Park Planning

If you have questions about or would like to provide feedback on the following park projects/issues, please send an email to:

GEWA_superintendent@nps.gov

Please submit comments no later than October 12, 2024.

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Memorial House Museum

The Memorial House Museum (MHM) was built in 1930 in the Colonial Revival style and is not a reconstruction of the house in which George Washington was born.

In 2023 the MHM underwent a project to rehabilitate all the windows and doors within the building. During this effort, curatorial staff conducted a full assessment of the furnishings in the building, all of which are in the park’s museum collection. The assessment revealed that many items:

• Have been on exhibit for decades and are in poor condition

• Are in need of professional conservation and care

In the best interest of preserving these furnishings, it is recommended that:

• Washington Family items be relocated to the curatorial facility in the park for conservation and care and could be used in future exhibits in the park.

• The rest of the furniture and furnishings be moved to an offsite facility for conservation and care.

Relocation of the furnishings will require the park to reimagine how the MHM is used. As far back as 1932, the park identified a need for the space to be furnished with traditional exhibits rather than furnished as a house. Over the years, that idea has been repeatedly recommended. The park now has an opportunity to use the MHM as a traditional exhibit space.

Questions

• How do you think the MHM should be used?

• What types of exhibits would you like to see?

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Farm Fields

For many years, the farm fields at George Washington Birthplace National Monument have been planted and harvested by a local farmer under a permit from the park. Over the years, concerns have emerged about the effects of farming on historical subterranean features. Cultural resource experts in both the National Park Service and at the Virginia State Historic Preservation Office have recommended that the park no longer engage in farming practices that use heavy equipment to work the soil. Both the weight of the equipment and depth of tilling have the potential to disrupt historical subterranean features.

To keep these fields from becoming overgrown, the park proposes to participate in a project to plant the fields with native grasses and wildflowers. In addition to helping to preserve historic features in the park, planting in native grasses and wildflowers has several benefits including:

• Increasing the number and diversity of wildlife, especially birds

• Support declining species such as honeybees

• Erosion control and reduced sediment delivery to wetland areas

• Reduction in use of pesticides and herbicides

Questions

• What do you think the park should do with the farm fields to protect subterranean historical features?

• What do you think about the idea to plant the fields in native grasses and flowers?
  
  

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Marsh Study Background

Salt marshes are critical habitats providing valuable ecosystem benefits and are defining features of the Northern Neck of Virginia. Recent investigations reveal marshes along the Northeastern coast are getting wetter and tending to submerge or migrate as plant cover declines and open water or mud flats increase. The park proposes to participate in a two-pronged study to better understand and manage these important resources.

The study will:

• Use LiDAR, land cover, and local tidal data, and GIS to model potential salt marsh migration in the park.

• Use modeling data to evaluate when impacts are expected and determine how they may interact with other marsh stressors.

The study will help the park make informed decisions regarding marsh conservation, restoration, and migration planning.

Question

• What do you think is important for the park to learn from this marsh study?

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Park Film

The current park film, A Childhood Place, was produced in the 1970s for the bicentennial and the opening of the park’s visitor center. Having played in the park for almost 50 years, there are several concerns with the film including:

• It is outdated and contains numerous inaccuracies

• It does not align with current park interpretive themes

• It does not give visitors an overview of the park and important park resources.

Question

• What would you like to see in a new park film?