And “grandmother” is right, because women constituted many of the first highly visible preservationists. Independence Hall in Philadelphia may be the first nationally important building saved, but The Ladies, with a capital L, of the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association organized by Ann Pamela Cunningham resolutely raised $200,000 in 1853 to save George Washington’s home, Mount Vernon, Virginia, which had fallen into disrepair by the mid-19th century. Their accomplishments spurred others to action and set a pattern for preserving historic properties.
Today, according to Dennis Pogue, associate director for preservation at Mount Vernon, not enough people are grounded in history, nor do they know much about George Washington—who he was or how he lived. An education center and an orientation center recently added to the property now help tell our first president’s story. In addition, using contemporary archaeology as a guide, Mount Vernon has added a reconstructed slave cabin, as well as a blacksmith’s shop and whisky distillery, all aimed at broadening the view of Washington’s world and increasing its relevance to contemporary audiences. “Our sites, if they hope to be relevant today, need to understand and respond to changes,” Pogue states. Plans are under way for a library, in tune with 21st-century needs for scholarship.
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