drum Corps will signal the beginning of a two-year countdown to the Nation’s 250 the birthday, July 4, 2026. Special invitees, Lord Dunmore, the last seated British Royal Governor of Virginia, and General Andrew Lewis, who took action against the Governor at the Battle of Cricket Hill, will make special guest appearances on stage. This performance is designed and sponsored by the MathewsVA250 Committee. Festival goers are invited to observe the Fife & Drum Corps as they form up at 3:00 at the firehouse, and then follow the procession to the stage. There is no charge for attending the festival and no charge for this event. All are welcome to view and participate.
*At the Court House, at 9:30 am, aerial photographers David and Linda Grow will show “Mathews From the Air, Then and Now” going back 60 years; at 11:30, renowned horticulturist Brent Health will discuss “100 years of daffodils” in Mathews; and at 1:00pm, Mathews middle school teacher Michelle Hill Williams will showcase her students’ work and speak about her Family and Consumer Science class activities.
*Inside the Museum’s headquarters, 200 Main Street, a brand new interior will greet visitors. After significant renovation this past year, festivalgoers will enter into a display of fabrics, textile arts, home furnishings and products that will “explore the evolution of various aspects of our lives,” notes exhibit chair, Cheryl Dale, a specialist in lifestyles of earlier days. Also, there will be a pre-grand opening peek of the Hunley General Store,” a gift to the museum from the Hunley family. General stores in Mathews, only a century ago, were a major way of life. This new display, still under construction, will have its grand opening in June. Also inside the museum, works by the winners of the Museum’s newly initiated photography contest will be on display, as will the art of the county’s schoolchildren.
*Outside: At 9:00am, Joe Reid’s antique fire engine will sound her horn and the day’s festivities will begin. The Children’s Corner, the May Faire mini-farm on Brickbat Street, with piglets, bunnies to pet, and baby chicks set to hatch that day; a huge Clydesdale horse; a pony that children can actually paint!; and an antique corn grinder that will spit out corn so that the children can feed the chicks; an antique apple cider grinder; music on stage by local guitarist Hunter Owens and Mathews finest, The Flattones; the May Pole dance performed by area children, the high school band and announcement of the Pound Cake winners will add to the excitement.
*Special attraction: To close the day’s activities, an appearance at 3:00 by the Colonial Williamsburg Fife & Drum Corps will signal the beginning of a two-year countdown to the Nation’s 250 the birthday, July 4, 2026. Special invitees, Lord Dunmore, the last seated British Royal Governor of Virginia, and General Andrew Lewis, who took action against the Governor at the Battle of Cricket Hill, will make special guest appearances on stage. This performance is designed and sponsored by the MathewsVA250 Committee. Festival goers are invited to observe the Fife & Drum Corps as they form up at 3:00 at the firehouse, and then follow the procession to the stage. There is no charge for attending the festival and no charge for this event. All are welcome to view and participate.
The Mathews Historical Museum
Mathews County will soon welcome the addition of the Mathews Historical Museum (MHM), the newest partner in the rich network of historical sites that invite visitors, residents, students, researchers and history buffs to our community. The county’s cultural history is a story that is continuing to be uncovered from its early beginnings to today through the establishment of the Mathews Historical Museum.
Our Vision
Within five years, there will be a permanent museum in Mathews County that will collect, preserve and exhibit cultural artifacts that represent the history of the county. Through exhibits and programs, residents and visitors will be able to gain an understanding and appreciation of the county’s past and present and begin to contemplate the future of the county and its people.
Our New Building
The museum has acquired a permanent home on Main Street in Mathews. This historical building was constructed in 1936 by George Philpotts as a Texaco garage. Over the years a number of business have been located at this site – bowling alley, beauty parlor, Bassett Furniture, the Craftsman Shop and most recently the Dilly Dally Emporium. The first steps will be to completely rehab the building so it can be used as a museum. Then museum exhibits will be planned, installed and finally opened to the public.
