Touring Historical Treasures

Winchester Hosts Home Tours

by Karen Doss Bowman

More than 50 years after George Schember got his first set of lead toy soldiers as an adolescent, the Winchester resident’s collection of tiny warriors has grown to include more than 400 pieces with a distinctively global appeal. The models are painted to resemble infantries from all over the world, including Argentina, Greece, Great Britain and Russia. But a significant grouping of 100 soldiers features a slice of Shenandoah Valley history, representing Revolutionary War troops led by Winchester’s own Brigadier General Daniel Morgan.

Schember’s hand-crafted models symbolize the 2,000 American and British troops that fought the Battle of Cowpens in South Carolina on January 17, 1781, considered to be a pivotal victory in the war. Morgan received a Congressional Medal in 1790 for his tactical genius in orchestrating the battle plans.

The Morgan corps and Schember’s other lead soldiers will be on public display during the first weekend of December, when Schember and his wife, Jeanne, join several of their neighbors on Amherst Street in offering Holiday Home Tours, sponsored by Preservation of Historic Winchester Inc. The couple lives in the Daniel Morgan House, where the rifleman lived from 1800 to 1802, when he died in an upstairs bedroom.

“The house is basically the same [as when it was built in 1786],”says Schember, noting that the home’s historic architectural features include “Winchester mantels,” Dutch elbow locks and the original red pine floors. “We’ve always shared our home—what’s the use of keeping this thing just to ourselves?”

This wasn’t Morgan’s only home in the Valley. For a while, he lived with his lover Abigail Curry (whom he later married) and their two daughters at “Soldier’s Rest” in Winchester. After the Battle at Cowpens, when Morgan retired from military service due to a painful case of sciatica, he built his Clarke County home, “Saratoga. The home was named for the war’s two victorious Battles of Saratoga, in which he was a key figure. In 1800, when Morgan’s health began to decline, he purchased the Amherst Street home to be close to his doctor and to his minister, Schember explains.

The Schembers have a number of Daniel Morgan artifacts, including a copy of the original Charles Willson Peale portrait of Daniel Morgan, which is part of the permanent collection at the Virginia Historical Society in Richmond. Close examination of the portrait reveals a scar on Morgan’s left cheek—the result of a bullet wound inflicted during the French and Indian War when Morgan served in the British army. The couple, who had never heard about Morgan when they moved into the house 14 years ago, have learned more about him through their collection of first-edition copies of books written about Daniel Morgan. Visitors who wander into their home during the Holiday Home Tours are bound to get an American history lesson.

History Preserved in Homes
The Daniel Morgan House is one of six historical homes on Amherst Street in Winchester that will be open for the Holiday Home Tours on Dec. 6 and 7. Another interesting collection on the tour will be found at the Catherine B. Conrad House, owned by Robert and Genevieve Boxley. About 20 years ago, they began collecting “pond boats,” miniature boats that were built as toys, but also have been used for racing. The couple’s collection of 150 of the boats includes sailboats, rubber-band-powered ships and tugboats.

About the Event

Saturday, Dec. 6, 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Cost, $35. Includes a holiday party on S. Washington St.

Sunday, Dec. 7, 12 noon to 5 p.m. Cost, $15 advance; $20 day of tour.

Ticket sales locations include The Hexagon House, Kimberly’s, The Final Yard and Celebrate!