Friday Roundup: Preservation Advocacy Week and Historic News Stories

Preservation Advocacy Week -2021, hosted by Preservation Action & National Conference of SHPOs, is going virtual on March 8 – 11, 2021. In-depth advocacy training, policy briefings, networking opportunities for Historic Tax Credit advocates will take place March 9th. Participants will be able to participate in virtual Capitol Hill visits March 10th. Registration is now live, and to participate in Capitol Hill visits, please register as an “advocate.” If this is your first time participating in the conference, please email Michael Phillips at mphillips@ntcic.com to assist in connecting you with appropriate registration links and individuals coordinating the conference.


The recent snowy weather is ideal for doing some reading in historic news articles. Like any good treasure hunt, you never know what you might find when you start a general search. While some searches turned up nothing, we stumbled across a deep rabbit-hole of stories related to the Hotel Evans on Piccadilly Street while attempting to find information on the Hotel Evans of Sharp Street. If you would like to follow the saga of attempted murders related to James M. Jack, son of the proprietor of Hotel Evans, the stories found so far are:

Jack Shoots Officer Down. (Times Dispatch, Number 17654, 16 August 1907)

Shoots Wrong Man. (Daily Press, Volume 12, Number 193, 16 August 1907)

Policeman Shot While Doing Duty. (Evening News, Volume 16, Number 40, 17 August 1907)

Shot Hits Policeman. (Culpeper Exponent, Volume 27, Number 19, 23 August 1907)

J. M. Jack Sent To Staunton Asylum. (Shenandoah Herald, Volume 90, Number 47, 22 November 1907)

Speaker Byrd Retained. (The Times Dispatch, February 25, 1913)

Mrs. Jack Recovering. (The Washington Herald, March 04, 1913)

Jack Is Freed by Pittsburgh Jury. (Times Dispatch, 17 May 1913)


To lighten the mood after the above saga, a story for our friends in Stephens City: Remember when a Little Virginia Town was Taken by Polecat Army? (Culpeper Exponent, Volume 43, Number 27, 11 October 1923)

If you have a Winchester or Frederick County topic or building you would like investigated for a future blog post, drop us a note on any of our social media outlets. Results are not guaranteed, but anything we can find will be shared.