| We’ve combined newsletters! If you were previously subscribed to our Grave Matters or Register newsletter, please continue to enjoy your favorite content in our refreshed general Virginia DHR newsletter below. | |  | Quarterly Newsletter Winter 2023 |  | The Launch of the Virginia BIPOC Historic Preservation Grant ProgramWe came in with a bang and introduced the grant program to hundreds of attendees at a webinar in early February. So, what now? Read about some of our successes so far, how we plan to improve outreach, and what to expect as far as next steps to take in the application process. | | | Other Featured Blogs |  | How did Virginians keep their spaces safe during the 1700s?
Whether they were made of functional iron or intricate brass, locks were the key to securing buildings and rooms in colonial-era Virginia. | |
|  | Reconstructing the Rutledge House in the Historic North Fork Valley
Architectural historian Michael Pulice on restoring one of the oldest known surviving log dwellings in Western Virginia after decades of neglect. | |
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| | | Register Program Updates | | Virginia Landmarks Register Spotlight: Julius Rosenwald High School
Julius Rosenwald High School in Northumberland County has been listed on the Virginia Landmarks Register since December 2022. DHR’s register historian Lena McDonald provides a brief summary of the former school’s historical significance. | |
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| | Historic Resources Associated with African American Watermen of the Virginia Chesapeake Bay
How a Multiple Property Document (MPD) report helps paint a fuller picture of the contributions of African American watermen to the seafood industries of Virginia’s Chesapeake Bay. | |
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| | | Division Highlight |  | Photographed: DHR’s new Tribal Outreach Coordinator Jess Hendrix | Community Services Division Hires Tribal Outreach CoordinatorJess Hendrix joined DHR in February 2023 as the agency’s Tribal Outreach Coordinator. He is an archaeologist by training, having earned a bachelor’s degree from Coastal Carolina University in South Carolina and a master’s degree from the University of West Florida. Jess has a wide range of archaeological experience across the southeast – both terrestrial and maritime – and community engagement. He gained extensive experience with public outreach during his time as a graduate intern with the Florida Public Archaeology Network in Pensacola, Florida. He lived in Oklahoma for several years, during which time he served as an archaeologist and Deputy Tribal Historic Preservation Officer for the Osage Nation. His time with the Osage Nation Historic Preservation Office fostered a passion for tribal historic preservation that he hopes to bring to his new role at DHR. Most recently, Jess was employed with Gray & Pape, Inc., as a principal investigator and tribal liaison in the firm’s cultural heritage practice. Jess was born and raised in Pittsylvania County in the Southside Piedmont region of Virginia. He enjoys working with people and values strong, interpersonal relationships. He strives to bring a positive, uplifting attitude to any projects that he is a part of at work and in his personal life. In his spare time, Jess enjoys spending time with friends, family, and his two Oklahoma “rez” dogs, Luna and Rose. He is an avid fisherman who enjoys being in the outdoors, where you can expect to find him camping, Jeep’ing, or diving. Also, he loves the mountains almost as much as he loves the beach (shoutout to Oak Island, North Carolina). | | | | DHR Highlights | | | | | | | | | Grave Matters |  | The Historic Graves of Buggs Island LakeBy Tim Roberts Identifying undocumented historic African American cultural resources is my primary job as Community Outreach Coordinator at the Virginia Department of Historic Resources (DHR). Cemeteries, alongside churches and schools, loom large among historic resources of great significance to many Black communities. Two weeks ago, DHR cemetery archaeologist, Joanna Green, and I visited five cemeteries around Buggs Island Lake in southern Mecklenburg County. All but one of these cemeteries is associated with historic African American churches. None of them had been recorded in the Virginia Cultural Resource Information System, the commonwealth’s database of historic architecture and archaeological sites. The cemeteries we visited have something unique in common – they each contain a section where graves have been marked by identical, short, precisely arranged, 6-inch-square concrete posts. Each marker bears a bolted-on plate embossed with the words: GRAVE, FORMERLY GRAVE, and CEM. Every marker is also stamped with corresponding numbers for each of these labels. The word UNKNOWN is embossed above this information on nearly every plate we saw on our trip. Shiloh Baptist Church was our first stop and the only cemetery we visited on the north side of the lake. We counted approximately 75 markers, all labeled UNKNOWN, in the woods immediately north of the church…. | |
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| | | DHR Staff Updates |  | Amanda Terrell
Director of Community Services Division
Amanda serves as the Director of the agency’s Division of Community Services with field offices in Richmond, Salem, and Stephens City. The Division encompasses a variety of external-facing programs, including the National Register and Virginia Landmarks Register, Historical Highway Markers, Cemetery Preservation, Regional Offices, Community and Tribal Outreach and the Certified Local Government Program. Before joining DHR in September of 2022, Amanda held leadership roles at the Ohio and Georgia State Historic Preservation Offices. Amanda is a native of Prince George County, Virginia. She received a bachelor's degree in history and anthropology from James Madison University and a Master of Historic Preservation degree from the University of Kentucky. Growing up in Virginia, many trips to Colonial Williamsburg and other historic sites made it almost inevitable that Amanda would choose a career in historic preservation. Amanda is enjoying visiting Virginia's great historic places now as part of her job with DHR and not just as a tourist! |
|  | Ivy Tan
Marketing & Communications Manager
Ivy joined DHR as Marketing & Communications Manager in January 2023. She oversees all of the information that the agency disseminates to the public, including website and marketing content, press releases, social media, and newsletters. In 2021, Ivy embarked on a yearlong post-graduate internship with the agency’s Register Program, where she worked on a variety of projects, from research and writing for nominations to digital content management, and even participating in archaeological digs. Ivy returns to DHR from a recent stint as a digital distribution producer at WRIC 8News, the ABC-affiliated local news station in Richmond. She received her master’s degree in history from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2021 and a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Syracuse University in 2010. After college graduation, Ivy held positions in digital production and content management at several media companies, including Condé Nast and HBO, in her native city of New York. She moved to Virginia in 2019 and now lives in Henrico County. In her spare time, she enjoys cooking and sharing meals with loved ones, reading, running, listening to music, and exploring the history around her. |
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