Virginia Memory, Library of Virginia
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THIS DAY IN VIRGINIA HISTORY

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September 24, 1957

Records of the Virginia 350th Anniversary Commission, 1953–1958, Accession 25869, State Government Records Collection, Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia. Records of the Virginia 350th Anniversary Commission, 1953–1958, Accession 25869, State Government Records Collection, Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

Carter Lowance Wrote a Letter Concerning the Queen's Dress

To celebrate the 350th anniversary of the first permanent English settlement in America at Jamestown, the National Park Service, the Commonwealth of Virginia, and representatives from Colonial Williamsburg united in a state commission that collaborated with a federal commission to plan a special commemoration in 1957. The festival, held from April 1 to November 30, 1957, drew more than one million participants. A highlight of the events was a visit by Queen Elizabeth II on October 16, 1957. She made a speech at the new Jamestown Festival Park. A request by Carter Lowance, executive secretary to the Virginia governor, for the color of the Queen's dress was refused.