To celebrate the 200th anniversary of the birth of Julia Dent Grant, the Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site, 7400 Grant Road, debuted a special exhibit about her life on May 22. The installation, featuring historic personal items of hers, will run through Sept. 30 in the museum rotunda.
“We are in a year-long commemoration of Julia’s life and legacy,” curator and historian Nick Sacco said. “We’re trying to make this year about Julia and doing honor to her life and legacy.”
At the exhibit’s grand opening, Sacco discussed the curation of the display, which features artifacts from the historic site’s permanent collection and loaned pieces from around the country. He highlighted several artifacts, including the oldest known photo of Grant, materials from her wedding and a first edition copy of her book, “The Personal Memoirs of Julia Dent Grant” — the first memoir written by a U.S. First Lady.
“We have more than 700 artifacts in storage here at the park,” Sacco said. “We wanted to find ways to highlight more of those collections and provide public access to those things.”
