The name “Rising Sun” is taken from the Rising Sun Tavern in Fredericksburg, Virginia. The tavern is located in the house built by Charles Washington in 1760 and where he lived before he moved to Happy Retreat. The house became a tavern in 1792. It is now owned and operated by the Washington History Museums
May 2024 Rising Sun Newsletter
It has been a very good year for Happy Retreat. A lot has happened this year to move us toward our goal of completing the restoration of Happy Retreat and its grounds, as is further detailed in this newsletter. read more
November 2023 Rising Sun Newsletter
It has been a very good year for Happy Retreat. A lot has happened this year to move us toward our goal of completing the restoration of Happy Retreat and its grounds, as is further detailed in this newsletter. read more
November 2022 Rising Sun Newsletter
It has been a very good year for Happy Retreat. A lot has happened this year to move us toward our goal of completing the restoration of Happy Retreat and its grounds, as is further detailed in this newsletter. read more
October 2021 Rising Sun Newsletter
In March of this year, I received a phone call from Katie Tertell, who told me she was calling from Ireland. She is a cellist and said she was organizing the first ever Appalachian Chamber Music Festival. She asked if Happy Retreat would be interested in being a venue for some of their events. Given our pre-Covid success with the Charles Washington Chamber Music Society concerts, I was immediately interested. She explained that she grew up in nearby McLean, Virginia, and always loved ... read more
May 2021 Rising Sun Newsletter
Friends of Happy Retreat, like the rest of the world, is gradually emerging from the pandemic. Although we were not able to hold events over the past year, work on restoration and planning continued. As reported in our last newsletter, we have hired the firm of Landmarks, SGA, to develop a comprehensive plan to complete our restoration of Happy Retreat and for the overall use of the property. We have held several meetings with Landmarks since December, both in person and virtually. In ... read more
December 2020 Rising Sun Newsletter
Over the past year, we have been exploring ways to leverage historic preservation tax credits to finance the remaining restoration of Happy Retreat. In a nutshell, combined Federal and West Virginia state historic preservation tax credits can recover up to 45% of the cost of the restoration of a historic property, so that for every $100,000 spent, $45,000 can be recovered through tax credits. Since Friends of Happy Retreat is a non-profit corporation and does not pay taxes, we cannot avail ... read more
July 2020 Rising Sun Newsletter
It is with great sadness that I report the death of Kevin Lee Sarring, the generous and multitalented architect who gave so much of his time and talent to the restoration of Happy Retreat. Kevin was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) earlier this year. He died on June 17, in California, where he had moved to be near his sister. His loss as a friend and advisor is inestimable. From the time we acquired Happy Retreat in 2015, Kevin devoted hundreds of hours to the work of restoring the read more
December 2019 Rising Sun Newsletter
The year 2019 has seen us make continued important progress at Happy Retreat as we build on the success of the past. The most important progress has been the restoration of the smokehouse and stone kitchen, which nears completion as you are reading this. Thanks again to Bob and Tia McMillan, of Shepherdstown, for their commitment to making this work possible. read more
September 2019 Rising Sun Newsletter
We are excited to report that the restoration of the smokehouse and stone kitchen is happening as this is being written. When the team from the National Trust for Historic Preservation first visited Happy Retreat in 2015, they identified these two buildings as uniquely important. The limited archaeology we have done to date has helped us understand their history. We will soon be able to open them to the public to tell that history. We are indebted to Bob and Tia McMillan of Shepherdstown ... read more
April 2019 Rising Sun Newsletter
The snow drops have already bloomed at Happy Retreat and the daffodils and forsythia are breaking forth.Several years ago, a cousin of mine named Sarah Brown, who lives in Austin, Texas, began researching the history of the people enslaved by our ancestors here in Jefferson County. Through family wills, family letters, the enumeration of property included in the appraisals of estates and other sources, she compiled a list of names of the men, women and children held in slavery at ... read more
December 2018 Rising Sun Newsletter
We have had another successful year thanks to the support of so many people. Generous donors have helped us move forward with major restoration projects, both inside and outside the house. New roofs, gutters and downspouts and major repairs to the brick masonry now effectively protect the house from moisture – the greatest threat to any historic structure. The beautiful parlors are now fully restored and have hosted concerts, receptions and other events. Work has begun on the restoration of read more
September 2018 Rising Sun Newsletter
On Saturday, September 15, 2018, the Bee Line Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution will dedicate a plaque to honor the military service of Charles Washington (1738- 1799), founder of Charles Town and builder of Happy Retreat. The plaque will be dedicated at a ceremony at Happy Retreat and then placed at Charles Washington’s gravesite. read more