Each year, Historic Kenmore is the site of the Arbor Day Celebration for the City of Fredericksburg. This video shares sights and sounds from this year's celebration held on Thursday, April 14, 2016.
Natural History
Photos: Night in Washington’s Day at Historic Kenmore
This past Friday, November 13, visitors enjoyed "Night in Washington's Day," a special evening event at Historic Kenmore that explored the history of nighttime in the 18th century. Night was an active time 200 years ago. People cleaned, cooked, plowed, prayed, and visited neighbors at night. Darkness inspired scientists to make incredible discoveries that led to centuries … Continue reading Photos: Night in Washington’s Day at Historic Kenmore
George Washington Slept Here… Twice!
The black darkness of night -- before electric lights – is hard for us to imagine today. We assume life simply stopped as our ancestors awaited day’s return, though historical research suggests it did not. People cleaned, cooked, plowed, prayed, and even visited neighbors in the dead of night. In one instance, George Washington wrote … Continue reading George Washington Slept Here… Twice!
History in the Night Sky
The night sky is the astronomer’s workspace, the explorer’s final frontier, and, perhaps surprisingly, the historian’s library of epic tales, myths, and legends. This library of stars connects us to the cultures and civilizations of our past in a uniquely special way. The Ancient Greeks, Native Americans, enslaved Africans, British colonists of the 18th century, … Continue reading History in the Night Sky
Where Did the Fruit Come From?
In our age of weekly farmers’ markets, drive-thru smoothie shops, and 24/7 grocery stores, it can be hard to truly understand the importance of fruit to the average colonial Virginian. They, however, would have been well aware of how rare it was and of what it meant to have it. Indeed, they were so aware … Continue reading Where Did the Fruit Come From?
Photos: Hummingbirds
Just outside a window of the Archaeology Lab near the demonstration garden at George Washington's Ferry Farm stands a hummingbird feeder. We regularly receive feathered visitors to the feeder. Archaeologist Laura Galke recently captured some photos of a couple of the hummingbirds as well as a surprise guest.
Photos: Nature Walk at George Washington’s Ferry Farm
George Washington's Boyhood Home at Ferry Farm offers a wonderful blend of woods, fields, wetlands, and riverfront. Fox, groundhogs, snakes, lizards, turtles, and deer make Ferry Farm their home. In the meadows, bushy heads of grass seeds provide an important source of food for birds. Beautiful flowers and majestic trees abound across the landscape. A … Continue reading Photos: Nature Walk at George Washington’s Ferry Farm
Video: Summer in the Garden
Scenes from the Demonstration Garden at George Washington's Ferry Farm on a peaceful summer morning. The garden contains a variety of colonial-era plants that would have been grown by the Washington family like tobacco, corn, and squash. There are also modern flower species plus birds and other wildlife.
Photos: Our Urban Nature at Historic Kenmore
Nature shaped the lives of English colonists and enslaved Africans living and working at Kenmore Plantation 200 years ago. Over centuries, humans changed Kenmore’s natural world from a plantation setting into an urban green space. Yet, nature remains just outside the door. This past Saturday at Historic Kenmore, visitors had a chance to explore humans' … Continue reading Photos: Our Urban Nature at Historic Kenmore
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
Lives & Legacies 