Hampton History Museum Soiree

This evening the boyfriend and I are hosting a fundraiser/soiree for the Hampton History Museum at our house. We are basically only providing the venue with everything else - iincluding catering - provided. Not that the event doesn't entail a lot of work. If the boyfriend, a/k/a "Martha Stewart" is going to do something, it must be perfect. In this case, the house and yard must look utterly immaculate with nothing out of place. Thus, we spent about six hours today cutting the grass, edging, dead heading roses - in short the works - to make sure the place looks its best (hence why I have not done many posts today). He even closed the flood gate on the tidal creek behind the house to keep the creek at high tide level for the maximum view in the back yard.

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It is a worthy cause and, in fact, Hampton is the oldest continuously settled English community in the United States. As an Indian village called Kecoughtan, it had been visited by the first English colonists before they sailed up the James River to settle in Jamestown. In 1610 the construction of Fort Henry and Fort Charles at the mouth of Hampton Creek marked the beginnings of Hampton, and 2010 will be the 400 anniversary of the city's founding. There is a great deal of history in the city that is often overlooked and some magnificent homes that still survive in various historic neighborhoods such as Old Wythe where we live. The photo above is of a home up the street from us as it looked in 1916. The house is still there and the gorgeous porches have just been lovingly restored.

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Here are a few other interesting facts about my new hometown that are pretty unique: The first free public schools in the United States were founded in Hampton by Benjamin Syms and Thomas Eaton and are commemorated in the Syms-Eaton Museum. Hampton is the site of Hampton University, established in 1868 to educate freed slaves, and Thomas Nelson Community College. St. John's Episcopal parish was founded in 1610, making it the oldest in the country. Fort Monroe - which is being turned over to the City of Hampton by the federal government - dates from 1819. For a long period during the American Civil War the fort was the only Union outpost in the Confederacy. The famous battle between the first ironclad battleships, the Monitor and the Merrimac, was fought just offshore (just offshore from down the street from our home since our street runs along Hampton Roads harbor).

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It should be a fun evening and a good networking opportunity as well. We enjoy entertaining and a number of our LGBT friends will be attending as well - including our friend who rehabbed our house after disrepair and a dubious history, including drug dealing and the making of porno films before the neighbor saw a revival. As they say, if you want first class urban renewal, get the gays to move in. We have about ten gay owned homes on the street.