Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities

Founded in 1889, the Richmond, Virginia-based 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. The APVA 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, one of the first public works projects of the United States of America.

It has had a leadership role in historic preservation in Virginia; its 1889 saving of the Powder Magazine in Williamsburg came decades before Colonial Williamsburg's creation. [Cite web|url=http://www.vahistorical.org/onthisday/42175.htm|title=Powder Magazine in Williamsburg|accessdate=2007-11-16|publisher=Virginia Historical Society|work=On This Day: Legislative Moments in Virginia History]

APVA museum sites include:
*Historic Jamestowne
*Scotchtown, the Hanover County home of Patrick Henry, revolutionary and first Virginia Governor
*John Marshall House, the home of Chief Justice of the Supreme Court John Marshall in Richmond
*Rising Sun Tavern in Fredericksburg
*Mary Washington House in Fredericksburg
*Hugh Mercer Apothecary in Fredericksburg
*Smith's Fort Plantation in Surry
*Bacon's Castle, Virginia's oldest datable brick residence, in Surry
*Smithfield Plantation in Blacksburg
*Cape Henry Light, the first federal public works project under President George Washington, in Virginia Beach
*Eastville Courthouse Buildings
*Lynnhaven House in Virginia Beach
*Isle of Wight Courthouse in Smithfield
*Farmer's Bank in Petersburg
*Old Stone House, part of the Edgar Allan Poe Museum in Richmond
*Thomas Read's Clerk's Office, part of the Museum of Charlotte County

Several museum sites are open on a limited basis or by appointment, including:
*Cole Digges House in Richmond
*St. James' House in Fredericksburg
*Debtor's Prison, Accomac
*Pear Valley in Northampton County
*Walter Reed Birthplace in Belroi

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

Of the current APVA properties, six are designated as National Historic Landmarks and others are Virginia or National Register properties.

Similar in mission to organizations such as The National Trust for Historic Preservation in the U.S. and The National Trust in Britain, the Richmond-based APVA also serves as a resource for organizations and individuals on preservation issues. The organization's branches represent APVA across the state; in Richmond, the APVA's self governing affiliate is Historic Richmond Foundation, which merged in July 2005 with APVA's William Byrd Branch. [Cite web|url=http://www.historicrichmond.com/apva_merger.html|title=Historic Richmond Foundation and The William Byrd Branch of the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities Announce Merger|accessdate=2007-11-16|publisher=Historic Richmond Foundation|year=2005]

APVA Preservation Virginia also operates the statewide revolving fund, which protects historic properties with easements before placing them on the market, and an annual Preservation Conference.

Starting in 1994, a major archaeological campaign conducted by the APVA at Jamestown known as Jamestown Rediscovery has discovered the remains of the original 1607 settlement, and greatly increased the knowledge of Jamestown.

References

External links

* [http://www.apva.org APVA Preservation Virginia official web site]