The Brownsburg Museum Project

Museum Update

Museum Information

Numerous irreplaceable articles have been entrusted to the BCA with the expectation that the association will be able to preserve, catalogue, and display them for the purpose of informing and educating future generations.  In response, the BCA has taken the initial steps to establish the Brownsburg Museum.  The BCA Board has sought out local residents with recognized expertise in specialized areas (i.e. building restoration and maintenance, museum practices and management, education, historical records, project management, etc.) and invited these individuals to serve on the Museum Advisory Committee (MAC). The purpose of the MAC is to officially advise the BCA Board of Directors on matters relating to the mission, development and operations of the Brownsburg Museum.  Additionally, the MAC is empowered by the BCA Board to perform specific duties (related to the museum) as assigned by the BCA Board.  The Chairman of the MAC serves as the museum project director, and will report directly to the BCA Board.  The MAC has agreed upon the following mission statement:

The mission of the Brownsburg Museum shall be to establish and maintain a museum to house and exhibit a permanent collection of 18^th, 19^th, and 20^th century regional memorabilia, and to provide space for collections on loan, for the purpose of enjoyment and education of the general public and the rural communities of the Valley of Virginia.

The Brownsburg Museum Advisory Committee

            The community is extremely fortunate to have among its residents persons who are recognized as experts in their fields, and even more fortunate that some of these residents have agreed to serve on the MAC.  The depth of their experience, combined with their commitment to the project will ensure that the Brownsburg Museum project is a success.  The following briefly summarizes the relevant experience of these individuals.

                                 Richard Barnes, Museum Advisory Committee Chair  contact committee chair

    Dick Barnes was the BCA’s obvious choice to lead the Brownsburg Museum Advisory Committee. As immediate past president of the BCA, Barnes was instrumental in securing the museum property, and in negotiating its lease with the owner.  A Brownsburg resident, Barnes is an avid collector of antiques, and currently owns and operates Old South Antiques in the village.  He is a noted authority on southern antiques, and also enjoys restoration of early properties.

Barnes is a Tennessee native with Bachelors and Masters degrees in education.  After teaching at Middle Tennessee State University from 1964 to 1969, he accepted a position as Director of Chapter Programming with the Kappa Alpha Order National Office, and moved to Rockbridge County where Kappa Alpha is headquartered.  He continued to work for Kappa Alpha until 1996 when he retired after serving as Executive Director for a period of more than 10 years.

Barnes is an active volunteer with a number of organizations.  His volunteer activities include serving as: a national Vice President of the Muscular Dystrophy Association; Vice President of the Rockbridge Regional Library Foundation; a member of the Board of Trustees, Historic Paxton House Foundation; Kappa Alpha Order Educational Foundation; Trustee, Middle Tennessee State University Foundation; Elder, New Providence Presbyterian Church; and Chairman, Worship Committee New Providence Presbyterian Church.

Marie Coleman, Museum Advisory Committee Member

Marie Coleman grew up in the village of Brownsburg where her mother still resides.  Her father was the unofficial historian of the village who gathered, catalogued, and displayed an extensive collection of local memorabilia.  Growing up in this environment has given Coleman an appreciable knowledge of the local history.

Coleman graduated from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (VPISU) in 1975 with a B.S. degree in Human Resources with an education option.   Her education also includes graduate courses at James Madison University, VPISU, the University of Virginia, and Radford University.  Coleman has 31 years experience teaching in the Rockbridge County School system and currently teaches third grade at Fairfield Elementary School.   She is a member of the Rockbridge Education Association, the National Education Association, and has served as both a teacher and Elder at New Providence Presbyterian Church.

Marsha Jones, Museum Advisory Committee Member

Marsha Jones is a 1960 graduate of the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, VA.  Her educational background also includes production courses at the Printing Industries of Metropolitan New York; courses in architecture at the New School in New York, NY; and courses at the Historic Landscape Institute in Charlottesville, VA in the theory and practice of landscape history, Monticello and grounds of the University of Virginia.

Jones owned and managed the Leonia Print Shop in Leonia, NJ from 1977 to 1997.  The firm specialized in graphic design and commercial printing.  After her move to the Rockbridge area, Jones first worked in the Major Gifts Campaign Administration at the Blue Ridge Community College in Weyers Cave, VA.  She subsequently accepted a position in Lexington, VA as the Coordinator of Staff and Volunteers at the Stonewall Jackson House, a historic house museum.  Currently, Jones serves as Executive Director for Fine Arts in Rockbridge (FAIR).  As the general manager and CEO of this non-profit corporation, she coordinates and oversees the activities of the organization which provides opportunities for area residents to pursue their interests and develop their talents in the arts through quality educational and performance opportunities. 

A. Cash Koeniger, Museum Advisory Committee Member

Cash Koeniger is a native of Arkansas who came to the Rockbridge County area as a Washington and Lee freshman.  He graduated from W&L in 1971 with honors in history.  He continued his studies at Vanderbilt University where he earned a M.A. in 1974 and a Ph.D. in 1980.  His fields of expertise are the American South, and 19^th and 20^th Century U.S. history.

Koeniger has taught at a number of universities, including Murray State University, Mississippi State University, University of Southern Mississippi, Washington and Lee University, and the Virginia Military Institute.  He is currently a Professor of History at VMI, and was recognized in the 9^th edition (2005) of Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers.  He also serves as Executive Director, VMI Alumni College on the Civil War. 

Koeniger has written extensively on a number of topics, particularly the Civil War and the New Deal.  He has given numerous talks before Civil War Round Tables and at other scholarly, civic, military, and radio venues, including Virginia affiliates of National Public Radio, the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library, and the VMI and W&L Alumni Colleges.  His volunteer activities include serving as Vice-president, Board of Directors, House Corporation of Zeta Chapter of the Sigma Chi Fraternity at W&L; Elder, New Providence Presbyterian Church; membership in the Southern Historical Association; and membership in the Western Virginia Alumni Chapter of Sigma Chi.

Thomas V. Litzenburg, Museum Advisory Committee Member

Tom Litzenburg graduated from Washington and Lee University in 1957 where he was elected to the Phi Beta Kappa Society, and was also a member of Omicron Delta Kappa fraternity.  Litzenburg went on earn to multiple degrees, specifically a B.D. from Yale University, a M.A. from Princeton University, and a Ph.D. from Princeton.

Litzenburg retired in 2003 after a 40-year career as a college professor (Wells College, NY), a college president (Salem College, NC), and Assistant Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities.  At his retirement, Litzenburg was serving as Director of Washington and Lee’s Reeves Center (a position he had held for 11 years) and as acting University Chaplain.  The Reeves Center holds one of the country’s largest collections of 16^th- to 19^th-century Chinese export porcelain for the Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch, English, French and American markets.  Litzenburg is the author of a scholarly work on export porcelain that details the Reeves Center’s vast holdings, which include pieces owned by or associated with George Washington and Robert E. Lee.

Kathryn McCutchen Mirabella, Museum Advisory Committee Member

Kathryn Mirabella, a native of western Virginia, was raised in Augusta County, immediately north of Rockbridge County.  She has a B.A. in Art History from Madison College (now James Madison University) in Harrisonburg, VA.  Her education also includes graduate studies in landscape architecture, architectural history, and preservation at the School of Architecture, University of Virginia in Charlottesville, VA.

Mirabella began a career with the U.S. Department of State as an Examiner in the Consular Services Bureau in 1976.  In 1978, she became the Director of the Tour Office at the Department of State, where she conducted tours of the Diplomatic Reception Rooms.  From 1978-1987, Mirabella served as Curatorial Assistant to the Curator of the Diplomatic Reception Rooms where she wrote press releases and fundraising materials; commissioned, styled and supervised all professional photography; researched portraits and paintings; re-labeled all porcelain and silver in the collection; oversaw conservation and framing of works on paper; trained tour guides; and gave public lectures.  From 1990-1998, Kathryn worked as Librarian and Executive Assistant to classical architect Allan Greenberg.  Among her many duties was the job of cataloging and managing acquisitions for the architectural library.

In her retirement, Mirabella is involved in the Altar Guild at the R.E. Lee Memorial Church; as a literacy tutor/mentor at the Rockbridge Regional Library; and she has served as Newsletter Editor for the Upper James River Chapter of the Virginia Native Plant Society.

 Frank A. Parsons, Museum Advisory Committee Member

Frank Parsons is a native of Virginia, born in Staunton with high school years in Clifton Forge.  He came to Lexington in 1949 as a Washington and Lee freshman, graduated in June 1954, and joined the Washington and Lee staff as Director of Publicity in September 1954.

Parsons retired from Washington and Lee in 1999.  From 1968 until his retirement, his major responsibilities included coordinating the physical development of the Washington and Lee Campus; working with architects; engineers and master planners; and acting as staff support for the Capital Projects Committee of the university’s Board of Trustees.  In that capacity, he coordinated the planning and construction of some $150 million in new and renovated buildings and related site improvements over 30 years.  His recent projects include the Reeves Center, Lee Chapel and Museum, and the construction of the Watson Pavilion.

After retirement, Parsons was called to lead the restoration of the Lexington Presbyterian Church, destroyed by fire, and its continued preservation.  In retirement Parsons has served on the Boards of Historic Lexington Foundation, Lime Kiln Arts, the Rockbridge Area Conservation Council, and the Boxerwood Education Association.  He represents Lexington on the Advisory Board for Dabney Lancaster Community College.