Hampshire Heritage Days

[Avlrc]

Here is a few pics I snapped today in Romney WV. Some of the makers displayed here, Frederick Sheetz, Jacob Sheetz, Roland Savage Dayton, Peter Thrush, Evan Ward, Edward Nelson, ETC. Oh yeah,  one Yankee maker, Pennsylvania, but can't remember the name on the barrel...

It was nice to see a few collectors were willing to share their collection with others. This stuff does little good if you keep it in your safe, only to share it upon the reading of your will.

[Dennis Glazener]

Hampshire Heritage Days~~ It was nice to see a few collectors were willing to share their collection with others. This stuff does little good if you keep it in your safe, only to share it upon the reading of your will.

Avlrc,
Here is an idea that might work for you next year. For several years Brevard NC used to host a Heritage Day event. They used to invite me and Sam Everly to do Gillespie rifle display's since the home of John Gillespie is now a part of Brevard. The display's were always a great success and one year the Historical Society asked if we would do an "Antique Road Show" type event. The idea was to attract men to join the Historical Society (which I think was a failure). They did advertisements and told locals that anyone that had any "old rifles" that wanted to see if they were made by the Gillespie's should bring them by the Allison-Deaver house (oldest house in Transylvania County NC) to see if Sam and/or I could ID them. Several Gillespie rifles showed up as well as some other unkown western NC rifles. (plus a fantastic (contempoary) Gillespie signed VA rifle made by a Gillespie fellow up in your neck of the woods)

The folks that brought them in had very interesting stories to tell. None of these people were collectors and that's what made it interesting.

Might try something like that up in your neck of the woods. Probably would bring out some rifles far more interesting than the Western NC mountain rifles that showed up at ours.

Dennis

[homerifle]

Thanks for posting the pictures and It was a real enjoyable day!

[J Henry]

  I'd be in a dither,,use them, as they were intended to be used or just as anyone would do,,store them safe and look at them.
  Almost a shame not to use them and still have them as a visual item,,,

[Avlrc]

Yeah, Dennis that is a good Idea.

Homerifle, I am wondering if some of those Sheetz Contract Rifles were not in the group of old flintlock rifles that Lt John Blue took from the Courthouse and had converted to percussion by Jacob Sheetz? That would be real neat if any of them actually made it back to the same spot 150 years later. Had a good time as well.