Neighbor News
Margaret Mercer Summer Series
Historical account of Margaret Mercer, educator and abolitionist and former owner of Belmont Plantation in Ashburn.
The third installment of the St. David's Episcopal Church Margaret Mercer Summer Series will be this Sunday, August 27th at 7 pm and it will certainly be captivating! The speaker is Laura Christiansen, Curator of Manuscripts and Archives at Thomas Balch Library, who will lead a discussion about the life of Margaret Mercer, her work as an abolitionist and educator, and her establishment of Belmont Academy and Belmont Chapel. Margaret Mercer was an early educator, engineer and plantation owner of 400 acres that today is Belmont Country Club. Following a paper trail Laura will help piece together the biography of this remarkable woman, how her connections in Loudoun County helped shape her worldview, and her lasting impact in this county and beyond. Although her body was exhumed and returned to Maryland when the Civil War began, the memorial spire erected by her former students at her original burial place remains near the Chapel ruins on our church campus.
