Curator of Archaeological Collections, Mary Furlong Minkoff joined the Montpelier staff in October 2015. She received her PhD at the University of Maryland, College Park where she specialized in civically engaged archaeology, community archaeology, African American archaeology, sensory archaeology, and Civil War archaeology. Her dissertation focused on working with descendants and stakeholders to uncover the archaeology and memories of African American communities, particularly The Fort community in Alexandria, Virginia, surrounding the Civil War Defenses of Washington. Prior to coming to Montpelier, Mary worked with the National Park Service in a variety areas including the National Capital Regional Archaeology Office and as an archaeologist for the Urban Archaeology Corps youth program. Before coming to the Mid-Atlantic, Mary worked for the Florida Public Archaeology Network as the Outreach Coordinator for the Northwest Regional Office. She earned her MA in Historical Archaeology from the University of West Florida and BA in Anthropology and History from the University of Mississippi. Mary has worked on archaeological sites spanning the prehistoric and historic time periods throughout the Southeast and Mid Atlantic regions of the United States and in Veracruz, Mexico.
