Historic Places in Trouble

George Washington Slept Here

During his only trip abroad, George Washington stayed for seven weeks in 1751 in a one-story house in Barbados. Centuries later, the house is being preserved as a piece of history and a genealogical center, according to Reuters. The Barbados National Trust hopes to raise $2.5 million to restore the George Washington House, planning a museum, screening rooms and a center where Americans can trace their roots to 17th-century Barbados. About 7 million Americans have ancestors from this popular tourist island, where in the 1660s, residents left to settle in South Carolina. Experts from Colonial Williamsburg have completed several archaeological digs at the house, uncovering artifacts dating from the time Washington stayed there. The George Washington House is slated to open in 2003.

Historic Places in Trouble

History is in danger of being destroyed or lost in places all across America. To draw attention to that (and to reverse this alarming trend), the National Trust for Historic Preservation announced the 11 most endangered historic places for 2001. They are:

•Bok Kai Temple — Marysville, Calif.

•Telluride Valley Floor — Telluride, Colo.

•CIGNA Campus — Bloomfield, Conn.

•Carter C. Woodson Home — Washington, DC

•Ford Island at Pearl Harbor — Honolulu

•Miller-Purdue Barn — Grant County, Ind.

•Stevens Creek Settlements — Lincoln, Neb.

•Prairie Churches of North Dakota

•Los Caminos del Rio — Lower Rio Grande Valley, Texas

•Historic Jackson Ward — Richmond, Va.

Learn more about these places, why they’re endangered and how to help save them at <www.nthp.org/nmost>.

From the December 2001 issue of Family Tree Magazine