CAROLINE COUNTY, Va. — A small museum on Main Street in Port Royal, Virginia, houses one of the largest collections of White House China on public display anywhere in the country.
How it all got there traces back to one Caroline County man with a lifelong passion for presidential history.
In Historic Port Royal, tucked inside a minuscule building that looks nothing like 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, you will find an American history lesson taught through delicate dishes, glassware, and serving pieces from presidential administrations spanning 200 years.
"It is an amazing tour and telling the history of the United States," Executive Director Kerri Holland said.
The collection includes dozens of serving dishes, plates, and glassware from administrations ranging from Rutherford B. Hayes and Harry Truman to Jimmy Carter — pieces that are rarely seen outside of private hands.
"They're hard to come by. When they go to market or auction they're usually snatched up by private collectors," Holland said.
Each piece offers a window into the administration that used it.
"You wonder what the thought went into designing these," Holland said.
Among the highlights is a birthday plate belonging to Dwight D. Eisenhower.
"It adorned the dining table during his birthday dinner. It was designed by his wife," Holland said.
The museum also holds pieces believed to have been used aboard Air Force One, as well as a champagne glass from the administration of Teddy Roosevelt.
"The craftsmanship that went into creating these pieces is breathtaking," Holland said. "Anyone in his presence could've had a taken a sip out of this."
The collection spans from James K. Polk's plates to the ruby red rimmed dishes of the Reagan administration.
"The red was selected by Nancy Reagan," Holland said.
The earliest known piece in the collection is a rare relic from the Society of Cincinnati related to George Washington, dating to the late 1700s.
Volunteer Michael Kauffman said the tangible artifacts connect visitors directly to history.
"These pieces go back for as long as we've been a nation. Who sat down in front of this and who drank out of this coffee cup and it's a guessing game you'll never know the answer to it but it's fun to think about it," Kauffman said.
The collection exists in Port Royal thanks to the generosity of historian Herb Collins.
The Caroline County native and former curator of political collections at the Smithsonian Institution spent a small personal fortune acquiring the rare antiques at auctions over several decades.
"He was a gem," Holland said. "He loved Caroline. He loved having his ties in Caroline. He was a walking encyclopedia of history."
Collins donated the relics without expecting anything in return. Holland recalled one piece that arrived at his home on a Thursday.
"We were over there on a Saturday. And he said I've seen it enough. It is time to go in the museum. He enjoyed it for two days," Holland said.
Holland was also present for one of the last pieces Collins purchased before his death.
"I was shaking just to hold it," Holland said.
Three years after Collins died at age 91, his legacy lives on the shelves at Historic Port Royal.
"I don't think anyone else would have the opportunity to have this collection," Holland said.
Holland said the collection does what all great history exhibits should do.
"That room is basically 200 years of political history," Holland said. "It makes a historical figure a little more tangible. And human."
Click here to learn more about the collection of White House China.
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