The search results below contain listings from our website. To search our library and museum collections catalogs, please visit the Collections page.
Article
A Life Rediscovered: The Story of Emily Winfree
Image
Emily Winfree, an African American woman who lived through slavery, the Civil War, Reconstruction, and Jim Crow, never...
Article
Abolitionist Pitcher
Image
Learn about how this pitcher based on Uncle Tom's Cabin was used as propoganda in the mid-1800s.
Article
Affidavit, 1693
Image
This affidavit informs the governor that Frank, a man of African descent enslaved by Henry Gibbs, has been jailed on...
Article
Arthur Ashe Jr.’s Family Tree: Tracing the Blackwell Family to 1735
Image
See a rare family tree, drawn by hand on canvas, tracing Arthur Ashe, Jr.’s family.
Article
Audubon's Viviparous Quadrapeds
Image
Following the success of his Birds of America, John James Audubon began to gather material for an equally ambitious...
Article
Bacon's Rebellion in Virginia in the years 1675 & 1676
Image
Bacon’s Rebellion in Virginia was the first popular uprising in the American colonies. It was long viewed as an early...
Article
Booker T. Washington
Image
Booker T. Washington (1856–1915) was born enslaved on April 5, 1856, in Franklin County, Virginia. After emancipation...
Article
Captain John Smith
Image
John Smith (baptized 1580 –1631), an English soldier, author, and adventurer, played a crucial role in establishing the...
Article
Céloron Plate
Image
One of the most important artifacts to survive from Virginia’s colonial period, this lead plaque was placed at the...
Article
Convict Leasing
Image
For much of the twentieth century, convicts worked on Virginia’s roads. This practice grew out of the convict lease...
Article
Dugout Canoe
Image
The dugout canoe was an Indian concept but one so well suited to the Virginia rivers that Europeans and Africans also...
Article
Elizabeth Keckley
Image
Born a slave in Dinwiddie County, Elizabeth Hobbs Keckley (1818–1907) purchased her freedom in 1855 and supported...
Article
Freedmen's Schools
Image
In the antebellum South, African Americans were generally prevented from receiving education. After Appomattox...
Article
George Washington, Land Surveyor
Image
George Washington’s surveying work spanned fifty years and enabled him to acquire vast tracts of land.
Article
Indian Tribes of North America
Image
In the museum's rare book collection, a remarkable compilation of images exists in History of the Indian Tribes of North...
Article
Jefferson’s Desk
Image
There are many reproductions of the desk on which Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence. Some have even...
Article
Life Portrait of Pocahontas
Image
The only life portrait of Pocahontas (1595–1617) and the only credible image of her, was engraved by Simon Van de Passe...
Article
Murals Inspired by the Story of Virginia
Image
Richmond is now home to more than 100 outdoor murals, and this popular form of artwork reflects the city’s modernity and...
Article
Olaudah Equiano
Image
Snatched from his Ibo village in Nigeria at the age of eleven, Equiano (c. 1745-1797) was transported to Barbados...
Article
Oysters in Virginia
Image
Learn about the history of oyster in Virginia's food culture, tourism, and economy.