Taken last year on April 26, 2015...I assume it is the only known photo of the farmstead site taken on that date. Of course I breezed past all the A.P. Hill signs declaring no trespassing. Later I realized, weirdly, the ghostly image in the center!?!? I have some other pictures to post from that day too.

---

Book showing Garrett farmstead in Depression era as shown on exact site on April 26, 2015. This was one of the first books I got in the mid 70s that sparked my interest in the Lincoln assassination and also a visit to Ford's around that same time. I went to the dedication ceremony on April 26, 2015 at Port Royal VA Historical Museum and that same day I visited the actual ground. Note the "book" picture doesn't show the "ghost" image!!

---

New Port Royal dock under construction in April 2015

And one from across the northbound Route 301 that April 26, 2015. By the way, a new Port Royal Pizza and sub shop has or will recently open next to Port Royal Trading Post (which in turn just opened on Black Friday 2015) on Route 301 northbound in the town. Definitely needed for a quick bite traveling I think.

Many thanks for posting, Doug! Cannot explain the ghost image!

(04-16-2016 12:48 PM)RJNorton Wrote:  Many thanks for posting, Doug! Cannot explain the ghost image!

I know RJ! You're welcome of course..Is it bizarre or what??

Please tell me that the new historical marker that the Surratt Society raised $1600 for last fall is still there!!!

(04-16-2016 07:42 PM)L Verge Wrote:  Please tell me that the new historical marker that the Surratt Society raised $1600 for last fall is still there!!!

I was just there yesterday. The sign is still there. I was in DC this week on vacation. Yesterday Dave Taylor and Kate Ramirez were gracious enough to give me and my husband a personalized JWB escape route tour. It was pretty much an entire day. We even followed the Surratt Murseum bus tour. When I get home I plan to sign up to become a member of your fine organization.

Yes it is - or at least it was when I passed through on the March 29th! I took a picture of it lit up by the setting sun and posted it on my FB. I didn't go across the road this time...Im thinking of joining that April 30th tour.

Carolyn,

So glad that you were able to get a personalized tour of the escape route. My staff told me that Dave had been following our Booth tour in a car with some people. You had a great day weather-wise.

Doug,

The April 30 Booth Tour was dangerously close to being filled about two weeks ago. Since then I have been busy with our conference and have not checked in. You better call and check before sending money. Ask for Joan (works Tuesday-Friday) at 301-868-1121.

(04-17-2016 12:01 PM)L Verge Wrote:  Carolyn,

So glad that you were able to get a personalized tour of the escape route. My staff told me that Dave had been following our Booth tour in a car with some people. You had a great day weather-wise.

Doug,

The April 30 Booth Tour was dangerously close to being filled about two weeks ago. Since then I have been busy with our conference and have not checked in. You better call and check before sending money. Ask for Joan (works Tuesday-Friday) at 301-868-1121.

OK thanks LV!!

I have sad news for anyone wanting to visit the site of the Garrett farm. The path to it is now chained off and there is a sign saying No Access and a $100,000 fine. The new historical marker is still there, "Assassin's End", but if you go a bit further north on 301 you will see a chain between two trees and the No Access sign.

Thank you for posting, George, and welcome to the forum!

(07-13-2016 07:47 AM)Gphell22 Wrote:  I have sad news for anyone wanting to visit the site of the Garrett farm. The path to it is now chained off and there is a sign saying No Access and a $100,000 fine. The new historical marker is still there, "Assassin's End", but if you go a bit further north on 301 you will see a chain between two trees and the No Access sign.

A brief history: For years, the historical marker sat on the edge of the median strip of Route 301, left shoulder of the north-bound lanes and very close to the spot where Booth died. About a dozen years ago, the transportation people in Virginia moved it to the right-hand shoulder of the north-bound lanes - a little south from its original site and without a place to pull over to read it.

A member of the Surratt Society, Rick Smith of this forum, spent years and his own money, putting up better signage in the median strip that identified the site and gave a brief history. He also drove over a hundred miles one way several times during the summer to keep a cleared path and standing room for the site of the porch where Booth died. Invariably, tourists stole many of the pages and photos that Rick put up.

Finally, last fall, I received a call at the Surratt House Museum that someone had stolen the state's sign also. When Virginia reps told us that they did not have the money to replace it, members of the Surratt Society (a volunteer associate of the museum, many of whom are members of this forum) raised over $1600 for a new sign - that one went back up on the difficult right-hand shoulder of Route 301, and so did the "Verboten" signs denying access.

I believe that it was a joint decision between Fort A.P. Hill, the massive military reservation that owns much of Caroline County, Virginia, and the highway people. The Fort is attempting to preserve the site from relic seekers and, along with the State, realizes the potential for traffic accidents/fatalities at a site where cars go whizzing past at 70 mph.

In addition to the outside historical sign on the side of the highway, however, the Surratt Society also paid for a small, exhibit sign that is on display in the nearby Port Royal Museum. It duplicates the history of what is told on the Route 301 side of the road.

We're trying to preserve history, but society is not helping now-a-days. If you are interested in visiting all sites along the escape route of John Wilkes Booth, please consider taking one of the great bus tours that the Surratt Society has sponsored over the past 40 years. Contact me at laurie.verge@pgparks.com for further information or call 301-868-1121. We run these at least six times a year, in April and September, as well as for groups upon request.

Others have started to copycat our tours, but I always tell people to "accept no substitutes..." Forty continuous years with the narration including some of the foremost names in this field of history tells you something.

Last year, when the site was put on "lock-down," I asked U.S. Senator Mark Warner of Virginia to ask the Army of its intentions. The reply from the Army to him, dated April 10, 2015, said, in part: "To facilitate safe public access to the site, Fort A.P. Hill is working with VDOT [Virginia Department of Transportation], Caroline County, and the Historic Port Royal to establish an agreement that would allow the County to use the Garrett Farm site for short-term events such as site tours." The Army cited preservation and traffic safety for the reasons for closing the site to the public.

While I certainly want the site preserved, completely barring access is not the solution. There should be a relatively easy process by which reputable entities (such as the Surratt Society) may obtain access to the site. Is anyone aware of an established approval process to gain access to the site for "short-term events such as site tours"? If not, it may be time for me to ask Sen. Warner to prod them along.

Don't quote me, but I believe that Caroline County has been able to use it as part of a special event this past year, perhaps via shuttle buses from Port Royal?? The Surratt House has not pursued access since it has always been a very limited space to pull a tour bus over. Our driver and myself used to stand between our visitors and the edge of the road to make sure that they stayed very close to the bus before reaching the cleared path.

(07-13-2016 03:52 PM)L Verge Wrote:  Don't quote me, but I believe that Caroline County has been able to use it as part of a special event this past year, perhaps via shuttle buses from Port Royal?? The Surratt House has not pursued access since it has always been a very limited space to pull a tour bus over. Our driver and myself used to stand between our visitors and the edge of the road to make sure that they stayed very close to the bus before reaching the cleared path.

Unless someone knows what the process is, I will follow-up with Sen. Warner. That way, if or when you want to gain access to the site, you will at least know what is involved.