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Virginia's Top 10 Endangered Artifacts is a project of the Virginia Association of Museums and was originally funded through an Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) Connecting to Collections Statewide Implementation Grant. Due to its success, the program has been replicated in other states and recognized as one of the most successful outcomes of the Connecting to Collections grant program.
You can vote once a day until February 28, 2025 (by 11:59 PM EST). The artifact that receives the most votes in the online voting competition will receive the People’s Choice Award of $1,000 for the conservation and/or preservation of the item.
Following the voting competition, the Selection Committee will bestow one conservation/preservation award in the amount of $1,000 to the item deemed most deserving. The remaining eight organizations will receive awards in the amount of $250 for conservation and/or for use of professional development training.
All Top 10 Honorees will be recognized at the 2025 VAM Annual Conference Award Luncheon in Blacksburg, March 15 - 18, 2025.
Voting is closed
Patriotic Convention Ribbon, 1872 Alexandria, VA An artifact from the Soldiers and Sailors Convention (Pittsburgh, 1872) supporting the candidacy of U.S. Grant, this fragile ribbon was collected by Lewis Cass White. White was devoted to preserving and memorializing Fort Stevens and the Civil War defenses around Washington, DC. |
Christiansburg Institute, Inc. Photograph of the Marshall Family, c. 1905 Christiansburg, VA This damaged photograph provides one of the few surviving images of Charles Marshall, a pivotal figure in the history of African American education in Virginia. As principal of the Christiansburg Industrial Institute, Marshall devoted his life to educating his pupils, building a thriving literary and industrial school on a 100+ acre farm, attracting students from Southwest Virginia and even Northern cities. |
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Edith Bolling Wilson Birthplace Museum Baby Galt Wicker Basket, 1903 Wytheville, VA Edith Bolling Galt Wilson bore only one child, a son, in 1903, five years before the death of her husband Norman Galt, and twelve years before she remarried President Woodrow Wilson. She apparently never spoke of the child again and did not mention him in her autobiography; but kept this wicker basket the rest of her life as a reminder. It is a reminder of an impressive woman whose life was marred by tragedy.
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General Douglas MacArthur's Cap, 1936 Norfolk, VA General Douglas MacArthur, an adopted son of Norfolk, Virginia, wore this distinctive cap from 1936 to 1952. Despite attempts by his wife and aides to replace it with similar caps, MacArthur was immovable in his preference for this one. He wore this cap through some incredible moments in American history, including his escape from Corregidor, his famous return to the Philippines, and into the Korean War. It is an internationally recognized symbol of America’s triumph over fascism, militarism, and communism. |
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Headmasters book from Liberia School, 1843 Manassas, VA Dating to 1843, this book is full of complex mathematical problems written in a clear, beautiful script by the mysterious John Thomas Lee, possibly a teacher or headmaster of the school. It is one of only two known artifacts that proves the existence of a school on the property of Liberia, a ca. 1825 home built by the Weir Family. |
Pamunkey Indian Museum and Cultural Center Frontlet, Cockacoeske, Queene of Pamunkey, c.1677 King William, VA This silver frontlet dates to the late seventeenth century and was commissioned for Pamunkey Werowansqua Cockacoeske by King Charles II of England, following the signing of the Treaty of Middle Plantation in 1677. The artifact is a physical representation of that centuries-old treaty, still a cornerstone of Pamunkey sovereignty and land rights. Only four of these medals are known to exist today, and the Queene of Pamunkey frontlet is the only example currently held by the Community for which it was initially created. |
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Jane Henry Meredith's Prayer Book, 1780s
Brookneal, VA This compilation of religious texts was copied by Jane Henry Meredith, a sister of Patrick Henry, for her son, Samuel Meredith Jr. The texts she chose reflect the Enlightenment ideals of the time, and is a tangible link to the spiritual, philosophical, and political principles that shaped the nation's early formation. |
Stratford Hall Historic Preserve Robert E. Lee Daguerreotype, 1840s Stratford, VA This earliest known photographic image of Robert E. Lee shows him with his son William Henry Fitzhugh "Rooney" Lee, but the image is severely degraded and the case is damaged. The ground-breaking technology of the daguerreotype is very susceptible to the passage of time; the historic image here is nearly gone. |
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Wilderness Road Regional Museum Henry Hance's 1809 Tax Book, Montgomery County Dublin, VA Sheriff Henry Hance's 1809 tax book for Montgomery County includes accounts for anyone who owed taxes. The book is a wealth of information on personal property owners in all of Montgomery County. The tax book gives an intriguing glimpse into the lives of property owners as well as numerous enslaved individuals. |
Workhouse Arts Center Lucy Burns Museum Islamic Shahada Poster Lorton, VA This Shahada Poster bears the calligraphic Shahada message, the recitation of faith central to the Muslim faith. It is enclosed in a handmade frame constructed from match sticks and a sheet of plexiglass, and once hung inside of a mosque at the Lorton Prison. Faith played an immensely important part in rehabilitation inside the Lorton Prison, and African American Muslim inmates were key drivers to many of the compassionate reforms the prison underwent during the 1960s and 70s. |
