The holiday season is beginning! No matter how you celebrate the next several weeks, you’re likely spending extra time thinking about food. We archaeologists are no different, only we also want to know what the Washingtons and their enslaved laborers ate, whether at the harvest, the holiday season, or simply a regular meal. Historians know … Continue reading The Wild Game on the Washingtons’ Table
George Washington’s Ferry Farm
Gingerbread House Construction Workshop & A Wee Christmas Workshop [Photos]
On Saturday, November 19, George Washington's Ferry Farm and Historic Kenmore both presented their annual holiday workshops devoted to teaching attendees either how to build a gingerbread house or to create a holiday themed "room box." Here are some photos from both workshops... These two workshops are presented in preparation for Ferry Farm's annual Gingerbread … Continue reading Gingerbread House Construction Workshop & A Wee Christmas Workshop [Photos]
Washington House Blues
The summer of 2019 was an especially hot one here in Virginia, but we managed to add some cool crispness to the Washington house interior. It came in the form of some new textiles for the “best bed” in the Hall Back Room, in a refreshing blue and white color scheme. As we’ve previously discussed … Continue reading Washington House Blues
The Seven Easy Pieces of Furniture – Episode 2: Blanket Chest [Video]
In this video, Fredericksburg, Virginia-based furniture maker Steve Dietrich discusses two of the techniques he used to create a blanket chest for the reconstructed Washington house at Ferry Farm. Watch other videos and read more about rebuilding the Washington house here.
The Mystery of the Mane Comb… SOLVED!
A little more than a year ago we published a blog post highlighting a horse’s mane comb excavated years ago at George Washington’s Boyhood Home at Ferry Farm. Though the rusty iron mane comb was incomplete, a lone, decorative “G” located along the top of the comb hinted at a longer name we hoped might … Continue reading The Mystery of the Mane Comb… SOLVED!
Where Are the Human Remains?: The Washington Family
Ferry Farm’s tens of thousands of years of human habitation has provided archaeologists with nearly 800,000 artifacts to date, consisting of discarded items left by the people who lived on, worked, or visited this land. A question we often receive from visitors is where are graves of the PEOPLE who left behind these discarded items? … Continue reading Where Are the Human Remains?: The Washington Family
Five Cool Ancient Artifacts Found at Ferry Farm [Photos]
Fredericksburg is famous for its colonial and Civil War history – but what about before that history? Decades of archaeological excavations at George Washington’s Ferry Farm have revealed millennia of human development and technology from pre-historic Native American Clovis spearpoints to 18th-century wig curlers and beyond. While our main focus rests on young George Washington's … Continue reading Five Cool Ancient Artifacts Found at Ferry Farm [Photos]
The Brick Building Where George Didn’t Sleep: A History of Ferry Farm’s Visitor Center
The Visitor Center at George Washington’s Ferry Farm is a lovely red brick colonial revival building with towering white columns and cool architectural details built in the 1960s. What’s not to love? The only problem with having a 20th century building that looks like it could be from the 18th century is that people who … Continue reading The Brick Building Where George Didn’t Sleep: A History of Ferry Farm’s Visitor Center
We Really Dig History!: Summer 2019’s Excavation at Ferry Farm
From late May through early August of 2019, archaeologists at George Washington's Ferry Farm were busy working in the field again, excavating a block of 18 5’x5’ units located on the east side of the Washington house. It’s not obvious today, but the area directly to the south and west of our 2019 block had … Continue reading We Really Dig History!: Summer 2019’s Excavation at Ferry Farm
In Utensils Revealed: The Washingtons’ Forks, Spoons, and Knives [Video]
In this video, curator Meghan Budinger and archaeologist Laura Galke discuss how small things like eating utensils recovered archaeologically reveal big things about the Washington family.
Lives & Legacies 