Welcome And Guest Introduction

And now, from the Blue Ridge PBS Studios in Roanoke, Virginia, it's the Virginians of Interest Podcast with your hosts, Brian Campbell and Carthen Curren.

Welcome to the Virginians of Interest Podcast. My name is Brian Campbell. I'm here with my friend Carthen Curran, who's going to introduce our special guest.

Thank you, Brian. Jamie Boskett, welcome. Good to see you this morning. Good to see you. Jamie is the president and CEO of the Virginia Museum of History and Culture. And I've been a good friend of Jamie since he arrived in Richmond. How long has that been now? Believe it or not, almost 10 years. That's hard to believe. That is hard to believe. Since I met him, he got married and has a baby girl. So uh he's been busy.

Jamie’s Path Into Museum Work

Jamie, can you tell our listeners a little bit about your background? Uh I know that you grew up in New York State, if I'm not mistaken, and received your undergraduate degree in New York State. If you could tell us a little bit about how you eventually got to the Commonwealth and from Mount Vernon to this important role.

Well, thank you. Yeah, I'm one of those lucky few that discovered my passion pretty early on. I can still remember very vividly going to the local historical society in Corning, New York, where I was born and raised, and being mesmerized by the experience. I thought, wow, this is, I had never had a museum experience until that point. And so it stuck with me. It pushed me to study history as an undergrad. It pushed me to study museum studies and public administration as a graduate student. And throughout that entire period from 14 years old on, I have worked at a museum at the same time. Local history museums, regional history museums, ultimately after grad school, uh starting in a fairly entry-level job at George Washington's Mel Vernon, that turned into an epic 10 years of opportunity and meeting a great mentor that guided me along the way. And that is what led me ultimately here to Richmond and to take on the oldest museum in the Commonwealth.

Why Virginia Sits At The Center

Speaking of which, the Museum of History and Culture's official name is the Virginia Historical Society. And if I'm not mistaken, we're second in age only to our friends in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Well, there's New York and Pennsylvania too, actually, I'll give them their credit. But we're the oldest in the southern states uh and the oldest museum in the Commonwealth of Virginia in particular, which is worth noting. The Historical Society was founded in 1831. And that that date, you know, since we'll, I think we'll talk today a little about commemorations about the 250th America, it's worth pointing out that the 1831 uh was the 50th anniversary of the end of the American Revolution and the siege at Yorktown. So it was a it was a moment to reflect as Virginians and as Americans. And uh it was also a generational shift that almost all of the founding fathers had passed at that point. There were really just two of these seminal figures that were surviving, and they got involved and they helped shepherd this organization. That was Chief Justice John Marshall, who was our first president and chairman, and President James Madison, who was our very first member. That was in 1831. We've come a long way since then.

Certainly have.

Well, you know, Carthage, of course, and I are both natives. And and one of the questions I've got for you, um, it seems to me I had some friends visiting this week from Great Britain, and we were talking about Virginia history, and even they said, well, there's Virginia history and then there's everybody else. So uh you said historically we're we're in the number two, three, four slot, whatever that is. I mean, how do you get your arms wrapped around Virginia? Now, of course, we these were Europeans I was talking to, and they made 400, 500 years sound like it was, you know, just yesterday. But but but it seems like at least for the last four to five hundred years, Virginia has been the epicenter um of uh a lot of our nation's history. So how do you begin to get your arms around all parts of this history and all parts of this tapestry?

That's a great question. You know, we do we have a collection here at the BMHC that spans 16,000 years of human history in this land we now call Virginia. Uh it's a collection that's one of the finest in the United States, more than 9 million items. It's it really is one of America's great historical archives. So, how do we get our hands wrapped around uh so much history and our centrality to it? And I often characterize it as this almost every American moment either took place meaningfully in Virginia or was led by a Virginian, right? And at the time of the American Revolution, Virginia was the largest, the wealthiest, the most influential of the colonies. And for you know, up until the American Civil War, that continued to be so in many ways. Uh so we you can't take the Virginia out of the American story. You can't tell it without it. Uh it is just very much at the epicenter, whether you start at Jamestown or you go all the way through. The good, the bad, et cetera.

Trevor Burrus, Well, let me do one quick follow-up and then I'll turn it back over to you, Carth. And I I just, of course, just exhibited my bi uh my colonial bias,

Indigenous History And Living Tribes

right? I asked you for the last four to five hundred years, and you corrected me by saying the last sixteen hundred years. So tell me a little bit about how uh the Native American and the indigenous experience has been captured by your museum.

In a variety of ways, in a variety of ways, still underway. Um, you know, we maintain very close relationships with the 11 state-recognized tribes, and seven of which are federally recognized. Uh one of the points that I'm often told when I have wonderful conversations with the the chiefs and leadership of Virginia's tribes is one of their great aspirations is to remind all Virginians and all Americans they're still here. They're still here, they're still vibrant, there is still a very uh rich and long-standing culture that sometimes is so broad and so long it's hard for us, others to understand. Uh so it's it's part of our mission uh and part of our story to make sure we do everything we can to bring that story to light. We're in the process right now of having conversations around an anniversary that most people will not recognize. That's next May. It'll be the 350th anniversary of the Treaty of Middle Plantation. And we probably recognize every Thanksgiving the tribute that is symbolically given to the Virginia governors. Well, all that stems back uh to this uh important moment in 1677 with one of the first major and still active treaties between the indigenous people uh and the colonists. So there's there's a lot of ground to cover there and a lot of work still to be done to tell that story well.

Finding A Home For The Collection

So I I think our listeners should know too that uh Jamie, I want you to maybe talk a little bit about the actual building where where you're the history of this amazing, wonderful, gorgeous building on the uh Arthur Ash Boulevard. And you're under your leadership, this incredible renovation and expansion. Could you maybe share some of the history of the building and then what went into the development of the plans to expand and and put the infrastructure that it's it's amazing.

Uh, absolutely. We're really proud. We have one of the finest state history museums in the country, as we should, uh, for all the reasons we've already discussed. Uh, but it should be noted that the when the individuals gathered to form the Virginia Historical Society or the Virginia Historical and Philosophical Society, as it was called at the time, uh, they gathered in the State Capitol building. And it is said that they they proceeded from there to John Marshall's house in Cordaan, Richmond, just a few blocks away, to invite him to be that first president and chairman. So from that moment, the organization existed intangibly, but has needed a home. And so over time, as the collection has grown, and also to tie in that story, that's it's so interesting that it's believed that the very first artifacts that uh started this collection, which is now north of nine million items, was John Marshall's personal copy of the biography he wrote of George Washington. And when invited to be the first leader, he signed over the book uh from the author to the Virginia Historical Society, and there begins one of America's great historical collections. So as that built, places were needed to house those collections. And uh the Historical Society bounced around, truly bounced around Richmond for years, never having a permanent home. For a long period of time, it was uh resided uh in the 19th century in particular in the Lee House on Franklin Street in Richmond, uh, the house that the Lee family used uh early on. Um ultimately every place it it landed, it outgrew its space pretty fast. Um, and as we have outgrown the place where we are now uh pretty quickly, too. Uh so it moved around. In fact, during the American Civil War and the burning of Richmond, it's important to note that most of the collection was dispersed in the basements and attics of trustees of the Historical Society to save the materials. Uh, thankfully, much of it was. So ultimately it brings us to where we are now, our forever home on Arthur Ash Boulevard. Uh, there was a building here that most refer to as Battle Abbey. O'Vernon comes a big trunk with all the personal diaries and letters, and it all gets returned except one piece. And I'm not sure if that was on purpose or by mistake, but this one, and very important, by the way, diary uh remains with John Marshall and also ultimately gets donated to the Historical Society by his son. Almost all the other diaries written by George Washington during his presidential years are later destroyed. So this is a sole survivor and a representative of the man making the office of the president. And you can see it playing out in his own hand in this book. It's just an amazing national treasure.

Iconic Objects Visitors Ask About

Well, quickly back to the public, are there just a couple that you'd like to share that that seem to always pop up in terms of when people uh go to the museum and say, oh, you know, the carriage or whatever else is a favorite.

Oh gosh. It's it's it it really is all across. One of the things that people uh seem to be enamored with right now is we've just received uh one of the epic white suits worn by Tom Wolfe. Uh so a lot of people like to stand there and think about his writing. And uh there's a uh a really great dugout canoe that really captures kids' imaginations uh that really points to the time period of English arrival because it's a uh indigenous wooden canoe, but made with iron tools, which helps us understand its its uh its timing. Uh we have the uh a buoy knife that it that a lot of people pay attention to that was on John Brown's waist when he was captured at Harper's Ferry uh before the Civil War. I mean, it just stuff.

Yeah, I would have a hard time picking. You've done it, you've done a fabulous job. I I want to I'm gonna come see Tom Wolfe's suit. I've seen it. That's amazing.

I I look pretty good at it. Uh Arthur, go ahead.

Research Library Fellowships And Publishing

Okay. Um I know in addition to the the vault being a special place with special things, uh very precious things, you have a wonderful uh uh repository of archives and for researchers and authors to to go to. Can you mention or talk a little bit about the library there? And the the researcher goes on. I know that Lynn Cheney, in fact, has been to the museum because she's written at least one, if not two, books on the early days of the republic. Uh I think one was called Virginia Dynasties.

Um, well, I'll say something, I'll say something bold, Carthen, which is just as we have made this comment that the the centrality of Virginia's history to the nation, this institution's holdings are central to any telling of Virginia's story. And it would be pretty hard to do something comprehensive without at some point making use of the materials here. One of the things we have done over our nearly 200 years as an organization is to maintain a research library and to support the study of history. So the museum is, of course, an important part of our mission. Our public programming and outreach is, of course, very, very important. But being able to build on the body of knowledge and understanding of our past is just as important. And so our library plays an important role. Every single day, people are coming to do research, uh, scholars from across the country and across the world. Uh, to nurture that, we also offer a very robust fellowship program that we actually will provide financial resources to support um young or well-trained and experienced historians to be here and proximate to this collection for their study. Uh, we're publishing books uh annually on various topics in history. We've just released a new book called We the People, uh, which is one of the first to survey the history of immigration across 250 years in Virginia's past. Tell you, uh you want to think of compelling history, uh, look at the examples of Virginians who come here uh by choice and on purpose uh along the trajectory of our topic, you want to know what's in the collection here, go to the website, search for it. You'll see images, you'll see background on those artifacts, uh, both in the library collection and other museum objects, which is worth um, you can really go down some rabbit holes there, I promise you. Uh, we have a great virtual tour program uh that you can tour the entirety of this building inside virtually with uh 360-degree high-resolution photography that has all sorts of embedded videos and uh opportunities to dive deep into the exhibition so you can really get a sense of what it is to tour the place at a distance. We've also done a version of that that's quite fun for various historical sites across the Commonwealth for the 250th, uh, so that you can really get to all of the major places, all from the luxury of your computer. And the last thing I'll note is that uh what it's also been a hallmark program of this institution for many years are the lectures, the uh scholars that we bring in to talk about their new findings on history or the new books that just published. All of that is streamed live, and all that is available in recorded version on our website as well. So any new and exciting book on history, you'll probably see that person come through the VMHC at some point, uh, and you'll be able to really uh enjoy their take on their own work uh by watching those lectures.

And I've attended multiple multiple of those lectures, and it is a uh Jamie has incredible historians and authors to talk about just a variety of historical subjects and individuals.

Virginia House And Preserving Places

Jamie, a couple of things. Uh another great treasure that's not under your roof, but under a different roof is the Virginia House. Could you tell our listeners a little bit about this incredible story and how your wonderful organization was able to receive this just an amazing, idyllic location here in Richmond?

Yes, it's a it is a treasure. It's located in the Windsor Farm neighborhood of Richmond, Virginia, right on the on the banks above the James River. And it's probably one of the most important uh pieces of architecture that we have uh in central Virginia, if not beyond. It's actually architecture that has uh crossed continents. Uh it was acquired uh and uh by the Weddell family, Alexander Weddell, who was an ambassador under FDR, born and raised in the uh at St. John's Church here in Richmond, a lover of history from that day on, it seems. Uh he was the chairman of the Historical Society's board. Well, he and his his wife Virginia uh had their hearts set on bringing the architectural remnants of this uh historic priory from the UK to Virginia. And in fact, this is all happening at the same time uh that uh that uh Windsor Farm is being envisioned as this idyllic uh Anglophile historical neighborhood. Uh and just as Hcroft sits next door, we have Virginia House and Agecroft, these two transplanted bits of architecture. But Virginia House, we have uh we have stewarded that now longer than the Weddles themselves did. And it is celebrating its hundred-year anniversary in the Commonwealth right now. Uh so we've, as you know, Carthen, have invested heavily in its restoration and its continued vibrance. Uh, but it is an absolutely beautiful, stunning property with Gillette uh designed gardens that roll down the back hill towards the river. Uh but the house itself is a treasure. It's it's unbelievable.

Um, one of the things that that struck me, I was a just a young teenager in 1976 and saw the bicentennial. And then it felt like the semi quincentennial was the Super Bowl, right? That there was this buildup for it, and it was terrific. It was just, you know, it was it just was great. But then I got