A Visit to the Moore House - Yorktown, Virginia, by Carrie Fancett Pagels

Moore House Parlor - Arranged as For Surrender of Yorktown Negotiations

The Moore House is a site held by the National Parks and sits on a gorgeous bluff above the York River in Yorktown, Virginia.  Here, after the Yorktown Battle, the final major battle in the American Revolution, officers met to negotiate the terms of the surrender.

To visit this historic home, restored some decades ago, you must first go to the National Parks Building in Yorktown. The Yorktown Battlefield also sits on a bluff, with a grand view, a few miles further up river. Below is the majestic view from the Moore House, which you must drive to after registering at the National Parks site and obtaining a sticker.

View of the Yorktown River from the Moore House

Almost any time of year is good for a visit to coastal Virginia. We are most prone to having some type of snowfall in late January and early February, if we get any. This year we've had a few inches and we are anticipating another storm shortly, but such is unusual here in this mild climate.

In mid October, 1781, when the officers met to negotiate the terms of surrender, the weather may have been mild, especially for those accustomed to northern cold.


If you've ever wondered what historic fiction writers do when they have company in town, well here is an example--they take their family members to visit research sites! My brother obliged by posing for this picture!  I've seen pictures of the house, before it was restored, and it looked so sad.  But the National Parks did a lovely job fixing it, both inside and out.

Front of Moore House, Gary Lee Fancett

The interior is available for perusal and period pieces have been added. A National Parks employee will be on site to greet you and answer your questions.





The dining room is set up as if company was expected any moment. It is tempting to cross through the cordoned ropes and sit down for tea!  Would you care to join me?

Moore House Dining Room

Historic 1780 McGulpin House on Mackinac Island, by Carrie Fancett Pagels

McGulpin House c. 1780, Mackinac Island

So often we overlook some of our late-comers to America, prior to the American Revolution.  One such place was the area now called Michigan.  Fort Michilimackinac was on the Mackinaw City side of the straits and became part of the British territory after the French-Indian War.  The fort moved to Mackinac Island as the American Revolution continued, with the Mackinaw City fort being less defensible than one on the island.

One fascinating house on present-day Mackinac Island is the McGulpin House.  There are many theories as to who the original house belonged to (click here for Michigan State Parks post.) With the purchase of admission to Fort Mackinac and Fort Michilimackinac you are also allowed entry to the McGulpin House.  The day I visited, a lovely Girl Scout cadet from the Detroit area was responsible for visitors.  

One of the things I enjoyed most was where part of the exterior wall (of newer origin) was removed to show the original building and was covered with glass. As you can see from the photograph, beneath the clapboard exterior is a log cabin.  Given the age of the cabin I would guess its construction to have been of cedar, which is readily available in the area. (My great-grandparents' log home is part of the Taquamenon Logging Museum and is made of cedar, also.)

Here's a view of the layers of the interior of the McGilpin home as well:

Although the style of the home is referred to by Wiki as French-Canadian working class, the original log cabin structure greatly resembles those built in the Shenandoah valley of Virginia during that time period. 

Surrounding the McGuilpin property is a fence that should keep out intruders and keep animals inside. 

But the lovely lilacs that bloom on Mackinac Island are sure to draw visitors.  If you get the chance, make it a point to visit Mackinac Island during their amazing Lilac Festival, held each year in early to mid-June.

The island is full of hundreds of varieties of lilacs, all of which scent the air with a beautiful scent.  One can almost imagine being an 18th century Frenchwoman living on the newly-occupied Mackinac Island. My research for my manuscript, set on Mackinac Island, truly could not have been any sweeter!