Preservation Virginia Blog

Perhaps no member of the Hanover Branch of the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities (APVA) was more crucial to the purchase, restoration, and early interpretation of Scotchtown than […]

Swords, armor, music, giant turkey legs: what’s not to love? Renaissance faires are having a moment (again), but how did a celebration of Renaissance Europe become so popular on American soil?

Ellerslie, located just half a mile from Bacon’s Castle, has a colorful history. It was recently purchased by Madelin and Logan Worrall, proprietors of Riverbound Farms, a Suffolk-based cut-flower business that supplies local florists, shops, and farmers markets. The Worralls plan to expand their flower farming to Ellerslie.

This blog was submitted to us by Gwyneth Kemeny, a Virginia high school senior pursuing architecture, various performing arts, and all things sweet and sentimental.

The legacy of colonialism in the United States is strong. It has come in many different shapes and sizes, documented in our past and felt in our present. We must learn to talk about it. English colonialism in the Americas started here on the shores of Cape Henry. Landing on this beach, the English colonists invaded a territory that had been home to Native peoples such as Chesapeake and Nansemond for centuries.

At Bacon’s Castle, we are lucky to have a wealth of primary sources available for our interpreters to explore. The Hankins family owned Bacon’s Castle in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and were great curators of family history. There are about 200 Hankins Family letters cataloged in archives today, and most are held by the VMHC (Virginia Museum of History & Culture).

Mary Willis Ambler Marshall-–known as “Polly” to her family—was born on March 18, 1766 to Jacquelin Ambler and Rebecca Burwell Ambler. Polly’s early years were characterized by her upbringing in a prominent Tidewater family, and by the impacts of the American Revolution. By age 14, Polly’s father was targeted by the British army and her family spent two weeks fleeing the redcoats.

Since 2022, Preservation Virginia has partnered with the College of William & Mary’s Woody Intern program to facilitate a summer internship. In 2024, Faith Page was selected to work with Preservation Virginia’s Director of Interpretation and Collections, Elyse Werling, to further our research on the 19th and 20th century history of Smith’s Fort.

My name is Nina Earle, and I grew up in Richmond, Virginia.  I am working on a history major with public history and anthropology concentrations through the honors program at Roanoke College. Preservation Virginia has been a great place to intern while I am exploring different public history career options. Through working under the Manager of Education, I have gotten the chance to explore museum education and programming for all ages.

Help us wrap up our fiscal year on June 26th, Preservation Virginia’s day of giving. Your gifts to the Annual Fund directly supports those who make education, advocacy and preservation […]

While exploring Richmond it is not hard to feel the history of the River City around you. Both historic architecture and landscape work to tell the story of historic Richmond. […]

May is Preservation Month, and what better time is there to highlight what is currently happening at Bacon’s Caste? See each image below to get a better understanding of the work that is going on at this historic property!

Historic interpreters, educators, or visitor services staff are often said to serve as the face of an organization because they provide the first introduction a visitor has to a site or museum. Because of this important position interpreters have in cultivating not only a positive visitor experience but hopefully museum membership and donors as well, front line staff maintain a vital role in the ecosystems of public history and cultural heritage institutions.

While performing restoration work at the John Marshall House in Richmond, Preservation Virginia staff made a recent discovery. House bell systems were used through the federal period to call for […]

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. […]

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.

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.

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 seeking tickets earlier this week.

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 to announce the inaugural Historic Places Art Contest for K-12 students this fall! 

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 Roanoke. The book includes over forty interviews with LGBTQ elders from the Roanoke area.

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 […]

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 takes to become someone with the desire and know-how to do this kind of work.

Our PV Restoration Crew is in the beginning stages of prepping the 1820’s smokehouse siding at Bacon’s Castle for painting this spring. A large percentage of the early siding has […]

The Old Dawn School, also known as School #4, is one of a group of schools built for African American students in the late 19th-early 20th centuries in the African […]

My name is Zoe Brooks and I am a junior undergraduate student at Hollins University in Roanoke, Virginia, where I am majoring in History. I am from Appalachia, Virginia, and I just interned with Preservation Virginia’s John Marshall House during the month of January for Hollins’ “J-Term.”

During the historic period, the main house at Scotchtown was supplemented by a variety of outbuildings. The ice house -one of the two outbuildings reconstructed today- is a remarkable satellite […]

Preservation Virginia staff was able to get a glimpse of Fort Wool this summer. Fort Wool, a 15-acre, human-made, fort island, located near the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel, was one […]

Sharswood, designed by famed architect A.J. Davis of New York, was built in the 1850s for Charles Miller in the Mt. Airy Community of Pittsylvania County. Davis also designed Belmead […]

Happy Constitution Day! On this day in Philadelphia in 1787, 39 of our founders signed the United States Constitution, the most radical governing document of the age. While American founders […]

This summer, I have had the pleasure to be the curatorial intern at Preservation Virginia, working under Lea Lane, Curator of Collections, to learn more about the public history field. […]

As a historic house museum, Patrick Henry’s Scotchtown has unique opportunities to study and explore the details of daily life, including foodways. While Virginia was still a colony of Great […]

Since the 19th century, the historic Church Tower has been a lasting symbol of Jamestown Island. Constructed around 1680, the Tower is the only 17th-century building to remain standing above ground on the island.

In 1999, the Stonewall Inn located at 51 and 53 Christopher Street in Greenwich Village, became the first LGBTQ site of significance listed to the National Register of Historic Places.

This Juneteenth, 156 years ago, news of the abolition of slavery finally reached the enslaved people of Galveston, Texas. Despite President Abraham Lincoln issuing the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, news and implementation of the new law struggled to reach the far corners of the divided nation.

On Saturday, March 27, 2021, the John Marshall House had the pleasure of hosting the Center for Paranormal Research and Investigation (CPRI) from five o’clock in the evening until midnight, as they conducted an on-site investigation of the first and second floors of the Great Chief Justice’s 1790 Richmond home.

Preservation Virginia teamed up with Marc Wagner and Elizabeth Lipford from the Department of Historic Resources to visit two historic houses in King William County recently.

As part of Women’s History Month, we had a ‘virtual sit down’ with Preservation Virginia CEO, Elizabeth S. Kostelny. Elizabeth, who is celebrating 30 years with Preservation Virginia, has gained an incredible amount of insight and wisdom during her tenure.

Black history is American history and essential every day of the year. And in honor of Black History Month, we recognize that at this time, we have much to learn about the enslaved who lived and worked at the historic sites we open to the public.

By Matthew Nichol, VCU ’21, Education Intern February 15, 2021 Happy Presidents Day from the John Marshall House! We love to talk about American Presidents and the relationship between the […]

In 2019, while Preservation Virginia was completing our survey of Rosenwald Schools in Virginia, we met David Rainey. David, who has spent countless hours researching local African American school sites, […]

Dearest readers, perhaps you have seen the news: Miss Susan Colston, niece of the great Chief Justice John Marshall, is to be married! Undoubtedly, the grey silk gown she was […]

Since the holidays will look different for many families this year, let us look back and examine how Early Americans like Chief Justice John Marshall, his family, and the enslaved community who supported the household, celebrated the holiday. Which customs and traditions sound familiar to you and your family, and which have faded into obscurity?

Bricks and mortar efforts toward saving Petersburg’s Jarratt house began earlier this fall on Pocahontas Island. The house is the oldest standing building within what is considered the oldest freed African American community in the nation.

A few weeks ago, we posted an article about the Shiloh Rosenwald School in Mecklenburg County near Boydton. The Shiloh School was a two-teacher school built in 1923 that we previously thought had been demolished. It was one of 17 Rosenwald Schools built in Mecklenburg County, nine of which remain standing.

It’s American Archives Month! As a preservation organization, we don’t just save buildings and objects. We save paper too! 

A school building we mistakenly thought was lost was recently found. During an ATV ride through the woods of Mecklenburg County, a family came across a school building near Boydton, […]

Rassawek, the historic capital and sacred site of the Monacan Indian Nation located at the confluence of the Rivanna River and James River in Fluvanna County, is included on a national list of threatened historic sites.

Traveling the short distance from his home in the Court End of Richmond to the Constitutional Convention in June 1788, the future Chief Justice John Marshall arrived in new shoes, […]

It’s easy to forget the noise. A historic house is usually encountered as a quiet space, a silence broken only by the cadence of the interpreter’s narrative, and perhaps the […]

The Dr. Robert Walter “Whirlwind” Johnson’s house and tennis court in Lynchburg was added to the Most Endangered Historic Places List in 2005. At the time, the house was in a […]

We recovered some interesting finds while recently monitoring for archaeological sites during the installation of a new phone line at Smith’s Fort, including what looks like two post hole features and a possible trash pit.

Preservation Virginia staff visited Little Buckets Farm Sanctuary in Brunswick County last week to look at an early house in need of repairs. The farm is operated by Susan Klingenberg, who rescues farm animals in need and provides them with a safe home.

On August 26, 1795, President George Washington found himself in need of an Attorney General of the United States to serve within his administration.

In the first installment of our new Preservation in Action Video Series, Eric Litchford, Preservation Projects Manager, takes you through the recent rehabilitation work completed on the 19th-century smokehouse at Bacon’s Castle.

Historic preservation, including rehabilitation of historic buildings and heritage tourism, are critical components of the nation’s economy. July 24th’s online program features a discussion on adaptation during the pandemic and the role of historic preservation in economic recovery.

July 17th’s panel discussion about diversity and inclusivity in preservation features Audrey P. Davis, director of the Alexandria Black History Museum, and several representatives from sites listed in the 2020 Virginia’s Most Endangered Historic Places program.

Just over two miles from the Jamestown-Scotland Ferry sits Smith’s Fort, a story-and-a-half, brick merchant’s home, built for Jacob Faulcon and his family in the mid-18th century. In 1609, Captain John Smith began construction of a fort site on the property.

The national and global responses and outrage to the terrible and tragic events of George Floyd’s killing illuminate the long and violent American history of racism and injustice that began in 1619 with the beginnings of American slavery in Virginia.

As noted in this 16th century children’s rhyme, the question of how best to grow healthy and productive gardens was an ever present challenge our forefathers and ancestors faced. Whether by accident or studied practice, many cultures and societies through trial and error learned about the many benefits achieved by replenishing nutrients in the soil.

Although the Kentucky Derby is postponed, don’t wait to enjoy one of Chief Justice John Marshall’s favorite drinks, the mint julep. Preservation Virginia’s curator of collections (and native Kentuckian) Lea Lane explores how this icy refresher made its way to Richmond and beyond, then shows how you can make one at home using a locally distilled rum.

The cast-iron spiral steps at Old Cape Henry Lighthouse were installed in 1867 to replace the original wooden stairs from 1792. For the past century, that spiral stair has been painted black, but it wasn’t always that color.

This week should be the Garden Club of Virginia’s annual Historic Garden Week. This one promised to be spectacular, as the Garden Club of Virginia commemorates its centennial in 2020. Since 1927, proceeds from Historic Garden Week have gone to fund garden restoration projects throughout the Commonwealth.

These snapshots of Smith’s Fort were taken in June 1938 and were saved in a scrapbook now in the Preservation Virginia archives. The caption for the first photo references the restoration of the landscape around the house, then known as “Rolfe Place,” by the Garden Club of Virginia.

Many initials and names have been carved into the exterior of the Old Cape Henry Lighthouse throughout its 227 years.

Our curator of collections, Lea Lane, continues to highlight incredible pieces in Preservation Virginia’s collection. Mary “Polly” Ambler Marshall, wife of Chief Justice John Marshall, was apparently quite the needlework artist.

Lea Lane, curator of collections, and her husband Mitch show you how to make an 18th century favorite, Duke of Norfolk punch! Check out their video and the recipe below: […]

While everyone is working at home, we wanted to reach out with our staff recommendations on what we’re reading and watching ourselves! Many are history related, some are directly related to our sites, and some are just ones we liked.

Preservation Virginia has been around since 1889, so the files we’ve squirreled away over the decades have gradually become historic themselves! One of my favorite items from the archive is this itinerary for Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip’s visit to Jamestown in October 1957.

With the help of our friends and supporters, we may have solved the mystery of the 1701 barn at Bacon’s Castle! In 2018 Preservation Virginia listed Shenandoah Valley Barns to our Virginia’s Most Endangered Historic Places list.

In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the landscape around Bacon’s castle was filled with outbuildings that supported the domestic and agricultural functions of a working plantation.  These buildings were generally small, single use structures that were primarily occupied and worked in by the enslaved population.

The Preservation Virginia mission statement singles out “historic places of memory.” A historic place of memory might be architectural, but it can also be something that fits in the palm […]

Preservation Virginia’s Historic Preservation Awards have been presented since 1971 to honor Virginians who demonstrate an outstanding commitment to preservation and raising awareness on preserving the Commonwealth’s important historic places. […]

These remarks were delivered by Elizabeth S. Kostelny, Chief Executive Officer, at the 400th Anniversary of the First Representative Legislative Assembly at Jamestown Island on July 30, 2019.

Since May of this year, I have had the pleasure of working with Preservation Virginia to study the African and African American history at Bacon’s Castle. It did not take […]

May is Preservation Month and we’re recapping previous Most Endangered Historic Places listings in the nominator’s own words. You can read updates on the Warm Springs Bath Houses and Gibson Cottage, the Carr-Greer […]

May is Preservation Month and we’re recapping previous Most Endangered Historic Places listings in the nominator’s own words. You can read updates on the Warm Springs Bath Houses and Gibson Cottage and […]

May is Preservation Month and we’re recapping previous Most Endangered Historic Places listings in the nominator’s own words. You can read an update on the Warm Springs Bath Houses and Gibson […]

May is Preservation Month and we’re recapping previous Most Endangered Historic Places listings in the nominator’s own words. Check back this month to hear updates on the Carr Greer Farmhouse, […]

As a historic homeowner, spring cleaning takes special care and knowledge of the unique materials that make up your home. You don’t need to be an expert preservationist to spring clean your historic home, but try to keep these tips in mind as you tidy up.

Born into a family with one brother and seven sisters – and father of seven daughters himself – women always held a prominent place in the life of Patrick Henry. Our newly furnished bedchamber debuts in 2019 to bring to light some of the stories of the strong women in Henry’s family and the enslaved women who were with him at Scotchtown during the tumultuous 1770s.

This February, commemorate Black History Month by learning more about the complicated and intertwined story of the people who have made Virginia home.

Willis Augustus Hodges served as the first African American lighthouse keeper at the Cape Henry Lighthouse from May 10 to July 26, 1870. Willis Augustus Hodges was born in Blackwater, Virginia, modern-day Virginia Beach, on February 12, 1815. He was born a free black man to a family of well-off farmers.

It’s early January in Virginia and that means one exciting thing: the Virginia General Assembly’s legislative session is about to begin! Made up of the Senate of Virginia and the Virginia House of Delegates, the Virginia General Assembly finds its origins in the first legislative assembly held at Jamestown in 1619.

Through our advocacy and community engagement initiatives, we are able to have a broad impact on and support the efforts of others who are working in historic preservation throughout the Commonwealth. Take a look at how your support has helped us make an impact on Virginia’s historic resources and communities.

When colonists first settled in Virginia, they brought many holidays and traditions from their countries of origin with them. Although many of these early holidays would form the basis for modern customs, the characteristics and meanings of said holidays were different from modern ones in surprising and fascinating ways.

It’s officially the holiday season! This year, take a look at our holiday gift guide and stop by our historic sites for some truly unique gifts for the history lover in your life—and remember, Preservation Virginia members receive 10% off in our gift shops and free admission to our sites all year long!

The original slave quarter and smokehouse at Bacon’s Castle stand as rare examples of Virginia’s vernacular architecture. Built in 1829 and 1844, respectively, their preservation tells the story of plantation life in Southside Virginia.

This November, commemorate Native American Heritage Month by learning more about the complicated and intertwined story of the people who have made Virginia home.

Every historic building in Virginia has a story contained within its walls. From small residential homes to great churches and castles, hidden narratives can always be found — if you know where to look. Here are the intriguing stories behind some of the oldest buildings in the Commonwealth.

With no electricity and limited resources, games played at parties in colonial Virginia were often quite different from modern forms of entertainment. Some games were safe and laid-back, while others went out of style over two-hundred years ago for good reason. In any case, here are some of the most interesting colonial games Virginia had to offer.

Few states can claim to have a history as rich or extensive as Virginia, the home of the first successful English colony in the United States. Though there are far too many places rich in history to fit onto a single list, here are some that you must-see while hitting the road this summer!

All throughout June, stop by the John Marshall House to learn how race and identity were constructed in early Federal America and the role the Marshall court played in its […]

Every historic place has a unique preservation story. There’s something about it that makes it special to the people who live near it, something that makes it part of the fabric of that community. Every person passionate about historic places and their history has a unique preservation story.

This Poetry Month, we’re exploring underrepresented stories and poets. From Lucy Terry Prince to Paul Laurence Dunbar to Maya Angelou, African American poets explored rich and complicated themes in several genres, from verse to ballads and epics and every form in between.

Native American poetry is steeped in oral tradition, which is the legacy of passing down cultural stories from older generations to younger generations through speech. In fact, within Native American culture, poems are often referred to as “songs” because they were traditionally sung not written.

The romantic poetry shared between Sidney Lanier and Virginia Hankins stands as one of the most passionate periods in Bacon’s Castle’s history. Born in Georgia, Sidney Lanier served in the Confederate Army and became well-known for his highly musical poems.

We’ve all heard the phrase, “No taxation without representation!” In 1765, the passage of the Stamp Acts unexpectedly unified American colonists in protest against a tax. The Act threatened American liberty, freedom of the press and incited rebellion and mob attacks throughout the colonies.

Preservation Virginia has partnered with JTI Leaf Services for the past five years to provide a Tobacco Barns Mini-Grant program to restore historic barns in Caswell County, North Carolina and Halifax and Pittsylvania Counties in Virginia. We’re pleased to highlight one of our recent projects, the Bray Tobacco Barn.

Our restoration craftsman, Mike Adams, has been hard at work at our historic sites during the off-season. Historic preservation is an ongoing, never quite finished process, and these cold months are the perfect time to tackle small projects, like remaking and replacing windows. Today, we’re highlighting two recently completed projects at Patrick Henry’s Scotchtown and Smith’s Fort.

In part two of our update on past Most Endangered Historic Places listings, we’re diving into the grassroots efforts that helped protect the Rappahannock River at White Stone and the rebirth of Selma Mansion in Loudoun County.

For more than a decade, we’ve presented our annual list of Virginia’s Most Endangered Historic Places. The list raises awareness of the Commonwealth’s historic places, including buildings, archaeological sites and cultural landscapes, at risk from neglect, deterioration, insufficient funds, inappropriate development and/or insensitive public policy.