by Richard Roy Martin – I came to Germanna by adoption and by biology. You see, my adoptive father, Roy Martin, was a descendant of John Joseph Martin, and my biological father, Herman Meyer, was a descendant of Peter Hitt. If my story is not unusual enough, then it becomes more unusual. According to family […]
Meet our archaeology field season staff
We’re pleased to welcome aboard these seasonal archaeology staff members to help Germanna’s archaeologist, Eric Larsen, Ph.D., with new excavation work at the Fort Germanna and Enchanted Castle site, and to supervise the VCU field school students later in the summer. Thank you to all of our members and supporters for making this possible. […]
Memorial Day
Over this Memorial Day 2016 weekend, please take time to remember those who have fallen while serving our nation in uniform. Say a silent prayer for their families. Participate in a community remembrance service. Share their stories so that others will understand what freedom, patriotism and service really mean.
Editorial: Unearthing stories of Germanna’s past
Thousands of people pass the place every week, yet far too few know of its international significance. Some remarkable moments in American history happened at the Germanna historic site, on State Route 3 in Orange County. Some of those stories are told, briefly, by exhibits in the Germanna Foundation’s Brawdus Martin Visitor Center where the […]
Germanna Foundation gets $250,000 boost
By Amber Galaviz, Orange County Review With a recent $250,000 donation, the Germanna Foundation hopes to begin the construction of a new archaeology research laboratory and artifact storage building near the Brawdus Martin Germanna Visitor Center in Locust Grove. The donation comes from Dr. Michael D. Frost, of Kansas City, MO. as a continuation of his […]
Actor Neil Patrick Harris Learns of His Germanna Roots on PBS
We were excited to watch the Germanna Foundation’s nation-wide television debut of the “The Pioneers” episode of the PBS series Finding Your Roots. In “The Pioneers” episode, five-time Emmy Award winner Neil Patrick Harris was surprised to learn that one of his ancestors – Gertrud Stuell, an ancestor many Germanna descendants have in common with […]
PBS Series “Finding Your Roots” Episode to Feature Germanna Descendant
This week’s episode of the PBS Series Finding Your Roots, the “Pioneers,” will reveal some interesting German ancestry information about one of the episode’s stars. The show airs for the first time on Tuesday evening, Feb 23rd. Watch it, and then watch here for more… You can also check out the Germanna Facebook page. For […]
Merry Christmas from Germanna
My friend Werner Hoffman-Gassner of Eisern is probably known to you through his heraldic artwork that hangs with gratitude in the Germanna Visitor Center. This week he sent me a video of a very old German carol that made me think of the first Christmas when the Lutheran colonists at Germanna first celebrated Christmas with the […]
A Thanksgiving Story
Thanksgiving marks off the year for every American the beginning of a “holiday season” of memory, anticipation, and joy – but above all, it begins with thanks. In my time as a member of the board of trustees of the Germanna Foundation since 1997, I have come to rest on the idea that the heartbeat […]
Groundbreaking at Ferry Farm
On April 25, 2015, Germanna Foundation Trustee Dr. Michael Frost was an honored groundbreaker for the George Washington Foundation’s first phase of construction for the Washington House at Ferry Farm, George Washington’s boyhood home overlooking Fredericksburg, Virginia. (Michael is the second from the right in the photograph). The Ferry Farm venture’s first phase will build […]
