Summertime delights on Gwynn’s Island (7/29/2026) - 120 YEARS AGOThursday, Aug. 2, 1906from the Mathews Journal News from Gwynn’s Island: We had a delightful lawn party last Wednesday night. All seemed to enjoy themselves. We had a… …
Trained nurse saves typhoid-stricken child (7/22/2026) - 120 YEARS AGO Thursday, July 26, 1906from the Mathews Journal Miss K. F. Portner, the trained nurse who has been in attendance on little Miss Genevieve Burke, the daughter of… …
Two views of Achilles (7/22/2026) - Has Achilles changed? Here are two photos of the community, the left photo taken in 1960 by Walter Becknell, the right photo taken from a slightly different angle a couple… …
Baseball standouts (7/15/2026) - The 1977 Mathews Youth baseball season ended in July with trophies for players selected as “Most Valuable,” from left, Vincent Dixon, who also compiled the highest batting average; Kent Owens,… …Yacht Club to hold its first regatta (7/15/2026) - 120 YEARS AGO Thursday, July 19, 1906from the Mathews Journal The Mobjack Bay Yacht Club will hold its first annual regatta on August 1 on North River. There will be… …
Church building benefit picnic helps the Methodists (7/8/2026) - 120 YEARS AGOThursday, July 12, 1906from the Mathews Journal The picnic that was scheduled to take place at Five Points on July 4, owing to bad weather, did not amount… …
Newington VBS (7/8/2026) - Newington Baptist Church, Gloucester, held its Vacation Bible School, “Cave Quest: Following Jesus, the Light of the World,” in July 2016 at the church. Above, clockwise from left, Henry Walker,… …
Community pride (7/8/2026) - These young men, residents of the Cricket Hill area of Mathews County, erected this sign in April 1969 to welcome travelers and indicate the area’s historic role in the American… …
Revolutionary War flags flown to inspire patriotism (7/1/2026) - The American flag is a symbol of freedom and patriotism, but before the Continental Congress adopted the first official flag in 1777, many other flags were flown. As America celebrates 250 years of freedom, here’s a look at… …
The woman who helped Mathews avoid a race riot (7/1/2026) - Peaceful little Mathews County has never been known as a hotbed of racial tension. However … A shooting on Saturday, Aug. 23, 1980 threatened to break the serenity of the… …Remembering Gov. John Page (7/1/2026) - Gloucester’s Page family has been going strong since the days before the American Revolution. And they’re still a major part of the community today. Perhaps the most prominent of these… …
Battle of the Hook: The largest cavalry engagement of Revolutionary War (7/1/2026) - Gloucester County (including Kingston Parish—now Mathews County) played an important role in the American Revolution, beginning even before the Declaration of Independence was signed, when the militia were called up… …What happened to vessels that didn’t survive Battle of Cricket Hill? (7/1/2026) - A witness to the British evacuation of Gwynn’s Island counted 96 ships that sailed away, carrying Lord Dunmore and removing English authority from Virginia for good. Witnesses said at least… …
What’s in a name? Mathews County’s 250th celebration (7/1/2026) - Mention the “Battle of Cricket Hill” to people outside the immediate vicinity of Mathews County, and you are likely to be met with a puzzled look. Mention the name “Captain… …
Did Jefferson write the Declaration of Independence at Rosewell? (7/1/2026) - Every family story contains a kernel of truth. Over time, memories grow, details blur, and what seems plausible becomes accepted as fact. Historians call this “confabulation”—unintentional misremembering. It is how… …Old World herbs used in colonial kitchen gardens (7/1/2026) - Have you ever thought about what you would have taken on a tiny, crowded ship traveling over a vast, unknown ocean to a new land about which you knew nothing?… …
Timberneck House getting some much-needed TLC (7/1/2026) - Timberneck House, a two-and-half-story home located on the grounds of Machicomoco State Park in Hayes, has stood since 1793 on a steep slope overlooking Timberneck Creek, with an expansive view… …
Fannie Ware has seen a lot of changes over the last 94 years (7/1/2026) - Fannie Diggs Ware of the Hicks Wharf area of Mathews County grew up in the strictly segregated society of the 1930s and 1940s. Now 94, she has witnessed vast changes… …
Saving Poplar Grove and Tide Mill for future generations (7/1/2026) - Just about a year ago, the Poplar Grove and Tide Mill Foundation was formed to save one of the last remaining tide mills in the nation and the stately East… …
Cooking, clothing and cosmetology during the American Revolution (7/1/2026) - Imagining what the lives of those who existed two-and-a-half centuries ago were like can be a daunting task. For Gloucester Museum of History Museum Specialist Sidney Ripley, the past does… …
Seawell’s Ordinary: At the crossroads of history (7/1/2026) - Seawell’s Ordinary, on the road from Gloucester toward the York River, found itself a place of significance in final days of the Revolutionary War. The British were camped in Yorktown… …
Honoring Seawell’s Ordinary today (7/1/2026) - Seawell’s Ordinary, the shining survivor of decades, is in the hands of a family that honors its past. Joe Volpe, vice president of Auto Max, said, “When we bought this… …On the iniquitous traffic in whiskey: from 1906 (7/1/2026) - 115 YEARS AGOThursday, July 7, 1906from the Mathews Journal It must be a source of great regret to the law abiding and self-respecting people of this county that it seems… …
Library move (7/1/2026) - Fifteen years ago, in July 2011, the Gloucester Library’s Gloucester Point branch was preparing for an August move from smaller quarters to leased space in York River Shopping Center, Hayes.… …Parsonage’s basket party, ice cream and cake (6/24/2026) - 115 YEARS AGOThursday, June 28, 1906from the Mathews Journal The basket party that is to take place at the home of Mr. Charles Crockett for the benefit of the parsonage… …