Preservation Virginia Blog

Jan
16

Historic Places Art Contest Results

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 …

READ MORE
Nov
18

What do John Marshall and Taylor Swift have in common?

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 …

READ MORE
Sep
12

Historic Places Student Art Contest 2022

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 …

READ MORE
Aug
8

An Interview with Dr. G. Samantha Rosenthal

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 …

READ MORE
Jul
13

An Interview with Dr. Lisa Winn Bryan, Community Outreach Manager

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, …

READ MORE
May
31

An Interview with Eric Litchford, Preservation Project Manager

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 …

READ MORE
Apr
7

Bacon’s Castle Smokehouse Siding

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 splits, cracks and voids that need to be consolidated with various epoxy treatments to make it weathertight. This requires physical paint removal to visually assess …

category: Bacon's Castle
READ MORE
Feb
18

Old Dawn School, Caroline County

  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 American Community of Duval, also known as Dawn, in southern Caroline County. The school’s decorative elements, including wide, boxed overhangs, exceptionally large windows, interior …

READ MORE
Feb
14

Developing the Work Yard Tour at the John Marshall House

By Zoe Brooks 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.” The John Marshall House is …

READ MORE
Jan
7

Scotchtown Ice House

Written by Miller Bowe 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 to a remarkable home, a symbol of the prestige and power of the home’s owners. To keep drinks chilled and creams …

READ MORE