Summoned to the Tomb

Step into 1826 and mourn the death of James Winchester at Historic Cragfont.

On July 27th, 1826, James Winchester, soldier, townbuilder, husband, father, and enslaver, was summoned to the tomb. Step back 200 years ago and join characters from Cragfont's past as they gather to mourn Winchester's passing.

Hear the experiences of James Winchester's daughters, Almira and Helen, his wife, Susan, and Delphy, a woman he enslaved, and learn how his death impacted their lives.

See Cragfont by candlelight and decorated for mourning in the 1820s. Gather with fellow mourners in the garden for a sampling of funerary victuals.

Explore the Winchester Family Cemetery by lantern light.

"Omnes eodem cogimur omnium versatur evena serius ocyus sors exitura"

"We are all headed to the same place; for all alike the lot is shaken in the urn, sooner or later destined to come forth..."