by gwffoundation | Jul 3, 2026 | 20th century, Archives, Developing America, Holiday History, Lives & Legacies
The George Washington Foundation has been abuzz with anticipation for the upcoming Semiquincentennial, or 250th birthday of our United States! In all this excitement I thought it would be a compelling trip down memory lane to uncover how the nation celebrated July 4th...
by gwffoundation | Jun 3, 2025 | Archaeology, Building George's House, Civil War, Developing America, Ferry Farm, George Washington's Ferry Farm, Legends, Lives & Legacies
A Personal Look At Civil War Soldiers As Told Through Artifacts Ferry Farm is most well-known as the Boyhood home of George Washington. While our primary emphasis of interpretation and research has focused on young George and his family’s life on this farm, Ferry Farm...
by gwffoundation | Apr 30, 2025 | 20th century, American Revolution, Civil War, Colonial America, Developing America, Founding Figures, Historic Kenmore, Kenmore Assoication, Lives & Legacies, Washington family, Washington in the World
On July 22, 1942, Annie Fleming Smith wrote a letter. Smith was a prolific letter writer—her innumerable missives had helped raise the funds that saved Kenmore two decades earlier—so it is not surprising that she put pen to paper on that summer day. What is surprising...
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 | Sep 19, 2024 | Developing America, Founding Figures, Lives & Legacies
In 1824, the United States was approaching its national jubilee—50 years of independence. President James Monroe, looking to create a wave of patriotism and celebration, invited the last surviving General of the American Revolutionary War, an American hero and icon,...
