The James Monroe Museum and Memorial Library was founded in 1927 by Rose de Chine Gouverneur Hoes and Lawrence Gouverneur Hoes, descendants of James Monroe. The Museum was placed in a building on the site of Monroes law office in Fredericksburg, Virginia, although the original Monroe building no longer stands. The large collection in the museum consists of the Monroe family's personal objects and papers which have been donated by the descendants or acquired later. In 1964, the museum and its collections were given to the Commonwealth of Virginia and are now administered by the University of Mary Washington.
When the James Monroe Museum was given to the University of Mary Washington, a Board of Regents was formed to help administer activities relating to the Museum. The Board was created in 1964 through an act of the Virginia General Assembly.
The collection consists of papers regarding the James Monroe Museum and Memorial Library from 1963 to the present. The papers include administrative files regarding the mission and operation of the museum, as well as legal records and correspondence concerning the ownership of the museum site and disputes arising in 1972 when Mary Washington College seaparated from the University of Virginia. Also included are documents relating to the Board of Regents and its members, published works and publicity materials by and about the museum, and some images.
Noted subjects in the collection include Laurence Gouverneur Hoes (descendant of James Monroe), Camilla Hoes Pope (widow of Laurence G. Hoes), Walter Chinn (Vice President of the James Monroe Memorial Foundation), Grellet Simpson (Chancellor of Mary Washington College), LeRoy Strohl (University Librarian, 1985-2010), and Ruby Weinbrecht (University Librarian, 1972-1984).