Alumna aids Fannie Roots’ historic cottage to open doors

Fannie Roots lived in a cottage on the corner of Washington Street and U.S. 17 in Falmouth for her entire life. The structure was almost demolished but protests led it to be preserved as one of the last examples of the “working man’s home” from the late 19th century. The original structure was made of log beams and a fieldstone foundation. Roots used the wooden stove to provide most of the heating and cooking, but she did eventually install electric lights and a heating-oil tank. UMW graduate and site preservation manager at Gari Melchers’ Belmont, Beate Ankjær–Jensen, has been working to preserve the building and is trying to find out as much as possible about Roots’ life as she can. Roots worked for Gari and Corinne Melchers as a gardener, was active in civil rights efforts, and attended almost every Board of Supervisors meeting.

More here: http://news.fredericksburg.com/town-and-county/2014/11/03/saved-cottage-to-open-doors/