The Bulletin
The first Bulletin of the Northumberland County Historical Society was published in 1964. At 19 pages in length, it was diminutive in size but did not lack in quality, a trait that continues to this day. Volume I, dated July 1964, celebrated the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Mundy Point, when the Northern Neck was confronted by the reality of the War of 1812 on August 3, 1814. The article presents a compelling account of the battle from newspaper articles, personal accounts of residents, and affidavits sworn by military officers and residents.
The original Bulletin was offered as a benefit for those who joined the Northumberland County Historical Society at its inception in 1964 and its popularity was very likely instrumental in the growth and success of NCHS. Membership required a donation of at least four dollars and entitled the member to a copy of The Bulletin. There have been 58 more volumes published since then and the tradition continues of rewarding members with a new copy of the informative and scholarly annual journal.
From its beginning in 1964 through 2022, nearly 700 articles total have been published in The Bulletin. The articles vary in length from two pages to thirty-five, probably averaging about fifteen pages. All are concerned with various aspects of the history of the Northern Neck, most often specifically of Northumberland County. Many article contributors have been members of the Board of Directors, NCHS officers, educators, and historians, but articles are accepted from anyone, local or otherwise if they are well-written, informative, and relevant to Northumberland County.
This diversity in authorship has fostered an atmosphere of expression where differing points of view and debates about controversial subject matter are not unusual. Possibly due to this honesty, the popularity and notoriety of The Bulletin has grown, and its reputation has spread among historians and scholars across the country. The Bulletin, as it is published now, is generally about 80 to 100 pages in length and presents about six to ten articles of varying lengths from authors with varied backgrounds. It is certainly much more than a “bulletin,” but that name has stuck.
The 2023 Bulletin is a Special 60th Anniversary Edition that follows a radically different format from its predecessors as a way of representing the six decades of publication that have passed since the first issue in 1964. It is 111 pages in length and offers 25 articles that were carefully picked from 22 of the previous 59 issues. As is typical, topics cover the breadth of Northumberland County history, from an examination of the construction of John Mottrom’s Coan Hall ca. 1640 and an analysis of the formation of Northumberland County to the invention of the Chesapeake Bay crab pot by a Lodge resident, a description of Heathsville in the 1940s, and the restoration of Rice’s Hotel/Hughlett’s Tavern beginning in 1990.
The 2023 volume of The Bulletin of the Northumberland County Historical Society, the 60th edition continues a proud tradition of recording and publishing the interesting history of one of the oldest counties in Virginia.
For your convenience, a 29-page file that contains the Table of Contents for each issue of The Bulletin of the Northumberland County Historical Society, from 1964 until the present, can be opened here for viewing. It can also be downloaded to your computer as a PDF file and saved for viewing and/or printing.