Stonemason Ray Cannetti tells us the story behind the cornerstone of the Washington house interpretive replica being built at George Washington's Ferry Farm. Learn more about the Washington House here and view other videos, photos, and blog posts about the project here.
Historic Preservation
Photos: Building George’s House – First Week of Timber Framing
Expert craftsmen from Blue Ridge Timberwrights arrived last Tuesday, September 6 to build the frame of the Washington house. This collection of photographs documents the first week of their work and begins with pictures of the finished concrete cradle and Aquia sandstone blocks ready to serve as the foundation for the timber frame. Over the past several months, the … Continue reading Photos: Building George’s House – First Week of Timber Framing
Video – Building George’s House: Making the Foundation Stones
In this video, we learn how Stonemasons Ray Cannetti, Kevin Neito, and Robert Hall split and dressed Aquia sandstone into foundation stones for the Washington House interpretive replica at Ferry Farm. Learn about the special concrete cradle the foundation stones will rest on in this video and read more about the Washington House project here.
Video – Building George’s House: The Concrete Cradle
An interpretive replica of the house that young George Washington lived in with his family is being built at his boyhood home at Ferry Farm near Fredericksburg, Virginia. This replica is being constructed on the exact location of the original. Through the use of a specially-designed concrete cradle, the replica will not harm any of … Continue reading Video – Building George’s House: The Concrete Cradle
Introducing the New George Washington’s Ferry Farm
In 1996, the Trustees, Regents, and staff of The George Washington Foundation, known then as the Kenmore Association, were part of a large and vocal group of concerned citizens that banded together to save the site of George Washington’s Boyhood Home from commercial development. While all the Washington-era structures, yards, and fences vanished almost 200 … Continue reading Introducing the New George Washington’s Ferry Farm
The ‘Monuments Men’ of World War II Come to Kenmore
Editor's Note: This Memorial Day, we again remember 'The Monuments Men' and their invaluable work to locate and save European art looted by the Nazis during World War II as well as their continued efforts to conserve and preserve art after the war, including art at Historic Kenmore. This post originally appeared on Lives & Legacies … Continue reading The ‘Monuments Men’ of World War II Come to Kenmore
Kenmore’s Famed Gingerbread
Historic Kenmore was associated with gingerbread for decades. Many people’s first memories of Kenmore involve the square of gingerbread and a cup of tea that used to be served at the end of every tour. The dessert welcomed visitors to the world of colonial Fredericksburg, it comforted soldiers on their way to war in Europe … Continue reading Kenmore’s Famed Gingerbread
Kenmore’s Kitchen: Then & Now
The brick kitchen building next to Historic Kenmore is not original to the property. It was built in the 1930s in the colonial revival architectural style popular at that time. The brick construction does not reflect the kitchen building seen in the earliest known photo of such a building at Kenmore. That image, taken around the … Continue reading Kenmore’s Kitchen: Then & Now
Caring for Historic Kenmore: Climate Control
Editor's Note: The behind-the-scenes tour mentioned at the end of this post and on the video's end title is sold out. Today, we're linking to a behind-the-scenes video on The George Washington Foundation's YouTube channel. In the video, Heather Baldus, Collections Manager, gives us a tour of Historic Kenmore's underground heating and cooling system. This geothermal … Continue reading Caring for Historic Kenmore: Climate Control
Kenmore’s New Beginning: How the Ladies of the Kenmore Association Saved the Lewis Family Home
January and the start of the year are always a time of new beginnings. Recently, while digging through archival material, I came upon an exciting collection of newspaper clippings and photographs that detailed the New Year’s purchase of Kenmore and the beginning of the old home’s transformation into a historic site to be enjoyed by … Continue reading Kenmore’s New Beginning: How the Ladies of the Kenmore Association Saved the Lewis Family Home
Lives & Legacies 