Fredericksburg police are investigating the vandalism of the Mary Washington Monument, which was erected in 1833 by local women to honor the mother of the first president of the United States.
Mary Ball Washington, who was born in Lancaster County, Virginia and for whom Mary Washington College was named in 1938, called Fredericksburg home and is buried on Kenmore Plantation. The exact location of her grave is unknown.
On Saturday evening, it was discovered that the first monument erected by women to honor a woman in America was defaced with graffiti on two sides with the word “Antifa.”
The Washington Heritage Museums is offering a $1,500 reward for anyone in the Fredericksburg community who can provide information that leads to the arrest of the individual or individuals responsible for the graffiti.
“We also recognize that removing the paint from the monument in a nondestructive way can be both time-consuming and expensive. As such, we are humbly requesting donations from members of our community who are committed to the preservation and protection of the monument,” the nonprofit organization posted on Facebook.
The organization hopes that anyone with “additional information about this unconscionable display of vandalism will come forward to help us identify those responsible.”
“The Mary Washington Monument is not only a tribute to America’s First Mother but also an important part of Fredericksburg and an incredible reminder of the role that our city and region played in America’s story and founding,” the group wrote on Facebook.
Mary Washington Hospital was named after the mother of the first president. In 2019, the Fredericksburg Nationals baseball team introduced a logo at the Mary Washington House on her 311th birthday, to honor her. The logo is the first female logo in American baseball.
George Washington was elected the first president of the U.S. in April 1889 when his mother was already suffering from breast cancer. After Mary Ball Washington‘s death in August 1889, many visited her grave and the site and original marker were destroyed by souvenir seekers. The current monument was erected in 1833 and still stands at 1500 Washington Ave., Fredericksburg.
Donations to the Washington Heritage Museums are welcome online.
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Rebecca Barnabi
