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 Executive and Judicial branches, so we thought we’d take a moment today to shed light on an often-overlooked aspect of Chief Justice John Marshall’s …
By Sonja Ingram, Preservation Field Services Manager 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, was gracious enough to take us to visit fourteen schools in Mecklenburg County, nine of which were Rosenwalds. …
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 spotted in at a recent event encouraged Mr. Benjamin Watkins Leigh to ask that all-important question. Forget Daphne Bridgerton of 1813 London – meet fashionable …
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. Talking to Wayne Covil, reporter for CBS 6 News, Kate Sangregorio, Preservation Planner for the City of Petersburg, said …
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. The Rosenwald School Program was created …
It’s American Archives Month! As a preservation organization, we don’t just save buildings and objects. We save paper too! The archives and document collections of Preservation Virginia are an extraordinary record of our historic sites as well as the evolution of the institution over the last 131 years. Over that time, the Association for the Preservation of …
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, Virginia. They provided photographs to Preservation Virginia, and after researching the images and the location, we determined that it was the Shiloh Rosenwald School. Photos …
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. Threatened by a local water intake and pump station, the historic capital of the Monacan Indian Nation is receiving …
By Ben Lovelace, John Marshall House Interpreter 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, silk stockings, linen shirts, a coat, and a hat. Anyone who knew him, knew that John Marshall notoriously …
