From the Virginian Pilot / Daily Press:
"The Barrett-Peake Heritage Foundation is using ground penetrating radar to map Elmerton Cemetery"
Courtesy: Kendall Warner/The Virginian-Pilot
Commemorating Black place preservation and persistence across places and time, focusing on the creation of Black settlements and towns. OPI activities, research, and grantmaking highlight the roles culture, performance, storytelling, and heritage play in descendants' approaches to preserving, revitalizing, remembering, and protecting freedmen’s settlements (also known as Freedom Colonies, Black Settlements, Black Colonies, Black Towns, and Freedom Communities.)
Descendant community members are, for this initiative, descendants of community founders, institution builders, and early residents of historic Black settlements founded between 1865 and 1930.
Our friends at WHRO Public Media have written and published a wonderful story about our Foundation House and the open house we held on July 9 to honor our founder, Dr. Mary T. Christian, on the occasion of her birthday. Please take a few minutes out of your day to peruse and enjoy their work.
Our years-long effort to renovate the last state headquarters of the Virginia Federation of Colored Women’s Clubs, organized in 1907 by Janie Porter Barrett is complete, culminating with the grand opening on June 8, 2025.
This building is our gift to the people of Hampton and its incredibly rich history.
Come explore the building and learn about the people behind it.
The Barrett-Peake Heritage Foundation is incredibly grateful that Dominion Energy has chosen to become a major sponsor of our work and our mission.
Thank you!
The Barrett-Peake Heritage Foundation Celebrates 10 Years of Historic Preservation in Hampton!
2014 - 2024
The foundation has commissioned a poster to commemorate this auspicious anniversary (click on the image to expand it).
Dr. Mary T. Christian's
100th Birthday Commemoration
On Tuesday July 9, Barrett-Peake Heritage Foundation gathered at our headquarters, the Hampton home of the Virginia Federation of Colored Women's Clubs to commemorate the 100th birthday and celebrate the life of our founder and guiding light, Dr. Mary T. Christian.
Please enjoy the video of the ceremony →
The Barrett-Peake Heritage Foundation mourns the passing of board member Dr. Ralph "Butch" Heath
We mourn the loss of Foundation Board Member, Dr. Ralph 'Butch' Heath. Dr. Heath was a consummate community developer. He was chairman of the city of Hampton Redevelopment and Housing Authority. He also served on the Board of Directors at the Y. H. Thomas Youth Center, Hampton Equal Opportunity Commission and Hampton Planning Commission. A huge loss to the community, we will miss his benevolence and wisdom in planning and preservation.
Board members Richard and Nancy Moore receive the Clean City Commission award on behalf of the Foundation.
This is the second time the Foundation received this award from the City of Hampton.
Each May — National Historic Preservation Month — Preservation Virginia releases a list of historic places across the Commonwealth facing imminent or sustained threats. The list, which has brought attention to 170 sites in Virginia, encourages individuals, organizations, and local and state governments to advocate for their preservation and find solutions that will save these unique locations for future generations. The program has a track record of success. Only 10% of the sites listed so far were lost to demolition or neglect.
Your gift through the Dominion Energy Charity Classic's Birdies for Charity program presented by TowneBank means that the organization you select will receive your gift plus an additional 10%.
Each PGA TOUR tournament is an opportunity to give back to your community in one of three ways – attending an event, volunteering, or donating money. Not-for-profit tournaments under the PGA TOUR umbrella donate their net proceeds to support local organizations, totaling more than $3.64 billion in donations to date. These tournaments wouldn’t be possible without the 100,000 volunteers annually who commit their time to ensure each event is a success.
Funds will be used in preservation care of historic Civil War-era cemeteries in the city of Hampton!
The Barrett-Peake Heritage Foundation envisions preserving historic sites and venues in the city of Hampton, by upgrading and securing signage for historic cemeteries and develop new educational and cultural initiatives at the former Virginia School for Deaf, Blind and Multi-Disabled at Hampton.
Our vision for the historic Federation House is to create a 1920s museum and cultural center for the community. We aim to keep the history of African Americans alive in the city of Hampton.
