history’s stories: july 4th 1776

I was recently watching a National News program and ten University students were asked the question, "Why do we celebrate the holiday July 4th"? Only one student out of the ten was able to partially answer the question, saying it was the day we celebrated our independence from England. Unfortunately, over the last 152 years many Americans know little about the birthday of our nation. We are extremely fortunate here in Fredericksburg and the surrounding areas to have been the home to several founders of our country and its First President. George Washington who was raised in Stafford County (Ferry Farm), and often would visit his mother (Mary) in Town during the American Revolution. James Monroe along with Hugh Mercer would have their business in the Town. Fredericksburg would be the meeting place for other events such as the planning for the Document of Religious Freedom. July 4th may just mean another day at the beach or cook out with family and friends and an evening of fireworks. Anne and I always decorate our home in red, white and blue, "Old Glory" is flying in the breeze as always. July 4, 1776 was the day that the Continental Congress approved the wording of the Declaration of Independence. July 2nd was the date that the members declared independence of the colonies to be free from British rule. Also called Independence Day, but we must keep in mind that many other nations world over observe their own independence days, when they became free from foreign domination. The term Independence Day, is found in the continental records as early as 1790, however, the term July 4th is found eleven years earlier in 1779 It was not until the year 1870, when Congress made July 4th a holiday. Interesting it was still unpaid for federal employees until 1938.

history’s stories July 4 By Ralph “ I like to remind everyone of the fact that forty-four years before the holiday was declared in 1870, Thomas Jefferson, and John Adams died on July 4, 1826, within hours of each other, exactly fifty years after they both had signed the 1776 Tuffy” Hicks Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. Thomas Jefferson of Virginia is recognized as the author of the famous document. Fifty-six of the signers of the Declaration fought in the war. Twentyfour were lawyers, eleven were business owners and nine were farmers. The war finally ended with the British surrender at Yorktown in 1781. The treaty in Paris in 1783 would finally recognize America as an independent nation marking the end of the American Revolution. When Thomas Jefferson was working on the original draft for the Declaration of Independence in June of 1776, he wrote against King George III for his supporting the slave trade and violating their rights of life and liberty against people that had never offended him. It is written that Georgia and South Carolina took issue with the anti-slavery sentiments and the document was edited by Congress. It would be another seventynine years before the wording in the Declaration would apply to all citizens in America. The echoes of freedom in the document would be the foundation of all the freedoms in America that we all enjoy today. July 4, 2022, the Declaration of Independence reads: "We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are LIFE, LIBERTY and the pursuit of HAPPINESS." Fly the Red, White &Blue Happy 4th of July.

Dedicated to: Dick Walters, Joyce Hall, Don Reed, Mike O’Donnell, & BobDeadrick

Tuffy is Front Porch’s Resident Historian

the pump house

By jon gerlach

Tucked in the riverbank at 301 Sophia Street, just next to City Dock, sits a curious industrial artifact of the 20th Century called the "Pump House". Built of reinforced concrete walls up to five feet thick, the two story tower overlooks the Rappahannock River and a continuous traffic of kayakers, canoeists and standup paddlers. Next door is the CSX Railroad Bridge, iconic in its own right. While the railroad bridge symbolizes Fredericksburg's connection to metropolitan areas up and down the East Coast, the Pump House speaks to the history of our local economy.

During the Great Depression, the Fredericksburg region's economy was kept afloat largely by the Sylvania Company. About 2 miles from the Pump House, the company's sprawling plant manufactured cellophane that was used in a range of products from food containers to cigarette packs. Located in what is now Bowman Center, the complex employed up to two thousand workers who earned living wages that supported families and small businesses throughout the region.

To produce cellophane, copious amounts of water were required to continuously cool the machinery. This is where the Pump House enters our story. Following the 39-foot flood of 1937, and the massive 42-foot flood just five years later which inundated the commercial district along Caroline Street, the Sylvania Company's need for a reliable water source became acute. Built in 1947, the Pump House was designed to extract river water and pump it through two miles of pipes to the cellophane plant in Spotsylvania County.

With a capacity of 30,000 gallons of water per minute, the Pump House served as a pumping station for some thirty years, closing down in 1978. Spotsylvania County acquired the property, and in 1997 it was sold to former Mayor Bill Beck and his wife Susan Beck. Longtime owners of Beck' s Antiques and Books at 708 Caroline Street, Bill and Susan have carefully restored the Pump House. Since then, the Pump House has hosted weddings and other special events. If you've ever wanted to live along the river, now is your chance. The Pump House is currently for sale.

The Pump House is a testament to regional economic cooperation between Spotsylvania County and the City of Fredericksburg; a monument to the history and resilience of local enterprise, and a jewel of historic preservation. Given its solid construction, the Pump House may well outlast many other buildings in Fredericksburg as future generations come and go.

So … what's in a riverbank? Here, creative solutions to regional challenges.

An attorney and retired archaeologist, Jon Gerlach serves on Fredericksburg's City Council, Ward Two.

Painting by Jon Gerlach, 1947 photo courtesy of Bill and Susan Beck