Lives and Legacies

Category: Archives

  • 250 Years of Celebration

    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, joined in on the festivities.

    A banner from the Market Square Fair of 1976, HFFI image collection.

    July 4th, 1826: 50 Years Old

    1826 marked the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Nationwide, celebrations were small and consisted of mostly military parades and private dinners. Charlottesville, Virginia and Quincy, Massachusetts had sad news to report, though. Both Thomas Jefferson and John Adams passed away that day within hours of one another.[1]

    In Fredericksburg, Virginia, the celebration echoed the others—a military salute in the morning and a large dinner at Sligo, a mansion located on the south side of town.[2]

    A man named Samuel Gordon owned Kenmore at the time.[3] Their family had recently experienced some happiness when the future owners William and Eliza Gordon married on May 8th of that year. Although we do not know what their family plans were on the 4th, we can assume that it was a pleasant day.

    Across the river, the Mercer family owned Ferry Farm and rented the property out to tenants. Although we have no known depictions of what it looked like in 1826, seven years later the artist John Gadsby Chapman would paint the foundations of the Washington house, reclaimed by nature.[4] That year in September, the Mercers listed Ferry Farm for sale.

     “View from the Old Mansion House of the Washington Family Near Fredericksburg, Virginia” (1833) by John Gadsby Chapman.  Mount Vernon Ladies Association.

    July 4th, 1876: 100 Years Old

    Our 100th anniversary also coincided with the first year that the US was the host of a World’s Fair– the Centennial Exposition. Tourists from across the 38 states flocked to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to celebrate year-round.[5]

    Because the country was celebrating together in Philadelphia, many local celebrations were relaxed, Fredericksburg included. Social organization the Knights of Pythias hosted a large picnic on Scotts Island, today beneath the Chatham Bridge. The Virginia Herald called it “a festive day of rare delight, nothing occurring to… disturb the era of good feeling”.[6]

    Unfortunately, both Ferry Farm and Kenmore have a gap in their history on this date, both left marred by the Civil War. Kenmore was bloodstained due to its use as a hospital and Ferry Farm was barren after the union camp burnt what few dwellings were left for firewood. Although our nation was trying to move on a decade later, plenty of scars remained.

    View of Ferry Farm circa 1881. National Parks Service.

    July 4th, 1926: 150 Years Old

    The roaring 20s were in full swing and once again Philadelphia was the place to be! Another World’s Fair, 50 years after the first, was held to celebrate the Sesquicentennial.

    Locally, it seems almost nothing was organized to mark the day, aside from a few baseball games. During what ended up being a rainy weekend, the people of Fredericksburg kept it lowkey.[8]

    Ferry Farm remained in private hands as a functioning modern farm, as it had for most of its history after the Washingtons. [9] The farmer James Colbert, although there were no recorded celebrations on the land that day, was at least aware that he lived and worked where George Washington grew up. People could come and view some of the unearthed foundations and standing buildings on the grounds, although only a few are now dated to the 18th century.

    Aerial view of Fredericksburg showing Ferry Farm in the lower left side, 1927. Fredericksburg Area Museum Collection.

    At Kenmore, however, we can begin to say with certainty how the day was marked; the Kenmore Association had finally acquired the house and successfully preserved it! Many people stopped in that weekend to tour the house and see where they were in their restoration process.

    During the rest of the year, Kenmore even had some involvement on the national level of celebration! To bring nation-wide attention to the historic site there was an exhibit in the Hall of States Virginia space at the World’s Fair. It showcased a scale replica of the house’s portico. This display was well received, winning second place in exhibits.

    Left: Kenmore’s exhibit at the Philadelphia Exposition, GWF Collection. Right: Kenmore’s medal of award, GWF Collection.

    July 4th, 1976: 200 Years Old

    We’re now reaching the point that some of our readers can recall, the nation’s bicentennial in 1976. Instead of one large exposition, the American Revolution Bicentennial Administration was founded to spread the commemoration across the country.[10]

    American Revolution Bicentennial Logo, Wikimedia Commons.

    Fredericksburg was no exception, festivities were planned for the whole year leading up to the fourth, and a massive weekend celebration took place across town. A parade stretched down Princess Anne Street and many organizations, clubs, and local figures marched in it. Historic sites like Kenmore were open all day for tours, showcasing local history intertwining with the nation’s.[11]

    Left: The Bicentennial Parade on Princess Anne Street, the Free Lance -Star. Right: Russell Bastedo, former director of the Kenmore Association, posing next to a Kenmore cake, Central Rappahannock Heritage Center collection.

    After the parade, folks headed down to the city dock where the Historic Fredericksburg Foundation and the Fredericksburg Bicentennial Commission hosted a carnival.

    Newspaper advertisement for the city dock carnival, The Free Lance-Star.

    Visitors could try their hand at throwing a coin (in this case, a washer) across the river onto Ferry Farm’s shore, like George Washington was said to have done as a boy [12] If our team of archaeologists started digging in the river, I suspect they would find quite a few of those washers today!

    July 4th, 2026: 250 Years Old

    This year is perhaps one of the most celebrated milestones yet, since the excitement seems to increase with each passing decade. We are all coming together to commemorate the birth of our United States once more, and this time much of the focus is on elevating voices that have previously been ignored and celebrating histories that were once forgotten. We’ve come a long way from the private and solemn affairs of 200 years ago!

    America 250 logo.

    I’m happy to say that, finally, Ferry Farm will get its place in the sun on this holiday. Our foundation’s Fourth of July celebration will be taking place on Saturday, July 4th at the boyhood home of George Washington, the land that shaped who he became. For those of you reading this today, we hope to see you there. For those of you reading this in the future, let’s do it all again for 2076!

    Sarah Alden, Manager of Visitor Services and Interpretation

    [1] (National Archives Foundation, 2025)

    [2] (The Fiftieth Anniversary of American Independence, 1826)

    [3] Mutual Assurance Society, plat for policy 4239, November or December 1822, to Samuel Gordon; plat for policy 6126, 31 December 1829, to Samuel Gordon; plat for policy 6126, 31 December 1829, to Samuel Gordon; and plat for policy 9313, 15 November 1836, to Samuel Gordon; Virginia State Library, Richmond, Virginia; reproduced in Troup, pp. 146-151.

    [4] (Chapman)

    [5] (National Archives Foundation, 2025)

    [6] (The Fourth of July, 1876, 1876)

    [8] (The Daily Star, 1926)

    [9] (Warren, 1999)

    [10] (National Archives Foundation, 2025)

    [11] (Nichols, 1976)

    [12] (Nichols, 1976)

    Special thanks to the team at Historic Fredericksburg Foundation, The Virginiana Room at the Fredericksburg Library, and Central Rappahannock Heritage Center for providing access to their collections and assisting in the research process.

     

  • 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 swallowed up by modern developments.

    Although we have spoken at length on this blog about how Kenmore was saved from being turned into apartments (here, here, and here), we have not yet covered the houses that had, in fact, already gone up before Mrs. Emily Fleming and “Miss Annie” Fleming-Smith had even begun their fundraising.

    In 1914, Kenmore was sold by the Howard family, the last private residents of Kenmore, to Elmer “Peck” Heflin, a prolific land developer in Fredericksburg. By the end of the year, Heflin had already subdivided Kenmore into several lots and began to sell them off.

    A newspaper advertisement placed by Heflin in The Daily Star, November 1914.

    His goal was ultimately to turn the Kenmore block into a picturesque and modern housing development complete with single-family houses, apartments, driveways, and a parkway. This was illustrated for all of Fredericksburg to see in another newspaper ad from 1921 (Heflin, 1921). Heflin’s vision for the court was a 20th century city developer’s dream, squeezing as many lots as he could get into the space and ensuring that automobiles could have access to the entire area. Cutting edge, efficient, and shockingly modern.

    “Kenmore Court” plans with “Kenmore Residence” at the center, The Daily Star, January 1921

    By the time this advertisement ran, at least two of the proposed twenty lots had already been built on and three more had been sold to future homeowners. The earliest developments were done along the 1200 block of Winchester Street (which runs along the top of the illustrated plan).

    A fire insurance map from 1919 showing the two new houses and Kenmore. (Sanborn Map Co., 1919).

    It was possibly this very newspaper ad with the proposed plan, seen by Mrs. Fleming and Miss Annie, that shocked them into action to save Kenmore before it was too late. However, even though they had finished their payments to Heflin by 1925 and officially owned the Kenmore mansion, they had yet to undo the sales that had already been made.

    Between 1919 and 1927, another five houses went up along Winchester St. and an additional one along Lewis St. The lots in the 1200 block of Winchester were now completely filled.

    A fire insurance map from 1927 showing the Kenmore block with nine total houses and a now preserved Kenmore listed as “(Shrine)”. (Sanborn Map Cp., 1927)

    Although the Kenmore Association now owned the Kenmore great house and had successfully saved it from demolition, they also valued the physical beauty that the surrounding land had potential for. The new houses were taking up space that could be gardens, reminiscent of what the original grounds may have looked like. But now, they only contained a view into several family’s backyards.

    Kenmore Gardens Pre-Restoration as seen from the portico of the Kenmore great house, photo from the George Washington Foundation Collection.

    The Kenmore Auxiliary for the Reclaiming of Land formed to buy back the sold lots (Whidden, 1972). By 1930 they had already purchased two of the houses, 1206 and 1208 Winchester, and two empty lots on Cornell Street, just a few blocks north. By 1931, the houses were physically moved from Winchester St. to Cornell St.

    “House Moved Through Town” article appeared in the Washington Post, Dec. 1930.

    The Kenmore Association continued to rent these houses out for some time to tenants, generating extra income to help with Kenmore’s preservation process, until they eventually sold the homes to private owners. These Cornell St. houses still exist to this day. Few changes have been made from their historical exteriors.

    The Cornell St. houses as they appear in the present day. (City of Fredericksburg, 2025)
    The Cornell St. houses as they appear in the present day. (City of Fredericksburg, 2025)

    With the assistance of donations from individuals and foundations all over the country, the Kenmore Association was able to raise enough money to make offers to three other homeowners along the 1200 block of Winchester St., all of whom accepted. Most of Winchester St. belonged to the Association by the end of the decade (Whidden, 1972). The houses continued to be rented out to tenants through 1940. Unfortunately, after that year we have not yet discovered what happen to the Winchester St. houses, but they no longer exist on the revised 1947 fire insurance map and are presumed to have been demolished around 1941 or ‘42.

    A fire insurance map from 1947 showing revisions made between 1927 and then. (Sanborn Map Co., 1948)

    You notice that there are still three houses remaining on the block alongside the Kenmore great house. These holdouts remained for many years as private residences. Two of these houses, 605 Lewis St. and 1200 Winchester St., can still be seen today.

    1200 Winchester St. is a large brick façade building that was originally constructed for Dr. Frank Pratt. Dr. Pratt used to treat patients in the building’s basement and lived in the house until his passing in 1964. He founded the Pratt Medical Group in 1937, which still exists today with several locations in Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania (Obituary, 1969). His house was sold in 1991 by the last private owners, the Westfall family, to the Kenmore Association and has become one of the main office buildings on the site.

    1200 Winchester St. Pre 1990s. Photo from the George Washington Foundation Collection.
    1200 Winchester St. in 2025. 2025 photo credit to Allison Ellis.

    605 Lewis St. has a very similar story to 1200 Winchester. Another brick structure, it was built for William Lacy who lived there with his wife Norah, daughter Celia, and sister-in-law Celia Goolrick. Lacy was a pharmacist who passed away in 1933, leaving his home to his wife. She and her sister continued living in the house until both had passed by 1965 (Obituary, 1965). The building was sold to the Kenmore Association in 1992 and converted to offices as well.

    605 Lewis St. Pre 1990s. Photo from the George Washington Foundation Collection
    605 Lewis St. in 2025. 2025 photo credit to Allison Ellis

    The house I’ve saved for last has quickly become my favorite, since it’s the one that sparked my interest in this subject in the first place. While visiting a small antique shop in central New York of all places, I stumbled on a postcard with an image of 1216 Winchester St., also known as the Wilson House.

    The Wilson House on a postcard, circa 1921-1941. From the George Washington Foundation Collection.

    The Wilson house was the only Stucco house of the bunch, constructed in the prairie style. It was owned by Thomas Wilson, co-founder of Wilson Bros. Lumber. He, his wife Temple, Daughter Esther, and granddaughter Janet all lived in the house in 1930. By 1940, it had become a boarding house that rented out space to tenants and visitors. It had at least three units inside of it.

    The Wilson house sat on the corner of Fauquier and Winchester streets, blocking Kenmore’s new brick wall originally meant to extend around the block, until 1971. I don’t know what changed that year, whether it was a death or shift in the family or if the money finally became too good of an offer to refuse, but the Wilson family finally sold their home to the Kenmore Association, who promptly had it razed (Whidden, 1972). The brick wall was never full finished, and the area where this beautiful house once stood is now used as a service lot.

    The Wilson House, 1216 Winchester St., shortly before its demolition, from the George Washington Foundation Collection.
    Lot where the Wilson House formerly sat, 2025

    There are countless other things that could be said about these missing structures that haunt the property. The stories of the people who lived in them. A debate about whether these modern homes were worthy of preservation as well. The archaeological damage that their construction likely caused. So on and so forth. One thing is certain though: the grounds of Kenmore hold history. Not just of the Lewis family, but of the Pratts, the Wilsons, the Lacys, the Franklins, the Coxes, the Joneses, and the countless others who once lived on this city block.

    Sarah Alden

    Manager of Visitor Services and Interpretation

    Bibliography

    City of Fredericksburg. (2025). 806 Cornell St. Fredericksburg: Fredericksburg Information Technology.

    City of Fredericksburg. (2025). 808 Cornell St. Fredericksburg: Fredericksburg Information Technology.

    Heflin, E. (1921, January 24). Modern Homes. The Daily Star, 28(180), 4.

    Lots on Beautiful Kenmore Court. (1914, November 12). The Daily Star, 22(119), 2. Fredericksburg, VA.

    Obituary. (1965, May 19). Mrs. W. J. Lacy Dies in Atlanta, Rites Thursday. The Free Lance-Star, p. 5.

    Obituary. (1969, May 10). Monday Rites for Mrs. Pratt. The Free Lance-Star.

    Sanborn Map Co. (1912, July 12). Fire Insurance Maps Online. Retrieved from Historical Information Gatherers: https://fims-historicalinfo-com.ezproxy.virginiamemory.com/FIMSSD.aspx?m=09021_1912

    Sanborn Map Co. (1919, October 31). Fire Insurance Maps Online. Retrieved from Historical Information Gatherers: https://fims-historicalinfo-com.ezproxy.virginiamemory.com/FIMSSD.aspx?m=09021_1919

    Sanborn Map Co. (1948, June 7). Fire Insurance Maps Online. Retrieved from Historical Information Gatherers: https://fims-historicalinfo-com.ezproxy.virginiamemory.com/FIMSSD.aspx?m=09021_1947

    Sanborn Map Cp. (1927, May 27). Fire Insurance Maps Online. Retrieved from Historical Information Gatherers: https://fims-historicalinfo-com.ezproxy.virginiamemory.com/FIMSSD.aspx?m=09021_1927

    Stanton, G. (2011, February 21). 15th US Census, 1930. Fredericksburg City Enumeration District 107-1 Upper Ward. Retrieved from Fredericksburg Research Resources: https://resources.umwhisp.org/Fredericksburg/census/fbg1930ED107-1.htm

    Stanton, G. (2014, November 28). 16th U. S. Census, Virginia, Fredericksburg (Upper Ward), S.D. 1, ED No. 107-3. Enumerated Beginning 2 April 1940. Retrieved from Fredericksburg Research Resources: https://resources.umwhisp.org/Fredericksburg/census/fbg1940ED107-3.htm

    Whidden, R. W. (1972). Kenmore 1752: Fifty Years as a National Shrine. Richmond, VA: Whittet & Shepperson.

  • From the Vaults: Rarely Seen Documents

    Some of the most delicate objects in our collection are our archives. Paper and other document materials like vellum and parchment are very sensitive materials that can be irreversibly damaged simply by light.  This makes it very difficult to display or put on exhibit for extended periods despite our comprehensive policies for conserving and preserving documents; exhibition has always been unfeasible.  To remedy this, we have been working on getting archival-safe, high-quality images of our important documents online for everyone to access.  So, while you might not see the documents in person, you can still explore, read, and learn about these important papers while we preserve them for future generations.     

    Until we launch our online archives, I wanted to give everyone a sneak peek at a few of our incredible pieces.

    One of our oldest documents in the collection is a Land Grant signed by William Gooch on September 28, 1730, written on vellum.  William Gooch was a colonial administrator who served as governor of Virginia from 1727 to 1749.  The grant is not in the best condition, but it reads that it grants 400 acres in Spotsylvania County to Paul Plunkepee.  This grant is officially recorded as Land Office Patents, No. 14, 1728-1732, page 40, and is available at the Library of Virginia.

    Land grant to Paul Plunkepee signed by William Gooch. 28 September 1730.
    Land grant to Paul Plunkepee signed by William Gooch. 28 September 1730.
    Sir William Gooch, 1st Baronet, was a British Army officer and colonial administrator who served as the governor of Virginia from 1727 to 1749.

    One of our most unique documents is a letter from George Washington to Lieutenant Governor Robert Dinwiddie, written on June 10, 1752, when he was twenty.  Robert Dinwiddie served as Lieutenant Governor of Virginia from 1751 to 1758.  In the letter, George requests his first military appointment to the open adjutancy of the Northern Neck or other district.  George’s half-brother Lawrence had been appointed Adjutant General of the colony in 1743.  Due to his illness and eventual death, the adjutant was to be divided into smaller districts (i.e., Northern Neck).

    Dinwiddie declined the appointment but assigned George to an envoy position that winter to confront the French, who had recently built a fort on what Dinwiddie considered British land.  Additionally, George met with the Iroquois Confederacy to make peace and obtain intelligence about the French.  

    Letter from George Washington to Robert Dinwiddie, 10 June 1752
    Letter from George Washington to Robert Dinwiddie, 10 June 1752

    This amazing letter pinpoints the beginning of George Washington’s illustrious military career, which would eventually culminate in him becoming the first President of the new United States of America.  The letter is in great condition after meticulous conservation work, which included repairs with Japanese tissue called tengucho and wheat starch paste called jin shofu.  It was then cleaned and flattened, and the iron gall ink stabilized.

    A transcript of the letter can be found on the National Archives website at Founders Online.

    Next are two letters between George Washington and Irish-born publisher Matthew Carey.  Matthew Carey moved to America in 1784 and settled in Philadelphia, where he established a publishing business and bookshop with $400 given to him by the Marquis de Lafayette.  Carey’s first publication was The Pennsylvania Herald in 1785, followed by two of the first successful American magazines, The Columbian Magazine and The American Magazine in 1786 and 1787.

    1824 portrait of Lafayette by Ary Scheffer is currently in the U.S. House of Representatives
    Mathew Carey was an Irish-born American publisher and economist who lived and worked in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

    In George’s first letter to Carey in 1785, he requests a subscription to Carey’s newspaper but asks him to send the newspaper disguised as an ordinary letter because George has been having problems with the post office delivering his newspapers .  George thinks his papers may not have been delivered because “persons who wishing to read News Papers without being of the expence [sic] of paying for them, make free with those which are addressed to others.”

    Letter from George Washington to Matthew Carey, 1 March 1785
    Letter from George Washington to Matthew Carey, 1 March 1785

    The second letter between George and Matthew is dated June 25, 1788.  The year before, Carey launched “The American Museum” magazine.  It was a literary museum that reprinted significant historical documents on American history and original essays on politics, commerce, and culture.  The magazine got a positive response, but Carey was finding it expensive to distribute the magazine across the country, so he asked George, one of his first subscribers, to write an endorsement for the magazine that would help attract new subscribers.[2] 

    Washington responded immediately, seizing the opportunity offered by Carey to express his belief that the free dissemination of information and ideas was vital to preserving American liberty.  ‘I could heartily desire,’ Washington wrote, that ‘copies of the Museum and Magazines, as well as common Gazettes, might be spread through every city, town & village in America – I consider such easy vehicles of knowledge, more happily calculated that any other, to preserve the liberty, stimulate the industry and meliorate the morals of an enlightened and free People.”

    Letter from George Washington to Matthew Carey, 25 June 1788
    Letter from George Washington to Matthew Carey, 25 June 1788
    Extract of a letter from his Excellency General Washington, to the printer of the American Museum

    Carey published Washington’s endorsement in the next issue of his magazine—his marks for the typesetter can be seen in the original Washington letter.  The result was a flood of new subscriptions that allowed Carey to continue publishing The American Museum for another four years.

    Transcripts of the letters can be found on the National Archives website at Founders Online.

    These are just a few of the amazing documents in our collection, which we hope to bring you soon so that you can explore them yourself.  Check back often, and we will keep you updated on our progress with our digitization project.

    Heather Baldus

    Collections Manager

    Bibliography

    Edd Applegate (August 17, 2012). The rise of Advertising in the United States: A History of Innovation to 1960. Scarecrow Press. p.25.