Virginia Historical Society: The Dinwiddie Collection

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Visit our “Tour Destination: Richmond and Petersburg, Virginia” page to see the entire tour of the area’s Save America’s Treasures sites.

Front entrance of the Virginia Historical Society.
Photo courtesy Virginia Historical Society.

Virginia Historical Society

428 North Boulevard

Richmond, VA

Website:  Virginia Historical Society

The Treasure:  The Dinwiddie Collection:  The papers of Robert Dinwiddie (1693-1770) who served as lieutenant governor of colonial Virginia and was a mentor to George Washington while he was serving as a young militia officer in the French and Indian War.

Accessibility: The Virginia Historical Society’s library and galleries are open Monday through Saturday from 10 to 5 and on Sunday from 1 to 5, except for major holidays. Admission is free for all visitors. There are always great exhibitions in the galleries to visit, most drawing heavily upon both the Historical Society’s permanent collections and the large archaeological collections of the Virginia Department of Historic Resources.

The Virginia Historical Society maintains a museum of changing, long-term, and traveling exhibitions; offers public lectures, seminars, conferences, and consulting services; arranges school and general group tours and activities; publishes teacher resource materials; conducts teacher training and re-certification workshops on- and off-site; operates a research library; and supports research through an endowed fellowship program and minority internships. Their long-term exhibition The Story of Virginia: An American Experience can be viewed online.

Specific library collections such as the Dinwiddie Collection are only placed on view for special exhibitions. At other times, the fragile documents are preserved in cool, dry, and dark storage as recommended by current best practices. This digital Document Gallery offers an accessible view of some representative items from the collection.

A letter from the Dinwiddie Collection.
Photo courtesy Virginia Historical Society.

Notes:  The roots of major historical events often become obscured by time. Robert Dinwiddie’s name may have largely faded from history but his letters are forceful reminders of the historical currents that were gathering force while he served as lieutenant governor of Virginia from 1751 to 1758.

Dinwiddie’s actions as lieutenant governor of Virginia triggered and shaped the course of the French and Indian War, a turbulent period that significantly influenced future events. First, the eventual English triumph over the French was a victory for the English model of permanent settlements. English settlers would continue their westward push, establishing permanent homesteads. Second, the Native American tribe alliances with the French increased animosity between settlers and Indians, deepening tensions that would continue to increase throughout the next century and a half. And third, George Washington rose to prominence.

The Dinwiddie letters provide essential research details for all three of these subject areas but may be most intriguing in regards to George Washington. Only 19 when Dinwiddie took office in 1751, Washington was a young man of good family but uncertain prospects. Impressed by Washington, Dinwiddie appointed Washington a Major in the Virginia militia in 1753. Despite Washington’s subsequent record of less-than-stellar engagements against the French, Dinwiddie maintained his faith in Washington, enthusiastically encouraging, protecting, and promoting him. Meanwhile, Washington quickly fine-tuned his own political and leadership instincts—a key phase in forming the personality that would inspire a young country.

Letters from the Dinwiddie Collection, before treatment.
Photo courtesy Virginia Historical Society.

Notes from the Editor:  With the best of intentions, a 19th century English autograph collector named Henry Stevens decided to preserve the Washington letters in the Dinwiddie Collection by pasting them into a scrapbook. The original rag-based paper of the letters was extremely good—they might have held up well for centuries. But mid-19th century scrapbooks are an altogether different matter. The high acidity of the scrapbook paper transferred to the letters, causing them to become brittle. With similar good intentions, Stevens had the Dinwiddie letterbooks rebound but used poor quality material that eventually did far more harm than good.

These 19th century preservation choices created some of the many challenges involved in conserving the letters. The painstaking work of conserving each letter fell largely to Wendy Cowan, a contract paper conservator at Richmond Conservators of Works on Paper. Her work has ensured the continued accessibility of this major collection.

Letters on the drying rack, during treatment.
Photo courtesy Virginia Historical Society.

Determining placement of fragments, during treatment.
Photo courtesy Virginia Historical Society.

Other Recommended Sites:  In addition to all the activities mentioned above in the Accessibility section, the Virginia Historical Society maintains a fascinating separate museum called Virginia House. Romantically reconstructed from a dismantled 16th century English manor house, Virginia House was built specifically to serve the Virginia Historical Society. The wealthy couple who conceived this plan, Alexander and Virginia Weddell, moved into the very large building in 1928 and lived there for the next 20 years. Upon their deaths, Virginia House became the responsibility of the Virginia Historical Society.

The Virginia House museum and gardens are used for many special events. The house overlooks the James River, just a short drive from the Virginia Historical Society’s main building. Tours are available by appointment.

A letterbook from the Dinwiddie Collection in a custom storage enclosure,
after treatment.
Photo Courtesy Virginia Historical Society.

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Wednesday’s destination:  Virginia Historical Society (Custis Family Papers)

© 2012 Lee Price