Historic Germanna Awarded $60,000 Grant to Advance Preservation of Salubria and Enhance Public Experience

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Historic Germanna Awarded $60,000 Grant to Advance Preservation of Salubria and Enhance Public Experience

Culpeper County, VA – May 11, 2026 – Historic Germanna has been awarded a $60,000 grant from the Roller-Bottimore Foundation to support ongoing preservation work at Salubria, a remarkable 1757 Georgian home and one of the region’s most architecturally significant early houses.

Unlike many historic homes, Salubria has never been significantly modernized or updated, offering a rare window into the past and a unique opportunity to better understand life in early Virginia. Today, Historic Germanna is welcoming visitors to the site and continuing to expand how the public can experience and connect with 
its history.

The grant is supporting a professional paint analysis now underway and provides seed funding to begin priority preservation work identified in Salubria’s Historic Structure Report, funded through the National Park Service’s Semiquincentennial Preservation Grant Program.

Historic Germanna has engaged Kirsten Travers-Moffitt to lead the paint analysis. Travers-Moffitt is a professional conservator specializing in the study of historic painted surfaces and trained under renowned paint analyst Susan Buck. She has worked as a conservator at Colonial Williamsburg since 2010 and is undertaking this project independently.

Early findings from the analysis are already offering new insight into the home’s original appearance. Evidence suggests that the original cypress shingles were tinted red, similar to those at Mount Vernon, and that by the late 18th or early 19th century, the central hall was painted verdigris, a vivid green pigment made from copper and imported from Europe, reflecting both style and status.

Announced during National Historic Preservation Month in May, the project highlights both the urgency and opportunity of preserving Salubria, which remains in an unusually untouched state, providing an increasingly rare chance to carefully study and restore an early American home.

Historic Germanna is building on growing public interest in the site, following the success of 2025’s Salubria Oktoberfest and History Faire, and continues to expand tours and programs that invite the community to experience the property.

Salubria will be open for walk-in tours from Memorial Day through Labor Day, giving visitors the opportunity to explore the site as this next phase of preservation work progresses.

With additional support from Americana Corner and the PATH Foundation, Historic Germanna is also developing Salubria’s first permanent exhibit, scheduled to open in summer 2026. This is another step towards creating a more engaging and accessible experience for visitors.

“In the spirit of the Roller-Bottimore Foundation’s investment, we invite the community to be part of this effort,” said Jennifer Hurst-Wender, Historic Germanna’s Executive Director. “This work allows us to both preserve an important historic place and continue building Salubria as a space where people can learn from and connect with the history of this region.

About Historic Salubria
Historic Salubria, built in 1757 for Reverend John Thompson and Butler Brayne, widow of Alexander Spotswood, is an exemplary Georgian brick home crafted by free and enslaved artisans. Preserved in its original state, Salubria offers a glimpse into 18th-century architecture and life. Donated by the Grayson family in 2000, Salubria 
now serves as a public history site, sharing local and national stories through tours, events, and partnerships.

About Historic Germanna 
Founded in 1956, Historic Germanna celebrates its 70th anniversary in 2026, marking seven decades of stewardship, education, and public service in the Germanna region. The nonprofit is dedicated to preserving and sharing the diverse stories of Indigenous peoples, English colonists, early German immigrant communities, and 
African-descended families who shaped the region. Historic Germanna provides public programs in outdoor recreation and conservation, archaeology, education, historic preservation, genealogy, and heritage 
tourism. Through grant funding and community partnerships, the organization offers free public access to trails, river access, and educational opportunities that connect people to place, history, and nature.
Historic Germanna envisions a future in which the Germanna region is widely recognized as a place of shared heritage, environmental significance, and inclusive storytelling—fostering belonging, learning, and inspiration for all.

Sites under Historic Germanna’s stewardship include:
• Siegen Forest Recreational Trail System & Germanna Ford Public Boat Launch
• Fort Germanna Visitor Center, Research Library & Memorial Garden
• Hitt Archaeology Center and archaeological sites
• Historic Salubria (1757)
• Peter Hitt Farm & Cemetery (c. 1800)

For Media Inquiries:
Shannon Doherty
Historic Germanna
540-627-5672
sdoherty@germanna.org
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