The more than 150-year-old wrought-iron staircase at Gari Melchers Home and Studio at Belmont has been named one of Virginia’s Top Ten Endangered Artifacts. The Top Ten program is a project of the Virginia Collections Initiative and the Virginia Association of Museums.
An independent peer review panel chose the railing, believed to have been forged around 1845, from 25 nominations across Virginia to make the Top Ten Endangered Artifacts list.
Virginia’s Top Ten Endangered Artifacts program, funded by a grant from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services, aims to raise awareness of the importance of preserving artifacts in the care of museums, libraries and archives throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Gari Melchers Home and Studio is a 28-acre estate and former residence of the artist Gari Melchers and his wife Corinne. The property, which is operated by the University of Mary Washington, is both a Virginia Historic Landmark and a National Historic Landmark. Located at 224 Washington St. in Falmouth, Va., a quarter mile west of the intersection of U.S. 1 and U.S. 17, it is open daily with an admission charge. The museum also serves as the official Stafford County Visitor Center. For directions and other information, call (540) 654-1015 or visit the museum website at www.GariMelchers.org.
# # #
News release prepared by: Michelle Crow-Dolby
