The Pig
From April through out the summer this pig sits out on a corner of the lot at Washington's Office Museum 32 W Cork St Winchester, VA 22601.
The Law
George Washington’s only legislation in the HOUSE OF BURGESSES regulates pigs from roaming freely in Winchester VA. They're trampling over gardens. They're leaving waste. Their waste is spoiling the springs and drinking water. Regulation to prevent this is needed.
But this law goes further.
Citizens can kill an errant "on the loose pig," and leave it on the spot for the Justice of the Peace to determine who can have the dead pig if the owner doesn't claim it.
The law:
That such person shall not convert any hog so killed to his or her own use, but shall leave the same in the place where it shall be so killed, and give immediate notice to the owner thereof, if known; and if not, then to the next justice of the peace, who may order the same to the use of any poor person or persons he shall think fit.
Source
This law was passed by the House of Burgesses April 10, 1761 and was then approved by the Lt Governor and the Virginia Council.
You might see mistaken dates of October, but that is because the 7th session of this House of Burgesses ran from October 6, 1760 (page 183) , to April 10 , 1761 .
That's it.
That's our lead story.
There's always more.
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Read bits and pieces.
Compiled and written by Jim Moyer updated 1/5/2017, 1/29/2017, 4/18/2019, 5/12/2024
Table of Contents
House of Burgesses' Journal
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Monday March 23, 1761
George Washington made the motion in the 7th Session.
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On a Motion made,
Ordered, That Leave be given to bring in a Bill To prevent Hogs from running at large in the Town of Winchester; and it is referred to Mr Washington to prepare and bring in the fame.
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Tuesday March 24, 1761
First Reading
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Mr Washington presented to the House, according to Order, a Bill To prevent Hogs running at large within the Town of Winchester or the Limits thereof; and the samewas read the first Time, and ordered to be read a second Time.
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Tuesday March 31, 1761
House approves bill to be sent to the Council
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An engrossed Bill, entitled. An Act to prevent Hogs running at large within the Town of Winchester or the Limits thereof, was read the third Time, and the Blanks therein filled up. Refolved, That the Bill do pass. Ordered, That Mr Washington do carry up the faid Bill to the Council for their Concurrence.
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Thursday April 9, 1761
Third Reading, House passes as is so far with no amendment from Council for their full concurrence.
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An engrossed Bill, entitled, An Act to preserve the Water for the Use of the Inhabitants of the Town of Winchester, and the Limits thereof, by preventing Hogs from running at large therein, was read the third Time. Resolved, that the Bill do pass. Ordered, That Mr. Washington do carry up the said Bill to the Council for their Concurrence.
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Friday April 10, 1761
The Council has agreed to the following bills passed by the House and now the Governor approves too. Of those bills, the 15th one in the list is:
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15. To preserve the Water for the Use of the Inhabitants in the Town of Winchester and the Limits thereof, by preventing Hogs from running at large therein.
That 7th session ran from October 6, 1760 (page 183) , to April 10 , 1761 .
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George Washington was elected 24 July 1758 to that Assembly who held its first Session of 7 sessions starting September 14, 1758 , ending its 7th session April 10, 1761.
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See source – Journal of House of Burgesses 1758 to 1761, Volume 9.
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Creating the Fiberglass Pig
Compiled and written by Jim Moyer updated 1/5/2017, 1/29/2017, 4/18/2019, 5/12/2024
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BOARD OF ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW
Request to install the Pig
The Board of Architectural Review held its regularly scheduled meeting on Thursday, July 18, 2013, at 4:00 p.m. in Council Chambers, Rouss City Hall, 15 North Cameron Street, Winchester, Virginia.
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BAR-13-371 Request of Winchester-Frederick County Historical Society for a certificate of appropriateness to display/construct a wayside exhibit of a fiberglass pig at the property located at 32 W. Cork Street (Map Number 193-01-E-5-01), zoned Highway Commercial (B-1) District with Historic Winchester (HW) District overlay.
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The historical society spoke about how they’ve thought about doing a pig for years then they heard about a town in New Hampshire that used the pigs for fund raising.
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The society thought it would be good to have one to commemorate the only piece of legislature that George Washington presented in the House of Burgesses, to prevent pigs from running around the city of Winchester.
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The pig is fenced in to comply with the law. The pig is of a good size and very strong. It will be semi-permanent and will be put in storage when tourist season is over. It can’t be seen from the street.
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They are hoping that with the Discovery Museum being across the street, they will get lots of kids and school groups coming over to see the pig and their museum.
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The fence is a split rail fence. In case kids try to sit on it, it can hold 250 pounds.
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Approved August 1, 2013
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With no further questions or discussion, Mr. Serafin called for a motion. Ms. Jackson moved to grant a certificate of appropriateness to BAR-13-371 as submitted. Mr. Walker seconded the motion. Voice vote was taken and motion passed unanimously, 3-0.
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Source
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Unveiled April 12, 2014
Tourist Board report
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The regular monthly meeting of the Winchester-Frederick County Tourism Board was held Thursday,
March 20, 2014. The meeting began at 8:00 a.m. and was held at the Winchester-Frederick County
Visitors Center.
Board Members Present: Rebecca Ebert, Dan Martin, Tootie Rinker, Rainee Simpson, Sharon Farinholt,
John Marker, Eric Campbell
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New Business:
News from the Winchester-Frederick County Historical Society and museums – Cissy Shull
Ms. Shull announced . . . On April 12, the Historical Society will be unveiling the fiberglass pig at George Washington’s Office with a special event, including a skit by Shenandoah University students.
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Northern VA Daily Article
reports on the day the PIG was installed:
published 10:36 am Thursday, April 10, 2014
By Josette Keelor
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Not since George Washington’s time has anyone had to fear the possibility of a pig on the lawn of his downtown Winchester office.
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Far from eliciting new fears, an exhibit outside George Washington’s Office Museum seeks to excite squeals of delight from children, who are welcome to enjoy the pig in safety.
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The exhibit at 32 W. Cork St. is a tribute to the one piece of legislation Washington is known to have signed into law while representing Frederick County for the House of Burgesses in the mid-1700s, banning pigs from running loose in town in an effort to protect the community’s drinking water against harmful contaminants spread by pigs.
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The fiberglass pig to be unveiled in Winchester at 1 p.m. Saturday [April 12, 2014] will be the first exhibit the Winchester-Frederick County Historical Society has added in 10 years, said Executive Director Cissy Shull.
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“The last permanent exhibit was probably the statue… that was way back in 2004.” The statue of Washington as a young surveyor stands on the grounds of the museum.
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Following the pig dedication will be a skit called “Hog Wild in Winchester,” written by Shenandoah University professor Sally Anderson and performed by university students.
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“The skit’s a little tongue in cheek, about how George passed that law,” Shull said.
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Saturday’s event is free and open to the public. The museum is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday to Saturday and noon to 4 p.m. Sunday through October, and tickets are $5 for adults, $4.50 for seniors, $2:50 for children and $12 for families.
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“By putting these exhibits up,” Shull said, “people can still learn about George Washington and the time he spent in Winchester, after hours.”
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Contact the historical society at 540-662-6550 or at www.winchesterhistory.org.
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Contact Community Engagement Editor Josette Keelor at 540-465-5137, ext. 176, or jkeelor@nvdaily.com
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The Skit
More about the skit mentioned above:
Winchester Star reporter, Laura McFarland
article April 10, 2014
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Photo by Jeff Taylor for the Winchester Star 10 April 2014
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Winchester — George Washington is known for his roles as president, soldier, revolutionary and surveyor.
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But Saturday, the Winchester-Frederick County Historical Society will remember him for a very different reason — as the man who helped rid Winchester of its pig problem, Executive Director Cissy Shull said.
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A lighthearted event planned for 1 p.m. Saturday at George Washington’s Office, 32 W. Cork St., will dedicate a new outdoor exhibit honoring Washington’s local political career and premier a short play created to commemorate the occasion acted out by Shenandoah University students, she said.
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The event, called “A Pig Runs Through It,” is free and open to the public. Admission to the museum office is $5.
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The only piece of legislation Washington is known to have had a strong hand in while elected to the House of Burgess from Winchester — his first elected office — is a law banning pigs running loose in the town, Shull said. “It was to protect the water supply.”
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A fiberglass pig that children may climb on and have their picture taken with will be dedicated at the event. A 2-foot-tall split-rail fence was constructed around the animal. It is located at the northeast corner of the property.
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“Hog Wild in Winchester” is a tongue-in-cheek play about irate neighbors and the reading of the law created for the event by Sally Anderson, adjunct theater instructor at Shenandoah Conservatory. After her successful writing of a script for the Rouss City Hall Murder Mystery Tour in the fall, she offered to do something for the historical society. That’s when the pigs came up.
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“When I wrote the script for the Murder Mystery tour, I got hooked on doing the research and writing a fictional story around the situation,” said Anderson of Winchester.
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The cast of seven senior acting majors are all in Anderson’s Future Stages class, which gives them marketable acting skills that can be used in training situations by government, health and law enforcement agencies or historical organizations. Saturday’s show falls under the course’s living history section.
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The play, which is about 20 minutes long, talks about the history and creates a fictional account of the events that led up to the creation of the law, Anderson said.
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The students play citizens discussing Washington as their new representative, an increase in livestock in the area, fears of hemorrhagic fever caused by uncleanliness, and finally the law banning hogs from running wild, Anderson said. The events range from 1758 to 1761.
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“It is supposed to be interactive theater, so a lot of the comments will be addressed to the people there. They are discussing it as if the people there are the people of the year,” she said.
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Laurel Delany, 22, plays the town crier, who offers the historical context for each section of the play. She thought Anderson’s script was fun and creative when she first read it and that it does a good job of presenting history in an entertaining way.
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“A lot of it does deal with gossip. I try to balance the history and gossip and keep the audience aware of what is going on,” she said.
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It can be amusing to look back at historical laws enacted by different governments, especially thinking the first president of the United States helped enact a law banning pigs from running around Winchester, she said.
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The fiberglass pig on display has been painted to represent an Ossabaw hog, a breed that is still raised at Washington’s former home at Mount Vernon, Shull said.
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The museum grounds already include a statue of Washington as a surveyor, the career that brought him to Winchester (then called Fredericktowne) as a young man, and a cannon that represents the military headquarters he operated from the site at times.
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Information
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The Winchester-Frederick County Historical Society will hold “A Pig Runs Through It,” the dedication of a new outdoor exhibit at George Washington’s Office, 32 W. Cork St., in honor of his political career at 1 p.m. Saturday. It is free and open to the public. Admission to the office is $5.
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For more information, contact 540-662-6550 or go to winchesterhistory.org.
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— Contact Laura McFarland at lmcfarland@winchesterstar.com
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