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Opiate Addiction in the Civil War's Aftermath
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![Opiate Addiction in the Civil War's Aftermath Stereocard,“Hospital at Fredericksburg, Va., May, 1864”](/sites/default/files/styles/fp_landscape_768x576/public/OpiateAddictionintheCivilWar_HospitalFredericksburg.2002.460.123.jpeg.webp?itok=nnwIOLLE)
In the Civil War’s wake, thousands of veterans became addicted to morphine and opium, medicines used to treat painful...
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Oysters in Virginia
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![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.
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Robert E. Lee after the War
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![RELLastPhoto_sm.jpg RELLastPhoto_sm.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/fp_landscape_768x576/public/RELLastPhoto_sm.jpg.webp?itok=ZoeXnpSH)
After the Civil War, Robert E. Lee left his life in the military and accepted the position of president of Washington...
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Scandal in Virginia
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The salacious love life of Warren Seymour Lurty, now memorialized in boxes and boxes of letters, proves to us that...
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Separate and Unequal: The Breakdown of Segregation in Virginia Schools
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![Teenagers protesting school closings Historic photograph of two black teenage girls protesting school closings](/sites/default/files/styles/fp_landscape_768x576/public/Farmville%2BProtest%20%28002%29%20v2.jpg.webp?itok=vR6ip63v)
The Virginia Constitution of 1869 established a statewide system of free public schools. The schools evolved in the...
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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 History of Virginia's Natural Bridge: "So Beautiful an Arch"
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![The History of Virginia's Natural Bridge Hand-colored Lithograph of Natural Bridge](/sites/default/files/styles/fp_landscape_768x576/public/TheHistoryOfVirginia%27sNaturalBridge_VHC_SU21_NaturalBridge.199.161.jpeg.webp?itok=EUIe6WK1)
In the late eighteenth century, when Thomas Jefferson “discovered” Natural Bridge and purchased it from the King of...
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The Honor of Membership
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![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...
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The Peaceful Transfer of Power: Oaths and Inaugurations
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Thomas Jefferson’s 1774 Summary View of the Rights of British America
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![A Summary View of the Rights of British America A sepia-toned detail of the typeset A Summary View of the Rights of British America](/sites/default/files/styles/fp_landscape_768x576/public/SummaryViewOfRights_e211-j45-1774-rare_Crop.jpg.webp?itok=iz80LRmg)
The importance of Summary View is proven by the reappearance in the Declaration of most of its ideas, beginning with...
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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 Landscapes: Sublime & Picturesque
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![Virginia Landscapes A painting titled "Near Harpers Ferry" by Andrew Melrose](/sites/default/files/styles/fp_landscape_768x576/public/VirginiaLandscapes_SublimeLandscape_nearharpersferry-2013-86-5.jpeg.webp?itok=mg9wVGwu)
Thomas Jefferson wrote that Natural Bridge is “the most sublime of nature’s works”: “It is impossible for the emotions...
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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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Why is there a West Virginia?
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![Why is there a West Virginia? A drawing of Confederates gathering in the Shenandoah Valley.](/sites/default/files/styles/fp_landscape_768x576/public/WhyIsThereAWestVirginia_VHE_ATP_IrregularTroops.2000.165.3.jpeg.webp?itok=9uWgE1j1)
Secession from Virginia was the hope of some western Virginians as early as 1829. Many western Virginians felt...