Virginia Historical Society

infobox Museum
name= Virginia Historical Society


imagesize= 260
established= 1831
location= 428 North Boulevard
Richmond, Virginia
website= [http://www.vahistorical.org Virginia Historical Society web site]

The Virginia Historical Society, founded in 1831 as the Virginia Historical and Philosophical Society and headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, is a major repository, research, and teaching center for Virginia history. It is a private non-profit organization, supported almost entirely by private contributions, and is the Official State Historical Society of Virginia.

The Virginia Historical Society (VHS) features award-winning exhibitions and programming that are entertaining and educational for visitors of all ages. One of the largest historical societies in the country, the VHS has thirteen exhibition galleries occupying more than 25,000 square feet and has the largest display of Virginia artifacts on permanent view. The VHS is the only museum with all of Virginia’s history under one roof — all centuries, all regions, and all topics are covered.

In its early years, the VHS gathered an eclectic collection of natural history specimens, historical artifacts, and printed and written material. The Society was reconstituted after the Civil War and was renamed the Virginia Historical Society in 1870 to reflect a primarily historical focus as it became more active in publishing historical material. The Society gained its first permanent headquarters building in Richmond in 1893. The Society's journal, the "Virginia Magazine of History and Biography", has published on a quarterly basis without interruption since 1893.

In the 1950s, increasing resources allowed the addition of a professional staff. Over the next several decades the Society's collections grew. The publications program also increased as the Society gained a significant role in the academic community.

In 1992 the Society opened the Center for Virginia History, increasing its display and archival resources. Shortly thereafter, it entered into a partnership with the [http://www.dhr.virginia.gov/ Virginia Department of Historic Resources] , an agency of the state government, which also had significant historical holdings (both artifacts and archives), forming a unique private-public partnership.

Mission

The Virginia Historical Society, the Center for Virginia History, collects, preserves, and interprets the commonwealth's past for the education and enjoyment of present and future generations.

Programs

The 54,000-square-foot Charles F. Bryan, Jr. wing, completed in 2006, houses the [http://www.vahistorical.org/rbhc/main.htm Reynolds Business History Center] (RBHC) and the long-term exhibition, [http://www.vahistorical.org/exhibits/exhibits_longterm.htm Virginians at Work] . The RBHC seeks to acquire company records from important and representative businesses from around the commonwealth. In addition, the VHS has developed business history programs for scholars, businesspeople, students, and the general public.

The VHS offers a wide array of educational programs, especially for students and teachers. These include outreach programs that take place in school classrooms, guided tours of exhibitions, and workshops and week-long summer institutes for teachers.

The VHS offers three members-only evening lectures and twelve to fifteen noontime lectures every year that are open to the public. Audio files of past lectures are accessible on the web site.

Long-Term Exhibitions

* The Story of Virginia, An American Experience

* Virginians at Work

* Silver in Virginia

* Solving History's Mysteries: A History Discovery Lab

* The Virginia Manufactory of Arms Collection

* Four Seasons of the Confederacy: Murals by Charles Hoffbauer

* Making the Murals

* Arming the Confederacy

* The War Horse
* Warwick to Windsor Farms: Building Virginia House (On display at [http://www.vahistorical.org/vh/vh_events.htm Virginia House] )
For more information on long-term exhibitions, please visit [http://www.vahistorical.org www.vahistorical.org] [http://www.vahistorical.org/exhibits/exhibits_longterm.htm]

Virginia House

infobox Museum
name= Virginia House


imagesize= 260
established= 1928
location= 4301 Sulgrave Road
Richmond, Virginia
website= [http://www.vahistorical.org/vh/vh_house_main.htm Virginia House web site]

Virginia House, situated on a hillside overlooking the historic James River in Richmond, Virginia, was constructed by Alexander W. Weddell, U.S. ambassador to Spain and Argentina, and his wife, Virginia Weddell, in 1928 from the materials of a sixteenth-century English manor house. It was a blend of three romantic English Tudor designs, and, for its time, was a thoroughly modern home complete with seven full baths, central heat, modern kitchen, and commodious closets.

Now owned and operated by the Virginia Historical Society as a museum, the house has been preserved much as it was when the Weddells resided there. The house is open for tours Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m., and Sunday, 12:30 - 5 p.m.

The eight acres of gardens and grounds of Virginia House provide a rich tapestry of texture and color throughout the year. Today, close to 1,000 types of ornamental plants thrive throughout formal and naturalistic gardens.

(Information paraphrased from the Virginia Historical Society web site - see external link below)

* [http://www.vahistorical.org/vh/vh_house_main.htm Virginia House]
* [http://www.wikimapia.org/#lat=37.552947&lon=-77.503556&z=17&l=0&m=a&v=2&show=/5278539/Virginia_House Wikimapia Map by Google]

External links

* [http://www.vahistorical.org/ Virginia Historical Society web site]
** [http://www.vahistorical.org/publications/vmhb.htm "Virginia Magazine of History and Biography"]
** [http://www.vahistorical.org/about/history_vhs.htm History of the VHS]
** [http://www.vahistorical.org/exhibits/main.htm Current and Upcoming Exhibitions]
** [http://www.vahistorical.org/exhibits/exhibits_online.htm View Online Exhibitions]
** [http://www.vahistorical.org/rbhc/main.htm The Reynolds Business History Center]
** [http://www.vahistorical.org/research/main.htm Search VHS Collections]
** [http://www.vahistorical.org/membership/membership.htm Join the Virginia Historical Society]
** [http://www.vahistorical.org/education/education.htm Tour the Virginia Historical Society]
* [http://www.myspace.com/vahistorical Visit the VHS on MySpace]