Welcome to the Website “Germans in Fredericksburg, Virginia. While the name-sake city in Texas has a much larger claim to fame in terms of German immigration, our region can hold its own when it comes to Germans coming to the area and contributing greatly to society. This site is the result of a German class at the University of Mary Washington The German Diaspora. Under the guidance of Professor Marcel Rotter, students explored the live of current and former residents of the Fredericksburg, VA area. The resulting research essays and oral interviews are collected here.
Please check back in the future as we will update the site as ongoing research is being completed. Future classes will contribute further to the expansion of the site.
Acknowledgments
There are a number of people and institutions who deserve our thanks. The students who did the research, the volunteers for the oral interviews, the archives in Fredericksburg, especially Nancy Moore, librarian at the Virginiana Room or the Central Rappahannock Regional Library.
The Central Rappahannock Heritage Center graciously let us use a postcard and envelope from the John Happel collection for our welcome page.
The Merrill-Bruckner Fund of the University of Mary Washigton Foundation provided funding for the course excursions. The staff at the following historic sites provided tailored information and behind-the-scenes tours for the students: Director and curator Joanna Catron at Belmont, executive director Tim Sutphin and archeology director Eric Larsen at the Germanna Foundation, museum curator Sarah Marsteller and board member Steve Holland at the German-American Heritage Museum in Washington, D.C. Without their tireless efforts, the course and as a result this site would not have been possible.
If you would like to contribute your own research on German-Americans in the Fredericksburg, VA area or have corrections, please contact Professor Marcel Rotter: mrotter (a) umw.edu