The past often feels out of reach due to the sheer volume of unknowns involved in the study of history.

It can seem, to the skeptic, like a Sisyphean task, looking for knowledge that will never be truly complete, facts impossible to verify with absolute certainty.

For the Fairfield Foundation, there’s more to the field of archaeology than the pursuit of information. A strong sense of community has grown from the remains of old houses and their buried bricks. Gloucester and Mathews are steeped in histories big and small, and as the Fairfield Foundation approaches its 25th anniversary, it’s high time to take a look at how the project has evolved and grown over the years.

The first of its kind in the state of Virginia, Fairfield Archaeology Park stands as the site the foundation was built on. Thane Harpole and Dave Brown developed an interest in the ruins of Fairfield plantation during previous trips exploring the county. Shortly after they graduated, they came into contact with Harry Wason, who wanted to create a program centered around the Gloucester community on its 350th anniversary.

While not completely unknown to the archaeology community, Fairfield remained largely untouched since the 1960s, making the property an ideal candidate for a brand-new initiative. The house became the focal point of their excavation efforts and public outreach for years, but the foundation’s work has now extended to several other properties.

Today the Fairfield Foundation can be found in a revived gas station on the corner of Main Street and John Clayton Memorial Highway. After years of disrepair, Edge Hill Service Station had become something of an eyesore to the people of Gloucester, many of whom wanted to tear it down in hopes of a cleaner Main Street. Knowing the historic value of the property, the foundation was asked to find a purpose for the building that would allow it to stand in a semblance of its original form while also serving the community.

Working out of the Rosewell Visitor Center at the time, it became clear after some deliberation that the station would make a fine headquarters for the growing foundation. By 2018, the Center for Archaeology, Preservation and Education was a hub for various outreach efforts, such as their Volunteer Lab Nights and Artifact Wash Days, both of which can be found on their events page.

Shortly after moving into their new headquarters, Fairfield took up the Timberneck house in Machicomoco State Park. Built in the 1790s, the property was passed down in the Catlett family and came into the hands of the foundation in 2019. “It started off with a little bit of grant money and a whole lot of sweat equity by a lot of really great volunteers,” said Lori Jackson Black, project manager for Timberneck in addition to being a board member of the foundation. While not quite as large as some of the other properties in the foundation, the house stands out among them by still standing.

As the only plantation house in its portfolio that hasn’t burned down, Timberneck now serves as a venue for community events of all kinds. Another distinction the site has is the volunteer work geared not only for preservation but restoration as well. The foundation hopes to take advantage of the intact nature of the house by creating a place for guests to stay the night, with one of the rooms currently being modified to serve as a wheelchair accessible suite.

Timberneck also stands as a demonstration of the volunteers’ dedication to accuracy. Work on the house adheres as close to the original construction methods as possible. From paint matching to sealing the floors with wax on their hands and knees, no effort is spared in bringing this house back to its original glory. Readers can hope with extreme caution that work might be completed sometime around 2026.

Over the years, the Fairfield Foundation has inherited some responsibilities from previous historical societies and organizations, most notably the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities (now Preservation Virginia), which was involved with Walter Reed’s Birthplace before signing the corresponding responsibilities over to Fairfield. At first glance, the little house down in Belroi may strike onlookers as unassuming, though not without its charms. Walter Reed’s Birthplace consists of three little rooms and a garden.

It’s not the building itself, but Reed’s revolutionary contributions to the medical field (a U.S. Army physician who led the team that confirmed that yellow fever is spread by a particular mosquito species rather than direct contact) that make his childhood home a site of historical significance. The property stands as a testament to the community’s dedication to preserving their heritage and the land around it.

Fairfield Foundation had worked on the site since 2004 in cooperation with the Gloucester Preservation Foundation, though Fairfield was later named a successor organization in 2020. The site’s value in the community became clear when the town came together to purchase the land around the house, preventing the surrounding lots from being developed. The conservation easement ensures that the site and its surroundings will remain as close to its original landscape as possible.

The ruins of Rosewell are the latest addition to the foundation, though indirectly. While the ownership still falls to the Gloucester Historical Society, Fairfield manages site operations. The foundation was already familiar with the property, having performed archaeology work on the site long before. The Visitor Center once served as the fledgling foundation’s headquarters, with artifacts they collected being examined and processed in one of the side rooms. Now, management of the property falls under Fairfield’s purview.

The Rosewell Foundation consulted the foundation post-pandemic on transitioning its preservation efforts into a modern approach. “If you have a great thing but you don’t have the people in there sometimes you taper off,” said Tom Karow. Because Rosewell was inherited by the Fairfield Foundation long after its preservation efforts went underway, there are a few more amenities available for guests, including an exhibit and gift shop.

The foundation’s reach extends beyond properties in their name. A testament to its growth, the foundation now serves as a resource for other historical organizations in both excavation and exhibition work. Both the Abingdon Episcopal Church and King William Courthouse have hosted volunteers for dig sites. Abingdon is one of the oldest colonial churches in Virginia and the second (rumored third) structure built on the property.

The Fairfield Foundation has been searching for details about the first church built on the land after a fallen tree revealed old brickwork. The foundation’s latest excavations have been examining the land around King William Courthouse, many of the recovered artifacts showing signs of the fire.

While their research remains fixed on the past, their methods are evolving with the modern age. The Fairfield Foundation’s website includes many online exhibits where visitors can browse through photos, 3D models, and descriptions of the many artifacts found in their excavations. Using today’s technology to create online exhibits that people can participate from anywhere in the world is just one way Fairfield connects with the public.

A more hands-on opportunity for participation exists in bi-monthly Lab Nights, which allows volunteers to clean and categorize the artifacts found during their Dig Days.

“I love the fact that you’re holding something that may not have been held by a person for a few hundred years or more,” said Nancy Rubin as she scrubbed decades of grime off artifacts before sorting them by category.

“I think it’s really cool you sit there and think, you wonder what that person’s life was like, you wonder what they were doing, how they lived it,” she added. Volunteers deserve special praise for their cleaning earlier this year, as the water they used for washing got very cold very quickly.

Brown and Harpole set out to create a connection between archaeology and the public, and their efforts have paid off. In the 25 years since its founding, Fairfield has built a strong community of passionate volunteers whose collective efforts have spread far and wide. From field trips to internships, the Fairfield Foundation has grown far beyond its original mission and remains dedicated to fostering an interest in archaeology in all ages.