The Steuart Blakemore Building, originally built in 1900 and used as the Lancaster Post Office until 1931, is a museum and historical archive, part of the

Mary Ball Washington Museum and Library The Lancaster VA Historical Society/Mary Ball Washington Museum and Library is a museum and historical archive in the Northern Neck of The Chesapeake Bay, Virginia, United States. Its purpose is to preserve the history of Lancaster County, Virginia ...

in Lancaster, Virginia. It forms a part of a five building complex, located in the

Lancaster Court House Historic District The Lancaster Court House Historic District is a national historic district consisting of 25 structures, including one monument, located in Lancaster, Virginia, Lancaster County, Virginia. Four of the buildings make up the Mary Ball Washington Mu ...

, which also includes the

Old Jail Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungary *Old, Northamptonshire, England * Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Ma ...

(1820), Clerk's Office (c. 1797), and Lancaster House. The Museum is open to the public, who may view exhibits, participate in educational programs and trace family histories. It seeks to recapture the stories and the rich history of the people of the

Northern Neck The Northern Neck is the northernmost of three peninsulas (traditionally called "necks" in Virginia) on the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay in the Virginia, Commonwealth of Virginia (along with the Middle Peninsula and the Virginia Peninsula ...

of the

Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. The building has in recent years been used both as storage for the Museum collections and also as the office for the Lancaster County History Book Committee.Rappahannock Record, Kilmarnock, Va, June 9, 2005

History

The building was constructed by an attorney, Harvey Gresham, in around 1900. Gresham ran his legal practice from the back of the building and the post office from the front. Until that time there had been no official post office in Lancaster, though postal stops were made to local taverns or stores. After construction of a new Post Office during the 1950s, it became known as "The Old Post Office". In 1983 it was designated a National Historic Landmark, as part of the

. an
''Accompanying photo''
an
''Accompanying map''
The building was donated to the museum in 1986 by George H. Steuart, a native of Lancaster County.Deed of Gift dated 29th July 1986 between George H Steuart and the Mary Ball Washington Museum Steuart was a

Foreign Service Officer A Foreign Service Officer (FSO) is a commissioned member of the United States Foreign Service. Foreign Service Officers formulate and implement the foreign policy of the United States. FSOs spend most of their careers overseas as members of U ...

who retired as consul in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

, England. He purchased the building in 1981, and named it in honour of his parents, local physician George H Steuart (1865–1945) and Irene Blakemore.

References

* Article in the ''Rappahannock Record'' by Charlotte Henry, June 9, 2005 * Deed of Gift dated 29 July 1986 between George H Steuart and the Mary Ball Washington Museum, unpublished.

Notes

External links

Official website of The Mary Ball Washington Museum and Library
Retrieved February 21, 2010
Steuart Blakemore Building at www.virginia.org
{Dead link, date=June 2018 , bot=InternetArchiveBot , fix-attempted=no Retrieved February 21, 2010 Museums in Lancaster County, Virginia History museums in Virginia Steuart family Commercial buildings completed in 1901 Historic district contributing properties in Virginia National Register of Historic Places in Lancaster County, Virginia