Orange, VA - On the evening of Monday, April 8th, a fire emergency occurred at the Archaeology Lab at James Madison’s Montpelier in Orange County, VA. The Orange County Fire Marshal is investigating the incident, and the cause has yet to be determined. 

“The speed of first responders from five regions of Orange County demonstrated the power of community," said Eola L. Dance, President and CEO of The Montpelier Foundation. "The rest of the property was not impacted. The historic core of Montpelier will remain open to the public and continue with normal operations.”

“This moment is about all of us,” said Reverend Larry Walker, President of the Montpelier Descendants Committee. “The work of the Archaeology Lab is critical to the entire Montpelier community.”

 

“All is not lost,” said Dr. Matt Reeves, Director of Archeology at Montpelier. “What we have to do now is assess, clean, and store irreplaceable artifacts. Without the rapid response from every region of Orange County, this would have been tragic.” 

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