Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the August 8, 2020 City-wide remembrance in memory of Benjamin Thomas, who was lynched in Alexandria on this day in 1899, is being conducted virtually on this In Memoriam page.

Build your social justice muscles this summer! As our nation and city come to terms with their legacies of racial injustice, take the 30-Day Challenge to learn, listen, explore, and act to make positive change. Learn about our city’s important African American history to build your base of knowledge. Listen and explore to understand the struggles, triumphs, and legacies of African Americans across the nation and throughout the centuries. Act to bring equity in America and in Alexandria.

Museums are beginning to reopen in accordance with the Commonwealth’s Forward Virginia Plan. The Alexandria History Museum at the Lyceum and Gadsby's Tavern Museum are now open. Public programs are cancelled until further notice. Refer to the Calendar for the status of Commission and other departmental associated meetings. For additional information about the City of Alexandria’s actions, visit alexandriava.gov/Coronavirus.

Miss visiting your favorite Historic Alexandria sites? Looking for some fun historic activities to share with your kids at home? Let our staff bring history virtually to you! 

As redevelopment takes place along the waterfront, archaeologists are learning more about the city’s maritime past. Learn about the discovery of four 18th-century ships, wharves and warehouses, and the current effort to record the ship timbers with 3D scanning, and consider a generous donation to the Save Our Ships Fund.

Peaceful vigils, protests and other events took place in Alexandria during the first week in June, following the May 25, 2020 death of George Floyd. Recognizing the importance of this moment in history, the Office of Historic Alexandria invites the community to share signs, t-shirts, flyers, photographs, journals, personal stories, and artifacts that document local vigils and protests. 

As we experience this unprecedented time in the history of our town and the world, the Office of Historic Alexandria is embarking on a project to record our City’s response by conducting oral histories and collecting select memories, objects and documents from across the Alexandria community.

Help Historic Alexandria chart a new path for the summer and fall as we seek to bring history to you in new and different ways! Please take a few minutes to take the survey!

Location, hours, directions, and everything you need to know to visit the Alexandria Archaeology Museum. No Admission Charge.
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The Ramsey Homes, a former public housing project on North Patrick Street, is being replaced by a mixed income community with low-income and market-rate units. The documentation of the history and architecture of the Ramsey Homes was undertaken as part of the historic preservation process required by Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), and can be viewed here. 

Archaeological studies conducted between 1996 and 2007 provided tangible evidence of the cemetery's survival after more than 125 years of neglect and destruction. Of the approximately 1,800 graves once located in the cemetery, more than 500 were identified through archaeological investigations. 

The 20th century African American community known as The Fort is the focus of an effort by the Office of Historic Alexandria to study and preserve the post-Civil War historic resources of Fort Ward Park. Archaeological excavations in the park, historical research, and oral histories highlight our growing knowledge of this community.

An ongoing excavation on Shuter's Hill near the Masonic Memorial is exploring the Mills/Lee/Dulaney plantation, built in 1782. The mansion house burned in 1842, and was replaced by a larger brick house that was used by Union troops during the Civil War. Shuter's Hill also became the site of two Union forts in the Defenses of Washington.