King & Queen Courthouse Tavern Museum

The King and Queen Historical Society was founded in 1953 and for 60 years, with the help of dedicated members, has preserved county history by collecting over 3800 manuscripts, letters, record books, and artifacts; acquiring over 350 books on county history and families; publishing over 110 Bulletins containing articles on the county and its citizens; publishing over 3 books and a map; promoting national and state marking of historic sites in the county; and creating an oral history of the county through video interviews of over 60 of its senior citizens. In May 2001 the Historical Society in cooperation with King and Queen County opened the Courthouse Tavern Museum as a cultural center for county history: principally as a county history archive and library for papers, photographs and books related to King and Queen County to inform and to assist in research; as a repository for artifacts; as a showcase for period tavern living; and as an exhibit hall used to inform the public of various aspects of life in the county over time.

Society members hail from all over Virginia and from over 25 states. New members are welcome. The quarterly meetings offer informative presentations on county history or related topics and are always open to the public.

The next King and Queen Historical Society meeting will be at Newington Plantation on Sunday October 27, 2013 at 3:00 p.m. There will be two guest speakers. Ivor Noel Hume, respected archaeologist and writer, a retired “Antiquarian” from Colonial Williamsburg will discuss the bottle collection he acquired during his lifetime, sharing the method of dating bottles and also his visit to Newington some sixty years ago. He will be available to sign books, answer questions, and review his pleasure in having the bottles available for others to enjoy, now on display at the King and Queen Courthouse Tavern Museum. Matthew R. Laird, Ph.D., RPA, Partner and Senior Researcher, will also speak, focusing on archeological developments at Newington Plantation since the last Historical Society meeting there in 2009.

Come early and tour the Courthouse Tavern Museum at 146 Court House Landing Road, King and Queen Court House, Virginia within several miles of the meeting. The location of the Historical Society Meeting at Newington Plantation is 998 Newington Lane, King and Queen Court House, Virginia. Directions: From Rt. 14 take 631 (Frazier Ferry Road). Travel .9 mile and turn right on Newington Lane. At the end of the straight stretch you will see the Newington Plantation Home site. Take a right and follow the signs to 998 Newington Lane (also known as Eagle’s Pointe) and this site is the Frank and Barbara Hurst river home. Signs will be placed strategically to make your travel easy. On the way plan to tour the Newington Plantation site and view the restored stone building and the artifacts displayed there. For more information visit our website at www.kingandqueenmuseum.com.