Several months ago, Historic Kenmore concluded the refurnishing effort in the Dining Room. After painstaking research and scientific investigation, that room has been returned to a state that would be immensely familiar to Fielding and Betty Washington Lewis. It might look somewhat unfamiliar, however, to later occupants of Kenmore. The first picture below was taken sometime … Continue reading Dining Room vs. Dining Room
Our Urban Nature: It’s Just Outside the Door
Humans are an inescapable part of nature. It shapes us and we shape it. Most of us can see this dynamic relationship when looking back 200 years. It is easier to appreciate the centrality of nature in the lives of 18th century planters, farmers, and enslaved people whose livelihoods and bellies depended on good weather … Continue reading Our Urban Nature: It’s Just Outside the Door
“They gave me grog…and put me to sleep with opium pills”: Kenmore as a Civil War Hospital
As the sesquicentennial of the Civil War draws to a close, we are remembering the war at Kenmore, and its aftermath. Although Kenmore is best known as a house of the colonial period, it had quite a history during the Civil War. Visitors to Kenmore have long heard that the house survived bombardment during the … Continue reading “They gave me grog…and put me to sleep with opium pills”: Kenmore as a Civil War Hospital
Photos: Breaking Ground for The Washington House
The George Washington Foundation broke ground for The Washington House and the First Phase of Construction at Ferry Farm on Saturday, April 25. Doris Kearns Goodwin, world-renowned presidential historian and Pulitzer Prize-winning author, delivered keynote remarks. Read more about the ceremony and project in The Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star here.
The Science of History: Experimental Archaeology & Colonial Cheese Glue
Archaeologists sometimes recreate technology from the past to understand how people lived. This is called experimental archaeology. When archaeologists at George Washington's Ferry Farm found glue residue on sherds of Mary Washington's china, they developed ways to recreate this glue. This video explains the glue making process and what recreating the glues revealed about Mary. … Continue reading The Science of History: Experimental Archaeology & Colonial Cheese Glue
The Civil War at the ‘Old Washington Farm’
Editor's Note: Lives & Legacies continues to remember the Civil War as that conflict's 150th anniversary concludes this April and May. During the Civil War, the homes of George Washington and Fielding Lewis – both indispensable to securing American freedom in the Revolution -- served as campsite and hospital in a bloody struggle over the definition … Continue reading The Civil War at the ‘Old Washington Farm’
Bells Across the Land: Historic Kenmore Remembers the Civil War’s End
Along with churches across the city of Fredericksburg and historic sites, public buildings, schools, and more across the nation, Historic Kenmore marked the 150th anniversary of the symbolic end of the Civil War on April 9, 1865 by ringing a bell for four minutes at 3:15 p.m. today. Interested in learning more about Kenmore's Civil War … Continue reading Bells Across the Land: Historic Kenmore Remembers the Civil War’s End
Photos: How to Install a New Museum Exhibit
Back in late February, staff revamped the orientation exhibit in the visitors center at George Washington's Ferry Farm. The new exhibit called The Science of History at Ferry Farm tells the story of how archaeologists and historians discovered the location of the Washington family home using, in some cases, the latest scientific techniques. It includes a … Continue reading Photos: How to Install a New Museum Exhibit
Hanging Portraits in Kenmore’s Drawing Room
The George Washington Foundation's curators recently oversaw the hanging of portraits in Historic Kenmore's Drawing Room. Portraits of Fielding and Betty Lewis painted by John Wollaston as well as of John Lewis and Fielding Lewis, Jr. painted by Charles Willson Peale were returned to the room where they hung originally. In this video showing the … Continue reading Hanging Portraits in Kenmore’s Drawing Room
‘Not Having Been Wett All Over at Once, for 28 Years Past’: Bathing in Early America
Editor’s Note: Looking back in time, people’s personal hygiene, fashion choices, medical treatments, and more sometimes look, at the very least, bizarre, if not outright disgusting. When confronted with these weird or gross practices, our first reaction can be to dismiss our ancestors as primitive, ignorant, or just silly. Before such judgments, however, we should … Continue reading ‘Not Having Been Wett All Over at Once, for 28 Years Past’: Bathing in Early America
Lives & Legacies 