The final panels and the Audio Timeline of the Land were installed early in 2024 to complete the new permanent exhibition Window to a New America. Contributions included:

• Grant funding from the Mellon Foundation for design collaboration

• Funding from Virginia Humanities for the Audio Timeline of the Land

• Input and guidance from the Highland Council of Descendant Advisors on content, theme and tone

• Your gifts that helped fund physical installation and lighting

• Research and writing from our team

This future-facing exhibition invites the exploration of Highland's history as it connects to the young United States, and strives to equip and inspire visitors to explore history in their own communities. If you haven't come to see, please make your plans now!

We participated in the discussion and practice of public humanities, with community-engaged research, interpretation, and programs. 

• Highland hosted two recently-graduated William & Mary students as public archaeology interns on the summer excavation

• We led a student team from the Sharpe Community Scholars Program who participated in planning Descendants Day

• We hosted three W&M interns who helped facilitate the day itself  

• Descendants Ramona Chapman and Jennifer Stacy and Executive Director Sara Bon-Harper presented a panel on these topics at the Virginia Association of Museums conference

• Sara Bon-Harper and research fellow Maria DiBenigno published a chapter in a volume about public humanities

The archaeology lab in the Community Research Center (CRC) got full use this summer, and the CRC also hosted meetings, interviews, and other scholarly activities.

The physical property is an embodiment of its history.  Archaeology, history, and environmental studies all have a role to play in discovering the land's history.  Among these projects, William & Mary professor Chuck Bailey once again brought his students to explore through geology, learning about the deep past of Highland.

Conservation projects continue to repair the harmful impacts of historic land use, this year with treatment for Ailanthus, or tree of heaven. The pollinator habitat established along the drive is flourishing in its second year.

The Highland Rustic Trails provide access to historic Highland beyond a core visitor area and showcase recent and current conservation projects. 

A series of trails programs this year invited participants to experience the land through journaling, intentional observation, and guided hikes.  We invite you to explore the trails and join ecology programs next year.