Years

2019-2021

Institution

Ford’s Theatre Society

I led an effort to create new in-person and online interpretive signage for John Wilkes Booth’s murder weapon, to bring interpretation away from true crime focus toward questions of political violence and memorialization.

A man places a vinyl wrapper over a museum display sign.

What I Did

Shared research

After finding a 1931 letter denying permission to display the murder weapon, saying it would not be appropriate, I shared with colleagues who agreed the letter would provide a way to reinterpret the weapon.

Wrote & installed new label

Drafted the new panel and took the text through both Ford’s Theatre Society and National Park Service editing processes, revising accordingly.

Laid out the graphic in an existing template, managed printing, and personally installed the new graphic.

Disseminated to different audiences

Set up a survey to gauge visitor opinions on the appropriateness of displaying a murder weapon.

Wrote a blog post about the new interpretation.

Revised a webpage about the murder weapon to include the new interpretation and a separate survey. After several months of results, I added visitor quotes.

The Results

  • Five years after initial installation, the new signage and webpage remain in place.

  • As of March 2025, more than 1,050 on-site visitors and more than 1,400 online visitors answered the surveys.