Lives and Legacies

  • 250 Years of Celebration

    The George Washington Foundation has been abuzz with anticipation for the upcoming Semiquincentennial, or 250th birthday of our United States! In all this excitement I thought it would be a compelling trip down memory lane to uncover how the nation celebrated July 4th through the years, and how our sites, Ferry Farm and Historic Kenmore,…

  • Ice Cream: A Scoop of History

    This time of year, I find it difficult not to reach into my freezer after dinner to get a cold, sweet dairy treat.  Ice cream in cartons and scooped from behind a counter has become a part of the American experience. Ice cream was not always so easy to come by, however, as the ingredients…

  • 2026 Dig season begins at Ferry Farm, Boyhood Home of George Washington 

    Beginning on Monday, April 27th and continuing for the next 11 weeks, archaeologists will once again be outside working onsite at Ferry Farm, George Washington’s Boyhood Home. Our current excavations are centered on an eighteenth-century kitchen located on the north side of the work yard approximately 50 feet from the main house.  This wood-framed building, 16’ by 16’ in plan with an Aquia stone foundation and full cellar, would have been a…

  • Wish You Were Here: Historical Documentation Through Postcards

    Postcards were a staple of vacations.  Collected and sent back to friends and family so they could be part of your adventures. Many of us can remember trying to pick up postcards on the first day of vacation to get them in the mail quickly so they would arrive back home before you.  Postcards were…

  • New Kids on the Block: The 20th-Century Houses of Kenmore Court

    When you visit Historic Kenmore today, you will find a preserved city block with gardens and pathways reaching from front to back. The tranquil estate is only interrupted by two other houses along Lewis Street, hidden behind a tree line. These buildings remain the only surviving evidence of a time when Kenmore’s block was almost…

  • Meet the Crew 2025

    We are heading into the final stretch of this year’s exploration of the 18th-century kitchen at George Washington’s Ferry Farm, and it definitely hasn’t disappointed! The finds are getting bigger and better as we continue excavating deeper into the cellar and expand our look into the surrounding area. We have made a ton of progress…