Service Through Historic Preservation
Bee Line Chapter has strong ties with the Friends of Happy Retreat (FoHR) which was established in 2006 as a non-profit organization with a mandate to acquire, protect, and restore Happy Retreat, the home of Lt. Col. Charles Washington. In addition to being a Patriot of the American Revolution in his own right, Lt. Col. Washington was the youngest brother of President George Washington. The property owned by FoHR currently includes the Federal/Greek Revival style home of Col. Washington and the 18th-century outbuildings that once formed the center of the estate. The property is recognized by the National Trust for Historic Preservation and was designated as a National Treasure in 2016.
Bee Line members coordinated with the FoHR Board to facilitate the application for an NSDAR grant to support the restoration of the “showroom” at Happy Retreat, which will be used for exhibition and educational purposes. The room dates to circa 1785 and is thought to have been used as a storehouse and showroom for commercial goods sold by the Washington family in what is now Jefferson County, West Virginia.
Another project that Bee Line Chapter is working on in conjunction with FoHR is the installation of a colonial herb garden. In the spring of 2022, the garden will be placed adjacent to the estate’s kitchen and divided into culinary, medicinal, and household beds—which will be planted with herbs that would have been known and used by the Washington family in the late 1700s.
On September 15, 2018, Bee Line dedicated a historical marker honoring the patriotic and military service of Charles Washington, youngest brother of General George Washington. The ceremony was conducted on the grounds of Happy Retreat, the historic home established by Charles and his wife Mildred in 1780.
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The text of the marker acknowledges Charles’s support for the Leedstown Resolutions, a 1766 protest of the Stamp Act; his participation on local Committees of Correspondence and Safety in Virginia; his appointment as a commissary by the Virginia Convention; and his commission as a lieutenant colonel in the Spotsylvania militia.
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The ceremony included greetings and comments by national, state, and local political leaders. West Virginia Governor Jim Justice issued a special proclamation for the occasion, and then-President General Ann Turner Dillion sent a letter of congratulations from Constitution Hall. Other highlights included the presentation of colors by a combined SAR unit representing both West Virginia and Virginia, a musket salute, an unveiling conducted by Washington family descendants, and a wreath-laying ceremony by state and chapter officers of DAR, SAR, and C.A.R. from West Virginia and Virginia.
