Latest news with #Wiedel
Miami Herald
02-06-2025
- General
- Miami Herald
Surprising find made when brick is cleaned at 360-year-old site, VA photo shows
One of the nation's most documented historic homes has surprised historians, after a mysterious impression was found buried in one of the 360-year-old site's brick walls. Closer inspection revealed it was a paw print, likely created when a lovable but pesky pet wandered across freshly made bricks at what is today known as Bacon's Castle in Surry, Virginia. 'Our preservation crew ... came across a brick with a small kitten footprint in it — proof that 17th century cats were roaming around the brickyard that was producing the bricks for the house,' Preservation Virginia wrote in a May 20 Facebook post. It's a moment frozen in time that likely included an exasperated brick maker (possibly an enslaved person) shooing the curious kitten away before it caused even more trouble. Built in 1665, Bacon's Castle is the nation's oldest brick dwelling, historians say. Preservation Virginia acquired the castle at auction in the 1970s 'and meticulously researched, restored and furnished the house in the 1980s,' the organization reports. Restoration is ongoing, which is what led to the paw print discovery, according to Bacon's Castle site coordinator Carol Wiedel. The brick is broken, about 3.5 inches long, and it has one full print (about an inch wide) and one partial print, suggesting the kitten was walking across the rows of bricks. 'It was actually removed from an original wall in the porch tower last year during some repairs and stored with rubble since it was a broken brick,' Wiedel told McClatchy News via email. 'Recently ... one of our preservation crew was looking for a partial brick for some ongoing work. She retrieved that brick and removed the attached mortar, revealing the paw print.' The amazingly crisp state of preservation is likely due to the brick being located inside a wall that is 20-inches thick — 'so (it) was never exposed to weather,' Wiedel said. 'It is now part of our collection of artifacts and available for us to show to guests,' she added. Preservation Virginia operates six historic sites and other imprinted bricks have been found at them, including 'human hands, dog paws, and pig hoofs.' All have been preserved as artifacts. Bacon's Castle was originally built by Arthur Allen, who remains something of an enigma to historians, according to the National Park Service. 'Where Allen came from, why he came to Virginia, when he arrived, and how he obtained his money are all mysteries,' the park service reports. 'Allen first appeared in the records in 1650 with the land patent. He was appointed one of the Justices of the Peace for Surry County when it was formed in 1652, but that was the only political office he held. He was one of the wealthiest men in the county and may have been the wealthiest,' the NPS says. The name Bacon's Castle has been traced to the home being occupied for four months by combatants during Bacon's Rebellion in 1676, which some historians view as 'the first stirring of revolutionary sentiment in America.' The castle is located near the James River, about a 60-mile drive southeast from Richmond
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Yahoo
South Beloit man charged with delivering cocaine, cannabis in Roscoe
ROSCOE, Ill. (WTVO) — Winnebago County Sheriff's Deputies arrested Tyler Wiedel, 35, for delivering cocaine and cannabis, according to court records. Officers were surveilling a house on Wagon Lane because of several complaints of cars coming and going from the residence on April 14. Authorities saw Wiedel enter and leave the house quickly, court records show. Officials later stopped the suspect near Wagon Lane and Hononegah Road for driving on a suspended license. Deputies found an open bottle of Crown Royal Whiskey, cocaine, cannabis and a digital scale in Wiedel's vehicle. Wiedel was released from the traffic stop pending charges. He was eventually taken into custody and booked into the Winnebago County Jail on May 12. Wiedel is charged with manufacturing and delivering cocaine, manufacturing and delivering cannabis and possession of drug paraphernalia. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
