Museum in Peril:
Museum and White House of the Confederacy

During the Civil War, Confederate President Jefferson Davis lived and worked in a gray neoclassical mansion on East Clay Street in Richmond. The structure survived the evacuation fires when the city fell in April 1865, and was occupied by Federal troops until 1870. The building was nearly torn down in 1889, but was saved by the Confederate Memorial Literary Society. The "Confederate White House" was the site of the Confederate Museum from 1896—1976, until a larger facility was opened on an adjacent lot. The White House was then renovated to its 1860s appearance, opening to the public in 1988.

Today, the Museum and White House of the Confederacy are the repository for the world's most extensive collection of artifacts, photographs and flags relating to both the civilian and military aspects of the Civil War.

Threat: Although not a battlefield, the Museum and White House are as endangered as any battleground in the U.S. They are literally being strangled by their immediate neighbor, the sprawling campus of Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center. As they are difficult to find among the high-rise buildings and parking garages of VCU, visitation to the museum and White House has dwindled in the past decade.

In response to ongoing problems, both the museum and White House have been forced to cut their hours drastically; the White House even closed for two months in the winter. Currently the Museum's management is seriously considering moving their collections to a site outside Richmond, even as far away as Lexington, Va. Initial discussions included the possibility of moving the White House itself, but that plan has been abandoned.