The search results below contain listings from our website. To search our library and museum collections catalogs, please visit the Collections page.
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Freedmen's Schools
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![VHE_Freedmen_Harpers Weekley cropped.jpg VHE_Freedmen_Harpers Weekley cropped.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/fp_landscape_768x576/public/VHE_Freedmen_Harpers%20Weekley%20cropped.jpg.webp?itok=TmJCMsl0)
In the antebellum South, African Americans were generally prevented from receiving education. After Appomattox...
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George Washington Portrait by Charles Peale Polk
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![VHE_GeorgeWashington.1905.10_teaser.jpg VHE_GeorgeWashington.1905.10_teaser.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/fp_landscape_768x576/public/VHE_GeorgeWashington.1905.10_teaser.jpg.webp?itok=zW_zU62S)
This depiction of George Washington (1732–1799) as commander of the Continental army was painted in the 1790s by Charles...
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George Washington, Land Surveyor
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![Survey for Richard Barnes for a tract of 400 acres in Culpeper County, George Washington, 1749 Survey for Richard Barnes for a tract of 400 acres in Culpeper County, George Washington, 1749](/sites/default/files/styles/fp_landscape_768x576/public/Mss1.St824a1.GWPlat.jpg.webp?itok=PRfdFkGi)
George Washington’s surveying work spanned fifty years and enabled him to acquire vast tracts of land.
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Glee Clubs
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The VMHC has several glee club items in its collection. The earliest item, an 1848 broadside entitled “Rally Whigs”...
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Jefferson’s Desk
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![Jefferson's Writing Desk A rectangular wooden desk, with writing surface propped at an angle and drawer opened](/sites/default/files/styles/fp_landscape_768x576/public/Desk.1956.1_Open_SLIDE.jpg.webp?itok=TN1yHIPN)
There are many reproductions of the desk on which Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence. Some have even...
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Mexican-American War: 175 Years Later
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![Mexican-American War: 175 Years Later A photograph of a gold medal.](/sites/default/files/styles/fp_landscape_768x576/public/Mexican-AmericanWar175YearsLater_VHC_SU21_WScottMedal.1939.1_type.jpeg.webp?itok=sKovdnOq)
Of the five Americans who were most involved in the War with Mexico, four were Virginians. They were politicians and...
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Murals Inspired by the Story of Virginia
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![Still Relevant by Ed Trask Ed Trask paints a mural of flowers](/sites/default/files/styles/fp_landscape_768x576/public/FreshPaint_StillRelevant_DSC0887_e1%20copy.jpg.webp?itok=vx9S_GnP)
Richmond is now home to more than 100 outdoor murals, and this popular form of artwork reflects the city’s modernity and...
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Olaudah Equiano
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![VHE_OlaudahEquiano_Teaser.jpg VHE_OlaudahEquiano_Teaser.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/fp_landscape_768x576/public/VHE_OlaudahEquiano_Teaser.jpg.webp?itok=pUL5Qd1M)
Snatched from his Ibo village in Nigeria at the age of eleven, Equiano (c. 1745-1797) was transported to Barbados...
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On Dueling
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In the United States and elsewhere, traditional and patriarchal conceptions of honor prescribed that men could respond...
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Political Sheet Music
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![Never Swap Horses When You're Crossing a Stream Never Swap Horses When You're Crossing a Stream](/sites/default/files/styles/fp_landscape_768x576/public/VHE_Political%20music_NeverSwapHorses.jpg.webp?itok=wXxa00If)
Politicians have long appreciated the value of a campaign song during an election year. A popular tune can rally the...
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Robert Edward Lee
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![Robert E. Lee A painting of Robert E. Lee in military dress](/sites/default/files/styles/fp_landscape_768x576/public/VHE_RobertELee.1957.29_medium-CROP.jpg.webp?itok=qb8IWjkJ)
Robert Edward Lee (1807–1870) was born at Stratford in Westmoreland County, Virginia, in 1807, the son of Revolutionary...
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Shaving Kits
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Before the invention of the disposable double-edged safety razor in 1895, a straight razor was the easiest, most...
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The Brook Hill Collection
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![The Brook Hill Collection Books from the Brook Hill collection](/sites/default/files/styles/fp_landscape_768x576/public/BrookHillCollection_New-Book-Images-001_edited.jpeg.webp?itok=dOOK5X9w)
In 2018, the VMHC was gifted an extraordinary collection of books, documents, and art associated with the Stewart and...
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The Regions of Virginia
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![VHE_RegionsOfVirginia_Map_full.jpg VHE_RegionsOfVirginia_Map_full.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/fp_landscape_768x576/public/VHE_RegionsOfVirginia_Map_full.jpg.webp?itok=-LWw7Gwu)
The geography of Virginia has shaped both the history and economy of the state.
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The Resurrection of Henry "Box" Brown
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![VHE_HenryBoxBrown_Teaser.jpg VHE_HenryBoxBrown_Teaser.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/fp_landscape_768x576/public/VHE_HenryBoxBrown_Teaser.jpg.webp?itok=Md-vto04)
Learn about Henry "Box" Brown and one of the most memorable escapes from enslavement.
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Tiny Tomes
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Defined as no more than three inches in height or width, miniature books were first produced with convenience in mind...
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Virginia’s Sweet History – Chocolate-Making in the Commonwealth
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![VHE_Chocolate_2019-12-14_Chocolate-Demo001.jpg VHE_Chocolate_2019-12-14_Chocolate-Demo001.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/fp_landscape_768x576/public/VHE_Chocolate_2019-12-14_Chocolate-Demo001.jpg.webp?itok=q1IV_d0S)
Production methods and flavorings have changed in the 4,000 years since chocolate was consumption began, but it remains...
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Washington's Mentor: Governor Dinwiddie's Correspondence, 1751-58
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![dinwiddie.jpg dinwiddie.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/fp_landscape_768x576/public/dinwiddie.jpg.webp?itok=Z-NRHb1o)
Robert Dinwiddie's name is little known today, but this Scottish merchant-turned-government official played a key role...