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In 1951, a small group of people led by Commonwealth’s attorney George Davis worked tirelessly through the spring and summer to bring an unusual summer event to Rappahannock County.
The Blue Ridge Musical Festival Association wanted to sponsor concerts in the country, hoping that Rappahannock would grow into the summer home for the Virginia Orchestra and provide music instruction to local children as well.
The association patterned its structure and goals after Tanglewood in New England. It offered both membership and attendance at three concerts for $3.00.
The effort was more than county-wide. Committees were set up in Luray, Front Royal, Culpeper and Warrenton as well as Rappahannock. The aim, stated in the association’s literature, was “to establish a permanent summer music colony at Washington for professionals and amateurs alike.”
The spot they chose for the series was Avon Mill, building a stage where the mill wheel had been, and clearing an ampitheatre all the way to the river.
George Davis, who had the original idea, took his vacation from the county’s business to work full-time on the project. “He was busy from morning to night,” remembers Dorothy Davis. “He and others cleared the undergrowth all the way down to the river. In April, he had seeded the entire area with grass so that the audience had a grassy lawn to sit on.”
Amazing energy went into the project. Hundreds of letters were sent out explaining the association’s goals and describing the attractions of Rappahannock County and the first Washington. “The setting is attractive,” the letter stated. It went on to describe local lodgings: Mrs. D.C. Updike; Mrs. Taylor Updike; Mrs. J.M. Lillard; Mrs. Barton Brown; Mrs. D.D. Miller; Mrs. Louise Price; Mrs. Ruth Merrill; Mrs. W.F. Moffett.
Restaurants were described and prices given: the Washington Cafe, with breakfast and lunch for 50 cents and supper for $1.00; the Washington House restaurant with slightly higher prices; and the Lee Highway Motel, no prices given.
“At that time, every other home took in tourists,”
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