Kathryn
Coombs & Jeff Smith
(Ambrotype by Bob Szabo)
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Both the
owner, Kathryn Coombs, and the resident caretaker,
Jeff Smith, are Civil War living history
interpreters.
In
addition to hosting visits of the Surratt Society's
Booth Escape Route bus tour groups, we have started
holding small living histories at the house for
Kathryn's civilian reenacting unit, the Atlantic
Guard Soldiers Aid Society. In addition, we've
helped host a local history "treasure hunt" for
local neighborhood children focusing on Cleydael,
and our Christmas party was Civil War themed, with
neighbors and friends from the King George
historical society invited as well as many of our
reenacting friends, with music by the award-winning
group Potomac Thunder.
The
long-term dream is to do fieldwork to determine
where the old summer kitchen would have been and to
recreate it as closely as possible, along with
other farm outbuildings such as a smokehouse, and
make the property more user-friendly as a small
private living history site. One of these days,
perhaps.
In
addition to conducting tours of Cleydael and
interpreting the role of Dr. Stuart, Jeff is best
known for his first person portrayal of Col. John
Singleton Mosby. Visit our other website,
MosbysRangers.com
for more information.
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