The New Baltimore Welcome Center for Weathervane Wednesday

This weathervane was photographed at a rest area on the New York Thru Way

In September we traveled down south to see the Shenendoah National Park and the Blue Ridge Parkway.  On the way home we traveled through New York state on the Thruway and the Berkshire Connector.  The NYSTA (New York State Thruway Authority) calls the rest areas here "travel plazas".   There are 27 travel plazas.  A redesign project was started in 2021, and it is expected to be completed in 2025.  This weathervane was spotted at the service plaza in New Baltimore, and it is called "The Capital Region Welcome Center.  There is an identical weathervane on the roof of the Whitney Point service center and at the Long Island Welcome center.  

This weathervane features a silhouette of New York state.  You can see the weathervane on the apex of the roof as you enter the building.  The silhouette includes the outline of the entire state including Long Island.  If this weathervane exists at other service plazas or Welcome Centers, please let me know!  

For the truly curious:

Click here to see over 525 Weathervane Wednesday posts:   https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/search/label/Weathervane%20Wednesday     

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To cite/link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "The New Baltimore Welcome Center for Weathervane Wednesday", Nutfield Genealogy, posted November 20, 2024, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2024/11/the-new-baltimore-welcome-center-for.html: accessed [access date]). 

A Fancy Cow Barn for Weathervane Wednesday

 

Today's featured weathervane was photographed at Winterthur, in Delaware.  This museum, garden, and library is home to a large collection of early American decorative arts.  It was also the estate of Henry Francis du Pont (1880 - 1969), a gilded age millionaire.  The original estate was used for farming, and this cow barn is part of that legacy.  This dairy barn was built between 1915 and 1917, and there were many other barns on the property.  H. F. du Pont raised a herd of 450 award winning Holstein cows here until his death in 1969, when per his instructions, the herd was sold at auction. 

There are three identical weathervanes above this huge dairy barn. They are all scrollwork arrows, and the one on the far right appears to be a bit bent.  You can see these weathervanes from the tram tour of the estate grounds, but to really appreciate them you will have to hike up the big hill to the barn. 

For the truly curious:

The Winterthur website:  https://www.winterthur.org/   

The Winterthur Dairy Barn video on YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUHhPa4NUZo  

Click here to see over 525 Weathervane Wednesday posts:   https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/search/label/Weathervane%20Wednesday     

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To cite/link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "A Fancy Cow Barn for Weathervane Wednesday", Nutfield Genealogy, posted November 13, 2024, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2024/11/a-fancy-cow-barn-for-weathervane.html: accessed [access date]).  

Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's house, for Weathervane Wednesday

 

Most people are not aware that Thomas Jefferson's house in Charlottesville, Virginia has a weathervane.  It is mounted to the portico over the back door of the mansion.  This is not the view made famous by the US nickel coin, which has a dome on the west side of the house.  This east entrance is now the first thing visitors to Monticello see.  

Jefferson was an inventor and he loved scientific instruments. The weathervane was installed in 1807.  Below this weathervane he installed a compass rose on the ceiling of the portico.  You have to look up quick when you are being ushered into the mansion on a tour!  This compass rose was recently restored and regilded by conservators.  

Thomas Jefferson loved to record weather twice a day when he was at Monticello.  He recorded the weather, temperatures, and wind direction. This weathervane is a very simple iron and metal banner, with no cardinal points because of the compass rose below the roof on the porch ceiling. Jefferson didn't even have to go outside to tell which way the wind was blowing!  The east entrance was a hall of "curiosities" holding many scientific instruments, maps, artifacts, and taxidermy from the Lewis and Clark expedition and other parts of North America.  

This device used iron balls to
tell the days of the week

For the truly curious:

The Monticello website:  https://www.monticello.org/   

A short video on the restoration of the compass rose that works in conjunction with the weathervane:

https://www.monticello.org/research-education/thomas-jefferson-encyclopedia/weathervane/  

Click here to see over 550 other weathervanes featured on this blog:

https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/search/label/Weathervane%20Wednesday   

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To cite/link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's house, for Weathervane Wednesday", Nutfield Genealogy, posted November 6, 2024, (https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2024/11/monticello-thomas-jeffersons-house-for.html: accessed [access date]). 

The Biltmore Winery, Asheville, North Carolina for Weathervane Wednesday

 

This simple banner weathervane with the letter "V" stands over a clock tower at the Bilmore Winery in Asheville, North Carolina.  The Biltmore estate was established by George Washington Vanderbilt during the Gilded Age, and his grandson, William Cecil planted the first vines in the 1970s. The first wines were bottled in 1984, and the following year the winery opened to the public. This building in Antler Village on the estate opened in 2010.  Every year they produce about 150,000 cases of wine. 

Enjoying a few wine samples! 

For the truly curious:

The Biltmore Winery:    https://www.biltmore.com/visit/winery/   

On October 16, 2024 I featured two weathervanes from atop the Biltmore Mansion:

https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2024/10/weathervane-wednesday-at-biltmore.html   

Click here to read almost 550 Weathervane Wednesday posts from this blog: 

https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/search/label/Weathervane%20Wednesday   

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To cite/link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "The Biltmore Winery, Asheville, North Carolina for Weathervane Wednesday", Nutfield Genealogy, posted October 30, 2024, (  https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2024/10/the-biltmore-winery-asheville-north.html: accessed [access date]).  

New Statehouse Statue for Christa McAuliffe at Concord, New Hampshire

 

On Christa McAuliffe's birthday, September 2, 2024, a new statue of her was dedicated on the grounds of the New Hampshire State Capitol building.  There are many statues on these grounds, but this is the first one of a woman.  

Christa had been a teacher at Concord High School, as well as teaching for a short time in Maryland and Bow, New Hampshire.  She applied for the Teacher in Space program in 1984, and was chosen out of over 11,000 applicants. On January 28, 1986 she died aboard the Challenger when it exploded 73 seconds after liftoff, along with six other crew members.   

A dedicated teacher in Concord,

New Hampshire, Christa McAuliffe was selected

to be NASA's first educator astronaut.

McAuliffe and her six crewmates on the

space shuttle Challenger were tragically

lost 73 seconds after launch.  She is 

remembered for her bravery and 

enthusiasm for life and for learning. 

September 2, 1948

January 28, 1986

"I touch the future. I teach"

This new statue is the first statue of a woman and a private citizen on the state house lawn.  It is also the first new statue to be added to the capitol property in over 100 years. The statue is 8 feet tall on a granite pedestal, and is believed to be the first full statue of Christa McAuliffe. The sculptor of this statue was Benjamin Victor, of Idaho.  He has also made four other statues in the US Capitol.  He borrowed an astronaut uniform for the statue from Barbara Morgan, who was Christa McAuliffe's back up for the Challenger mission. 

Nearby is the Christa McAuliffe/ Alan Shepard Planetarium across the Merrimack River near the Community College.  She is buried nearby, too, at the Blossom Hill Cemetery in Concord.  

For the truly curious:

Wikipedia article for Christa McAuliffe -  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christa_McAuliffe  

A previous blog post about Christa McAuliffe's tombstone in Concord, NH:   https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2020/01/christa-mcauliffe-tombstone-tuesday.html

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To cite/link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "New Statehouse Statue for Christa McAuliffe at Concord, New Hampshire", Nutfield Genealogy, posted October 22, 2024, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2024/10/new-statehouse-statue-for-christa.html: accessed [access date]). 

Weathervane Wednesday at the Biltmore Mansion, Asheville, North Carolina

 These weathervanes were photographed at the Biltmore Mansion. 

We saw several weathervanes above the gigantic Biltmore Mansion in Asheville, North Carolina. This grand estate is open to the public as a museum.  It was built by George Washington Vanderbilt II between 1889 and 1895.  The house has 250 rooms, and 178,926 square feet of living space.  It is the largest privately owned house in the United States, and it is still owned by descendants of G. W. Vanderbilt.

This area of North Carolina and Asheville survived a devastating flood in 1916.  The French Broad River rose over 20 feet, and the area known as "Biltmore Village" at the entrance to the estate was destroyed.  This is the same area that recieved significant damage just last month after Hurricane Helene dropped recording breaking amounts of rain over North Carolina.  The weathervane and the mansion were mostly unharmed, but the flooding in the area will take years of recovery effort. 

The weathervanes over the main house have the intials CV, for Cornelius Vanderbilt (1794 - 1877), the original immigrant ancestor of the wealthy Vanderbilt family in the United States.  However, these are also the initials of G.W. Vanderbilt's only daughter, Cornelia Stuyvesant Vanderbilt (1900 - 1976), who was born here and inherited the entire estate.  Her son, George Henry Vanderbilt Cecil, and William A. V. Cecil came to live on this property in the 1950s and worked to make the estate profitable by managing the dairy business, and opening up the house to the public. Now the house has over 1.4 million visitors every year.  

This family tree was on exhibit at the Biltmore Estate

We spotted a second, smaller weathervane over the
roof of the mansion.  There may be more we
couldn't see behind the house or on other turrets

For the truly curious:

The Biltmore Estate website:  https://www.biltmore.com/    

The Biltmore Estate at Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biltmore_Estate  

Click here to see almost 550 other Weathervane Wednesday posts:   https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/search/label/Weathervane%20Wednesday  

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To cite/link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Weathervane Wednesday at the Biltmore Mansion, Asheville, North Carolina", Nutfield Genealogy, posted October 16, 2024, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2024/10/weathervane-wednesday-at-biltmore.html: accessed [access date]). 

Benjamin Franklin's Burial Site, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

 These tombstones were photographed at the Christ Church Burial Ground in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

BENJAMIN 

                                  And                FRANKLIN

DEBORAH   

                     1790

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN

SIGNER OF

THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES

SEPTEMBER 17, 1787

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PRESENTED BY

THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE SOCIETY

DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION

SEPTEMBER 17, 1987

The Body of

B. Franklin, Printer,

Like the Cover of an old Book,

Its Contents torn out,

And stript of its Lettering & Gilding,

Lies here, Food for Worms.

But the Work shall not be lost,

For it will as he believ'd

appear once more

In a new and more elegant Edition

Corrected and improved

By the Author.

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(This epitaph written by Franklin as a young

man, was not intended to be used.  His nearby

gravestone was prepared in exact accordance

with the instructions contained in his will.)

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This gravesite restored

by the Poor Richard Club

of Philadelphia

THE LAST RESTING PLACE OF

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 

1706 - 1790

< 0 >

"VENERATED FOR BENEVOLENCE,

ADMIRED FOR TALENTS,  ESTEEMED

FOR PATRIOTISM, BELOVED FOR

PHILANTHROPY."

                                           WASHINGTON

<  0 >

"THE SAGE WHOM TWO WORLDS

CLAIMED AS THEIR OWN"

                                        MIRABEAU

< 0 >

"HE TORE FROM THE SKIES THE

LIGHTNING AND FROM TYRANTS

THE SCEPTRE."

                                   TURGOT

< 0 >

I have written several previous blog posts about Benjamin Franklin, since he is my first cousin, 8 generations removed.  His mother, Abiah Folger (1667 - 1752) and my 7th great grandmother, Bethshua Folger (1650 - ?) were sisters.  When we were visiting Philadelphia recently, seeing Franklin's house and burial site were on the top of my list of things to do.

The Christ Church Burial Ground in Philadelphia was established in 1719.  Five signers of the Declaration of Independence are buried here. 

This burial ground is easy to find, since it is across the street from the Visitor Center and National Park Visitor Center in Philadelphia.  It is open to the public for a fee of $5 for adults. If it is closed, there is a wrought iron railing in an opening in the brick wall surrounding the cemetery, so you can see Franklin's grave.  It is a tradition to leave a penny on Franklin's grave.  The family plot was restored in 2017 (see the Christ Church webpage below for more information.  

Benjamin and Deborah Franklin are buried to the right of his daughter, Sarah and her husband Richard Bache.  Next to Benjamin's gravemarker is his son who died young,  and Francis F. Franklin (1732 - 1736).  There are nearby markers for Deborah's parents and other Bache family members. 

For the Truly Curious: 

The Christ Church webpage for the burial ground (including a map of the cemetery):  https://christchurchphila.org/burial-grounds/  

Christ Church Burial Ground, at Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christ_Church_Burial_Ground  

My "Surname Saturday" post for my FOLGER lineage:    https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2014/11/surname-saturday-folger-of-watertown.html  

Other posts about Benjamin Franklin:    https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/search/label/Franklin  

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To cite/link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Benjamin Franklin's Burial Site, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania", Nutfield Genealogy, posted October 8, 2024, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2024/10/benjamin-franklins-burial-site.html, accessed [access date]).  

Inside the Museum of the American Revolution, Philadelphia, for Weathervane Wednesday

 This weathervane was photographed at the Museum of the American Revolution. 

"Weathervane

Possibly made by Friedrich Marsteller
Trappe, Pennsylvania, 1743
Iron
On loan from Augustus Lutheran Church

This wroght Iron weathervane adorned the Augustus Lutheran Church of Trappe, Pennsylvania, which was founded in 1743. Reverend Henry Melchior Muhlenberg, considered the "patriarch" of American Lutheranism, served as the first ordained minister of the church from 1742 to 1787.  his son became an officer in the Revolutionary army." 

This is an unusual weathervane since it is so tall.  I imagine that the entire design rotated atop the church steeple.  The banner at the top has the numbers 1743, the year the church was founded, and there is an ornate wrought iron circle decorated with curlicues and flowers. 

The Friedrich Marsteller referred to in the museum information was born in 1702 in Pfungstadt, Germany, the son of a blacksmith. He came to Pennsylvania in 1729 and became a farmer and blacksmith, like his father. He was an original member of the congregation that founded the Augustus Lutheran Church. He died in 1753 and is buried in the churchyard.  [ see FamilySearch https://www.familysearch.org/memories/memory/108533533 ]  

For the Truly Curious:

Museum of the American Revolution Facebook story, from February 2, 2023:   https://www.facebook.com/story.php/?story_fbid=205902455301500&id=100076452412452&paipv=0&eav=AfZDntF9tZJ7GPp4ivmxHo4fL4v84gs1Vo3SE2zB5hHaBkUBwG3uoqneSlyoTmnK-4Q&_rdr   

Click here to see almost 550 more Weathervane Wednesday posts:   https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/search/label/Weathervane%20Wednesday  

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To cite/link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Inside the Museum of the American Revolution, Philadelphia, for Weathervane Wednesday", Nutfield Genealogy, posted October 2, 2024, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2024/10/inside-museum-of-american-revolution.html: accessed [access date]).