Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation. Many attempts have been made at putting the documents, photographs, and various items of interest into an organized system. These items reflect the history of one of Virginia’s oldest continuously run farms and provide insight into life in turn-of-the-century America.
Heading up the project are two dedicated volunteers, Bruce and Donna Powell. They have gone through museum standards training. The park partnered this remarkable duo with the organization, Historic Jamestown Island.
In all,the Road Scholarscontributedover 284 hours, tediously combing through photographs and documents that allow us to unfold the story of Chippokes Plantation. Over 600 items were assigned ascension numbers for easy retrieval, descriptions of the item and condition of the items were documented, and they were placed in the archival storage containers so that they are properly preserved for future research. These items will eventually be scanned, digitized and inventoried using specialized software so that park staff, historians, and the general public can easily access the information.
The Road Scholars and Chippokes Plantation found this to be such a beneficial program, that it will become a biannual event at the park!