As you drive down the road, sometimes, there are enough signs to make your head spin. It can be tempting to just drive by these stark white cast iron road markers with black text when you see them. Even so, sometimes you can’t help but let a word or a phrase catch your eye, sparking … Continue reading Pull Over!! The Virginia Highway Historical Markers of The George Washington Foundation
Mount Vernon
Happy Birthday, Mr. President!
Not every president gets their birthday celebrated every year with a federal holiday, but George Washington, a favorite of his countrymen and the first president, has had that privilege since 1879. But one year was a little different from the others: 1932. It marked Washington’s 200th birthday, and the United States was going to make … Continue reading Happy Birthday, Mr. President!
An Image Captured: The Development of Photography through Lewis Family Descendants
One of my favorite historical objects in the collection are photographs. Not particularly for artistic reasons, but as a documentation of a moment, a time, a person, a world that no longer exists. During the Victorian era (1837-1901), there were extraordinary developments in the field of photography. In a span of forty years, photographs went … Continue reading An Image Captured: The Development of Photography through Lewis Family Descendants
Family Ties: An American Princess
The George Washington Foundation believes the Washington and Lewis families' story is worth protecting for future generations. We are in contact with many descendants of the Washingtons and Lewises who have assisted the foundation in presenting the families' legacies by adding to our collections and archives. We decided to explore the ancestors and descendants interesting … Continue reading Family Ties: An American Princess
Corncrib: A Building as Corny as it Gets
If you have followed the news of our excavations, you will have kept up to date with our building finds. The past two summers helped uncover evidence of one such structure, which we now believe represents a corncrib. While the name may seem self-explanatory, we have frequently heard the question, “What is a corncrib?” To … Continue reading Corncrib: A Building as Corny as it Gets
Bane of the Washingtons: Deaths in the Next Generation and Amongst the Enslaved
Welcome back to our 3-Part Blog charting tuberculosis (TB) in the extended Washington Family. If you are new to this series, Part I examined how the disease works, charted its history and explained standard courses of treatments in the 1700s. Part II looked at victims from George’s generation, including his brothers Lawrence and Samuel and … Continue reading Bane of the Washingtons: Deaths in the Next Generation and Amongst the Enslaved
Lives & Legacies 