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 … Continue reading Wish You Were Here: Historical Documentation Through Postcards
Kenmore Assoication
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 Kenmoreโs block was almost … Continue reading New Kids on the Block: The 20th-Century Houses of Kenmore Court
Kenmore Goes to Sea: Ship Naming in the US Navy
On July 22, 1942, Annie Fleming Smith wrote a letter. Smith was a prolific letter writerโher innumerable missives had helped raise the funds that saved Kenmore two decades earlierโso it is not surprising that she put pen to paper on that summer day. What is surprising is that the intended recipient of that letter was … Continue reading Kenmore Goes to Sea: Ship Naming in the US Navy
Recreation and Racism: Fredericksburg’s Reception of Black Servicemen during WWII
As the United States and historic sites across the country, including the George Washington Foundation, prepare to commemorate the nationโs 250th anniversary next year, it might be easy for the eightieth anniversary of the end of World War II to become an afterthought. After all, the interpretation of Historic Kenmore focuses on the Revolutionary era; … Continue reading Recreation and Racism: Fredericksburg’s Reception of Black Servicemen during WWII
The Last of Washington’s Horse Chestnut Trees?
There once stood a large horse chestnut tree on the corner of Fauquier and Charles Street in Fredericksburg. It was noted as one of the thirteen legendary Washington horse chestnut trees planted by George himself. By the 1930s, it was becoming clear that the tree needed some help, so the Daughters of the American Revolution … Continue reading The Last of Washington’s Horse Chestnut Trees?