VAF-Chesapeake Chapter Annual Meeting/Papers Day

2026 Call for Papers

The Chesapeake Chapter of the Vernacular Architecture Forum invites paper proposals for our third annual Papers Day, scheduled for December 5, 2026, at the George Washington Presidential Library at Mount Vernon. This event is intended to showcase recent fieldwork and research that advances our knowledge of the Chesapeake region’s rich and diverse vernacular architecture and cultural landscapes while providing a venue for mutual learning and exchange of ideas.

Presentations may address topics relating to vernacular and everyday buildings, sites, and varied landscapes across the mid-Atlantic, and how people use these sites. Papers should be analytical rather than descriptive and have the option of being ten or twenty minutes long. We encourage proposals on all relevant topics, especially those that add to the analysis of our built environment or explore new methodologies and advancements in architectural fieldwork.

The submission deadline for presentation proposals is September 25, 2026.

Proposals should include:

• Paper Title, Author’s Name, and Email Address
• Presentation Description should clearly state the argument of the paper and explain the methodology and content in fewer than 400 words, including up to two images. Please indicate if you are proposing a 10- or 20-minute presentation
• One-page curriculum vitae

Please send your proposal and c.v. to: chesapeakechapter@vafweb.org  with the subject line “2026 Papers Day Submission.”  All submissions will be acknowledged, with presenters notified by October 7, 2026. 

2025 Papers Day - Saturday, Dec. 6th, 9:30am-4:00pm

The second annual papers day for the Chesapeake Chapter of the Vernacular Architecture Forum featured a full day of presentations and lively discussions on topics from across the region, as well as a brief inaugural annual meeting for the Chesapeake Chapter.

Date: Saturday, December 6, 2025 

Time: 9:30am – 4pm

Where: George Washington Presidential Library

3600 Mount Vernon Memorial Highway

Mount Vernon, VA 22121

Registration Details: 

• $30 required fee ($15 for students)

• Coffee and box lunch included.

• Registration deadline Nov. 30

• Advance registration required. VAF Members may register one guest. 

• All refund requests must be received prior to close of registration.

• Questions? Email chesapeakechapter@vafweb.org

Schedule:

9:30-10:00       Coffee and Welcome

10:00-10:30    The Architectural Evolution of Berry Hill Sam Biggers, Dominion Traditional Building Group

10:30-11:00    Designing the Anatomical Theatre at the University of Virginia

(10-minute presentation) Sara Wilson, University of Virginia

Mapping Materials and Influence at the Plains Mills

(10-minute presentation) Kate Wietor, Marstel-Day, LLC

11:00-11:15    Break

11:15-11:45    "living in a brick-kiln”: The Vernacular Landscape of the First Monticello, 1767–1796 Noah Duell, University of Virginia

11:45-12:15    The Gregg-Nichols Homestead: From Quaker Roots to Mineral Springs, Architecture and Community rediscovered in Northern Virginia’s Forgotten Past

Elizabeth Welch, Goucher College

12:15-1:30       Lunch

1:30-2:00 Explosive Architecture: Powder Magazine Design in the British North American Colonies During the 18th Century

Tessa Honeycutt, Colonial Williamsburg

2:00-2:30         Faith in Form: Early Nineteenth-Century Religious Architecture in Hanover County (10-minute presentation) Samantha Mathias, Mead and Hunt

Architectural Space and Virtual Experience: A Work-in-Progress

(10-minute presentation) Warren Hofstra, Shenandoah University

2:30-3:00         Where’d You Get That Wood? Dendrochronology and the Evolution of the Timber Trade in the early 19th-century Chesapeake Michael Worthington and Jane  Seiter, Oxford Tree-Ring Laboratory

3:00-3:15         Break

3:15-4:00 Annual Meeting and Closing Announcements