PORT ROYAL, Va. — A broken-down building on King Street in Port Royal is standing on its last leg. Time hasn’t been kind to the brick behemoth. People moved out long ago. Neglect moved in and hasn’t left.
But Cleopatra Coleman sees only beauty and potential.
“It's in an inferior condition right now, but it is encased in history too. This place was built and charted back in 1854,” Coleman said. “It is a magnificent building and we need it in the town of Port Royal.”
The Caroline County native is determined to save what’s left of the Masonic Lodge.
“A building is never beyond salvation or preservation,” Coleman said. “I have said to myself, ‘I don’t want to close my eyes in a final sleep and leave this building like this.’ Many important meetings took place on that windowless second floor. The Masons occupied that entire floor.”
The woman in her mid 90s envisions a bright future for the vacant shell: a combined banquet hall, office space and town gathering spot.
“Community work was chartered from within the walls of these buildings. It needs to be preserved,” she said.
The past is ever present for the founder of the Historic Port Royal Museum.
“My passion for history was ignited, I believe, here in Port Royal,” Coleman said.
It is only fitting that Ms. Cleo lives in the oldest dwelling in town sitting feet from the Rappahannock River.
“This house was built in 1740. Before we were a country, this house stood,” she said.
George Washington reportedly visited Cleo Coleman’s home during his stay in Port Royal. The future president would etch his initials in a glass window.
“History holds me. And so I am privileged to be the protector of this tiny bit,” she said.
If there is any doubt whether Ms. Cleo can save the Masonic Lodge, one need only look a few blocks away.
For decades, the one-room schoolhouse along Route 301 was the center of learning for African American students.
“The Old Port Royal School, we call it,” Coleman said.
It closed and sat vacant and decaying for thirty-six years.
“Oh Lord,” she said. “This building has been unused since 1959.”
In 1995, with help from family and civic groups, Cleo resurrected the school as a living history museum for modern day fourth graders.
“These one room schools, African-American one room schools, every one of them established by African-American church folk,” she said.
This restoration is a crowning achievement for this former teacher.
“So family service is important. This project able me to do both to honor both,” Coleman said.
Kathy McVay, president of the Caroline County Historical Society, said Cleo’s encyclopedic knowledge of local history always earns an “A.”
“She has a dream, and she gets it taken care of,” McVay said. “Oh, my goodness, there is nobody like Cleo. She is the person you go to if you want to know something about Caroline County.”
In her quest to save the Masonic Lodge, Cleo proves the past isn’t just a jumble of dates and names.
“That building has a lot of history. It has a song to sing, and I’m convinced the final chorus hasn’t been heard yet. It just needs to be completed so that the full anthem can be heard and appreciated,” Coleman said.
As time marches on, Cleo Coleman is determined to grab history by the hands while leading others down the path of preservation in Port Royal as long as she can.
“And so I’ve lived here and I have served here, and I will die here, but I’m in no hurry,” she said. “The future is in fact, guided by, impacted by our past.”
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