AASLH Announces Winners of the 2025 Leadership In History Awards of Excellence: Tudor Place is Recipient

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American Association for State & Local History logo

District of Columbia winners:

Tudor Place Historic House & Garden for Ancestral Spaces: People of African Descent at Tudor Place 

 

Today, the American Association for State and Local History announces the winners of the 2025 Leadership in History Awards of Excellence. These awards recognize superior and innovative achievements in the collection, preservation, and interpretation of state and local his

Gold badge indicating Award Winner for: Leadership in History

tory that make the past more meaningful to all people. We encourage you to look through this year’s award winners, which can serve as models and inspiration for your organization or career. The awards cover many different types of projects, including publications, exhibits, public programming, and more, as well as individual lifetime achievement. The winners come from all over the country, from organizations of all kinds, sizes, and budgets. From sharing the roots of local foodways in Arizona (Friends of the Tubac Presidio and Museum, Inc.) to preserving civil rights history in West Virginia (Community Coalition for Social Justice, Inc.), this year’s winners showcase the immense creativity and contributions of public history to local communities everywhere.

Awards of Excellence
The Award of Excellence is presented to recognize excellence for projects (including civic engagement, special projects, educational programs, exhibits, publications, etc.), and individual lifetime achievement. This is the main award in the Leadership in History Awards program. Among the 2025 winners this year, in the District of Columbia, was Tudor Place for the 2024 groundbreaking installation and guided tour, Ancestral Spaces: People of African Descent at Tudor Place.

See the 2025 Award of Excellence Winners

Tudor Place Historic House & Garden Selected as a 2025 Award of Excellence Winner

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Tudor Place was informed on Saturday, June 7, 2025 that we were selected as a 2025 Award of Excellence winner by the Leadership in History awards committee for Ancestral Spaces: People of African Descent at Tudor Place. The American Association for State and Local History (AASLH) Leadership in History Awards program is the nation’s most prestigious competition for recognition of achievement in state and local history.  Tudor Place Curator, Rob DeHart will accept the award on the organization’s behalf at a luncheon on Friday, September 12, as part of the AASLH Annual Conference in Cincinnati, Ohio, a joint conference with the Ohio Local History Alliance.

AASLH will announce the winners in a formal statement Gold badge indicating Award Winner for: Leadership in Historylater this week.

Tudor Place Honors Preservationist Beverly Jost

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THE GEORGETOWNER _ BY ROBERT DEVANEY

Charlotte Ramirez, Gwen Lohse, Beverly Jost, Anne Roberts and Christy Pichichero. Photo by Tony Powell.

The rain did little to dampen the spirits of the lively crowd under the big lawn tent on May 21 for the 33rd Annual Spring Garden Party at Tudor Place. Co-chaired by Charlotte Grassi Ramirez and Gwendolyn Lohse Assey, the annual fundraiser netted more $300,000. The honoree of the evening was Beverly Jost, who has been on the Tudor Place board of trustees and also been its president.

Read the full article here:

Tudor Place Celebrates Champion of Preservation

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THE GEORGETOWN DISH

Charlotte Ramirez, Gwen Lohse, Beverly Jost, Anne Roberts, Christy Pichichero

Umbrellas galore flanked the front door of historic Tudor Place as the Tudor Place Board of Trustees and Co-Chairs Charlotte Grassi Ramirez and Gwendolyn Lohse Assey welcomed guests to the Annual Spring Garden Party on Wednesday, May 21, 2025.

Read the full article here:

Press Release: Tudor Place Celebrates Champion of Preservation at Annual Spring Garden Party

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Press Release 

April 15, 2025

 

Contact

Janet Wall

Director of Development & Communications

press@tudorplace.org | 202-580-7323

 

Washington, DC – The Tudor Place Board of Trustees and Co-Chairs Charlotte Grassi Ramirez and Gwendolyn Lohse Assey are pleased to announce the Spring Garden Party will be held on Wednesday, May 21. Each year, the Spring Garden Party recognizes an instrumental figure, who has been stalwart in the support of Tudor Place and the community who inspires others to engage with and support historic preservation.

This year’s event will honor Mrs. Beverly Jost, a passionate advocate for conserving Georgetown’s history. Mrs. Jost served with distinction on the Board of Trustees of Tudor Place for nine years, including three as President. Beverly has shared a profound respect for the past, working tirelessly for over 35 years promoting historic preservation and the beauty of Georgetown. “I believe in the importance of historic houses to provide an intimate glimpse into the past, and Tudor Place plays that role in Washington, DC.”

The Spring Garden Party celebrates Tudor Place’s ongoing commitment to historic preservation, conservation and dynamic educational programming. As the institution’s most important fundraiser of the year, proceeds account for over 20% of annual operating revenue.

Tudor Place expresses gratitude to its lead sponsors including Washington Fine Properties, the Prince Charitable Trusts, Michael Rankin-TTR Sotheby’s International Realty, SR Evermay, Cooke & Bieler LLP and Tuckernuck. A full list of host committee members, family supporters and corporate partners can be found at https://tudorplace.org/join-and-give/spring-garden-party/ and https://tudorplace.org/join-and-give/spring-garden-party/sponsors/.

For tickets and information, please visit www.tudorplace.org/gp-tickets.

 

ABOUT TUDOR PLACE:  Tudor Place preserves the stories of six generations of descendants of Martha Washington, and the enslaved and free people who lived and worked here for nearly two centuries. By examining their legacy, we challenge ourselves and our visitors to celebrate the triumphs and to confront the complexities of the past.  Open Tuesday – Sunday for guided tours of the historic house and self-guided garden visits. www.tudorplace.org.

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Tudor Place Honored for Ancestral Spaces Program

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Culture | April 9, 2025 | By The Georgetown Dish

Tudor Place Historic House & Garden has been honored with the prestigious Outstanding Public History Project Award by the National Council on Public History (NCPH) for the groundbreaking 2024 installation and tour, Ancestral Spaces: People of African Descent at Tudor Place. This award recognizes innovative work that contributes to a broader public reflection of the past and serves as a model of professional public history practice. Recognition for this guided tour experience was made possible through generous funding from an Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS) Inspire! Grant. This funding underscores the incredible impact grants have on our ability to serve residents of the DMV, visitors from the United States and those from around the world.

For ten months of 2024, Ancestral Spaces: People of African Descent at Tudor Place was the guided tour experience presented at the federal-style mansion and garden known for its familial ties to Martha Washington. The NCPH award committee was impressed by the museum’s commitment to challenge the power dynamics inherent in the historic house through the experiences and voices of its enslaved. Rather than including these perspectives as a supplement, Curator Rob DeHart collaborated with the descendant community and the Ancestral Spaces Advisory Committee, to fundamentally reimagine the traditional house tour, from the portraits on the walls to the tableware reconstructed from pottery shards. The award committee noted that the high quality of research and innovative interpretation could serve as a model for other sites with equally complex histories. “The popularity of Ancestral Spaces showed that visitors desire a critical authentic retelling of the past. It made Tudor Place welcoming to people who often do not see their histories represented,” said Mr. DeHart, who accepted the award on behalf of Tudor Place at the NCPH annual meeting in Montreal, Quebec on March 29, 2025.

In these challenging times, where threats of funding cuts loom large, it is critical to understand the role grants play in fostering innovation, preserving cultural heritage and providing resources to underserved populations. The Inspire! Grant is a direct reflection of the transformative impact that thoughtful investment in grants has on organizations, their projects and the communities they serve.

To read the full article at the Georgetown Dish, click here.

Press Release: Tudor Place Honored with Prestigious Outstanding Public History Project Award

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Press Release 

April 8, 2025

 

Contact

Janet Wall

Director of Development & Communications

press@tudorplace.org | 202-580-7323                                                                           

  

WASHINGTON, DC – Tudor Place Historic House & Garden has been honored with the prestigious Outstanding Public History Project Award by the National Council on Public History (NCPH) for the groundbreaking 2024 installation and tour, Ancestral Spaces: People of African Descent at Tudor Place. This award recognizes innovative work that contributes to a broader public reflection of the past and serves as a model of professional public history practice. Recognition for this guided tour experience was made possible through generous funding from an Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS) Inspire! Grant. This funding underscores the incredible impact grants have on our ability to serve residents of the DMV, visitors from the United States and those from around the world.

 

For ten months of 2024, Ancestral Spaces: People of African Descent at Tudor Place was the guided tour experience presented at the federal-style mansion and garden known for its familial ties to Martha Washington. The NCPH award committee was impressed by the museum’s commitment to challenge the power dynamics inherent in the historic house through the experiences and voices of its enslaved. Rather than including these perspectives as a supplement, Curator Rob DeHart collaborated with the descendant community and the Ancestral Spaces Advisory Committee, to fundamentally reimagine the traditional house tour, from the portraits on the walls to the tableware reconstructed from pottery shards. The award committee noted that the high quality of research and innovative interpretation could serve as a model for other sites with equally complex histories. “The popularity of Ancestral Spaces showed that visitors desire a critical authentic retelling of the past. It made Tudor Place welcoming to people who often do not see their histories represented,” said Mr. DeHart, who accepted the award on behalf of Tudor Place at the NCPH annual meeting in Montreal, Quebec on March 29, 2025.

 

In these challenging times, where threats of funding cuts loom large, it is critical to understand the role grants play in fostering innovation, preserving cultural heritage and providing resources to underserved populations. The Inspire! Grant is a direct reflection of the transformative impact that thoughtful investment in grants has on organizations, their projects and the communities they serve.

 

Grants provided by IMLS are vital in enabling organizations like Tudor Place and other small museums to achieve meaningful progress in education, arts and culture, and history and heritage. Without the financial support from these programs, many important projects that benefit local communities, enrich cultural awareness, and advance education, would simply not be possible.

 

As we celebrate this achievement, we are reminded of the continued importance of advocating for strong federal support for grant programs. With funding from IMLS and other key initiatives, Tudor Place can continue to grow, thrive and make a lasting difference. We urge community members, neighbors, friends and partners to voice support for these essential programs that enable organizations like ours, to succeed in making a meaningful impact today and for future generations to come.

 

Excerpts of stories and audio recordings from Ancestral Spaces, can be accessed on Tudor Place’s guide on the Bloomberg Connects app, a free download from Google Play or the Apple app store. For more information, please visit https://www.bloombergconnects.org/guides/.

 

Open Tuesday – Sunday for guided tours of the historic house and self-guided garden visits. Advance registration highly recommended.

 

ABOUT TUDOR PLACE HISTORIC HOUSE & GARDEN. Tudor Place preserves the stories of six generations of descendants of Martha Washington, and the enslaved and free people who lived and labored here. By examining their legacy, we challenge ourselves and our visitors to celebrate the triumphs and to confront the complexities of the past. For more information, please visit www.tudorplace.org and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube or LinkedIn.

 

ABOUT THE INSTITUTE OF MUSEUM AND LIBRARY SERVICES (IMLS) Inspire! Grants for Small Museums is a special initiative of the Museums for America program. It is designed to support small museums of all disciplines in project-based efforts to serve the public through exhibitions, educational/interpretive programs, digital learning resources, policy development and institutional planning, technology enhancements, professional development, community outreach, audience development, and/or collections management, curation, care, and conservation. Inspire! has three program objectives: lifelong learning, institutional capacity and collections stewardship and access. For more information, please visit https://www.imls.gov/.

 

ABOUT THE NATIONAL COUNCIL ON PUBLIC HISTORY (NCPH) which inspires public engagement with the past and serves the needs of practitioners in putting history to work in the world by building community among historians, expanding professional skills and tools, fostering critical reflection on historical practice, and publicly advocating for history and historians. For more information, please visit https://ncph.org/.

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Unique DMV Architecture: Then and Now

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by  Realty Group Local Blog

Word on the Streets by RE/MAX Realty Group

 

April 4, 2025

The DMV region encompasses the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia. The architecture of this area has significant historical implications, as well as modern-day significance. Over the decades, this area has seen a unique blend of historic and modern-day architectural styles, creating a one-of-a-kind blend that many people travel from all around the world to view. From neoclassical monuments to cutting-edge sustainable contemporary developments, the region’s rich architectural landscape tells a fascinating story of change, preservation, and what’s to come in the future.

Fascinatingly, historical buildings can be transformed over time to keep up with a region’s ever-changing character. The DMV region boasts some of the best preserved examples of Colonial and Federal architecture in the United States. These styles were especially prevalent in the 18th and early 19th centuries and placed emphasis on symmetry, classical proportions and elegance with a side of practicality. Not only do these preserved buildings provide the foundation for the timeless architectural styles found throughout the region, they’re a testament to the birth of the landscape of a nation as we know it.

The Significance of the DMV Region’s Architecture Styles

The rich, complex, and fascinating history of the DMV region has significantly shaped the area’s architectural landscape. From early colonial settlements to modern urban developments, the region has buildings that reflect cultural, political, and economic evolutions over the course of several centuries. The Maryland and Virginia regions were among the first of the English colonies, with Jamestown settling in Virginia in 1607 and St. Mary’s City being established in Maryland in 1634. Architecture at the time could be best defined as Georgian style with brick construction and classical proportions, as well as Plantation Houses and colonial churches with utilitarian designs.

The Federal Period followed from the 1780s through the 1820s when Washington DC was established as the nation’s capital in July of 1790 per The Residence Act. At this time, the DMV became a hub for government institutions and political power — which it remains as to this day. During this period, architectural designs could be defined by the Federal Style and Neoclassical monuments signified by grand columns and domes.

Historical Landmarks Across the DMV

George Washington’s Mount Vernon in Virginia is a plantation home that exemplified Colonial architecture, with striking symmetrical design, a gabled roof and wood-frame construction. The home was built in phases in the mid 1700s and to this day remains a testament to the styles of the time and the reflection of the life of one of America’s founding fathers.

The White House is arguably the most popular historical landmark in the DMV region, having been constructed over the course of eight years, starting in 1792 and finishing in 1800. The landmark is a prime example of Neoclassical architecture, more specifically influenced by the Palladian style. This style drew inspiration from ancient Greece and Rome, with a centralized dome-like structure, grand columns, and balanced proportions.

Tudor Place in DC was finished in 1816 as the home of Thomas and Martha Peter, Martha Washington’s granddaughter. Tudor Place embodied the Federal style with its elegant portico and well-balanced facade. The domed, marble-floored Temple Portico is the most striking architectural feature. Unlike the more common half-round porches attached to exterior walls of many early 19th-century houses, this circular structure extends into the house itself, with floor-to-ceiling windows serving as a transition between interior and exterior spaces. It is the only known full temple portico embedded into a USA residence standing today. The refined detail of the home exhibits the small details and the influence of classical ideals in early American architecture and it stands as a historical testament to the time even today. Throughout the 1800s, the property boasts a beautiful view of the Potomac River. Today, it is obscured by modern day urbanization of the neighborhood and tree canopy.

Read the full article on the Realty Group Local Blog site here

Press Release: Tudor Place Reopens: The Camp Stool Is Back!

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Press Release 

February 6, 2025                                                                         

 

Washington, DC – Tudor Place Historic House & Garden is excited to announce its reopening to the public this week, following a month-long hiatus for essential maintenance and cleaning. As the only historic house in the District with direct ties to George and Martha Washington, Tudor Place offers a unique glimpse into America’s founding era, housing the largest collection of Washington-related objects outside of Mount Vernon.

This season, visitors will be able to witness a significant moment in history with the return of a treasured artifact: the original Revolutionary War-era camp stool, a rare piece of history that was recently part of the exhibition Witness to Revolution: The Unlikely Travels of Washington’s Tent at the Museum of the American Revolution. The stool was one of eighteen made for Washington’s encampment and is only one of two, known to have survived. The second stool is housed at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.

Now back in its rightful place at Tudor Place, the camp stool is on display in the parlor of the historic house, offering visitors a chance to see a tangible connection to the nation’s Revolutionary past. This rare artifact’s return is a remarkable moment for both history enthusiasts and the public alike, reaffirming Tudor Place’s vital role in preserving and sharing America’s rich heritage.

In addition to this exciting return, Tudor Place is debuting a new guided tour titled Tangled Roots: Families of Tudor Place. This tour builds upon the success of last year’s innovative installation and tour, Ancestral Spaces: People of African Descent at Tudor Place and explores the lives and legacies of the multi-generational Black and white families who shaped this iconic Georgetown estate. The tour aims to spark conversations around race, social justice and historical accountability.

Tangled Roots is part of an expanding series of public programs that includes a six-part lecture series, Rooted in History, as well as special exhibitions in the spring and fall. Tudor Place is proud to offer a variety of ongoing educational experiences for families and children.

The return of the camp stool and the introduction of Tangled Roots signal Tudor Place’s continued commitment to preserving and sharing America’s complex history, while fostering important dialogue around race and identity. We invite visitors to step back in time, engage with the past and consider how history shapes our lives today.

For the full calendar of events and programs, go to tudorplace.org/calendar.

 

ABOUT TUDOR PLACE:  Tudor Place preserves the stories of six generations of descendants of Martha Washington, and the enslaved and free people who lived and labored here for two centuries. By examining their legacy, we challenge ourselves and our visitors to celebrate the triumphs and to confront the complexities of the past. Open Tuesday – Sunday for guided tours of the historic house and self-guided garden visits. www.tudorplace.org.

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Snowy picture of historic house from south side - Temple Portico included

 

Contact

Janet Wall

Director of Development & Communications

press@tudorplace.org | 202-580-7323

Barbara Pope Was a Civil Rights Activist Who Refused to Give Up Her Seat on a Segregated Train

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TEEN VOGUE _ BY ROB DEHART, TUDOR PLACE CURATOR

Almost 50 years before Rosa Parks defied segregation laws on an Alabama bus, another civil rights activist, Barbara Pope, refused to leave the “whites only” compartment of a passenger train, sued the railroad, and won. Her bold act had a ripple effect on the Civil Rights Movement, changing the strategy of activists working to undo Jim Crow-era segregation in the 20th century.

Read the full article here: