The Memorial Foundation of the Germanna Colonies in Virginia, Inc.

The Memorial Foundation of the Germanna Colonies in Virginia, Inc. (a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization) was chartered in 1956 to preserve the heritage of the earliest organized settlements of Germans in colonial Virginia in 1714 and 1717, augmented with additional infusions of immigrants in the 1730s and 1740s. Originally settled in a frontier fort under the auspices of Virginia's colonial Lt. Governor, Alexander Spotswood, the members of the immigrant groups later moved to the present counties of Fauquier, Culpeper, and Madison and played important roles in the settlement and development of those areas.

The Germanna Foundation’s four-fold mission is designed to preserve the early German-American heritage that began in colonial Virginiathrough lively programs of:

1. Land conservation;

2. Preservation of historic structures, sites, and cemeteries;

3. Education of the general public as well as the tens of thousands of descendants of those early settlers, and

4. The development of strong international relations with counterparts in Germany.