10 YEARS OF TOP 10! PUBLIC INVITED TO HELP FUND IMPORTANT ARTIFACTS BY VOTING FOR THEIR FAVORITE MUSEUM

2021 marked the 10th anniversary of the Virginia Association of Museums' successful Virginia’s Top 10 Endangered Artifacts program which has benefited over 200 institutions to date, shedding light on the importance of Virginia museums and the expense and expertise necessary to care for the unique historic and cultural items in their care. Following a competitive review of nominations by representatives from partner organizations the Library of Virginia, Preservation Virginia, Virginia Conservation Association, and Virginia Department of Historic Resources the 2021 most endangered artifacts have been selected. The public is invited to vote for their favorite endangered artifact in an online voting competition happening January 18-27, 2021 where the artifact receiving the most votes will be awarded $2,000 in conservation funding. The Top 10 takes place in cooperation with VAM's upcoming Virginia Museums Advocacy Day on January 19, 2022.

The Virginia’s Top 10 Endangered Artifacts Honorees for 2021

Bridgewater College - Reuel B. Pritchett Museum Collection (Bridgewater, VA) “World War II Service Honor Board”; 1944 In 1944, the Bridgewater College Alumni Association worked with volunteers to construct an honor roll of Bridgewater College men and women serving in World War II. After crowdsourcing names through the College Bulletin, the Association created this grand wooden shield bearing approximately 360 names on golden cardstock nameplates. Approximately 40% of the Bridgewater College affiliated men and women who served in WWII were residents of Rockingham County and the the City of Harrisonburg.

Camera Heritage Museum (Staunton, VA) “Natural Bridge with Jefferson Cabin,” Gelatin Glass Negative” Photographer: Michael Miley; about 1880  “The most sublime of Nature’s works,” is how Thomas Jefferson described the Natural Bridge, a 215-foot high, 90-foot long limestone arch in southern Rockbridge County, Virginia. The photograph is not only significant as the earliest known of Natural Bridge but because of its sharpness, contrast and quality, and that it captures where the Jefferson family cabin that was subsequently destroyed by fire.

Fredericksburg Area Museum (Fredericksburg, VA) "Dr. Carmichael & Sons Medical Diplomas”; 1828 Dr. James Carmichael was the first of four generations to practice medicine in the Fredericksburg area. The early 19th century diplomas are true works of art and symbolize the impact of the care he and his sons provided to the Fredericksburg area community.

Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation (Williamsburg, VA) "Negro Building, Jamestown Exposition 1907." Photographer: Arthur L. Macbeth; 1907 Utilizing innovative processes to produce color photography on glass, African American photographer Arthur L. Macbeth, produced a remarkable photograph of the Negro Building, designed by noted African American architect William Sidney Pittman for the 1907 Jamestown Ter-Centennial Exposition, held in Norfolk, Virginia, which marked the three hundredth anniversary of the founding of Jamestown. Among Macbeth's many lifetime accomplishments was the patent for a Picture Projection Theater concept and a 1907 Jamestown Ter-Centennial Exposition award for photography.

Loudoun Heritage Farm Museum (Loudoun, VA) "Nokes Farm Horse-Drawn Manure Spreader"; 1937-1939 This humble late 1930's manure spreader is one of the only items recovered from the property of the prominent African American Nokes family of Loudoun County. The family farmhouse was destroyed due to the urban expansion of Northern Virginia along with vital material artifacts that may have been used to educate the public about the Nokes family and the important contributions of African American villages and settlements in Eastern Loudoun County.

Loudoun Museum (Leesburg, VA) "Aldie Mill Ledger"; 1831 This historic ledger includes transactions from Aldie Mill, which was once the largest Gristmill in Loudoun County. Its pages contain histories of agriculture and industrialization, highlighting the people who participated in them-- including President James Monroe. The transactions of his neighbors and local slaveholders who sent enslaved “servants” with payment for milled grain reveal social and commercial networks in early 19th- century Virginia.

Ohef Sholom Temple Archives (Norfolk, VA) "Painting of Lewis Nusbaum"; Late 1800's Instrumental in shaping and defining the Jewish community in Norfolk, Virginia, Lewis Nusbaum at the turn of the 20th century, serving in leadership roles at Norfolk's Ohef Sholom Temple and Beth El Temple. This painting helps document the rich history and traditions of this historic congregation and the Jewish community of Tidewater Virginia.

Patrick Henry's Red Hill (Brookneal, VA) "Watercolor of Patrick Henry's Last Home"; 1905 The first expansion to Patrick's Henry's Red Hill is depicted in this 1905 watercolor by Elizabeth Lyons, great-granddaughter of Patrick Henry and the daughter of William Wirt Henry, first president of the Virginia Society Sons of the American Revolution. This watercolor is Patrick Henry’s house expanded by his son John. The house burned in 1919. It is one of the few objects that exists from Red Hill's 20th century history. Elizabeth Lyons lived in a different house on the property which burned in 1975. Little remains from Elizabeth's time at Red Hill, leaving this watercolor to tell her story today.

Virginia Museum of Natural History (Martinsville, VA) "Petra: Virginia's First Complete Skeleton of the Extinct American Cheetah" The rarity and completeness of an ancient cat skeleton, nicknamed "Petra", is a significant item in the paleontology collection of the Virginia Museum of Natural History. While the species and exact time period in which Petra lived remain a mystery, museum researchers predict Petra could be an ancient cougar or possibly an American cheetah (Miracinonyx sp.), that could have lived during the end of Earth’s last ice age approximately 11,700 years ago.

Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets Museum (Blacksburg, VA) "Steamer Trunk from Preston and Olin Institute"; 1872  This Civil War trunk has a piece of Preston and Olin Institute stationary pasted inside, hand-dated 1872, the year Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College (VAMC) - the foundation of Virginia Tech - was awarded start-up money from the Morrill Land Act, enabling the changeover from Preston and Olin to VAMC, a Virginia state school. The trunk is a truly rare, artifact, and is one of only a handful of historical objects still in existence from the very birth of VAMC. This year, 2022, is the university’s sesquicentennial, and the discovery of the trunk is a highlight for the Corps of Cadets and the University. It's importance as a concrete example of the very foundation of Virginia Tech, and the school's inaugural class of 1872, cannot be stated enough.

Get Ready to Vote! These diverse museums ranging in size, location, and subject matter will compete in an online public voting competition between January 18, 2022 to January 27, 2022 where the public can vote daily for their favorite museum and artifact. The endangered artifact receiving the most votes will receive the People's Choice Award of $2,000 toward the conservation of their endangered artifact. Determined by the partner selection committee, VAM will award an additional $3,000 in conservation funding to the remaining 2021 Honorees.   Background What began as a project of VAM's 2011-2013 Virginia Collections Initiative, supported by federal grant funding of the Institute of Museum & Library Services, has grown to create greater public awareness of over 200 organizations across the Commonwealth and DC. Committed to directly supporting its museum members, VAM expanded the program in 2017 to offer direct financial awards to support the ongoing stewardship of Virginia's history and culture. VAM's "Top 10" program has become a noted example of creative outreach for the museum community, been replicated in other states, recognized by the state chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), and garnered extensive coverage in local, state and national media outlets for those institutions nominated and honored over the years.