NPS Gallery Philip Hough was the first superintendent appointed to George Washington Birthplace National Monument, arriving on Feb 16, 1932. Hough was the first superintendent, and the only employee at first. He oversaw the beginnings of the Interpretive programming at the new national monument. In the first years, it began with the Wakefield National Memorial Association (WNMA) providing costumed docents in the Memorial House Museum. Services expanded to include a Log House tearoom, a post office, picnic area and a refurbished Memorial House Museum thanks to the work of Mrs. Crowninshield. The National Park Service gradually took over all the duties at the Monument. Parks that were established in the state before World War II were racially segregated, which influenced his behavior as superintendent. One incident involved a nun’s class of African American children. They were forbidden to eat their picnic lunch on the “mansion grounds”. Hough escorted them to the Bridges Creek area, where there were no picnic tables or benches provided. He brought later “two old and dirty buckets of water for us to drink from, also an old dirty dipper…”. When he reported his behavior to his supervisor, Hough commented that “...that is how it is done in Virginia.” Hough employed “Uncle Annanais” Johnson at the monument as a field hand to cultivate his colonial farm exhibit. Johnson was believed to be the last living person who was once enslaved at Wakefield. Hough referred to Johnson as “The old darkey” in his May 1947 Monthly Report that recorded Johnson’s death. There were many controversies during Hough’s tenure as superintendent. Although the infrastructure of George Washington Birthplace National Monument was already planned, and in many cases finished when Hough assumed his duties, the disparate visions between the WNMA and National Park Service about how the monument was to commemorate George Washington continued. The lingering Building X controversy, the question of the veracity of the Memorial House and its furnishings, the disposition of the Log House, and the relationship between the National Park Service with the WNMA were issues at various times during his 21 years of administration. He passed away from an apparent heart attack near Christmas, 1953 as superintendent. |
Last updated: June 27, 2024