Washington Heritage Museums Names New Executive Director
Michelle Arcari Rose officially talks the helm in May, as longtime Executive Director Anne Darron retires.
By Martin Davis
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
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The Washington Heritage Museums are the heartbeat of historic Fredericksburg. A collection five sites — the Mary Washington House, Hugh Mercer Apothecary, Rising Sun Tavern, St. James’ House, and the Mary Washington Monument — these 18th- and 19th-century structures have connections to the individuals at the center of the nation’s founding.
Protecting and preserving them has been no easy task. The house in which George Washington’s mother lived out the last 17 years of her life — a period that included the Revolutionary War, as well as a visit by General Lafayette — was to have been torn down and transported to Chicago for the 1893 Chicago Columbian Exhibition before the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities purchased it and ensured the house would stay on Charles Street.
For the past 12 years, WHM Executive Director Anne Darron has overseen the properties and laid the groundwork for their future. Among her successes were adding the Mary Washington Monument and Caretaker’s Lodge to WHM’s holdings, as well as leading a successful $1.6 million capital campaign that put WHM in a position to carry out the necessary structural, interpretive, and landscaping improvements that will make the Mary Washington House a destination for those seeking to learn more about the mother of George Washington.
That work now falls to Michelle Arcari Rose, who will take over as the new WHM executive director in May.
Rose previously worked for the National Trust for Historic Preservation in the United States, and currently works as an adjunct instructor at the University of Mary Washington where she teaches historic preservation law.
Her previous experience with preservation includes the Historic Pleasant Grove Church & Museum, a community landmark in McLean, Virginia. Pleasant Grove was built by and for African and Native Americans in the late 19th century.
“Michelle Arcari Rose is a passionate and dedicated advocate for historic preservation who has worked tirelessly to document and share the stories of America’s past for those who will come next,” said WHM Board Chairman Michael O’Malley in a press release issued by MWH.
Rose said that “I have long been passionate about colonial history and the Washington family, as well as the preservation of America’s story and treasured landmarks…. Becoming the Executive Director of the Washington Heritage Museums allows me to bring my deep experience in historic preservation and nonprofit management together with my love of history and the Washington Family. I am excited to take over the leadership of WHM and tell the story of America’s first family at an incredibly exciting time – our nation’s 250th anniversary.”
To learn more about the Washington Heritage Museums, visit the organization’s website.
The Mary Washington House, Hugh Mercer Apothecary Shop, and Rising Sun Tavern are open most days at set hours year-round (see detailed schedules here). The Mary Washington Monument can be visited between dawn and dusk at no charge year-round. And the St. James’ House is open for public tours Monday through Saturday, between 1:00 and 4:00 pm, during Historic Garden Week in Virginia and the first week in October. Special tours may be available for groups of 10 or more (learn more here).
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