Category: Historic Sites

Oct
20

Preserving Paper as well as Places

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 …

READ MORE
Sep
3

Archaeology at Smith’s Fort

By Sonja Ingram, Preservation Field Services Manager 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. Artifacts found included wine bottle glass, nails, oyster shell, fauna remains, brick and …

READ MORE
Jun
17

Smith’s Fort: An American Story

By Jennifer Hurst-Wender 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 fort was abandoned a few months later due to what …

READ MORE
Jun
2

A Statement on the Death of George Floyd and the Impact of History

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. The study of history and the interpretation of historic places must include new and revised …

READ MORE
May
8

Here’s the ‘Dirt’ at Scotchtown

Mary, Mary, quite contrary How does your garden grow? 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 …

READ MORE
May
1

The Mint Julep: John Marshall Affirmed

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 …

READ MORE
Apr
24

Bacon’s Castle Garden and Historic Garden Week

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. Unfortunately, this year, like everything else, the event …

category: Bacon's Castle
READ MORE