Germanna Foundation

Preserving the historic heritage of the original settlers of the Fort Germanna Colonies in Virginia

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You are here: Home / About / Welcome
Welcome

Welcome

Message from Marc Wheat, President of the Germanna Board of Trustees

Welcome to the Germanna Foundation’s presence on the internet!

Here you will learn of interesting new projects to preserve and communicate the history of Germanna and her people, which is a modest attempt to give you a glimpse into the joy we feel when we walk the grounds of our 18th Century forebears and share a meal with the descendants of those first Europeans on the Virginia frontier.

The Foundation holds 179 acres of the original tract of land settled by German families between 1714 and 1717 at the direction of Lt. Gov. Alexander Spotswood, and a circa 1756 manor house called Salubria, the most important plantation in the region and the home of Spotswood’s widow.

Why do we take care of Salubria?

Why do we preserve the forest that our ancestors once hunted in?

Why do we treasure the Rapidan River?

Why do we travel across the Atlantic to visit a small barn far from the major tourist attractions?

Why do we work to piece together bits of information to form the mosaics that are our genealogies?

I wonder if it is something deeply inscribed on our hearts that tells us that every individual is infinitely important, that every person who ever lived is part of a drama that has purpose and meaning.

And that our lives matter, too. Sometimes these insights are so important, that they can only be told on a scale that spans decades and centuries.

But sometimes words fail us. That is why we need a house. A forest. A river. A farm.

At its heart, that is what is very special about the Germanna Foundation.

For all our efforts to learn about who we are, few ever find the treasure that we have at the end of the rainbow.

For over half a century, descendants of the families who survived on the frontier of a continent have discovered the Germanna Foundation and found new meaning in understanding the perseverance of those families in nearly three centuries on American soil.

Can you imagine the courage of those men and women and what fortitude it must have taken to leave their safe and familiar world to become strangers in a strange land?

It must have taken a great leap of faith for those brave souls to step onto the gangplanks of those old wooden ships and then to watch the shores of Europe recede over the horizon, treasuring their last glimpse of home for a lifetime. Surely they were comforted by the Old Testament imagery of being led by God to a promised land.

I wonder if the little German settlements on the frontier had a special memorial service on the Fiftieth Anniversary, their first Jubilee, of landing in America.

Leviticus 25:10 would have given them a model: “And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof; it shall be a jubilee unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family.”

The colonists’ deeds of daring and sacrifice need to be retold to the world as we move toward our sixth-fold Jubilee, a homecoming of sorts for those descendants who have lived in freedom for 300 years in America.

Help us with the means to do this. Your ideas, volunteer hours, and financial support help the Foundation to gather and channel all our work together for this momentous project.

Thanks for visiting with us!

J. Marc Wheat
President
The Germanna Foundation

See Preserving Our Land

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Comments

  1. ED Wynes says

    April 3, 2019 at 1:49 pm

    Do any of the Germanna Foundation members have any history of the Rector family before they moved to the new world that they would be willing to share? I have a good amount of information on my line of the Rector Family From Virginia to California. Now I am interested in knowing something about their life in Germany. I have information going back 10 generations to a Johann Huttmann.
    My information is on my mothers side of our family. John Johannes and Ann Catherine Fishback

    Reply
  2. Ed Wynes says

    April 3, 2019 at 1:58 pm

    Do any of the members of the Germanna Foundation have information on the Rector family in Europe before they moved to the new world? If they do are they willing to share the information?
    My grandmother on my mothers side was a Rector and in doing some research in Ancestry I have found information on the family back 10 generations to Virginia.
    I would appreciate any information you could provide me,

    Reply

Your Comments Cancel reply

Germanna Foundation’s Mission and Stewardship

The Germanna Foundation tells America’s story of liberty through the frontier experience of her settlers and descendants using archaeological, historical, and genealogical research and interpretation. We are stewards over these important properties:

  • Fort Germanna Visitor Center campus which includes a Museum, Genealogy Library, the Hitt Archaeology Center, and the Germanna Memorial Garden
  • Siegen Forest – 170-acre Hiking and Nature Trails along the Rapidan river
  • 1714/1717 Fort Germanna Archaeology Site
  • Virginia Lt. Gov. Alexander Spotswood’s home “Enchanted Castle” Archaeology Site
  • 1757 Georgian-style Salubria Manor
  • 1800 Peter Hitt Farm

HELP SUPPORT THE MISSION OF THE GERMANNA FOUNDATION

Your tax-deductible donation helps support our important work:

Make a Donation

Become a member or renew your membership in the Germanna Foundation:

Membership

Join Germanna Mailing List

RECENT POSTS

  • Taverns in the Time of 18th century Germanna
  • Original Fort Germanna Artifacts now housed at the Hitt Archaeology Center
  • Germanna Holiday Gift-Giving Ideas
  • Germanna’s Giving Tuesday 2020
  • Message from Marc Wheat
  • Germanna Foundation Announces New President
  • Honoring Veterans

GR #5: Ancestry and Descendants of the Nassau-Siegen Immigrants to Virginia, 1714-1750.

Germanna Record #5

Germanna 101

Watch a video about the history of the Germanna Colonies in America.

GERMANNA PAVER

Order an engraved paver for the Germanna Memorial Garden:

More Information

WATCH ON DEMAND

Missed our conference that attendees are raving about? Watch the sessions on-demand! Click on graphic for session information and registration links.

germanna-family-1b

Become a member of the Germanna Foundation and get access to Germanna’s exclusive genealogy database, GermannaFamily.org, with thousands of names. Research your Germanna roots!

Become a Member Make a Donation Planned Giving

Remember the Germanna Foundation in your estate plans and in your will.

Germanna Foundation

The Germanna Foundation
MAILING: P.O. Box 279
LOCATION: 2062 Germanna Highway
Locust Grove, VA 22508-0279
Phone: 540-423-1700
Fax: 540-423-1747
Contact Us Page

Remember the Germanna Foundation in your Will and Estate Plans.

Fort Germanna Visitor Center, Museum & Library

2062 Germanna Highway (Route 3)
Locust Grove, VA 22508
(Next to the Germanna Community College campus)

Hours of Operation:
Monday-Friday, 10:00 am to 4:00 pm
CLOSED Saturday and Sunday

Advanced reservations are required to use the library. Research time limited to 2 hours.

Masks are required in the Visitor Center at all times. Please maintain 6 feet distance. Limit of 4 people in the library; 5 people in the museum.

Out of town visitors are urged to call us at 540-423-1700 to confirm or to make special arrangements for groups.

Location/Map

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Hike Siegen Forest!

Behind the Fort Germanna Visitor Center is our 170-acre Siegen Forest nature and hiking trails along the Rapidan river. Trails continue to be OPEN. When visiting the trails, please practice “Leave no Trace” ethos and maintain proper social distancing. If you enjoy the trails, consider donating to the Germanna Foundation to help support their upkeep.

 

About

The Germanna Foundation is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization dedicated to exploring the Colonial Virginia frontier via the historic 1714 Fort Germanna and its German colonists and their descendants.

It conducts archaeological exploration and conservation, genealogical research and publishing, and historic preservation and interpretation.

The Foundation owns and maintains several historic sites and properties, such as Salubria Manor, that were part of or closely connected to the Germanna colonies, the town of Germanna, and the other early colonial Virginia settlements and towns in the Piedmont area of Virginia.

Copyright © 2021 The Memorial Foundation of the Germanna Colonies in Virginia Inc. (The Germanna Foundation) | Website by CJKCREATIVE.COM

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