Patrick Henry's Scotchtown

03/04/2025

We have exciting news! Five more available tickets have just been added to our previously sold-out VIP experience which includes the guided bus tour of Henry's Hanover.

Be part of history and make it a day at Scotchtown! Bring a picnic lunch to enjoy on the grounds, try your hand at some lawn games, visit community partners including representatives from Hanover County, VA 250, Patrick Henry's Red Hill, Randolph Macon College Archaeology Department, St. John's Church Foundation and enjoy music by Williamsburg Field Musick!

Tickets for the House Tour and Panel Discussions are limited in availability, but there are plenty of tickets remaining for the panel discussion at noon. We will not be selling tickets at the door, so make sure to get yours today!

Ticketing information:
Patrick Henry's Ride for Liberty

02/28/2025

This Saturday, March 1st, is our much awaited museum and exhibit opening! Only a few tickets remain for the evening lecture and reception so get your tickets while they last.

Exhibit Opening and Evening Book Talk by John Ragosta!

02/27/2025

Our newest exhibit is almost ready! See it starting this weekend at Patrick Henry's Scotchtown!

Patrick and Sarah Henry, their five children, and the more than a dozen people they enslaved moved to Scotchtown in 1771. The colonies were ever closer to rebellion, and Virginia was a powder keg of tension. As a member of the House of Burgesses from the backcountry, Patrick Henry was an outspoken leader of the revolutionary cause. However, every public action he took had an impact on, and was shaped by, his private life at Scotchtown. His radical politics had consequences for the safety and security of his family and the enslaved people living and working at his home.

In 1775, Henry called for armed rebellion with the words “Give me liberty, or give me death!” This famous exclamation reverberated across the colonies and, 250 years later, still rings in struggles for freedom across the world. But for Henry and the other Founding Fathers, the principle of “Liberty” applied not to all, but only to a few. Over the past 250 years our ideas about who has the right to “Liberty” have expanded. As each anniversary of the American Revolution has approached, we have commemorated it differently. How do you remember the Founding Fathers?

By examining Henry’s surviving words and the public actions he took, this exhibit thoughtfully reflects on the beliefs and values he championed and the legacy he left behind.

02/22/2025

Hear ye! Hear ye!
Scotchtown is reopening March 1st with a brand-new museum space and newly interpreted rooms and objects! After more than a year of careful research and planning, we are opening an exhibit titled "Give me Liberty! Patrick Henry in the Fight for Freedom". With the 250th anniversary of Patrick Henry's Liberty or Death speech just weeks away, this thought-provoking exhibit is exciting, informative and includes a special new acquisition that is a must see. We look forward to seeing you at Scotchtown soon!

Quick links to some of the upcoming events and programs:
Exhibit Opening and Evening Book Talk by John Ragosta
Patrick Henry's Ride for Liberty
Annual Fiber Festival
The Gunpowder Incident

02/20/2025

Scotchtown has a number of different types of wildlife that regularly roam the grounds. Can you identify these footprints?

02/16/2025

Waiting for the next round of snow…

Photo credited to Laurel Scott

02/13/2025

Save the date for Scotchtown’s Annual Fiber Festival! 🐑🦙🐇

02/10/2025

We are just a few weeks away from our Exhibit Opening and Evening Book Talk by John Ragosta! Come see the new exhibit, interpreted rooms and learn about Patrick Henry's role in defending the Constitution.

02/06/2025

It is March of 1775 at Scotchtown in Hanover, Virginia and Patrick Henry is contemplating the impactful speech he would soon deliver to the Virginia Convention at St. John’s Church. For the 250th anniversary of this momentous occasion, experience interactive vignettes with living historians as we examine what liberty meant to the people of the 18th century in Hanover County featuring Patrick Henry, members of Henry’s family, and the enslaved individuals who lived and worked at Scotchtown.

At noon, join us for a special panel discussion with Patrick Henry, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and James Lafayette, and be part of the excitement as Mr. Henry mounts his horse and dramatically rides off to Richmond to secure his place in history!

There are so many different ways to experience this day on March 15th, visit our website for full details and ticket options:

It is March of 1775 at Scotchtown in Hanover, Virginia and Patrick Henry is contemplating the impactful speech he would soon deliver to the Virginia Convention at St. John’s Church. For the 250th anniversary of this momentous occasion, experience interactive vignettes with living historians as we ...

02/04/2025

Exciting news from Preservation Virginia!

Applications are now open for Preservation Virginia’s African American Fellowship (AAF) program. This program supports individuals with an interest in preserving African American voices and history. Through support from the Mellon Foundation, fellows will learn the process of preservation, make valuable connections in the industry and conduct research.

The goal of the AAF is to help raise awareness and preserve Black historic sites in Virginia by:

-Identifying, supporting and providing opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students, emerging professionals in preservation-related fields, scholars, creatives and experts in historic, social justice and preservation disciplines
-Amplifying and preserving the full Virginia Story through our Voices Remembered Initiative
-Listing more African American sites in historic designation programs
-Providing participants with a pathway to careers in historic preservation-related fields

Through paid fellowships each year, we provide the fundamentals, experience and mentorship necessary to prepare participants for careers, professional opportunities and how to respond to preservation issues.

Deadline to apply is March 21, 2025. The program runs from late May to September 2025 and requires in-person event attendance.

Full details and the application can be found at https://preservationvirginia.org/fellowsprogram/.

01/31/2025

This year, Preservation Virginia instituted organizational days of service, where we gather our statewide and site staff teams to tackle large projects in one effective and efficient day. Yesterday, they gathered at Scotchtown where we are preparing the site for our grand opening in March which will feature a new museum exhibit space and newly interpreted rooms and tour. Staff worked to clean out and organize all of the modern storage areas and do needed curatorial cleaning and organization of the collections and manor house. We are excited for our Exhibit Opening and Evening Book Talk by John Ragosta on March 1st and the Patrick Henry's Ride for Liberty event on March 15th to recognize the 250th anniversary of Henry’s Liberty or Death speech and look forward to seeing you there!

We are so lucky to have such an amazing team across the Commonwealth who are always ready to pitch in and a CEO who is willing to tackle even trash runs!

01/26/2025

Interesting study by JMU professor Rebecca Brannon about the Founding Fathers.

01/24/2025

While we may not be celebrating today at Scotchtown, we do like peanuts - the packing peanut that is!

Today at Scotchtown we received a bunch of boxes of styrofoam packing peanuts to restuff items in our bedchambers including the pillows, bolsters and mattresses. In the 18th century, these items would be stuffed with natural fibers including straw, feathers and wool all of which unfortunately often attract insects and vermin. In order to protect linens and collection objects, museums now often use non cornstarch-based packing peanuts in their exhibits to give the appropriate shape and dimension to bedding.

01/20/2025

01/20/2025

Nominations are now being accepted for the 2025 Virginia’s Most Endangered Historic Places list!

Know of a threatened historic site in Virginia that would benefit from increased awareness? If so, submit a nomination for Virginia's Most Endangered Historic Places through our website!

https://preservationvirginia.org/our-work/most-endangered-historic-places/

Nominations are due by Friday, February 14th. If you have questions about the program, contact Logan Parham, preservation field services manager, at [email protected].

01/17/2025

Save the date for Scotchtown’s Annual Fiber Festival!