FELTNER'S Winchester Appeals to Washington
On 21 April 1756 when a Council of War was held in Winchester Va.
This war council responded to the citizens appealing to Washington and his men to stay in town.
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A picture of that moment was made famous in Washington Irving's Life of Washington.
And there are to this day two paintings made of this illustration with the old closed Feltner Museum and in the Reading Room west wing of the Handley Library.
This Darcy illustration in that book by Washington Irving inspired 2 different versions made of it in two locations in Winchester VA.
One version the 1913 (might by as early as 1910) is at 9 Court Square (the closed Feltner Museum) and the other 1932 version is at Handley Library.
(Compiled by Jim Moyer, updated 9/15/2016, 4/26/2021, 6/20/2021)
The 1913 or 1910 version.
This version exists today.
Our last viewing of it was at 9 Court Square (the closed Feltner Museum) and has been there since 1996.
Before that ?
1968 - 1996.
The painting was placed in the main lobby of the new F&M Building at 115 N Cameron St (BB&T took over the bldg 2001 ) until it was moved to 9 Court Square.
1927 ? - 1968.
The old F&M Bank Building on the Loudoun Street walking mall, which is that yellow brick building with the clock.
According to Jill Feltner the 1913 painting was rolled up and never displayed in the old F&M Bank yellow brick Building.
1913 to 1927.
The closed Feltner Museum information sheet states this painting "was first viewed by the patrons during the Grand Opening of the Empire Theatre Christmas Eve 1913. "
There are claims that picture was on the ceiling of the Capitol Theatre in 1910 earlier than 1913.
From this source here are some more dates below:
Joe Vogel on January 28, 2013 at 9:07 pm posted the following:
The Empire Theatre opened in June 1909, but the original building was destroyed by fire in July 1912.
The house was rebuilt, and reopened on Christmas Day, 1913.
As an aside, the house to the right? We think it is this house:
Back to the Empire Theatre and the painting on the ceiling:
It is Interesting that the ceiling picture is not as wide as the later one.
Looks like someone extended the painting on both sides in a later year.
What still exists in the Feltner's hands is the shorter width version further below.
Back to the 1913 painting.
That picture as of this writing 9/16/2016 resides at 9 Court Square, shown in the photo below (the corner brick building which is the closed down Feltner Museum.
Shenandoah University owns the building.
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Something yesterday (10 August 2016) caused us to look at that picture and that moment again.
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Feltner Museum is closing. And apparently it has been in the process of closing for some time.
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They have a picture of that moment mentioned above.
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We're wondering what the status of this picture in the old F&M building will be, since the closing of the Feltner Museum might mean this copy will be moved or sold?
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See Winchester Star (10 August 2016) article on Feltner Museum closing.
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For those who have paid access, click on link to that article.
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Here's more on that picture and of what it depicted.
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Washington Irving created legends
Legend of Sleepy Hollow.
Rip Van Winkle
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That last book has a picture of the citizens beseeching Washington and his men to stay in Winchester VA.
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The people asked, Help !
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The original picture is based on:
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April 21, 1756 The Captains of the Council of War agreed to stay in Winchester rather than go to Fort Cumberland:
"…The most judicious of the Inhabitants solicited our continuation here in the most earnest manner; and represented in the strongest light, the impossibility of their making a stand, should any accident happen to the small party we proposed marching with…"
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See letters Washington writes on the same day of this Council of War in Winchester VA.
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WHAT MADE THIS MOMENT FAMOUS?
What made this moment that precipitated the decision of the Council of War in Winchester VA famous?
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An illustration captioned "The People of Winchester Appealing to Washington" in Washington Irving’s Life of Washington (Volume 1 of 4) 1856. made this moment famous.
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Felix Octavius Carr "F. O. C." Darley (June 23, 1822 – March 27, 1888) is the artist.
Felix Darley drew it.
This picture is located on this page of Irving Washington's, The Life of Washington.
Mostly text version:
Illustrated version:
The painting from the Capitol Theatre / Empire Theatre
was saved from that torn down building
and was place here at 9 Court Square
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A painting based on Darley’s drawing appeared on the ceiling of the Empire Theatre on northwest corner of Rouss and Cameron streets.
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After the Empire Theatre/ Capitol Theatre was torn down, Farmers and Merchants Bank acquired the property and recovered the painting and after restoring it, displayed it in the bank.
Photos of this 1913 painting taken and supplied to this page by Scott Straub.
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The 1932 version:
It is located in Handley Library's West Wing Reading Room.
THIS VERSION EXISTS STILL TODAY AT HANDLEY LIBRARY
In 1932 the bicentennial of Washington’s Birthday, another version was created.
The Winchester Frederick County Historical Society commissioned the artist, Burtis Baker.
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Click on picture to enlarge.
This picture shows a metal engraving used to help Burtis Baker paint his copy.
See link at Handley Library Archives.
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T
he final product by Burtis Baker’s version of Darley’s original drawing, still exists in the in the Reading Room in Handley Library's West Wing.
The picture below is of the Reading Room in Handley Libary's West Wing, taken December 2015. Click on picture to enlarge.
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LINKS
About the Empire Theatre / Capitol Theatre sat on Cameron and Rouss in Winchester VA. The the old yellow brick F&M Bank on Loudoun Street Mall sits behind it.
Source of picture:
The closed Feltner Museum information sheet states The Empire Theatre was sold to Warner Brothers in 1927. It then renovated the building and reopened as the Capitol Theatre.
Joe Vogel on January 28, 2013 at 9:07 pm
The Empire Theatre opened in June, 1909, but the original building was destroyed by fire in July, 1912. The house was rebuilt, and reopened on Christmas Day, 1913. The entrance of the Empire Theatre was on N. Cameron Street, but when the house was taken over by Warner Brothers as the Capitol Theatre it was remodeled and a new entrance was opened on Rouss Avenue.
Comfortably Cool on February 15, 2016 at 11:31 am
The Capitol Theatre opened in 1929, apparently early enough to be featured in the June 8th issue of Exhibitors Herald-World. No mention was made of replacing an earlier Capitol Theatre. Construction cost was reported as $120,000, or $1,000 for each of the Capitol’s 1,200 seats. The theatre had a Robert Morton organ, but limited stage facilities and no refrigeration system. Joseph Nielsen, an architect of Harrisonburg, VA, was credited with the Spanish-influenced design. The Capitol was operated by Shenandoah Valley Theatre Corporation, in affiliation with Universal Pictures Theatre Company.
115 North Cameron Street, Winchester, Va. Building has been demolished and replaced with F&M Bank, now (2000s) part of the BB&T banking complex.
100 North Loudoun Street, Winchester, Va Farmers and Merchants (F&M) National Bank and partial view of Rosenmyer Show Store and BPOE sign hanging from building.
As an aside, the house to the right? We think it is this one:
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Feltner Museum
Posted: August 10, 2016
By Amy Alonzo
The Winchester Star
For those with paid access -
CAPTIONS TO PICTURES IN THE ARTICLE
Shenandoah University President Tracy Fitzsimmons (left) talks with Helen and Wilbur Feltner before a 2011 gifting ceremony at 9 Court Square in Winchester. Wilbur Feltner and family gifted the Wibur M. Feltner building to Shenandoah University. Feltner helped bring the college to Winchester in 1960. (Photo by Ginger Perry/The Winchester Star)
The Wibur M. Feltner building (right) is seen in 2011 on the Loudoun Street Mall in Winchester. (Photo by Ginger Perry/The Winchester Star)
Some of the Wilbur and Helen Feltner collection of whale oil and kerosene lamps. (Photo by Ginger Perry/The Winchester Star)
Original paintings by Mort Kunstler hang in The Feltner Museum at 9 Court Square in 2011. These three paintings have the Feltner building in them. From left are "After the Snow," "The Palace Bar," and "Iron Horses, Men of Steel." (Photo by Ginger Perry/The Winchester Star)
This plaque is in the parking lot south of the Wilbur M. Feltner Building. (Photo by Scott Mason/The Winchester Star)
ARTICLE BEGINS HERE
WINCHESTER — The Feltner private art and antiques collection — loaned in 2011 for 10 years to Shenandoah University for public display and educational purposes — is being dismantled, and some pieces have been sold at auction.
The Feltner Museum at 9 Court Square in downtown Winchester, which housed the pieces and was once open to the public on a limited basis, is no longer open.
SU officials declined to give a reporter a tour of the former gallery space. School officials also declined to comment on the Feltners’ decision to sell the artwork and antiques. The Feltners also declined to comment.
Public access to the collection was part of an agreement when the Feltner Community Foundation deeded the property, valued at $4 million, to SU on April 1, 2011, according to previous articles in The Winchester Star.
The collection was amassed by Clarke County native and former bank executive Wilbur Feltner and his wife, Helen. It included original paintings, some depicting downtown Winchester, by Mort Kunstler, whose work has focused on the Civil War.
"It really isn’t a museum to see anymore," said an SU employee who answered the phone recently when asked about arranging a tour. "For the most part, the rooms are empty now."
Feltner, a 1938 Clarke County High School graduate, was one of the local community leaders who worked to move SU to Winchester from Dayton in 1960. He went on to serve with SU’s board of trustees from 1964 to 1992.
At the time, Feltner’s gift of 9 Court Square to SU was the single largest property donation in university history, according to information on SU’s alumni association’s website.
In a speech accepting the donation, the context of which was published on The Star’s editorial page on April 4, 2011, SU President Tracy Fitzsimmons said, "Shenandoah looks forward to working with the Feltner Community Foundation, who will maintain ownership of the collections, on finding new ways to share this art in our academic program and with the community at large."
Fitzsimmons later added in the speech: "I accept this astounding gift and offer our promise to steward these resources as you would expect."
She also said the university was committed to maintaining the integrity of the Feltner Museum.
According to previous articles in The Star, SU’s Office of Alumni Affairs moved into 14 offices on the second and third floors of the building.
Basement space was designated for meetings and conferences, and the first floor was reserved as a museum for the Feltner collection boasting about 350 beer steins from around the world, a similar number of glass oil lamps, miniature tea sets, wooden nutcrackers, a room dedicated to Civil War memorabilia and nine original Kunstler paintings.
The paintings include "Iron Horses, Men of Steel" (depicting the outside of 9 Court Square in 1861) and "The Palace Bar" (one of the seven buildings of the original 9 Court Square complex).
In an April 7, 2011, interview in The Star, Fitzsimmons was quoted as saying the university would work closely with the Old Court House Civil War Museum, Museum of the Shenandoah Valley, Shenandoah Valley Discovery Museum and Shenandoah Arts Council, so they would know when the museum was open to the public.
Recently, however, local museum and tourism agency workers were surprised to hear the museum is now closed.
A man at the Old Court House Civil War Museum, who declined to give his name but identified himself as the director of interpretation, said he was unaware of the gallery closing. He said he remembered "being very impressed both with the content as well as the presentation."
Shenandoah Arts Council Executive Director Tammie Limoges, Shenandoah Valley Discovery Museum Executive Director Mary Braun, museum Deputy Director of Community Relations Julie Armel, Downtown Manager Jennifer Bell and Winchester-Frederick County Convention & Visitors Bureau Director Justin Kerns also recently said they were not aware of any changes in the building’s status.
"To my knowledge, it’s a museum that’s open on limited hours," Bell said. "I hadn’t heard that anything had changed."
Winchester-based Headley’s Auctions listed several of the museum’s pieces for sale at its Dec. 3, 2015, auction.
"Our December 3 auction features many items as The Museum at 9 Court Square in Winchester, Va., does a deaccession of several collections that include two Mort Kunstler oil paintings, John Chumley watercolor, other original art and prints," according to an advertisement the company ran in The Star.
Joe Headley Jr. said recently that the Feltners have been selling items that were housed at the museum "for a while."
"Even though it was a museum, it was the passion of Mr. and Mrs. Feltner," Headley said.
9 Court Square comprises seven buildings dating to the 19th century that were combined to form one 17,600-square-foot building during a $2.8 million renovation in 1997.
The project started in 1995 when Feltner, then president of Farmers & Merchants Bank-Winchester, announced the renovation as part of a "larger goal to keep Old Town Winchester a hub of local commerce and activity," he is quoted as saying in an April 2, 2011, article in The Star.
9 Court Square sits on the first public lots surveyed by James Wood in 1744 in what was then called Frederick Town. The seven buildings that comprised the complex included the first part of the Frederick County Records Room, built in 1832; an addition constructed in 1940; The Palace Bar, a Federal-style building constructed between 1830 and 1840; and the home of The Winchester News, as well as a power company, retailer and print shop, according to an April 2, 2011, article in The Star.
In 1994, the 9 Court Square buildings — which once housed Frederick County government offices — were primed for demolition by the county government as it sought to build a new office complex, according to an Aug. 17, 1994, article in The Star.
"F&M Bank acquired the properties as part of a three-way land swap that prevented the demolition of the buildings and kept the Frederick County government offices in Winchester," according to an April 2, 2011, article in The Star.
"In the deal, the county government moved its offices to their present site at 107 N. Kent St., the city government gave the bank two parking lots, and the bank took ownership of the former county office building," the April 2, 2011, article states. "The bank also acquired the former J.C. Penney building (since demolished), the parking lot behind Rouss City Hall, and a city parking lot on North Cameron Street in exchange for the land on Kent Street."
"During the two-year renovation, the seven buildings and their four sections were joined for the first time," the April 2, 2011, article states.
The property’s assessed value now stands at about $4.6 million, according to city records.
— Contact Amy Alonzo at aalonzo@winchesterstar.com
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