The Cabell Foundation of Richmond has issued a challenge to raise money for the new American Revolution Museum at Yorktown that will run throughout 2016.
The Foundation, founded in 1957 to provide grants to charitable and nonprofit organizations throughout the commonwealth, has pledged $150,000 in matching funds for donations made toward the outdoor living history areas at the new museum, which include a Continental Army encampment and Revolution-era farm.
The 80,000-square-foot American Revolution Museum at Yorktown building opened in March of last year, but the outdoor areas are still under construction and are slated to open in late 2016.
From now through Dec. 31, the Cabell Foundation will match up to $150,000 in gifts from individuals, corporations and private foundations for the outdoors exhibits, an initiative that “comes at a crucial time for the new museum,” Philip G. Emerson, executive director of the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, said in a news release.
“The Cabell Foundation’s commitment to this project helps us move forward with critical elements of the Revolution-era farm and Continental Army encampment,” Emerson said.
Both outdoor exhibits will receive significant upgrades over their Yorktown Victory Center iterations. The Continental Army encampment will include a drill field for visitors to learn 18th-century military tactics and a new artillery amphitheater with tiered seating that will also include an array of reproduction artillery pieces.
The Revolution-era farm will feature crop fields, a kitchen garden, a farmhouse, kitchen, tobacco barn and corncrib and quarters for enslaved people. In order to give the farm a sense of authenticity, one particular 18th-century York County family has been identified to serve as the frame of reference for the historical interpretation programs that will take place there.
Both the farm and the encampment will significantly expand capacity for students and visitors to watch demonstrations and take part in activities, according to a recent press release from the museum.
“This challenge grant will be pivotal in helping the Foundation, Inc., reach our private funding goal for the new museum’s outdoor exhibits,” said Clifford B. Fleet, president of the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, Inc., which coordinates private fundraising in support of the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation museums.
