The passing of Daniel P. Jordan, the long-time head of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, which owns and runs Monticello, is a good opportunity to reflect on the changes that have come to Thomas Jefferson’s mountaintop home and plantation, as well as the field of public history at large. Jane Kamensky, the current president of the foundation, called Jordan “the most consequential president on the Mountaintop since Jefferson himself.” Jordan received his PhD in history from the Unive...| Encyclopedia Virginia
We at Encyclopedia Virginia value accuracy and getting it right when it comes to telling the story of Virginia’s history and culture. Since we went online in 2008, we have continually refined our processes to ensure that we’re getting it right—or at least as right as is possible for a staff of fallible humans. Read more about: The Challenges of Getting the Past Right| Encyclopedia Virginia
As we celebrate Black History Month, it’s a good time to remember Carter G. Woodson, who is known as the Father of Black history and who in 1926 created the forerunner of Black History Month—Negro History Week. At the time, the idea that African Americans might have a history worth preserving and studying was radical. Read more about: Remembering the Father of Black History| Encyclopedia Virginia
Is history set in stone, like a statue, or is it fluid, more evolving process than petrified facts? At EV, we get to see history in motion, as with our entry on the Bray Schools. These schools were founded in Williamsburg and Fredericksburg, as well as in Philadelphia, New York, and Newport, Rhode Island, by the Associates of Dr. Read more about: History on the Move| Encyclopedia Virginia