J-10
01-03-2005, 10:14 PM
Washington rifle taken off display at arms museum
Monday, January 03, 2005 - 10:53:26 AM EST
By The Associated Press
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) -- A rare rifle once owned by President George Washington is coming off display at the Frazier Historical Arms Museum collection.
Museum spokeswoman Liz Ferguson said the rifle, first exhibited Nov. 28, will be removed Jan. 10 for more research.
The museum's founder, Louisville businessman Owsley Brown Frazier, lent the flintlock rifle, which is the only long gun owned by America's first president still known to exist, to the foundation that runs the museum.
The .44-caliber rifle likely was presented as a gift to Washington at his Mount Vernon estate in Virginia in 1791, museum officials have said.
The museum's chief curator, Walter ''Chip'' Karcheski Jr., ''will further investigate the provenance'' of the rifle, Ferguson said. His planned research will take him to Mount Vernon. He also will spend time at the American Antiquarian Society in Worcester, Mass., and the National Archives and the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, Ferguson said.
''There is no doubt the rifle was owned by Washington. But we hope to find a letter or a diary passage that cites specifically when the artifact was presented to Washington,'' Ferguson said.
http://www.thetranscript.com/Stories/0,1413,103~9068~2632196,00.html
Monday, January 03, 2005 - 10:53:26 AM EST
By The Associated Press
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) -- A rare rifle once owned by President George Washington is coming off display at the Frazier Historical Arms Museum collection.
Museum spokeswoman Liz Ferguson said the rifle, first exhibited Nov. 28, will be removed Jan. 10 for more research.
The museum's founder, Louisville businessman Owsley Brown Frazier, lent the flintlock rifle, which is the only long gun owned by America's first president still known to exist, to the foundation that runs the museum.
The .44-caliber rifle likely was presented as a gift to Washington at his Mount Vernon estate in Virginia in 1791, museum officials have said.
The museum's chief curator, Walter ''Chip'' Karcheski Jr., ''will further investigate the provenance'' of the rifle, Ferguson said. His planned research will take him to Mount Vernon. He also will spend time at the American Antiquarian Society in Worcester, Mass., and the National Archives and the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, Ferguson said.
''There is no doubt the rifle was owned by Washington. But we hope to find a letter or a diary passage that cites specifically when the artifact was presented to Washington,'' Ferguson said.
http://www.thetranscript.com/Stories/0,1413,103~9068~2632196,00.html