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A House Built of Virginia Stone

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Approximately forty miles south of Washington, D.C., the Aquia sandstone quarry on Government Island sits quietly in the...

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A Life Rediscovered: The Story of Emily Winfree

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Emily Winfree, an African American woman who lived through slavery, the Civil War, Reconstruction, and Jim Crow, never...

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Abolitionist Pitcher

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Learn about how this pitcher based on Uncle Tom's Cabin was used as propoganda in the mid-1800s.

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Affidavit, 1693

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This affidavit informs the governor that Frank, a man of African descent enslaved by Henry Gibbs, has been jailed on...

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Arthur Ashe Jr.’s Family Tree: Tracing the Blackwell Family to 1735

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See a rare family tree, drawn by hand on canvas, tracing Arthur Ashe, Jr.’s family.

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Booker T. Washington

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Booker T. Washington (1856–1915) was born enslaved on April 5, 1856, in Franklin County, Virginia. After emancipation...

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Clarise Sears Ramsey

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Charlotte Clarise Sears Risley Harrold Ramsey (1867–1922), whose parents were Joseph Henry Risley and Mary Elizabeth...

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Clementina Rind

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Clementina Rind was Virginia’s first female printer and newspaper publisher, publishing important official documents for...

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Colonial Cookbooks

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Food and dining were integral to social life in the eighteenth century, particularly among the upper class. The gentry...

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Convict Leasing

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For much of the twentieth century, convicts worked on Virginia’s roads. This practice grew out of the convict lease...

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Dolley Madison

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Dolley (Payne) Todd Madison (1768–1849) lived through three wars, knew eleven presidents, and was a gracious and...

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Elizabeth Keckley

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Born a slave in Dinwiddie County, Elizabeth Hobbs Keckley (1818–1907) purchased her freedom in 1855 and supported...

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Freedmen's Schools

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In the antebellum South, African Americans were generally prevented from receiving education. After Appomattox...

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Grace Sherwood: The "Witch of Pungo"

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On July 10, 1706, a forty-six-year-old Princess Anne County woman named Grace Sherwood faced an unusual legal procedure...

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Martha (Dandridge) Custis Washington

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This portrait of Martha Washington (1731–1802) is the work of Charles Willson Peale, who also painted the sitter several...

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Murals Inspired by the Story of Virginia

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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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Snatched from his Ibo village in Nigeria at the age of eleven, Equiano (c. 1745-1797) was transported to Barbados...

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The Resurrection of Henry "Box" Brown

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Learn about Henry "Box" Brown and one of the most memorable escapes from enslavement.

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Thomas Sully's Portrait of Pocahontas

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Learn about the life of Pocahontas.

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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...