Written by Sonja Ingram, Associate Director of Preservation Field Services In honor of LGBTQ+ Pride month, we are highlighting a few Virginian preservationists and architects, including Amaza Lee Meredith, one of the nation’s few African American architects in her time. Writing about LGBTQ+ history can be difficult because many LGBTQ+ people from the past did …
By Rachel Balderson Over many centuries, lighthouse technology has continuously evolved and improved. Although the earliest known lighthouse dates to the Egyptians in 280 B.C., European style lenses were first invented in 1810 and consisted of thick, poor quality glass that gave the beams of many lighthouses a ‘muddy’ appearance. In 1811, Lecoat de …
Things in the colony took a turn after Bacon’s Rebellion. This was largely due to who exactly had rebelled. Bacon had been successful in recruiting not only poor and middle-class English colonists, but also Africans and people of African descent. The House of Burgesses realized that Bacon’s followers had put aside racial differences to …
By Brenna Geraghty Have you ever wondered how Bacon’s Castle got it’s name? Read on to find out! PART ONE Nathaniel Bacon was a young English aristocrat who was exiled to the Virginia colony in 1674. He had been accused of trying to steal somebody else’s inheritance in England, so his father sent him …
2022 marked Preservation Virginia’s inaugural Historic Places Art Contest. Open to elementary, middle, and high school students across the Commonwealth, students were asked to look within their local communities to select an historic structure, building, or place they deemed significant, and to interpret it in 2-D art. The contest garnered thirty submissions across six different …
What do John Marshall and Taylor Swift have in common? Well, we’re glad you asked. Whether or not you’ve been a Swiftie since she debuted her first album in 2006, you’ve no doubt heard about Taylor Swift’s new album, Midnights, her upcoming Eras tour, and the digital stampede that took place on TicketMaster.com of fans …
Among many other factors, our communities, cities, and towns are made up of any number of historic structures and spaces, and we invite Virginia’s students to consider which historic structures are important in their community. As the debut of Preservation Virginia’s community education programs that connect to our broader, statewide preservation efforts, we are excited …
Sonja Ingram, Associate Director of Preservation Field Services, interviewed Dr. G. Samantha Rosenthal, Associate Professor of History at Roanoke College, and co-founder of the Southwest Virginia LGBTQ+ History Project. Dr. Rosenthal is also the author of Living Queer History, Remembrance and Belonging in a Southern City, which tells the story of the LGBTQ community in …
1. Could you tell us a little bit about yourself and your career, and what led to this role at Preservation Virginia? I’m a preacher’s kid who grew up in the Black church. That statement will resonate with some right away. I felt like a military child growing up. Wherever my father pastored a church, …
As this year’s Preservation Month draws to a close, we wanted to take a moment to reflect inward on our own organization, and the amazing people we have who make our physical preservation of historic sites possible. Cape Henry Lighthouse site coordinator Rachel Balderson took the time to interview Eric to find out what it …
