Sons and Daughters of Washington

The 111th Annual Reunion of the Sons & Daughters of Washington will take place on Sunday, Sept 10, 2023, at the Old Town Hall on Washington Mountain Road.

Washington holds a social gathering once a year for “anyone who lives or has ever lived in Washington.” In fact, it’s such a welcoming event that some event officials have even said that anyone who has ever driven through the town is invited.

The gathering has taken place nearly every single year since 1909, missing only a few years during World War II and more recently during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The event began some years after William C. Whitney purchased about 1/3 of the land in Washington for an estate and game preserve. Those who had lived in that part of town left the area. After a while, the inaugural reunion of the Sons and Daughters of Washington was planned. During those first years, picnic gatherings took place in “Sibley’s Grove,” an open bit of land on the north corner of Summit Hill Road and Upper Valley Road. It was a convenient place for out-of-towners to travel by train, as the train depot was nearby. The annual events in the early years were attended by hundreds of townspeople, past and present; more than 300 attended in 1915!

The tradition continues now with the inclusion of refreshments, entertainment, and “memory lane,” a chance for attendees to recount fond memories of their lives in Washington. In recent years, the Annual Reunion of the Sons and Daughters of Washington has been held on the second Sunday of September at the Old Town Hall on Washington Mountain Road.

The 99th Annual Sons & Daughters reunion in 2008 opens with the Pledge of Allegiance.

Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion serenade the assembly.

Hopeful entries in the Cake Baking Contest await judging.