Columbiana, AL

Columbiana's Artifacts of George Washington

History buffs have a relatively new forum for learning about America’s first first family, and it’s deep in the heart of Alabama.

The Karl C. Harrison Museum of George Washington in Columbiana, a town of about 3,200, houses almost 1,000 Washington artifacts, including personal items, documents, and furniture.

“People can’t believe we have all these things that belonged to George Washington,” says Nancy Harrison, the museum’s director, “and they are amazed to find such a collection here in central Alabama instead of Virginia.”

The extensive collection of Washington family artifacts arrived in Alabama by winding its way through a long family tree. Nancy Harrison, daughter of the museum’s 1982 founder, says the items were amassed by Eliza Parke Custis, Martha Washington’s granddaughter. The collection then passed through six generations of Washington heirs down to Shelby County, Alabama’s Charlotte Smith Weaver in the early 1980s. Weaver, who lives in Birmingham, gave her grandchildren selected items, then offered the remainder of her family inheritance for public preservation. Karl Harrison, a Columbiana banker and philanthropist, acquired a third of the collection to establish the museum as his gift and legacy to the people of Shelby County. The balance of the artifacts went to Mount Vernon.

The foyer’s focal point, a commanding portrait bust of George Washington, was made from a life mask created by French sculptor Jean Antoine Houdan. Nearby, a glass case topped by a handsome pair of pink Sevres vases contains family correspondence, jewelry, and a writing instrument from Washington’s survey case, along with one of his cufflinks and an ornate button.

“One of our finest possessions is Martha’s prayer book, printed in New York in 1783. We also have an original letter, written about a year before her death,” Nancy Harrison says.

Along the corridor, you’ll pass a grandfather clock, hand-carved in Germany and made from Honduras mahogany. Nearby stands a circa 1805 walnut games table with inlays of tulip and rosewood, which belonged to Bushrod Washington, a direct descendant who inherited Mount Vernon when Martha died.

Two dining room tables feature beautiful settings with exquisite porcelain pieces and coin-silver utensils used at Mount Vernon. A prized 207-piece set of Minton porcelain is displayed on a table and buffet and also fills the shelves of a walnut cabinet signed by William Elfie. Other articles include an English punch bowl with a floral motif and an exquisite circa 1774 cobalt blue-bordered Sevres porcelain tea set.

Family portraits line the museum’s walls. An original 1747 portrait of Martha Washington was damaged during the Civil War, but visitors can see an official copy of that work made by Baltimore artist Volkmar in 1874.

Other artifacts include an original 1787 Samuel Vaughn sketch of Mount Vernon’s grounds and some 70 documents dating back to the Revolutionary War period, including original correspondence from James Madison, Lord Cornwallis, John Adams, Aaron Burr, and other historical figures.

The collection’s oldest item is the 1710 handwritten will of Colonel Daniel Parke, the grandfather of Martha Washington’s first husband, Daniel Parke Custis. You’ll also see an original tintype depicting Robert E. Lee, who married Mary Randolph Custis, in uniform for the last time.

In 1989, belongings of George Washington’s half brother, Augustin, were added to the collection after Karl Harrison bought items at an estate auction, including a bedroom suite with a marble-topped chest and wash stand, a writing desk, and a mahogany bed.

The collection is a deep source of pride for Columbiana residents.

“I know for a fact the museum enhances our quality of life,” says Columbiana Mayor Allen Lowe. “A lot of people who may not be able to journey to Mount Vernon can experience this part of our heritage by getting better acquainted with Revolutionary and post-Revolutionary life.”

Lowe describes Karl Harrison as “a gentleman and a scholar in all senses. He enjoyed the arts and wanted everyone to have the opportunity to do so. The impact he had on Columbiana won’t even be known for decades.”

Gay Martin is author of Alabama Off the Beaten Path, published by The Globe Pequot Press.

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