Mitchell Map contest winners announced

April 17, 2024

St. Clare Walker Middle (SCW) School sixth grade winners and participants in the John Mitchell essay contest were recognized at an April 12 program in the SCW auditorium. The annual contest is sponsored by Friends of Urbanna (FOU) and the Town of Urbanna. The group includes, from left, front, Shaelynn Slusher, Nadya Crader (fourth), Hailey Pettyjohn (third), Scarlet Elias (fourth), Lazarus Doiron (first), Lian Juarez (second), Ariel Johnson; and back, same order, Dr. Tracy Seitz, Middlesex County Public Schools superintendent; Marsha Jedlinski, SCW history teacher; Aria Randall, Dr. Bill Goldsmith, Urbanna mayor; Temple Bennett, Hayley Rose Smith; Dr. Jim Robusto of FOU; Peni Roberts of FOU; and Ted Costin, Urbanna town administrator. (Photo by Larry Chowning)

St. Clare Walker (SCW) Middle School sixth grader Laz Doiron was announced as winner of the annual Friends of Urbanna sponsored John Mitchell Essay Contest.

Mitchell was a doctor in Urbanna for 11 years (1734-1745) and is known as the man who made the “Map of the British and French Dominion,” considered the most important map in American history.

The Town of Urbanna owns a first edition, third impression of the Mitchell map that hangs in the town-owned circa 1763 James Mills Scottish Factor Store, which houses the museum and visitors center.

The annual essay contest is conducted with the cooperation of the SCW history teacher Marsha Jedlinski. The theme for the essay this year was “Legacy.”

Following a field trip to the Urbanna Museum and Visitors Center that includes a historical lecture of the John Mitchell Map, students write an essay on things they have learned, said Peni Roberts of Friends of Urbanna.

When essays are completed each is judged by several SCW teachers who review and forward the top 10 essays, she said.

Essays are then reviewed and ranked…