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THE SOURCE FOR MATHEWS COUNTY, VIRGINIA HISTORY
Established in 1964 and incorporated in 1970, the Mathews County Historical Society (MCHS) is a 501(c)(3), non-profit, tax exempt organization created and operated for the preservation, education, and promotion of Mathews County’s history, traditions, and heritage. To fulfill its mission, the Society has published works, collected rare documents and photographs, maps, artifacts, genealogical and architectural information pertaining to the county. These resources are made available to the public at the Mathews Memorial Library located at 251 Main Street.
The MCHS Archivist and the library’s Head of History and Genealogy can assist you with finding historical and genealogical information. |
Click here to see our new 2025 Thomas James Store Brochure.
Upcoming events:
Grand Re-Opening of Thomas James Store - Saturday, April 5, 2025
MCHS announces the re-opening of ca. 1820 Thomas James Store, one of a handful of best-preserved country stores in the southeast. The store was the recipient of Emergency Supplemental Historic Preservation Funds by the U.S. Department of the Interior National Park Service, administered by Virginia Department of Historic Resources. The store has been lifted, shifted, repositioned on a sturdy foundation and updated with new interpretive signage that tells a more complete history of mercantile establishments in Mathews Court House and surrounding areas. Thomas James Store is open to the public for self-guided tours every Saturday from April through October. This is free to the public from 10am to 1pm, and refreshments will be served.
Community Litter Cleanup - Saturday, April 12th |
Tompkins Cottage & Thomas James Store Open |
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MCHS will be participating in the Spring Community Cleanup hosted by the Mathews Visitor Center. We are looking for volunteers to help us cleanup our adopted highway portion on Tabernacle Road! We are always looking for volunteers! Please reach out if you are available and to receive more information about where and when to meet!
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Both the Tompkins Cottage and Thomas James Store will reopen for the 2025 season starting Saturday, April 5th. Come by and see the exhibits from 10am to 1pm every Saturday, April through October.
The Thomas James Store c. 1820 has just completed a major restoration project - come learn about that project, and see our new interpretative signage. |
Music on Maple - Friday, May 2nd
Music on Maple is back on the schedule for Friday, May 2nd after May Faire! It's hard to believe it's been so long since we've been able to co-host these events with the Mathews County Visitor & Information Center.
The featured band will be Tristan Dougherty Trio out of Richmond, VA. Tristan is a folk musician and songwriter, and has developed a refreshingly original sounds that draws on India, classic country, and Appalachian music. Hunter Owens Music will also be joining us as a guest musician.
Small Town Burger will be set up with their food truck and Gloucester Brewing Company beer will be featured at the bar, as well as wine, and non alcoholic beverages. Tickets go on sale the week of April 7th! Thank you to the Mathews Memorial Library for use of the courtyard space.
The featured band will be Tristan Dougherty Trio out of Richmond, VA. Tristan is a folk musician and songwriter, and has developed a refreshingly original sounds that draws on India, classic country, and Appalachian music. Hunter Owens Music will also be joining us as a guest musician.
Small Town Burger will be set up with their food truck and Gloucester Brewing Company beer will be featured at the bar, as well as wine, and non alcoholic beverages. Tickets go on sale the week of April 7th! Thank you to the Mathews Memorial Library for use of the courtyard space.
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Progress Report for Thomas James Store Lift, as of November 2024
The James Store foundation has been rebuilt and the building lowered back onto the new foundation. Storybound Construction was able to locate handmade bricks that were a good match for the original bricks.
Currently the new floors are being installed and the remaining items on the construction schedule are:
1. Attic timber repair
2. Replace rotted exterior boards with cedar boards
3. Repair rotted timbers in the attic area
4. Paint entire building
5. Construct new entry stoop and handicap access
Dominion Power reconnected the electrical service to the original pre-project location on the wall of the adjacent
building which is the Mathews County Library. Mathews County building inspector did not approve the electrical inspection
after Dominion Power connected the electrical service. The inspection report cited the location of the service connection
as not existing at the physical service address and the proximity to another service connection on the same wall. After a three week delay, and negotiations with Mathews County Building inspector and Dominion Power, the electrical connection was approved as installed so we could move forward.
The location of this service had been in place since 1998 and ultimately the previous successful inspection was relied upon to
come to a solution to this problem. Moving the service connection would have created additional costs and placing the connection on the James Store might have compromised the historical integrity of the building. Since the footprint of the building effectively covers the entire land plot, we had no good options for locating the electrical service to the service address. The current location of the electrical connection is approximately six feet from the corner of the James Store. The electrical line is buried underground and comes into the James Store from under the foundation.
Storybound Construction and Marsha Carlton did an onsite inspection to locate historical features requested by Martha McCartney to update the signage in the building. We located the slash mark numbering of the original beams, pinpointed the location of original rosehead nails, measured locations of window and door openings etc.
Currently the new floors are being installed and the remaining items on the construction schedule are:
1. Attic timber repair
2. Replace rotted exterior boards with cedar boards
3. Repair rotted timbers in the attic area
4. Paint entire building
5. Construct new entry stoop and handicap access
Dominion Power reconnected the electrical service to the original pre-project location on the wall of the adjacent
building which is the Mathews County Library. Mathews County building inspector did not approve the electrical inspection
after Dominion Power connected the electrical service. The inspection report cited the location of the service connection
as not existing at the physical service address and the proximity to another service connection on the same wall. After a three week delay, and negotiations with Mathews County Building inspector and Dominion Power, the electrical connection was approved as installed so we could move forward.
The location of this service had been in place since 1998 and ultimately the previous successful inspection was relied upon to
come to a solution to this problem. Moving the service connection would have created additional costs and placing the connection on the James Store might have compromised the historical integrity of the building. Since the footprint of the building effectively covers the entire land plot, we had no good options for locating the electrical service to the service address. The current location of the electrical connection is approximately six feet from the corner of the James Store. The electrical line is buried underground and comes into the James Store from under the foundation.
Storybound Construction and Marsha Carlton did an onsite inspection to locate historical features requested by Martha McCartney to update the signage in the building. We located the slash mark numbering of the original beams, pinpointed the location of original rosehead nails, measured locations of window and door openings etc.
Thomas James Store Lift Update as of August 10, 2024
Mathews County Historical Society-owned Thomas James Store (ca. 1820) is in the process of being lifted, readjusted on the site, and having its foundation repaired. The project has been funded through the Emergency Supplemental Historical Preservation Funds provided by the U.S. Department of the Interior National Park Service. The Virginia Department of Historic Resources approved the lift and administers the project.
The team overseeing the project for the society is comprised of Marsha Carlton –Project Manager, John Hoffman – Building and Grounds Chairman and Roger Emig – Thomas James Store Curator. Storybound Construction is the contractor.
The following pictures show the progress to date. Completion of the work is difficult to determine , but plans are underway to reopen the store to visitors and resume society events this fall.
The team overseeing the project for the society is comprised of Marsha Carlton –Project Manager, John Hoffman – Building and Grounds Chairman and Roger Emig – Thomas James Store Curator. Storybound Construction is the contractor.
The following pictures show the progress to date. Completion of the work is difficult to determine , but plans are underway to reopen the store to visitors and resume society events this fall.
Northwest corner view
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South side view
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West side view
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Northeast Corner view
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© 2025 Mathews County Historical Society, Inc. All rights Reserved. Mathews, VA.
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MCHS has been awarded the Platinum Seal of Transparency status on GuideStar with Candid.org.