Richmond, VA - The Virginia Association of Museums (VAM) is proud to announce the 13th anniversary of its successful Virginia's Top 10 Endangered Artifacts program where the public and museums participate in preserving artifacts of cultural importance. Over the years, this program has benefitted over 200 institutions by highlighting the importance of Virginia museums and the expense and expertise necessary to care for the unique historic and cultural items in their care.

What began as a project of VAM's 2011-2013 Virginia Collections Initiative, supported by federal grant funding of the Institute of Museum & Library Services, has grown to create greater public awareness of over 200 organizations across the Commonwealth and DC. Committed to directly supporting its museum members, VAM expanded the program in 2017 to offer direct financial awards to support the ongoing stewardship of Virginia's history and culture. VAM's "VA's Top 10" program has become a noted example of creative outreach for the museum community, has been replicated in other states, recognized by the state chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), and garnered extensive coverage in local, state and national media outlets for those institutions nominated and honored over the years. Read about past endangered artifacts.

We are excited to announce that the public has an opportunity to help fund important artifacts for museums in an online voting competition from February 20, 2024, to March 3, 2024. Voting will help us prioritize the funding needed to preserve these artifacts. The artifact that receives the most votes in the online voting competition will receive the People’s Choice Award of $1,000 for the conservation and/or preservation of the item.

Following the public voting competition, the Selection Committee will bestow one conservation/preservation award in the amount of $1,000 to the item deemed most deserving. The remaining eight organizations will receive awards in the amount of $250 for conservation and/or for the use of professional development training. We believe that this collaborative effort will enable museums and the public to preserve valuable artifacts that might otherwise be lost. 

“Museum collections are always held in trust for future generations, but they are always threatened at the same time,” said VAM Executive Director Rick Hurley. “Our Top Ten program gives museums a chance to draw attention to particularly endangered artifacts, and raise public awareness of the need for preservation.” We encourage everyone to visit our website, view the artifacts, and cast their vote for the one they believe is most deserving of this conservation funding. Together, we can make a difference in preserving our cultural heritage for future generations.

More information about the VA's Top 10 Endangered Artifacts Program can be found at Virginia's Top 10 Endangered Artifacts - Virginia Association of Museums (vamuseums.org).

Botetourt County Historical Society

“Hayth Hotel guest register”

Fincastle has been the county seat of Botetourt County since it was established. In 1770, Botetourt’s boundaries went out to the Mississippi River and residents who needed “to record their deeds and settle their disputes” needed to travel to Fincastle to do so. This meant accommodations were needed. The accommodations included taverns, ordinaries, and residents’ homes.

One of the early taverns from at least 1820 was run by “Wm. Craft on land owned by his father-in-law Jacob Nace, in the corner of Roanoke Street and Back Street”. This property was later run by James McDowell, Sr. and James McDowell, Jr. who later conveyed it to W. B. Hayth who ran it until his son E.B. Hayth inherited it and ran it “until a few years before his death in 1937”. The location across the street from the courthouse and in the center of Fincastle made it a convent location for lawyers and summer visitors to stay.

In the 1880’s and 1890’s “Fincastle flourished briefly” “as a gay summer resort”.

Christiansburg Institute

"Christiansburg Institute Marching Band Hat"



This Marching Band Hat is a tangible reminder of the bold musical traditions that flourished within Christiansburg Institute, despite the discriminatory forces of the Jim Crow Era in Virginia. The band performances created by CI students were not merely spectacles; they were dynamic expressions of resilience, talent, and cultural pride.

The high-stepping tradition, with its intricate choreography and lively syncopations, became a signature element that distinguished the CI Marching Band from others on the parade routes of Blacksburg, Christiansburg, Radford, and beyond. During a time of segregation, the CI Marching Band resonated with a unique energy that captivated both white and Black audiences.

Danville Historical Society

"1880s African American photo album"

This artifact is a rare and mostly intact family photo album of an African American family from the 1880s and up. This photo album was donated to our local library many years ago, and there is no paperwork about where it came from. It was donated to us this past year for preservation. The album is an extraordinary artifact from the Victorian era and includes around 50 photographs.

We don't know any of the subjects, but based on the clothing, and noting that photography was expensive, we believe the family was upper class. The pictures were taken at different places in America: Greensboro, Baltimore, New York, Chicago, Boston, and even our small city of Danville. Moreover, there is a lock of hair that was carefully added next to a baby picture. As a portrait of Black Americans in the Gilded Age, it is irreplaceable, both for its rarity and for the story that it tells. 

Fredericksburg Area Museum

"1943 Wedding Gown of Female Entrepreneur Blanche Russell Sabetty"

The Fredericksburg Area Museum (FAM) nominates the 20th century wedding gown of entrepreneur and World War II widow Blanche Russell Sabetty (1908-1976) for the 2024 Most Endangered Artifact contest. The garment which was described in a 1943 newspaper article announcing the wedding is a “blue and white voile dress, trimmed in lace, {which she paired with a} flower hat, white accessories and a shoulder corsage of white roses and gypsophila.” Tragically, her groom, Corporal Lawrence Francis Sabetty was killed just two years later while fighting in the battle of the bulge. His name can be found on Fredericksburg's War Memorial. Blanche never remarried.

Hampton University Museum

"Christ in a Manger by Francis Musangogwantamu (1931-2004)"

Christ in the Manger by Francis Musangogwantamu was donated to the Hampton University Museum by The Harmon Foundation in 1967. The Harmon Foundation was an organization based in New York City that supported and promoted the work of African and African American artists. It was established in 1922 by a real estate developer and philanthropist William E. Harmon. Around 1925, the foundation started an awards program for excellent achievements by African Americans in a variety of fields, including the visual arts. Starting in 1928, the foundation arranged traveling exhibitions of art by African Americans, which toured nationwide. During the 1960s, the foundation organized art exhibitions featuring traditional and modern African arts. These shows traveled to various HBCUs, including Hampton University (then called Hampton Institute), to foster interest in Indigenous African cultures among African Americans. The foundation worked to obtain American sponsors for promising African artists and sometimes arranged for some artists to receive further education in the United States. The Harmon Foundation dissolved in 1967, resulting in the donation of their artworks and documents to various institutions, including the Hampton University Museum.

Brother Francis Musangogwantamu was born in 1931 in a small village near Kampala, Uganda. His interest in art began as a hobby when he started his studies for the Brothers of Christian Instruction. Margaret Trowell, the founder of the art school at Makerere University, now the Margaret Trowell School of Industrial and Fine Arts located in Kampala, recognized Musangogwantamu’s potential as an artist and asked the higher-ups of the Brother of Christian Instruction to send him to Makerere to study.

He began his art training at Makerere College in 1954. Musangogwantamu, a devout Christian created art with “Africanized” Christian iconography. While some accepted Musangogwantamu’s art, others strongly objected to his depiction of Christianity, seeing it as radical. For example,

Historical Society of Western Virginia

"Lt. Gary Lee Miller Medal of Honor"

The Medal of Honor is the highest award for military valor in action. Since its inception during the American Civil War, 3,536 individuals have been acknowledged for their bravery, courage, and sacrifice for their country. This Medal of Honor was awarded to the family of Lt. Gary Lee Miller, of Covington, Virginia, in 1970, and symbolizes the selflessness and extraordinary courage of Lt. Miller's sacrifice during the Vietnam War. Lt. Miller is one of 35 Virginians to be recognized for their bravery, and one of 6 Virginians to receive the Medal of Honor from conflicts relating to the Vietnam War.

Jones Memorial Library

"The Seth Woodroof Account Book (Jones Memorial Library Manuscript 1047)"

The Seth Woodroof Account Book is a handwritten, 72-page leather journal that documents the first and last names of more than 200 enslaved persons in Lynchburg, Virginia for the period 1834-1840. Manuscript 1047: the Seth Woodroof Account Book is held at Jones Memorial Library in Lynchburg, Virginia.

The book is among the collection’s original local history holdings. Entries in the book were made in English and in cursive handwriting in black ink. Seth Woodroof (a.k.a. Woodruff, Woodrough) was a known slave trader in Lynchburg, Virginia. Woodroof was born about 1805 and died in 1875. He is mentioned in advertisements and historical accounts, including Harriet Beecher Stowe’s A Key to Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Woodroof was also named in “Charley Mitchell’s Story” documented by the Federal Writer’s Project Slave Narrative Project.

Moton Museum

"1954 RR Moton High School Composite"

Robert Russa Moton High School students went on strike in 1951 to protest unequal school conditions. The students in the 1954 composite are some of the student strikers. Moton staff particularly wants to preserve the composite from the 1954 Brown v. Board decision year. The photos are attached by student names, so it is vital to reattach photos to keep students identified.

Patrick Henry's Red Hill

"Elvira Henry's Cookbook"

This leather-bound cookbook contains the personal recipes of Elvira McClelland Henry (1808–1875). Elvira was the daughter-in-law to Patrick Henry, the Founding Father and orator who proclaimed, “Give me liberty or give me death!” in 1775. She lived with her husband John, Patrick Henry’s youngest son, at Red Hill after their marriage in 1826 until her husband died in 1868. She compiled and used the cookbook during these years at Red Hill.

Handwritten cookbooks by women are rare and valuable artifacts that highlight the critical role that women played in the preparation of meals for their families in the 19th century. During her time at Red Hill, Elvira oversaw the construction of a greenhouse near her home, and she passed down her knowledge of gardening and cooking to her children. Elvira’s daughter, Elvira McClelland Jr, later inherited this book and added her recipes. It was donated to Red Hill by Elvira Henry’s great-granddaughter in 1976.

Stratford Hall

'Flag fragment, U.S. Light Dragoons"

Said to have belonged to Henry "Light Horse Harry" Lee. During the Revolutionary War, Henry was given command of a company of light dragoons. His skills and accomplishments while leading this company in many significant battles earned him the nickname "Light Horse Harry". This fragment is silk that has been painted on both sides with a horse head and the words "U.S. Light Dragoons". It is a tangible reminder of the events that changed the name Henry would be referred to as for the rest of history.

This artifact was a significant piece of the standard for the U.S. Light Dragoons. There is some debate over the timeframe that this flag was in use. It is possible that it was created after the Revolutionary War and closer to the War of 1812, in which case it would not have been flown by Light Horse Harry.