Monuments — Memory in Stone and Story

Walk with a Ranger

NPS / Cleo Kantz-Schultz

As we arrive at the final stop on our journey, we shift our focus from the past that was lived… to the past that has been remembered.

This site — George Washington Birthplace National Monument — is not just a place of history. It’s a place of patriotic commemoration. A place where generations of Americans have come to honor the legacy of our first president.

Let’s go back to the early 1800s. Around 1815, shortly after his death, George Washington’s adopted grandson, George Washington Parke Custis, placed a memorial stone near the ruins of a building he believed to be the site of his birth. Over time this stone was moved, broken, and eventually lost — along with any certainty of “the spot.”

In 1858, the Commonwealth of Virginia acquired the land that was, according to oral tradition, the birth site, but the Civil War interrupted any plans to build a memorial. After the war, the land was transferred to the federal government and in 1879, during the Reconstruction Era, congress approved funds to erect a monument to mark and perpetuate the spot where Washington was born. By 1896, a 35-ton obelisk was raised at the site. Built by the United States War Department, the obelisk was intended to attract the attention of passing steamboats, transforming this remote site into a destination for travelers.T

hen came the Bicentennial of George Washington’s birth in 1932 — a nationwide celebration of the man who had come to symbolize the very idea of America. Across the country, George’s legacy was being commemorated with dedications and new memorials that we still see today: the George Washington Bridge in NYC, the George Washington Parkway, even his face carved into Mount Rushmore and printed on the quarter. And here, on the land where he was born, a new form of remembrance was about to take shape.

In 1930, President Herbert Hoover established this site as a National Monument. But the vision for what it would become came largely from one woman: Josephine Wheelwright Rust. Believing that a larger commemorative landscape was needed for the Bicentennial, Rust founded the Wakefield National Memorial Association in 1923. She was deeply committed to her vision and had the connections and determination to make it happen. With support from groups like the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Colonial Dames, she raised funds — even during the Great Depression — to build what you see today: the Memorial House Museum, the Colonial Revival Kitchen, and garden.

But her goal was a celebration, not a restoration, of Washington’s childhood place at Popes Creek.

With no surviving drawings, descriptions, or blueprints of the original Washington birth home, the Memorial House Museum was built as a symbolic structure, a monument, meant to evoke the dignity and timelessness of George Washington’s legacy.

The monuments that have memorialized Washington at his birthplace are part of that legacy. They reflect moments in time when Americans were asking: What does it mean to be American? And they answered, in part, by honoring Washington as a unifying symbol: A man who helped define the nation’s founding ideals.

And while our understanding of history has grown more nuanced over time, the efforts of those who helped create this park ensured that it was protected for you to visit and enjoy.

Today, George Washington Birthplace National Monument stands as a testament to both the man and the people who have preserved his legacy. So, as you explore the Memorial House Museum, walk the garden, or simply pause to take in the view of Popes Creek, consider this: Monuments are not just about the past. They’re about the present — and the future. As each new generation has the opportunity to create its own legacies and commemorate our shared past, it reveals the evolving character of the nation Washington helped to create.

Thank you for joining us on this audio tour of the park. We hope your visit has sparked curiosity, reflection, and a deeper connection to the park.

• Stop 3: Monuments — Memory in Stone and Story

  
  

  As we arrive at the final stop on our journey, we shift our focus from the past that was lived… to the past that has been remembered.

  Date created:

  08/22/2025

  Audio Transcript

  Narrator:

  As we arrive at the final stop on our journey, we shift our focus from the past that was lived… to the past that has been remembered.

  This site — George Washington Birthplace National Monument — is not just a place of history. It’s a place of patriotic commemoration. A place where generations of Americans have come to honor the legacy of our first president.

  Let’s go back to the early 1800s. Around 1815, shortly after his death, George Washington’s adopted grandson, George Washington Parke Custis, placed a memorial stone near the ruins of a building he believed to be the site of his birth. Over time this stone was moved, broken, and eventually lost — along with any certainty of “the spot.”

  In 1858, the Commonwealth of Virginia acquired the land that was, according to oral tradition, the birth site, but the Civil War interrupted any plans to build a memorial. After the war, the land was transferred to the federal government and in 1879, during the Reconstruction Era, congress approved funds to erect a monument to mark and perpetuate the spot where Washington was born. By 1896, a 35-ton obelisk was raised at the site. Built by the United States War Department, the obelisk was intended to attract the attention of passing steamboats, transforming this remote site into a destination for travelers.

  Then came the Bicentennial of George Washington’s birth in 1932 — a nationwide celebration of the man who had come to symbolize the very idea of America. Across the country, George’s legacy was being commemorated with dedications and new memorials that we still see today: the George Washington Bridge in NYC, the George Washington Parkway, even his face carved into Mount Rushmore and printed on the quarter. And here, on the land where he was born, a new form of remembrance was about to take shape.

  In 1930, President Herbert Hoover established this site as a National Monument. But the vision for what it would become came largely from one woman: Josephine Wheelwright Rust. Believing that a larger commemorative landscape was needed for the Bicentennial, Rust founded the Wakefield National Memorial Association in 1923. She was deeply committed to her vision and had the connections and determination to make it happen. With support from groups like the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Colonial Dames, she raised funds — even during the Great Depression — to build what you see today: the Memorial House Museum, the Colonial Revival Kitchen, and garden.

  But her goal was a celebration, not a restoration, of Washington’s childhood place at Popes Creek.

  With no surviving drawings, descriptions, or blueprints of the original Washington birth home, the Memorial House Museum was built as a symbolic structure, a monument, meant to evoke the dignity and timelessness of George Washington’s legacy.

  The monuments that have memorialized Washington at his birthplace are part of that legacy. They reflect moments in time when Americans were asking: What does it mean to be American? And they answered, in part, by honoring Washington as a unifying symbol: A man who helped define the nation’s founding ideals.

  And while our understanding of history has grown more nuanced over time, the efforts of those who helped create this park ensured that it was protected for you to visit and enjoy.

  Today, George Washington Birthplace National Monument stands as a testament to both the man and the people who have preserved his legacy. So, as you explore the Memorial House Museum, walk the garden, or simply pause to take in the view of Popes Creek, consider this: Monuments are not just about the past. They’re about the present — and the future. As each new generation has the opportunity to create its own legacies and commemorate our shared past, it reveals the evolving character of the nation Washington helped to create.

  Thank you for joining us on this audio tour of the park. We hope your visit has sparked curiosity, reflection, and a deeper connection to the park.