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Guided paddles on Cat Point Creek are scheduled for September 10, 24 and October 8, with kayaks and personal flotation devices included in the ticket cost.
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The Menokin Makers Market will be held on Saturday, November 18.
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The Menokin Makers Market features an array of makers, artists, and craftspeople from around the region selling their handmade goods.
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Explore the 500 acres surrounding the historic Warsaw home.
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Menokin honors the descendants of enslaved workers annually with Descendants Day, which will be held October 7 online.
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Join Menokin for a road trip November 3 - 5, focusing on the life and design works of 18th-century master architect William Buckland. The former indentured servant, who crafted much of Menokin and became an architect, also had his shop in Warsaw.
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The three-day motor coach trip begins with a visit to Menokin, then proceeds to Lorton to tour Buckland’s Gunston Hall, considered by historians as Buckland’s showpiece interior. The next day offers a visit to the Hammond-Harwood House in Annapolis and a walking tour of other Buckland-related structures.
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Visitors are welcomed seven days a week for outdoor recreation and exploration or can schedule a guided tour of the landscape and the Menokin ruin anytime the Visitors Center is open.
The 500 acres surrounding the historic Warsaw home are an unspoiled waterfront refuge featuring pristine bird habitats, remnants of the 18th-century agricultural landscape, terraced gardens, and miles of woodland trails. Visitors are welcomed seven days a week for outdoor recreation and exploration or can schedule a guided tour of the landscape and the Menokin ruin anytime the Visitors Center is open.
The property where Menokin sits was once home to the Rappahannock Indian tribe, and later, it was enslaved Blacks who worked the house and grounds. Much research has been done to uncover descendants of enslaved people and five families have been identified. Signs list their names in Descendants’ Grove, where a tree has been planted for each family. The wood-framed Remembrance Structure was built using historic methods but has modern translucent siding that allows the structure to glow as a memorial to the enslaved and their descendants.
Currently, Menokin’s historic house is undergoing work to stabilize it so that the missing walls and roof of the ruin can be replaced with structural glass. The Glass House project is slated to be completed in time to open the doors for a big celebration in 2026. “There’s a new national perspective on how we tell our American history that allows us to see through the layers of complication that Menokin represents,” explains Director of Education Alice French. “It’s refreshing to be honest about telling the story and not hiding things. All those stories should be valued and told.”
Even with cooler weather settling in, Menokin has much to offer visitors, including a road trip spanning November 3 - 5, focusing on the life and design works of 18th-century master architect William Buckland. The former indentured servant, who crafted much of Menokin and became an architect, also had his shop in Warsaw.
The three-day motor coach trip begins with a visit to Menokin, then proceeds to Lorton to tour Buckland’s Gunston Hall, considered by historians as Buckland’s showpiece interior. The next day offers a visit to the Hammond-Harwood House in Annapolis and a walking tour of other Buckland-related structures. Participants will enjoy a catered lunch at Gunston Hall and stay overnight in Alexandria. Only 25 seats are available.
Nature is as big a part of Menokin as history, as evidenced by the public access to water on the property. Menokin offers free hour-long kayaking lessons two mornings a week during the summer. Through October, they also offer guided kayak paddles at various times of the day. Guided paddles on Cat Point Creek are scheduled for September 10, 24 and October 8, with kayaks and personal flotation devices included in the ticket cost. “Cat Point Creek is the cornerstone of our landscape,” French says. “We wanted to make opportunities available for guests and the public to safely access the water here.”
En route to the water access, visitors pass by the remains of the Tenant House, where Black families lived and farmed the land during Reconstruction. Every spring, the area around the former house is surrounded by daffodils planted by former residents. Surrounding the chimney remains are rolling roads used to get dried tobacco from the sheds to Cat Point Creek to be taken away and sold.
Menokin honors the descendants of enslaved workers annually with Descendants Day, which will be held October 7 online. Last year’s event was live and featured an opera singer doing Negro spirituals, libations and other traditional rituals. Next year’s event will also be in person. “Genealogical research has helped connect Warsaw natives to their ancestors,” French recalls. “Despite living right here, they hadn’t known about the connection.”
The Menokin Makers Market will be held on Saturday, November 18, and features an array of makers, artists, and craftspeople from around the region selling their handmade goods to kick off the holiday season. After visitors shop, they can stroll the grounds or head out for an afternoon hike in the woods.
“Menokin is different from other historic sites because we have the opportunity to tell multiple stories from the beginning, and there are many stories waiting to be told here,” French explains. “It still feels like you’re in the 18th century when you go down these roads.”
With a calendar full of activities this fall, locals and visitors have plenty of opportunities to stroll, learn and be immersed in that world.
For additional information about fall activities at Menokin, please visit Menokin.org.