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| Collingwood Library and Museum |
The Collingwood Library and Museum
on Americanism occupies 8.75 acres of land on the banks of the Potomac River,
midway between Alexandria and Mount Vernon on what was once part of George
Washington's River Farm.
Collingwood is named for the British Admiral, Lord Cuthbert Collingwood, the
hero of the Battle of Trafalgar, who had a friendly relationship in the early
1800's with Tobias Lear, inheritor of a life tenancy to the River Farm in
Washington's will. The original building was a two-room, with attic, built by
Washington for a Sam Johnson and his family, who, in addition to duties as
deputy overseer of the farm, was responsible for operating the ferry across the
Potomac at the site and also collecting fees from ship captain's who stopped
near the ferry dock to fill their barrels with fresh water from a spring near
the bank of the river.
The original farm house has been added to over the years and has had a series of
owners. In the 1920's, it was the home of Mark Reid Yates and his family who
operated a dairy farm on 200 acres extending from the river bank to Fort Hunt
Road, 1/2 mile to the west. At that time, the property was divided by a
right-of-way for an interurban street car line to Mt. Vernon.
Under President Herbert Hoover, the street car line was converted into the Mount
Vernon Parkway as part of the Bicentennial Celebration of Washington's Birthday
in 1932.
It was following the opening of the Parkway that the farmhouse was converted
into a restaurant and gained fame as one of the finer dining places in the
Washington area. The restaurant closed for business in 1974 and the current
foundation, which was chartered in October 1976, acquired the property in April
1977.
In November 1978, the library was dedicated. It has 6,000 shelved volumes on
American history and culture, a 19,000 volume micro-fiche "Library of American
Civilization' and a video-tape library on a variety of patriotic subjects which
may be loaned.
The District of Columbia Chapter, Descendants of the Mayflower, has its 600
volume library on genealogy in a section of the library.
Also on display in the library is an autographed copy of the celebrated poem, 'A
Toast to the Flag", by John Jay Daly.
On display in the library are bronze plaques of the Constitution and Bill of
Rights donated by Potomac Lodge #5 of the District of Columbia in honor of LaVon
l P. Linn. He was a Past Master of the lodge and the Founding President of the
Collingwood Foundation.
The Sioux Indian Chief's ceremonial headdress with 87 eagle feathers on
permanent display is part of a large collection of Indian artifacts - beaded
belts, moccasins, pottery and basketry owned by the Foundation.
Other revolving displays include Washington's "Rules of Civility", Medal of
Honor recipients, Revolutionary War heroes and an assortment of other artifacts.
There is an audio-visual room where groups may view slide-shows and video tapes.
In the Museum is a flag display that includes the Colors of the 50 states, the
District of Columbia, the 5 armed services, Bennington '76 and the National
Colors.
The Museum has a gold-cast copy of the Magna Carta. It is # 1 12 of 500 made by
the Library of London in 1976 as a tribute to our Bicentennial.
Courtesy www.collingwoodlibrary.com
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