The search results below contain listings from our website. To search our library and museum collections catalogs, please visit the Collections page.
Article
Jefferson’s Desk
Image
![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...
Article
John Marshall Speculates on America’s Second Bank
Image
![John Marshall letters Two sepia toned handwritten letter pages](/sites/default/files/styles/fp_landscape_768x576/public/John%20Marshall%20letter%20to%20son%20about%20bank.JPG.webp?itok=mi5rOD9Q)
A question on the minds of politicians and voters in 1832 America was whether the Second Bank of the United States, the...
Article
Let Us Commence: Graduating At A Distance
Image
![Let Us Commence: Graduating At A Distance Samantha Hukeless’s diploma from Van de Vyver Institute.](/sites/default/files/styles/fp_landscape_768x576/public/LetUsCommence_Screen%20Shot%202020-05-19%20at%2012.53.58%20PM.jpeg.webp?itok=MbIdG0xM)
Learn about the history of commencement ceremonies and traditions in Virginia.
Article
Letterhead
Image
![Letterhead engraving, c. 1860, of Richmond, Va., by Louis A. Ramm Letterhead engraving, c. 1860, of Richmond, Va., by Louis A. Ramm](/sites/default/files/styles/fp_landscape_768x576/public/VHE_Letterhead_Mss1.R7243a29.jpg.webp?itok=t1eWtOzZ)
Correspondence between individuals plays an important role in our understanding not only of how people communicated in...
Article
Martha (Dandridge) Custis Washington
Image
![VHE_MarthaWashington.1857.3_teaser.jpg VHE_MarthaWashington.1857.3_teaser.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/fp_landscape_768x576/public/VHE_MarthaWashington.1857.3_teaser.jpg.webp?itok=MvRERM1q)
This portrait of Martha Washington (1731–1802) is the work of Charles Willson Peale, who also painted the sitter several...
Article
Mexican-American War: 175 Years Later
Image
![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...
Article
Murals Inspired by the Story of Virginia
Image
![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...
Article
Olaudah Equiano
Image
![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...
Article
Oysters in Virginia
Image
![VHE_Oysters_OysterCan_Teaser.jpg VHE_Oysters_OysterCan_Teaser.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/fp_landscape_768x576/public/VHE_Oysters_OysterCan_Teaser.jpg.webp?itok=2BC7sR7V)
Learn about the history of oyster in Virginia's food culture, tourism, and economy.
Article
Patrick Henry Arguing the Parsons’ Cause
Image
![79295e56bc070b2a46410264f019e5ec.jpg 79295e56bc070b2a46410264f019e5ec.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/fp_landscape_768x576/public/79295e56bc070b2a46410264f019e5ec.jpg.webp?itok=2gN652fQ)
The Parsons’ Cause was a legal conflict rooted in the volatility of the tobacco-based economy and the state-sponsored...
Article
Robert Edward Lee
Image
![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...
Article
The Brook Hill Collection
Image
![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...
Article
The College of William and Mary
Image
![BotetourtMedal.1918.1.jpg BotetourtMedal.1918.1.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/fp_landscape_768x576/public/BotetourtMedal.1918.1.jpg.webp?itok=kbosTZzp)
The town developed around the college in the early eighteenth century once the General Assembly moved the seat of the...
Article
The Honor of Membership
Image
![membership guys.jpg membership guys.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/fp_landscape_768x576/public/membership%20guys.jpg.webp?itok=RnPi2pS6)
The governing body of the museum has elected close to 200 honorary members in its 175-year history. The long list...
Article
The Peaceful Transfer of Power: Oaths and Inaugurations
Article
The Resurrection of Henry "Box" Brown
Image
![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.
Article
Tiny Tomes
Image
![](/sites/default/files/styles/fp_landscape_768x576/public/TinyTomes_z1033-m6-a7-rare_open.jpg.webp?itok=w5B2CpJX)
Defined as no more than three inches in height or width, miniature books were first produced with convenience in mind...
Article
Transportation in Virginia
Image
![VHE_Transportation_CarMudDumfries.2000.186.454.B.jpg VHE_Transportation_CarMudDumfries.2000.186.454.B.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/fp_landscape_768x576/public/VHE_Transportation_CarMudDumfries.2000.186.454.B.jpg.webp?itok=Mw4GtQx7)
Transportation began to change early in the nineteenth century with the introduction of steam power and the development...
Article
Virginia’s Sweet History – Chocolate-Making in the Commonwealth
Image
![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...
Article
Washington's Mentor: Governor Dinwiddie's Correspondence, 1751-58
Image
![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...