Christmas in the Country – Christmas of 1864

Part of the Booker T. Washington official documentary series, this film explores the annual December ritual at the park known as Christmas of 1864, or as they are calling it now, Christmas Days in Old Virginia. This one was filmed in 2005, and it was bitterly cold there that evening; very authentic! We followed Ranger Tim St. Clair, as Jeremiah Ferguson, around to the different people who were coming and going at the time. Newt Burroughs, a son of Master James Burroughs, is just back from the fighting of Sheridan up near Cedar Creek, and stops to speak with us a moment. His sister, Betsy, also joins us. Finally, we follow Jeremiah to Miss Jane’s Cabin (she’s the cook) where she and her son, Booker T., live. We play some of the games they played and we hear some of the tales of the Big Times, or what they called Christmas… for it lasted a week,or as long as they could get a massive log to burn without going out… It was a very enjoyable outing, and has been a very popular video around Christmas time!