BUILT WITH HIS OWN HANDS

Herman Veenendaal built a reproduction Cape in Ontario in 1987 and since then has filled it with museum-quality chairs, chests, clocks, desks, and tables, which he crafted in a saltbox-turned-workshop. The whole is a tribute to his love and mastery of Georgian style.

Dawn C. Adiletta

THE FALLS OF THE OHIO

More rapids than falls, this rocky passage was the only obstacle to riverboats floating directly from Pittsburgh to New Orleans. For decades schemers—starting with Aaron Burr—looked for a way around until the building of the Louisville and Portland Canal, still in use today.

HONORING GRANDMAMA

Tudor Place, built by Thomas and Martha Custis Peter in 1816 in Washington, D.C., explores six generations of family ownership, the growth of the nation’s capital, and heirlooms that once belonged to George and Martha Washington, carefully preserved by the first First Lady’s granddaughter and great-granddaughter.

Jeanmarie Andrews

SEEDS FOR ALL

Sheltering at home for the months of the pandemic has spurred a renewed interest in growing our own food. Many seed companies provide organic heirloom varieties of herbs, flowers, and vegetables that our ancestors might recognize—a way to preserve and savor history.

HOW HER GARDEN GREW

Fifth-generation owner Foxie Morgan has turned her family’s 1814 Virginia farm from a subsistence plantation into an ornamental landscape ready to host the perfect wedding. By making the property pay for itself, Foxie has preserved its history and ensured its survival for the next generations.

Winfield Ross

MODERN POTTERS, TRADITIONAL POTS

After gaining a hands-on appreciation for the traditions of European and American pottery, the author sought to explore how these roots inform modern art pottery. The exhibition he is curating offers artistic interpretations of historical forms by some of today’s finest heritage artisans.

Stephen Earp

A THING OF BEAUTY IS A JOY FOREVER

Photos of choice primitive furnishings and accessories, artistically arranged within the confines of a nondescript bungalow, attest to the owner&rsquos discerning eye and taste.

LOST PENMANSHIP

The flowing writing we call cursive dates back centuries as a method of recording business transactions and conveying correspondence. But handwriting encompassed different styles for different needs in different countries until Americans began to develop a style recognizable by all.