Preservation Virginia

Last updated
Preservation Virginia
Founded1889
Focus Historic Preservation
Location
  • 204 W. Franklin Street, Richmond, Virginia
Area served
Commonwealth of Virginia
Key people
CEO Elizabeth Kostelny
Website http://www.preservationvirginia.org/
Formerly called
Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities; APVA Preservation Virginia; APVA

Founded in 1889, the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities was the United States' first statewide historic preservation group. In 2003 the organization adopted the new name APVA Preservation Virginia to reflect a broader focus on statewide Preservation and in 2009 it shortened its name to Preservation Virginia. Preservation Virginia owns historic sites across Virginia including Historic Jamestowne, located at Jamestown, Virginia, site of the first permanent English settlement in North America, and the Cape Henry Light house, one of the first public works projects of the United States of America.

Contents

Organization

Preservation Virginia has helped preserve several key historic properties and items. Its 1889 rescue of the Powder Magazine in Williamsburg, Virginia, came decades before Colonial Williamsburg's creation. [1] Its mission is similar to organizations such as the National Trust for Historic Preservation in the U.S. and The National Trust in Britain, however Preservation Virginia also seeks to cultivate an awareness of the importance of Virginia's heritage as an "economic asset".

The organization's branches represent Preservation Virginia across the state; in Richmond, Preservation Virginia's self-governing affiliate is Historic Richmond Foundation, which merged in July 2005 with Preservation Virginia's William Byrd Branch. [2]

Preservation Virginia also operates the statewide revolving fund, which protects historic properties with easements before placing them on the market, and organizes an annual Preservation Conference. Starting in 1994, a major archaeological campaign conducted by Preservation Virginia at Jamestown known as Jamestown Rediscovery has discovered the remains of the original 1607 settlement, and greatly increased the knowledge of Jamestown.

Revolving Fund Program

Preservation Virginia has operated a revolving fund program since 1989. The program is dedicated to saving historic property in Virginia that is at risk of destruction from either demolition or severe neglect.

Historic sites

Preservation Virginia museum sites include:

Preservation Virginia also manages Warner Hall Graveyard in Gloucester and the Cub Creek Church site in Charlotte County.

Legacy properties

Preservation Virginia owned and restored many historic properties that are now owned and operated as museums by other organizations. Some of the properties are open on a limited basis or by appointment.

Preservation Virginia formerly operated several sites in Fredericksburg, which are now operated by Washington Heritage Museums. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jamestown, Virginia</span> Fort and town established in the Virginia Colony

The Jamestown settlement in the Colony of Virginia was the first permanent English settlement in the Americas. It was located on the northeast bank of the James River, about 2.5 mi (4 km) southwest of the center of modern Williamsburg. It was established by the Virginia Company of London as "James Fort" on May 4, 1607 O.S., and was considered permanent after a brief abandonment in 1610. It followed several failed attempts, including the Lost Colony of Roanoke, established in 1585 on Roanoke Island, later part of North Carolina. Jamestown served as the colonial capital from 1616 until 1699. Despite the dispatch of more settlers and supplies, including the 1608 arrival of eight Polish and German colonists and the first two European women, more than 80 percent of the colonists died in 1609–10, mostly from starvation and disease. In mid-1610, the survivors abandoned Jamestown, though they returned after meeting a resupply convoy in the James River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jamestown Settlement</span> Living history museum in Jamestown, Virginia

Jamestown Settlement is a living history museum operated by the Commonwealth of Virginia, created in 1957 as Jamestown Festival Park for the 350th anniversary celebration. Today it includes a recreation of the original James Fort, a Powhatan Native American town, indoor and outdoor displays, and replicas of the original settlers' ships: the Susan Constant, Godspeed, and Discovery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James City County, Virginia</span> County in Virginia, United States

James City County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 78,254. Although politically separate from the county, the county seat is the adjacent independent city of Williamsburg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hampton Roads</span> Body of water and metropolitan area in the U.S. states of Virginia and North Carolina

Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James, Nansemond and Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's Point where the Chesapeake Bay flows into the Atlantic Ocean, and the surrounding metropolitan region located in the southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina portions of the Tidewater Region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colonial National Historical Park</span> Early history, operated by the U.S. National Park Service

Colonial National Historical Park is located in the Hampton Roads region of Virginia and is operated by the National Park Service of the United States government. The park protects and interprets several sites relating to the Colony of Virginia and the history of the United States more broadly, ranging from the site of the first landing of the English settlers who would settle at Jamestown, to the battlefields of Yorktown where the British Army was finally defeated in the American Revolutionary War. Over 3 million people visit the park each year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colonial Williamsburg</span> Historic district of Williamsburg

Colonial Williamsburg is a living-history museum and private foundation presenting a part of the historic district in the city of Williamsburg, Virginia. Its 301-acre (122 ha) historic area includes several hundred restored or recreated buildings from the 18th century, when the city was the capital of the Colony of Virginia; 17th-century, 19th-century, and Colonial Revival structures; and more recent reconstructions. The historic area includes three main thoroughfares and their connecting side streets that attempt to suggest the atmosphere and the circumstances of 18th-century Americans. Costumed employees work and dress as people did in the era, sometimes using colonial grammar and diction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Historic Triangle</span>

The Historic Triangle includes three historic colonial communities located on the Virginia Peninsula of the United States and is bounded by the York River on the north and the James River on the south. The points that form the triangle are Jamestown, Colonial Williamsburg, and Yorktown. They feature many restored attractions and are linked by the Colonial Parkway in James City and York counties, and the City of Williamsburg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jamestown Ferry</span>

The Jamestown Ferry is a free automobile and bus ferry service across a navigable portion of the James River in Virginia. It carries State Route 31, connecting Jamestown in James City County with Scotland Wharf in Surry County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jamestown 2007</span>

Jamestown 2007 is the name of the organization which planned the events commemorating the 400th anniversary (quadricentennial) of the founding of Jamestown, Virginia in 1607, the first permanent English-speaking settlement in what is now the United States of America. America's 400th Anniversary was an 18-month-long commemoration including 10 Signature Events, hundreds of community programs and dozens of partner and programs and events. Activities took place throughout Virginia, in major cities along the East Coast, and in the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Historic Jamestown</span> Cultural heritage site in Virginia, United States

Historic Jamestown is the cultural heritage site that was the location of the 1607 James Fort and the later 17th-century town of Jamestown in America. It is located on Jamestown Island, on the James River at Jamestown, Virginia and operated as a partnership between Preservation Virginia and the U.S. National Park Service as part of Colonial National Historical Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Williamsburg Area Transit Authority</span>

Williamsburg Area Transit Authority (WATA) is a multi-jurisdiction transportation agency providing transit bus and ADA Paratransit services in the City of Williamsburg, James City County, York County in the Historic Triangle area and Surry County, VA of the Virginia Peninsula subregion of Hampton Roads in southeastern Virginia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scotchtown (plantation)</span> Historic house in Virginia, United States

Scotchtown is a plantation located in Hanover County, Virginia, that from 1771 to 1778 was owned and used as a residence by U.S. Founding Father Patrick Henry, his wife Sarah and their children. He was a revolutionary and elected in 1778 as the first Governor of Virginia. The house is located in Beaverdam, Virginia, 10 miles (16 km) northwest of Ashland, Virginia on VA 685. The house, at 93 feet (28 m) by 35 feet (11 m), is one of the largest 18th-century homes to survive in the Americas. In its present configuration, it has eight substantial rooms on the first floor surrounding a central passage, with a full attic above and English basement with windows below. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1965.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Page (planter)</span> Virginian planter, merchant and politician (1627–1692)

Colonel John Page was a planter, slave trader, merchant and politician in colonial Virginia. Born in East Bedfont, Middlesex, Page eventually migrated to the colony of Virginia, where he lived in Middle Plantation and served as a member of the House of Burgesses from 1665 to 1677 and a member of the Virginia Governor's Council from 1677 to 1692. A wealthy landowner, Page donated land and funds towards construction of the Bruton Parish Church. Page was also involved in the establishment of the College of William & Mary in 1693, as well as being a chief proponent of Middle Plantation being designated the colony's capital in 1698.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jamestown Rediscovery</span>

Jamestown Rediscovery is an archaeological project of Preservation Virginia investigating the remains of the original English settlement at Jamestown established in the Virginia Colony in North America beginning on May 14, 1607.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Smith's Fort Plantation</span> Historic house in Virginia, United States

Smith's Fort Plantation is a house and parcel of land located in Surry County, Virginia, United States. The current main house on the property, also known as the Faulcon House, dates from 1751. The house has been an example for numerous twentieth century reproductions. It is also known as Warren House and Rolfe-Warren House.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jamestowne Society</span>

Jamestowne Society is an organization founded in 1936 by George Craghead Gregory for descendants of stockholders in the Virginia Company of London and the descendants of those who owned land or who had domiciles in Jamestown or on Jamestown Island prior to the year 1700.

William Spencer was an early Virginia colonist on Jamestown Island, who was an Ancient planter and a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses in Jamestown, Virginia for Mulberry Island in 1632/33.

Elizabeth Bray Allen also known as Elizabeth Bray Allen Smith Stith operated a large plantation after the death of her first husband, Arthur Allen. After the death of her second husband, she operated both the Allen and Smith estates. She provided the direction and funds to establish a free school for poor boys and girls in Smithfield, Virginia.

References

  1. "Powder Magazine in Williamsburg". On This Day: Legislative Moments in Virginia History. Virginia Historical Society. Archived from the original on September 26, 2007. Retrieved 2007-11-16.
  2. "Historic Richmond Foundation and The William Byrd Branch of the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities Announce Merger". Historic Richmond Foundation. 2005. Archived from the original on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2007-11-16.
  3. Farrell, Cassandra Britt (2006). Dictionary of Virginia Biography Vol 3. Library of Virginia. pp. 511–512. ISBN   0884902064 . Retrieved 7 December 2015.
  4. "Official site". Washington Heritage Museum. Retrieved 5 October 2015.