Written by Sonja Ingram, Associate Director of Preservation Field Services 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 of more than forty forts started after the War of 1812 as part of an …
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20
20
In the Field! Recording an18th Century Building at Sharswood
By Sonja Ingram, Associate Director, Preservation Field Services, Preservation Virginia October 20, 2021 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 in Powhatan County―one of the nation’s most noted Gothic Revival houses, which became …
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17
17
Constitution Day 2021
By Meika Downey, Education Coordinator, Preservation Virginia September 17, 2021 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 agreed the previous government under the Articles of Confederation needed replacing, the 70 delegates to …
category: John Marshall House
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11
11
Telling the Story of Bacon’s Castle Through Objects
Kayla O’Leary, curatorial intern 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 my main project, I have helped develop a new permanent exhibit inside Bacon’s Castle that will help tell the story …
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2
2
On Hospitali-Tea at Scotchtown
By Miller Bowe 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 Britain, members of the Old Dominion’s upper class imitated the habits of their counterparts in the mother country. Among these was taking …
category: Patrick Henry's Scotchtown
READ MORE Jun
30
30
A Statement on Juneteenth from Historic Jamestowne and the Construction of the Jamestown Church Tower
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. When the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities (APVA) bought part of Jamestown Island in 1893, their explicit goal was …
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29
29
Preserving LGBTQ Historic Sites in Virginia
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. In 2000, the site was named a National Historic Landmark, and in 2016, President Obama announced the establishment of the Stonewall National Monument to commemorate …
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17
17
Voices Remembered: Agnes Spurlock
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. As such, millions of enslaved people remained …
category: John Marshall House
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9
9
Late Nights at the John Marshall House
By Ben Lovelace Museum Educator, John Marshall House April 1, 2021 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 …
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6
6
In the Field! with Preservation Virginia and the Virginia Department of Historic Resources: A Visit to King William County
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. The first house, Cherry Grove, is owned by Lee and Elaine Ramsey. When they bought the house in the 1980s, Lee said his mother questioned the purchase due to …
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