by gwffoundation | Nov 8, 2016 | Daily Life in the 1700s, George Washington, Lives & Legacies, Washington family
It’s Election Day! From early morning until after dark, voters in Virginia and across the United States are walking into libraries, schools, firehouses, community centers, city halls and, occasionally, even private homes. Once inside, they are given a paper ballot,...
by gwffoundation | Nov 3, 2016 | Daily Life in the 1700s, Lives & Legacies
In today’s electrically-lit world, we have very little notion of exactly how dark it can be in a house without any artificial light at all. In fact, our modern eyes have become so accustomed to bright lighting at all hours of the day and night, that we would probably...
by gwffoundation | Jun 8, 2016 | Daily Life in the 1700s, Foodways, Lives & Legacies, Theater and Theater History
Ask someone to list traditional summertime activities and they will probably mention picnics, family reunions, beach vacations, mountain getaways, and baseball games. Their list is likely to include going to the fair as well. The fair as a summer pastime is a long...
by gwffoundation | Apr 14, 2016 | Daily Life in the 1700s, Lives & Legacies
Benjamin Franklin once wrote that “Nothing is certain except death and taxes.” And with the deadline to pay the federal income tax only days away it would be difficult to disagree with the founding father. However in the 200 years since the American Revolution, a few...
by gwffoundation | Mar 21, 2016 | Daily Life in the 1700s, Lives & Legacies
Colonial Americans often played cards for leisure and enjoyment and one of the most popular card games of the period was Whist. In this video we show you how to play this game. You can read a bit about the history of playing cards themselves...
by gwffoundation | Feb 25, 2016 | Daily Life in the 1700s, Lives & Legacies
As modern people, we tend to assume the past is a foreign land where residents’ lives are alien to our own. Would the founding fathers balk at how we dither away our time? Or would they recognize that life without its moments of levity is foolish? Eighteenth century...
