The search results below contain listings from our website. To search our library and museum collections catalogs, please visit the Collections page.
Exhibition
A Better Life for Their Children
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![Elroy & Sophia Williams – Sophia Williams’s Grandparents, Former Slaves, Acquired and Donated Land for a Rosenwald School. Photo by Andrew Feiler. Two people hold an ornately frame painted portrait of two people in early 1900s dress](/sites/default/files/styles/fp_landscape_768x576/public/19%20Elroy%20%26%20Sophia%20Williams%20%E2%80%93%20Sophia%20Williams%E2%80%99s%20Grandparents%2C%20Former%20Slaves%2C%20Acquired%20and%20Donated%20Land%20for%20a%20Rosenwald%20School.jpg.webp?itok=njqvitgO)
From 1912-37, the Rosenwald schools program built thousands of schools, shops, and teacher’s homes across 15 Southern...
Article
A House Built of Virginia Stone
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![A House Built of Virginia Stone Photograph of the Government Island Quarry](/sites/default/files/styles/fp_landscape_768x576/public/AHouseBuiltOfVirginiaStone_Government%20Island%20Quarry.jpeg.webp?itok=aheORpaA)
Approximately forty miles south of Washington, D.C., the Aquia sandstone quarry on Government Island sits quietly in the...
Time Period Chapter
A New Virginia
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![RELeeLapDesk.2005.382.1.jpg RELeeLapDesk.2005.382.1.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/fp_landscape_768x576/public/RELeeLapDesk.2005.382.1.jpg.webp?itok=BB3KvMKS)
In the early twentieth century, the nation’s economy was becoming more industrialized and its population more urbanized.
Article
A Spoon That Got Around...
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![Silver Tablespoon with Custis Crest A silver spoon propped on a plastic block](/sites/default/files/styles/fp_landscape_768x576/public/Spoon_2005.235.A-B_A_v1.jpg.webp?itok=y49Hm9he)
This silver serving spoon, labeled as “A Spoon That Got Around," was on view in The Story of Virginia exhibition in the...
Media
Across Time: Robinson House, Its Land and People
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On February 28, 2019, Elizabeth L. O’Leary delivered the Banner Lecture, “Across Time: Robinson House, Its Land and People.”
What is that building...
Article
Advice and Etiquette Books
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![BJ1838.O8.Cover_.jpg BJ1838.O8.Cover_.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/fp_landscape_768x576/public/BJ1838.O8.Cover_.jpg.webp?itok=z6Xl4K7b)
Studying etiquette books offers researchers a glimpse of how people interacted and how they adapted to their changing...
Media
Airship ROMA: A Forgotten Tragedy
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On February 9, Nancy E. Sheppard delivered a Banner Lecture entitled “Airship ROMA: A Forgotten Tragedy.”
In March 1921, Maj. John G. Thornell and...
Article
Alexander & Virginia Weddell: A Love Story
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![VaHouse_AlexanderWeddell.1948.jpg VaHouse_AlexanderWeddell.1948.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/fp_landscape_768x576/public/VaHouse_AlexanderWeddell.1948.jpg.webp?itok=HhilNSB0)
Many years ago, a love story was ignited between the future residents of Virginia House, Alexander and Virginia Weddell.
Article
Ambler and the Jeannette
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![Ambler_Watch_1983.44.jpg Ambler_Watch_1983.44.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/fp_landscape_768x576/public/Ambler_Watch_1983.44.jpg.webp?itok=x4RX3Gbv)
On July 8, 1879, the steamer the Jeannette set sail. It's goal: to be the first expedition to reach the North Pole.
Article
Arming the Commonwealth
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![Exhibits_ArmingTheCommonwealth_CartridgeBox.1990.100.367.jpg Exhibits_ArmingTheCommonwealth_CartridgeBox.1990.100.367.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/fp_landscape_768x576/public/Exhibits_ArmingTheCommonwealth_CartridgeBox.1990.100.367.jpg.webp?itok=mGWliVR3)
From providing protection from enemy combatants to finding dinner for a family, weapons have played a significant role...
Article
Birthday Songs for George Washington
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Though you might not expect it, 1932 was a big year for George Washington. It marked the 200th anniversary of Washington...
Article
Bookplates
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![Bookplate.2012.1.5.jpg Bookplate.2012.1.5.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/fp_landscape_768x576/public/Bookplate.2012.1.5.jpg.webp?itok=W4-zqjnX)
The use of bookplates is almost as old as printing itself. They were used to record ownership and to reassure the owner...
Article Set - Chapter
Byrd Family
A man driven by enormous ambition, William Byrd II of Westover was an exceptional figure in colonial America. Educated in
Media
Captivity and the British Subject in Colonial America
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On August 11th, 2022, Catherine Ingrassia held a fascinating discussion of her latest book, “Domestic Captivity and the British Subject, 1660–1750.”
...Article
Care Beyond National and Color Lines: Filipino Nurses in Virginia Across the 20th Century
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![Care Beyond National and Color Lines Photograph of Araceli Marcial and her cohort during the Chinese General Hospital School of Nursing graduation march](/sites/default/files/styles/fp_landscape_768x576/public/CareBeyondNationalAndColorLines_VHC_FW21_Philippines_AraceliMarcial1.jpeg.webp?itok=B9DrCz6_)
As of Winter 2021, Virginia remains among the top ten states for largest Filipino American populations, and by no...
Media
Carillon: The Story of a Richmond Community
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On November 14, 2013, Elizabeth O'Leary delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "Carillon: The Story of a Richmond Community."
An active community...
Article
Céloron Plate
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![VHE_Celeron Plate_teaser.jpg VHE_Celeron Plate_teaser.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/fp_landscape_768x576/public/VHE_Celeron%20Plate_teaser.jpg.webp?itok=jgJOsCVL)
One of the most important artifacts to survive from Virginia’s colonial period, this lead plaque was placed at the...
Article
Children's Manuscripts
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![VHE_Children_gilkersondiary.jpg VHE_Children_gilkersondiary.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/fp_landscape_768x576/public/VHE_Children_gilkersondiary.jpg.webp?itok=3R1VyWG8)
Prominent Virginians are well represented in the many manuscripts housed at the VMHC. However, documents by individuals...
Article
Christmas in the Trenches
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Read excerpts from soldiers' letters home about their Christmas meals while stationed away from home.
Article
Clarise Sears Ramsey
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Charlotte Clarise Sears Risley Harrold Ramsey (1867–1922), whose parents were Joseph Henry Risley and Mary Elizabeth...