by gwffoundation | Jan 23, 2025 | 18th Century Crafts, British Empire, Lives & Legacies
We have a lot of silver in our collections, ranging from candlesticks to teapots to spoons. With all the silver, I have become familiar with eighteenth-century silversmith marks, but I have never explored the artisans behind the marks. I was pleasantly...
by gwffoundation | Jan 8, 2025 | American Revolution, Developing America, Founding Figures, Lives & Legacies, Religion
Figure 1: Washington’s words to the Newport congregation (George Washington Institute for Religious Freedom) The quote, “To Bigotry, No Sanction, To Persecution No Assistance” appears in a 1790 letter written by George Washington to the Hebrew Congregation in Newport,...
by gwffoundation | Dec 13, 2024 | Betty Washington, Daily Life in the 1700s, Developing America, Historic Kenmore, Kenmore Assoication, Lives & Legacies, Washington family
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...
by gwffoundation | Dec 1, 2024 | Archaeology, Architectual Restoration, Historic Kenmore, Historic Preservation, Lives & Legacies, Residents of Kenmore
While the house at Historic Kenmore has been faithfully restored to its circa 1775 appearance, the road to that final result was a pretty dirty one. As in plaster dust, paint fumes, and all manner of dirt and debris. Back in the late 1980s and early 1990s,...
by gwffoundation | Nov 15, 2024 | Archaeology, Behind the Scenes, Civil War, Ferry Farm, George Washington's Ferry Farm, Lives & Legacies, Nature
A lot of people have told me that they want or wanted to become archaeologists. I always find this flattering. Yours truly was only in my single digits when I declared the same to my family and anyone who would listen. After reading every National...
