The Orange County Historical Society will host a July 26 picnic at Spotswood Park in Lake of the Woods. Nearby was the site of "Orange Grove," the home of Capt. John and his wife Sarah Rowsie Spotswood. A grandson of royal Lt. Gov. Alexander Spotswood, Capt. Spotswood served in the American Revolution as a member of the Continental Army's 10th Virginia Regiment and was an original member of the Society of the Cincinnati. "Orange Grove" was situated on part of Capt. Spotswood's grandfather's original Germanna tract, and Spotswood descendants lived on this land well into the 20th Century.

Germanna Foundation member and Spotswood descendant Dr. Peter G. Rainey, author of Germanna Road, will present the program. The program will begin at 7:15 p.m. Please bring your own supper and chairs to enjoy a picnic beforehand. The Orange County Historical Society has reserved a picnic shelter in case it rains.

If you are a Spotswood descendant, please e-mail the Germanna Foundation at foundation@germanna.org so that we may put you in touch with Dr. Rainey and the Spotswood Family Association, chaired by Germanna Foundation Trustee Dr. Michael Frost. John Spotswood, the father of Capt. John Spotswood, is buried in the Memorial Garden at the Brawdus Martin Germanna Visitor Center.

More information on the old Scottish family of Spotswood can be found in Official Letters of Alexander Spotswood and the Wikipedia entry on Alexander Spotswood. The Germanna Foundation is honored to be entrusted with Salubria , the home of Capt. John Spotswood’s grandmother, Butler Brayne Spotswood Thompson.

Directions: From the Brawdus Martin Germanna Visitor Center at 2062 Germanna Highway, Locust Grove, turn right onto Germanna Highway. At the next traffic light, turn right into Lake of the Woods. Stay in the left lane and tell the guard that you are attending the Orange County Historical Society meeting at Spotswood Park. Turn left. The park is about two-tenths of a mile on the left.