| Virginia, Alexandria — "Pursuers of Booth the Assassin" — Alexandria National Cemetery |
| | In Memory
of
Peter Carroll
Samuel N. Gosnell
Geo. W. Huntington
Christopher Farley
who lost their lives, April 24, 1865
while in pursuit of Booth the assassin
of our beloved President
Abraham Lincoln. — Map (db m41484) HM |
| Virginia, Alexandria — 1323 Duke Street – From Slavery to Freedom and Service — Alexandria Heritage Trail |
| | Text, upper half of marker panel:
This house, built by Emmanuel Jones by 1888, stands at the corner of a block that witnessed the extremes of 19th century African American experience. From a slave trading company to significant expressions of freedom - military service, medical care, religious services and Alexandria’s first, collective civil rights action.
The block was purchased by slave dealers in 1835 and continued to be used by a succession of such businesses until the . . . — Map (db m46124) HM |
| Virginia, Alexandria — A Tale of Three Jurisdictions |
| | Did you know that you traverse the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia when you cross this bridge? The brass lines in the walkway mark the boundaries. They also commemorate the cooperation required to build this bridge.
Follow the numbers to find out how this intersection came to be...
1. Virginia was the first colony.
The first British land grant in the new world was extended by the King to the Virginia Company of London, a collection of court favorites that had . . . — Map (db m60241) HM |
| Virginia, Alexandria — Alexandria — Alexandria in the Civil War |
| | “Alexandria is ours,” declared Col. Orlando Wilcox of the 1st Michigan Vol. Inf. as his regiment captured the city on the morning of May 24, 1861. When Virginia's vote of secession became effective, Union forces immediately crossed the Potomac River and occupied the Virginia shore. Due to its strategic location on the Potomac River just south of Washington, D.C., Alexandria became a prime Union occupation target.
During the capture of Alexandria, James W. Jackson, an ardent . . . — Map (db m159) HM |
| Virginia, Alexandria — E-89 — Alexandria Academy |
| | On 17 Dec. 1785, George Washington endowed a school here in the recently established Alexandria Academy “for the purpose of educating orphan children.” In 1812, an association of free African Americans founded its own school here in space vacated by white students. Young Robert E. Lee attended another school in the Academy from 1818 to 1823, when it closed and the building was sold. During the Civil War the Academy served as a freedman’s hospital. Returned to the Alexandria School . . . — Map (db m813) HM |
| Virginia, Alexandria — E 124 — Alfred Street Baptist Church |
| | Alfred Street Baptist Church is home to the oldest
African American congregation in Alexandria,
dating to the early 19th century. It has served as a
prominent religious, educational, and cultural
institution. In 1818, the congregation, then known
as the Colored Baptist Society, began worship
services here in the midst of the Bottoms, a free
black neighborhood. By 1820 the church created
its educational branch, providing religious and
secular opportunities for both black children . . . — Map (db m14623) HM |
| Virginia, Alexandria — Battery Rodgers |
| | Historical Site Defenses of Washington 1861-1865 Battery Rodgers
Here stood Battery Rodgers, built in 1863 to prevent enemy ships from passing up the Potomac River. The battery had a perimeter of 30 yards and mounted five 200 pounder Parrott guns and one 15-inch Rodman. It was deactivated in 1867. — Map (db m41413) HM |
| Virginia, Alexandria — Bombproof |
| | Two bombproofs, each measuring 200 feet long by 12.5 feet wide, were located in the center of Fort Ward. During normal operations the bombproofs were used as meeting rooms, storage facilities, and sometimes as a prison. In the event of an attack, the structures provided temporary protection for the soldiers. Water was supplied by a well located between the bombproofs. — Map (db m7716) HM |
| Virginia, Alexandria — Braddock Cannon |
| | (North Side):
This monument marks the trail taken by the army of General Braddock which left Alexandria on April 20, 1755 to defend the western frontier against the French and Indians.
Erected by the Society of Colonial Dames of America in the State of Virginia, May 26, 1915
(South Side):
The Cannon used here was abandoned by General Braddock at Old Alexandria April 1755.
The Cobble-Stones composing this mound were taken from the streets of Old Alexandria which were . . . — Map (db m7567) HM |
| Virginia, Alexandria — Brigadier General Montgomery D. Corse, CSA |
| | Brigadier General Montgomery D. Corse, CSA
Born here in 1816, died Alexandria 1895.
Volunteer, Mexican War 1846-1848.
Prospector in California,
Commander, 17th Virginia Infantry Regiment, CSA.
Post-war civic leader and banker.
Buried nearby in St. Paul's Cemetery.
Erected by Samuel Cooper Chapter, Military Order of the Stars and Bars.
June 1999 — Map (db m65489) HM |
| Virginia, Alexandria — Bush Hill |
| | Josiah Watson, a wealthy merchant and postmaster of Alexandria, established his 272-acre plantation, “Bush Hill”, in 1791. Richard Marshall Scott purchased the plantation in 1791; his family stayed here for 200 years. Scott was an attorney, bank president and planter who married three times, due to the death of his first two wives. In 1833, with Scott’s death, his son Richard and Virginia Gunnell moved here and produced wheat, oats, rye, and corn on the plantation. Richard died at . . . — Map (db m2610) HM |
| Virginia, Alexandria — D.C.'s First Building Block — Jones Point Park |
| | In 1791, surveyors on Jones Point began to lay out the ten-mile square that would become Washington, D.C. The first marker for the survey—the south cornerstone—was set in place on this spot. Although the stone within this protective enclosure may be a replacement dating from 1794, it is nonetheless among the oldest existing physical monuments associated with the federal city of Washington, D.C.
(caption)
With water levels steadily rising, the cornerstone on Jones Point . . . — Map (db m60162) HM |
| Virginia, Alexandria — Entrance Gate to Fort Ward — Officers' Hut |
| | The Fort Ward entrance gate, completed in May 1865, provided the only access to the interior of the fort. The gate's decorative details include stands of cannonballs and the insignia (castle) of the Army Corps of Engineers which designed and supervised the construction of the Defenses of Washington. The present gate is a reconstruction based on the original Corps of Engineers drawing above. A ditch, or dry moat, surrounded the entire fort. The fort's earthen walls reached a height of . . . — Map (db m7680) HM |
| Virginia, Alexandria — T-45 — Episcopal High School |
| | Episcopal High School, on the hill to the southwest, was founded in 1839 as a boys' preparatory school, one of the first in the South; girls were admitted in 1991. The school was a pioneer in the establishment of student honor codes in preparatory education. In 1861 Union troops occupied the school and used it as a military hospital; the poet Walt Whitman served as a nurse there. Episcopal High School reopened in 1866. The central administration building, now called Hoxton House, was built . . . — Map (db m7559) HM |
| Virginia, Alexandria — First Catholic Church in Virginia — A. D. 1795 |
| | This stone taken from the canal of the Potomac Company of which Washington and Fitzgerald were Directors commemorates the erection of the First Catholic Church in Virginia, A. D. 1795, which stood until 1839 about twenty feet behind this marker.
In grateful acknowledgement of their aid in establishing this church the three trees to the north of this stone have been dedicated as follows to General George Washington as subscriber to the building, Colonel John Fitzerald, his . . . — Map (db m8475) HM |
| Virginia, Alexandria — First Original Federal Boundary Stone — District of Columbia |
| | Placed April 15, 1791. Protected by Mount Vernon Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, April 30, 1926. — Map (db m60178) HM |
| Virginia, Alexandria — Fort Ellsworth |
| | Fort Ellsworth, one of 68 earthen forts built to protect Washington during the Civil War, was constructed in 1861. When completed, the fort had a perimeter of 618 yards and was an irregular Vauban-type star design of French origin. The fort was garrisoned by many regiments in the course of the war. The largest of its guns, a 100-pound Parrott, had a maximum range of 8,428 yards. The fort was named for Colonel Elmer E. Ellsworth, Commander of the 11th New York Fire Zouaves and a friend of . . . — Map (db m45046) HM |
| Virginia, Alexandria — Fort Ward — 1861-1865 |
| | On May 24, 1861, when Virginia's secession from the Union became effective, Federal forces immediately occupied Northern Virginia to protect the City of Washington, D.C. After the Confederate victory at the Battle of First Bull Run (First Manassas) in July 1861, the Federal government began construction of a defense system to guard the Union capital. By the end of the war in 1865, the Defenses of Washington consisted of 162 forts and batteries, with emplacements for 1,421 guns. The initial . . . — Map (db m7676) HM |
| Virginia, Alexandria — Fort Ward — 1861-1865 |
| | This stairway leads up the west wall of Fort Ward between the Northwest Bastion (to the left) and the Southwest Bastion (to the right). Fort Ward had 14 cannon emplacements along this area of the wall that created overlapping fields of fire. Infantry soldiers armed with rifle muskets stationed between the cannon emplacements made this wall of the fort a formidable obstacle to attack. A self-guided tour begins at the ceremonial gate. The initial construction of Fort Ward was completed in . . . — Map (db m7709) HM |
| Virginia, Alexandria — Fort Ward |
| | Historical Site Defenses of Washington 1861-1865 Fort Ward Here stands Fort Ward, constructed in 1861 to protect the approaches to Alexandria by Little River Turnpike and Leesburg Turnpike. In 1864, the fort was enlarged to a perimeter of 818 yards with 36 gun emplacements. The fort has been preserved by the City of Alexandria. — Map (db m41117) HM |
| Virginia, Alexandria — E-131 — Franklin and Armfield Slave Office — (1315 Duke Street) |
| | Isaac Franklin and John Armfield leased this brick building with access to the wharves and docks in 1828 as a holding pen for enslaved people being shipped from Northern Virginia to Louisiana. They purchased the building and three lots in 1832. From this location Armfield bought bondspeople at low prices and shipped them south to his partner Franklin in Natchez Mississippi and New Orleans, Louisiana, to be sold at higher prices. By the 1830s, they often sold 1,000 people annually, operating as . . . — Map (db m44577) HM |
| Virginia, Alexandria — E-109 — Freedmen’s Cemetery |
| | Federal authorities established a cemetery here for newly freed African Americans during the Civil War. In January 1864, the military governor of Alexandria confiscated for use as a burying ground an abandoned pasture from a family with Confederate sympathies. About 1,700 freed people, including infants and black Union soldiers, were interred here before the last recorded burial in January 1869. Most of the deceased had resided in what was known as Old Town and in nearby rural settlements. . . . — Map (db m59519) HM |
| Virginia, Alexandria — Gadsby’s Tavern |
| | Erected 1792. Popular resort and famous hostelry of the Eighteenth Century. Here was held in 1798 the first celebration of Washington's Birthday in which he participated, and from its steps Washington held his last military review and gave his last military order, November 1799. — Map (db m146) HM |
| Virginia, Alexandria — Gazette House |
| | This building dates to 1801. Between 1852-1911 the Alexandria Gazette newspaper was printed here. In 1862 while Alexandria was occupied by the North during the Civil War, Union soldiers burned this building because it was reported here that St. Paul Church's minister refused to say a prayer for President Lincoln during Sunday services. Restored 1865-67. Facade replaced in 1922. — Map (db m41832) HM |
| Virginia, Alexandria — E 86 — Historic Alexandria |
| | Alexandria was named for the family of John Alexander, a Virginia planter who in 1669 acquired the tract on which the town began. By 1732, the site was known as Hunting Creek Warehouse and in 1749 became Alexandria, thereafter a major 18th-century port. George Washington frequented the town; Robert E. Lee claimed it as his boyhood home. From 1801 to 1847 Alexandria was part of the District of Columbia, and was later occupied by Federal troops during the Civil War. By the 20th century it had . . . — Map (db m47) HM |
| Virginia, Alexandria — Home of Edmund Jennings Lee — Completed 1801 |
| | Eminent lawyer, he lived here until 1837. His son, Cassius Francis Lee until 1865. Edmund Jennings Lee served as Vestryman and Warden of Christ Church, whose Glebe lands he successfully defended from confiscation after the Revolutionary War. Major of Alexandria 1814–1818. Robert Edward Lee, his nephew, considered this his second home. — Map (db m8566) HM |
| Virginia, Alexandria — Lake Cook |
| | Lake Cook is named for Dayton L. Cook, P.E., the City of Alexandria's Director of Transportation and Environmental Services, who was instrumental in the purchase, design, and construction of the Eisenhower Valley public improvements. Mr. Cook helped implement major flood control projects in Cameron Valley and in Four Mile Run, the latter being a project that eliminated the recurring floods that had plagued the surrounding area for many years. He also acquired much parkland in the City including . . . — Map (db m27160) HM |
| Virginia, Alexandria — E-91 — Lee’s Boyhood Home |
| | Robert E. Lee left this home that he loves so well to enter West Point. After Appomattox he returned and climbed the wall to see “if the snowballs were in bloom.” George Washington dined here when it was the home of William fitzhugh, Lee’s kinsman and his wife’s grandfather. Lafayette visited here in 1824. — Map (db m8548) HM |
| Virginia, Alexandria — E-93 — Lee-Fendall House |
| | “Light Horse Harry” Lee, Revolutionary War officer, owned this land in 1784. The house was built in 1785 by Phillip Fendall, a Lee relative. Renovated in 1850 in the Greek Revival style, the house remained in the Lee family until 1903. John L. Lewis, labor leader and president of the United Mine Workers of America and the Congress of Industrial Organizations, was the last resident owner, from 1937 to 1969. — Map (db m8567) HM |
| Virginia, Alexandria — Lee-Fendall House |
| | Built by Philip Richard Fendall in 1785 on land purchased from Henry (Light Horse Harry) Lee. Lee was a brilliant cavalry officer in the Revolution, close friend of George Washington, Virginia Assemblyman, member of Congress and Governor of Virginia. Borh 1756, died 1818. His ashes lie in the chapel crypt at Washington and Lee University beside his son, Robert E. Lee. — Map (db m8596) HM |
| Virginia, Alexandria — Lloyd House |
| | Built 1797 by John Wise, tavern keeper, and his residence, until 1799. Rental property when sold to Major Jacob Hoffman 1810–1825, included outbuildings, gardens, small sugar refinery. Next owner Elizabeth Thacker Hooe leased house to Benjamin Hallowell, schoolmaster, who had prepared Robert E. Lee for West Point. Lee was often a guest at the house. Purchased 1832 by John Lloyd and remained in his family to 1918. Saved by Robert V. New from demolition 1956. With contributions from . . . — Map (db m8613) HM |
| Virginia, Alexandria — Lord Fairfax House |
| | Erected (c.) 1800 by William Yeaton. Residence of Thomas, Ninth Lord Fairfax and his son Dr. Orlando Fairfax until 1875. — Map (db m164) HM |
| Virginia, Alexandria — Mistress Margaret Brent — (c1601–c1671) |
| | On September 6, 1654, this site was included in a patent of 700 acres granted by the Colony of Virginia to Mistress Margaret Brent (c1601–c1671). An extraordinary woman, she spent most of her adult life fighting discrimination of her sex, she was the first private owner of the rectangular tract of land on the Potomac River above Hunting Creek that became the nucleus of Alexandria. — Map (db m62020) HM |
| Virginia, Alexandria — Mountains of Materials and Massive Manpower — Fighting World War I |
| | The concrete foundations you see here were part of a craneway servicing two shipways and launch sites -- elements of an enormous World War I-era shipyard. To speed delivery of cargo ships needed for the war effort, the Virginia Shipbuilding Corporation hired thousands of workers and ordered tens of thousands of tons of steel. The yard's 7,000 workers and support staff used mass production techniques developed by the auto industry to move materials and speed assembly of simple, pre-fabricated . . . — Map (db m62323) HM |
| Virginia, Alexandria — Northwest Bastion |
| | The plan of Fort Ward consisted of five bastions with positions for 36 guns. The Northwest Bastion illustrates how the entire stronghold appeared in 1864. This bastion is armed with six reproduction weapons based on Fort Ward's original table of armament: three 4.5" Rodman rifled guns (#14,16,17), two 24-pounder smoothbore Howitzers (#13, 15), and one 6-pounder James Rifle (#12). The cannons worked in concert to sweep the field toward Little River Turnpike (Duke Street) to the south, and . . . — Map (db m7713) HM |
| Virginia, Alexandria — Original Federal Boundary Stone SW 3 |
| | Original Federal
Boundary Stone Southwest 3
District of Columbia
Placed 1791-1792
This plaque placed here on the 200th anniversary of the founding of the City of Washington D.C.
Placed here and protected by Colonel John Washington Chapter
NSDAR
Washington D.C. — Map (db m7638) HM |
| Virginia, Alexandria — Panoramic View of Alexandria |
| | Mathew Brady – 1864. Camp of the 44th New York Volunteer Infantry, also known as the "Ellsworth Avengers" and the "People's Ellsworth Regiment." The unit was raised in honor of Colonel Elmer E. Ellsworth, who was killed at the Marshall House Hotel on May 24, 1861, during the Union Army's occupation of Alexandria. The 44th New York was stationed at Alexandria from January 24, to April 29, 1964, and assigned to guard duty on U.S. Military Railroad trains. The unit's regimental history, . . . — Map (db m196) HM |
| Virginia, Alexandria — Powder Magazine and Filling Room |
| | Ammunition for the fort's guns was kept in underground storage facilities called magazines and filling rooms. Shells were armed and sometimes stored in the filling room, while the magazine was used to hold black powder and crated rounds. Implements for firing the cannons could also be kept in the filling room. Duty in either the filling room or the magazine was hazardous as the slightest spark could ignite the highly explosive black powder. Soldiers assigned to this task were required to . . . — Map (db m7711) HM |
| Virginia, Alexandria — Prehistory to Colonial Settlement |
| | Jones Point was once a wooded wilderness, ringed by marshes and periodically cut off from the mainland during high tide. American Indians made use of both woodland and wetland for food, tools and supplies. By the 17th century, Europeans had displaced the native peoples, felled the trees and planted row upon row of tobacco.
Attracted to the seasonal resources of the river, woods and marsh made available by the warming climates that followed the last Ice Age, a small group of native peoples . . . — Map (db m62028) HM |
| Virginia, Alexandria — Profile of Fort |
| | This exterior view of the restored Northwest Bastion illustrates the effectiveness of an earthwork fort. The fort walls were 18-22 feet high, 12-14 feet thick, and slanted at 45 degrees. To gain access to the fort an attacker would have to cross the field of fire (the open area to the front of the fort), penetrate the abatis (the line of felled trees that surrounded the ditch), enter the ditch, and scale the walls while the defenders were well protected behind the embankments. These restored . . . — Map (db m7714) HM |
| Virginia, Alexandria — Rifle Trench |
| | This rifle trench extended from the North Bastion toward Battery Garesche located beyond Leesburg Turnpike (Route 7). Another rifle trench extended from the tip of the South Bastion near the Fort Gate. The rifle trenches prevented enemy troops from moving towards the rear of the fort. — Map (db m7715) HM |
| Virginia, Alexandria — Saint Paul's Episcopal Church |
| | This property has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places by the United States Department of the Interior. — Map (db m39307) HM |
| Virginia, Alexandria — Site of First Services of the Salvation Army |
| | Alexandria, Virginia May 1885. On this site stood Captain Joseph Pugmire and three lassies who conducted the first Salvation Army services in Alexandria. Later, the Salvation Army was located at 319 and 316 King Street from 1922 to 1965, when it moved to its present facility at 1804 Mount Vernon Avenue. This plaque was dedicated on Sunday, May 19, 1985 by General Jarl Wahlstrum, International Leader; Major Charles E. Beatley, City of Alexandria; Commissioner Andrew S. Miller, Territorial . . . — Map (db m143) HM |
| Virginia, Alexandria — E-92 — Site of First Synagogue of Beth El Hebrew Congregation |
| | On this site stood Beth El Hebrew Congregation’s synagogue, the first structure built as Jewish house of worship in the Washington metropolitan area. Founded in 1859, Beth El, the first reform Jewish congregation in the Washington area, is northern Virginia’s oldest Jewish congregation. Beth El built the synagogue here in 1871 and worshipped in it until 1954. A new synagogue on Seminary Road, Alexandria, was dedicated in 1957. — Map (db m8604) HM |
| Virginia, Alexandria — Southwest Bastion |
| | The Southwest Bastion was the most heavily fortified area of the fort with emplacements for seven guns, as well as a magazine and a filling room. The largest gun in Fort Ward, a 100-pounder Parrott Rifle, was located in the Southwest Bastion. This weapon was mounted on a center pintle (circular) carriage and could fire a 100-pound projectile a distance of about five miles. The Parrott Rifle was important because of its capability of defending both the Leesburg Turnpike and the Little River . . . — Map (db m7684) HM |
| Virginia, Alexandria — Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary |
| | Founded in 1792, the Stabler Leadbeater pharmacy operated on this site for 141 years serving many early patriots. The shop is a unique reminder of the period when manufacturing, wholesaling, and dispensing of medicines were combined as a single enterprise of pharmacists in urban centers. — Map (db m875) HM |
| Virginia, Alexandria — The Cameron Valley — Early Industrial Development in Western Alexandria |
| | The area west of the Mill Race complex once was a sloping meadow through which ran the meandering tail race of the Cameron Mills. The mill site itself was located beneath what is now the parking garage of the Hoffman Center complex. Built in the 1790s, the twin mills at Cameron produced flour, meal, and feed both for local consumption and for export. From the mid-19th century until 1919, the firm of Roberts and Hunt operated the mills, farmed the surrounding property, and maintained a feed and . . . — Map (db m27230) HM |
| Virginia, Alexandria — The Carlyle House and the 18th-Century Site |
| | The Carlyle House, completed in 1753, was the residence of one of the 18th-century Alexandria's leading citizens—John Carlyle—a prosperous merchant and landowner.
1. Although the earliest known engraving of the Carlyle House appeared in Harper's New Monthly in 1890, it showed the house at an earlier time. The simplicity of the landscaping in front is in keeping with the style of the mid-18th century. The large pointed trees are either Lombardy Poplars or Cedars planted on . . . — Map (db m142) HM |
| Virginia, Alexandria — The Confederate Statue |
| | The unarmed Confederate soldier standing in the intersection of Washington and Prince Streets marks the location where units from Alexandria left to join the Confederate Army on May 24, 1861. The soldier is facing the battlefields to the South where his comrades fell during the War Between the States. The names of those Alexandrians who died in service for the Confederacy are inscribed on the base of the statue. The title of the sculpture is “Appomattox” by M. Casper Buberl.
. . . — Map (db m8605) HM |
| Virginia, Alexandria — The Emerging Nation |
| | From the late 1700s into the 1800s, the pastoral calm of the Point was interrupted repeatedly—by soldiers manning cannon emplacements, by surveyors laying out the boundaries of the nation's capital, by workers at a ropewalk and the lighthouse, and by Union troops constructing a gun battery to defend the federal city during the Civil War.
During the Revolutionary War, cannon positions were established on Jones Point. These defenses were enlarged during and following the War, but . . . — Map (db m62029) HM |
| Virginia, Alexandria — The Fitting-Out Dock — Shipshape and Cargo-Ready — 1918-1921 |
| | This dock, constructed of reinforced concrete on concrete and wood pilings, was once the last stop for cargo ships under construction at Jones Point's World War I shipyard. Here, ships received final fittings before heading out for service. The dock featured a derrick—a crane-like device—to move construction materials, equipment, instruments and fittings on and off ships. The U.S. Government contracted the Virginia Shipbuilding Corporation to build 12 vessels, but only 9 of these . . . — Map (db m62201) HM |
| Virginia, Alexandria — The Gadsby's Tavern Ice Well |
| | Underground ice wells were used in the 18th and 19th centuries to store ice for use during the warm months. In Alexandria, blocks of ice were cut from the Potomac River. Ice was placed in this well through a square opening which is marked in the pavement above.
The well consist of shallow brick dome, a circular brick shaft 15' deep and 17' in diameter and a sand floor. A brick tunnel extends from the well to the basement of the tavern. Originally the well was completely underground. In . . . — Map (db m53609) HM |
| Virginia, Alexandria — The George Washington Masonic National Memorial |
| | Let prejudices and local interests yield to reason. Let us look at our national character and to things beyond the present period. —George Washington
(Left Plaque) This classic sculpture commemorates the 50th Anniversary of the George Washington Masonic National Memorial. The bronze bas-relief is a gift from Eastman Kodak Company, and was first commissioned as part of America's Bicentennial observance. It is the work of Isabel Giampietro Knoll. Dedication August 1982.
. . . — Map (db m198) HM |
| Virginia, Alexandria — The Jones Point Lighthouse — Shedding Light on a Landmark — Jones Point Park |
| | In the 1850's, Alexandria was one of the busiest seaports in the Chesapeake region. To help guide Potomac River ship traffic, the federal government built the Jones Point lighthouse, illuminating the beacon for the first time on May 1, 1856. It was one of the first lighthouses designed to use a new "unified" plan, combining the beacon and keeper's house into a single structure.
Among the duties listed in the manual for the keeper were to keep a journal and log of expenditures, maintain the . . . — Map (db m60242) HM |
| Virginia, Alexandria — The Lost Village of Cameron at Great Hunting Creek |
| | Three hundred years ago, a river as wide as the Capital Beltway—Great Hunting Creek—emptied into the Potomac River at this spot. In the absence of good roads, this river and its tributaries were vital corridors for travel and trade. Great Hunting Creek linked inland tobacco farms to inspection stations and warehouses where tobacco was monitored and stored before heading to markets overseas. With a lucrative tobacco trade established, settlements soon grew into hamlets and villages, . . . — Map (db m62000) HM |
| Virginia, Alexandria — The Lyceum — The Jean E. Keith Memorial |
| | Built in 1839 by the Alexandria Lyceum Company under the leadership of Benjamin Hallowell, this building housed the Alexandria Library and was the scene of concerts, meetings, debates and lectures featuring such speakers as John Quincy Adams and Caleb Cushing. It served as a hospital from 1861–1865 and later became a private residence. This fine example of Greek Revival architecture was saved from demolition in 1970 and restored in 1974.
On March 27, 1979, the City of Alexandria . . . — Map (db m8607) HM |
| Virginia, Alexandria — The Marshall House |
| | The Marshall House stood upon this site, and within the building on the early morning of May 24, 1861 James W. Jackson was killed by Federal soldiers while defending his property and personal rights as stated in the verdict of the coroners jury. He was the first martyr to the cause of Southern Independence. The justice of history does not permit his name to be forgotten. Not in the excitement of battle, but coolly and for a great principle, he laid down his life, an example to all, in . . . — Map (db m65490) HM |
| Virginia, Alexandria — The Nations Capital Begins Here 1791-1793 — Jones Point Park |
| | After the Revolutionary War, the new nation searched fora permanent seat of government. President George Washington favored a 10-mile square territory along the Potomac River that encompassed the economically important ports of Georgetown and Alexandria. In 1791, the first boundary stone for the federal district—the south cornerstone—was laid with great fanfare right here on Jones Point. The District of Columbia was incorporated ten years later. Alexandria remained within the . . . — Map (db m60165) HM |
| Virginia, Alexandria — The Race to Build Ships on Jones Point — Alexandria Goes to War — 1918 - 1921 |
| | In response to a shortage of ships and shipbuilding facilities at the start of World War I, the U.S. government decided to enter the shipbuilding business. In 1917, the U.S. Emergency Fleet Corporation was created and eventually oversaw construction of 218 shipyards, including one here on Jones Point. The first piling for the Virginia Shipbuilding Corporation's shipyard was driven in February 1918. The massive facility was up and running just 85 days later—a reported world record. . . . — Map (db m62022) HM |
| Virginia, Alexandria — The Ramsay House |
| | Owned by William Ramsay, a founder of Alexandria in July, 1749, and first Mayor. Restored by the City of Alexandria in 1956 and dedicated to the memory of Mrs. Robert Miller Reese (Rebecca Ramsay) (1870–1955), great-great-granddaughter of William Ramsay. — Map (db m144) HM |
| Virginia, Alexandria — The Remarkable Margaret Brent — Landowner, Lawyer, Suffragette — 1601 - 1671 |
| | Despite occasional conflicts between European settlers and local Indians, Mistress Margaret Brent of Saint Mary’s City, Maryland, was granted the first land patent on Piper’s Island (later known as Jones Point) in 1654. An extraordinary woman for her time, Brent appears here before the Maryland Assembly requesting not only the right to vote, but the right to two votes—one for herself as a landowner and one as Lord Baltimore’s attorney.
Brents undertaking and medling with your . . . — Map (db m62026) HM |
| Virginia, Alexandria — T-44 — Virginia Theological Seminary — Founded 1823 |
| | Half mile to the southwest. The idea for such an institution was conceived by a group of Alexandria and Washington clergymen in 1818. Among those interested was Francis Scott Key, author of the Star Spangled Banner. Originally at corner of Washington and King Streets in Alexandria, moved to present location in 1827. Closed in 1861 when occupied as a hospital for Union troops. Reopened in 1865. — Map (db m7561) HM |
| Virginia, Alexandria — Washington’s Town House |
| | Replica of Washington's Town House. Lot purchased by George Washington 1763. House completed 1769 – torn down 1855. Rebuilt by Gov. and Mrs. Richard Barrett Lowe 1960. Bricks & stones from excavation used in construction. Worth Bailey, Historian; E. S. Holland, Engineer; Robt. Rust, Contractor.
Site of Washington's Town House First used by him in his surveying. Here he maintained an office with secretary to receive and accommodate belated visitors to Mt. Vernon. — Map (db m147) HM |
| Virginia, Alexandria — E-106 — Washington-Rochambeau Route — Alexandria Encampment |
| | Most of the American and French armies set sail from three ports in Maryland—Annapolis, Baltimore, and Head of Elk—in mid-Sept. 1781 to besiege the British army in Yorktown. The allied supply-wagon traln proceeded overland to Yorktown, its itinerary divided into segments called “Marches.” Its “Fourth March” was from Georgetown to Alexandria; the wagons took two days, 24-25 Sept., to cross the Potomac and reunite in Virginia. The Alexandria camp was roughly a . . . — Map (db m8570) HM |
| Virginia, Alexandria — Who Owns the River? |
| | According to Lord Baltimore's land grant from King Charles I in 1632, Maryland owns the "River of Pattowmack...unto the further Bank of said River." But with Virginia's shoreline constantly shifting how could the border be fixed? In 1929, a survey to establish the boundary placed 58 markers including this one on Jones Point, helping to resolve almost three centuries of dispute. When Maryland ceded land to create the nation's capital in 1788, the District of Columbia gained ownership of the river within its newly created bounds. — Map (db m60179) HM |
| Virginia, Alexandria — World War I-Era Rudder — Evidence of the Shipyard at Jones Point |
| | In May 2000, this rudder was recovered along the banks of the Potomac River near Jones Point. Measuring over 22 feet high and 4.5 feet wide, the rudder is of the variety used to outfit steel cargo ships constructed between 1918 and 1920 at the Virginia Shipbuilding Corporation site. Except for concrete building foundations and the finishing pier, the rudder is the last remnant of the shipbuilding industry at Jones Point.
Why put a wood rudder on a steel ship?
The answer is . . . — Map (db m61952) HM |
| Virginia, Alexandria — World Wars to the Present |
| | In the 20th century, Jones Point continued to be shaped by the changing needs of the federal government. With proximity to the capital and access to land and river transportation, the peninsula was chosen as the site for several military installations and a vital bridge linking Virginia and Maryland. In this century, the federal government, through the National Park Service, plays a stewardship role. By joining forces with the City of Alexandria, the Daughters of the American Revolution and . . . — Map (db m62030) HM |
| Virginia, Bedford — Avenel — In the Eye of the Storm — Hunter’s Raid |
| | (sidebar)
On May 26, 1864, Union Gen. David Hunter marched south from Cedar Creek near Winchester to drive out Confederate forces, lay waste to the Shenandoah Valley, and destroy transportation facilities at Lynchburg. His raid was part of Gen. Ulysses S. Grant’s strategy to attack Confederates simultaneously throughout Virginia. After defeating Gen. William E. “Grumble” Jones at Piedmont on June 5, Hunter marched to Lexington, burned Virginia Military Institute, and . . . — Map (db m42844) HM |
| Virginia, Bedford — Bedford — Hunter’s Raid — 1864 Valley Campaign |
| | On the evening of June 15, 1864, the lead element of Union Gen. David Hunter’s 18,000-man army arrived here and cam near Avenel. The main force arrived the following morning and started destroying the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad tracks, burning the depot and businesses before moving on toward Lynchburg. Hunter had taken command in the Shenandoah Valley on May 19, with orders to destroy railroad facilities and supplies in Staunton and Lynchburg, then either return to lower Valley or join . . . — Map (db m41408) HM |
| Virginia, Bedford — K 134 — Bedford |
| | This place became the county seat of Bedford when it was moved from New London in 1782. First called Liberty (incorporated in 1839), the town changed its name to Bedford City in 1890 and to Bedford in 1912. A third courthouse, built in 1834, was replaced by the present building in 1930. The Union General Hunter, with his army, passed here in June, 1864, on his way to Lynchburg, and repassed on his retreat. — Map (db m42879) HM |
| Virginia, Bedford — Bedford County Confederate Monument |
| | Deo Vindice
To the Confederate
Soldiers and Sailors of
Bedford County. 1861-1865
Bedford honors her heroes;
proudly rejoicing with the living;
sincerely mourning the dead.
Their history is it's brightest page,
exhibiting the highest qualities of
patriotism, courage, fortitude and virtue.
This stone is erected to keep
fresh in memory the noble deeds
of these devoted sons. — Map (db m43042) HM |
| Virginia, Bedford — Bedford County WWII Memorial |
| | June 6 1944
Erected by the Parker-Hoback Post, 29th Division Association, in memory of the Bedford County men of the 116th Infantry Regiment, 29th Division, who gave their lives in the preparation for and the participation in the Normandy Invasion and later battles of World War II.
Company A
Leslie C. Abbott, Jr. • Wallace R. Carter • John D. Clifton • Andrew J. Coleman • Frank P. Draper, Jr. • Taylor N. Fellers • Charles W. Fizer • Nick N. Gillaspie • Bedford T. Hoback • . . . — Map (db m52054) HM |
| Virginia, Bedford — Bedford’s Volunteer Company |
| | Oct. 10, 1774
In memory of
Bedford’s Volunteer Company
which fought in
The Battle of Point Pleasant
Thomas Buford, Captain
Thomas Dooley, Lieut.
Sergeants
Jonathan Cundiff, Ensign
Nicholas Mead • William Kennedy • John Fields • Thomas Fliping
Abraham Sharp • Absalom McClanahan • William Bryant • William McColister • James Scarbara • John McClanahan • James McBride • John Carter • William Overstreet • Robert Hill • Samuel Davis • Zachariah Kennot • Augustine . . . — Map (db m43717) HM |
| Virginia, Bedford — K 132 — Home of John Goode |
| | Here is the home of John Goode, political leader, born 1829, died, 1909. Goode was a member of the secession convention of 1861; of the Confederate Congress and of the United States Congress; Solicitor General of the United States; president of the Virginia constitutional convention of 1901. — Map (db m42877) HM |
| Virginia, Bedford — K 136 — Peaks of Otter Road |
| | This road was followed by General Hunter when he crossed the Blue Ridge at the Peaks of Otter and came to Bedford en route to Lynchburg, June 16, 1864. — Map (db m42893) HM |
| Virginia, Bedford — K 133 — Randolph-Macon Academy — Liberty Academy |
| | Randolph-Macon Academy, a Methodist preparatory school for boys, occupied a building on this site from 1890 until 1934 when the school was consolidated with the Randolph-Macon Academy at Front Royal. In 1936, the property was purchased by Bedford County. Liberty Academy, a public and consolidated elementary school, occupied the building until 1964. The large and imposing Romanesque-style structure designed by W. M. Poindexter of Washington, D.C., was later demolished. — Map (db m42878) HM |
| Virginia, Bedford — Robey W. Estes Sr. Plaza |
| | Robey W. Estes Sr. served with the United States Army in the European Theater of Operations. A platoon sergeant in Company E of the 116th Infantry Regiment on D-Day, he was part of the first wave of the attack on Omaha Beach. Wounded during the assault, he was evacuated to England, where he recovered from his injuries. After rejoining his regiment in Germany, he was wounded two more times, and was finally transferred out of the war zone and back to the United States. Mr. Estes returned to his . . . — Map (db m61339) HM WM |
| Virginia, Bristol — Civil War Memorial |
| | Presented by Col. J.M.Barker of Bristol, Tenn. to the Chapter of the U.D.C. in memory of the brave men and noble women of Tennessee and Virgina from 1861 to 1865 — Map (db m23143) HM |
| Virginia, Bristol — 43 - k — Historic Bristol |
| | Evan Shelby, noted Indian fighter, settled here about 1765 on a tract called "Sapling Grove". His home was a neighborhood fort, the refuge of settlers in Indian attacks. Bristol grew around this place and became an early railroad center. — Map (db m24323) HM |
| Virginia, Bristol — Overmountain Patriots of the American Revolution |
| | Dedicated to the hundreds of patriots from this area who fought in the American Revolution (1775 - 1783).
When the war in the north came to a stalemate by early 1780, the British turned their military strategy to the South. They believed that devoted southern Loyalists would rise and secure victory for King George III.
The British command underestimated the determination and bold spirit of the frontiersmen who crossed the mountains, fought Indians, and settled their land. The brave . . . — Map (db m32611) HM |
| Virginia, Buena Vista — L-11 — Moomaw’s Landing |
| | Here was Moomaw’s Landing, on the North River Canal. In May 1863 the packet Marshall passed here bearing the body of General Thomas J. (“Stonewall”) Jackson to Lexington. Mrs. Robert E. Lee used the canal in 1865 to join her husband at Washington College (now Washington and Lee University) in Lexington. — Map (db m50374) HM |
| Virginia, Charlottesville — Albemarle Confederate Monument |
| | 1909
Erected by
the Daughters of
the Confederacy,
Albemarle County,
and the City of
Charlottesville
to commemorate
the heroism of
the volunteers of
Charlottesville and
Albermarle County.
"Love makes
memory eternal." — Map (db m25955) HM |
| Virginia, Charlottesville — Ash Lawn - Highland |
| | Ash Lawn - Highland
Home of James Monroe from 1799-1823
Dedicated on July 20, 1985
by
Virginia Daughters of the American Revolution
State Regent
Mrs. G.E. Honts, Jr. — Map (db m63671) HM |
| Virginia, Charlottesville — Q-28 — Buck v. Bell |
| | In 1924, Virginia, like a majority of states then, enacted eugenic sterilization laws. Virginia’s law allowed state institutions to operate on individuals to prevent the conception of what were believed to be “genetically inferior” children. Charlottesville native Carrie Buck (1906–1983), involuntarily committed to a state facility near Lynchburg, was chosen as the first person to be sterilized under the new law. The U.S. Supreme Court, in Buck v. Bell, on 2 May 1927, affirmed . . . — Map (db m10128) HM |
| Virginia, Charlottesville — Q-28a — C. B. Holt Rock House |
| | African American Charles B. Holt owned a carpentry
business in Charlottesville’s Vinegar Hill neighborhood. The son of former slaves, Holt built this
Arts and Crafts-style house in 1925-1926, during
the era of segregation when blacks were more
than a quarter of the city’s population but owned
less than one-tenth of its private land. He lived
here with his wife, Mary Spinner, until his death
In 1950. Later Holt’s stepson, Roy C. Preston,
and his wife, Asalie Minor Preston, moved . . . — Map (db m30541) HM |
| Virginia, Charlottesville — Charlottesville — Confederate Heroes Remembered |
| | Lee and Jackson Parks contain two of Charlottesville's fine examples of public sculpture, gifts of benefactor Paul Goodloe McIntire (1860-1952). The Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson statue was dedicated in 1921,the Robert E. Lee statue in 1924. Depicting the Confederacy's two greatest heroes and executed by nationally prominent sculptors, the statues and parks exemplify both the contemporary desire to honor the South's heroes and the widespread civic improvements of the early 20th century . . . — Map (db m497) HM |
| Virginia, Charlottesville — Q-1d — Charlottesville |
| | The site was patented by William Taylor in 1737. The town was established by law in 1762, and was named for Queen Charlotte, wife of George III. Burgoyne’s army, captured at Saratoga in 1777, was long quartered near here. The legislature was in session here, in June 1781, but retired westward to escape Tarleton’s raid on the town. Jefferson, who lived at Monticello, founded the University of Virginia in 1819. — Map (db m8643) HM |
| Virginia, Charlottesville — Q-1b — Charlottesville |
| | The site was patented by William Taylor in 1737. The town was established by law in 1762, and was named for Queen Charlotte, wife of George III. Burgoyne’s army, captured at Saratoga in 1777, was long quartered near here. The legislature was in session here, in June 1781, but retired westward to escape Tarleton’s raid on the town. Jefferson, who lived at Monticello, founded the University of Virginia in 1819. — Map (db m19843) HM |
| Virginia, Charlottesville — Q-1a — Charlottesville |
| | The site was patented by William Taylor in 1737. The town was established by law in 1762, and was named for Queen Charlotte, wife of George III. Burgoyne’s army, captured at Saratoga in 1777, was long quartered near here. The legislature was in session here, in June 1781, but retired westward to escape Tarleton’s raid on the town. Jefferson, who lived at Monticello, founded the University of Virginia in 1819. — Map (db m19844) HM |
| Virginia, Charlottesville — Q-23 — Charlottesville General Hospital |
| | During the Civil War, the Rotunda at the University of Virginia, the Charlottesville town hall and the courthouse, as well as nearby homes and hotels were converted into a makeshift hospital complex called the Charlottesville General Hospital. It treated more than 22,000 wounded soldiers between 1861 and 1865. The first of the wounded arrived by train within hours of the First Battle of Manassas (Bull Run) in July 1861. One of the facilities, known as the Mudwall or Delevan Hospital, received . . . — Map (db m8664) HM |
| Virginia, Charlottesville — Q-24 — Charlottesville Woolen Mills |
| | As early as 1795, several types of mills operated here. In 1847, Farish, Jones, and Co., opened a cotton and woolen factory. John A. Marchant gained control of it by 1852 and renamed it the Charlottesville Manufacturing Company. His son, Henry Clay Marchant bought it in 1864. Although the Union army burned the factory in 1865, Marchant reopened it in 1867 as the Charlottesville Woolen Mills, which became Albemarle’s largest industry. A community grew up around the mill and Marchant built worked . . . — Map (db m17981) HM |
| Virginia, Charlottesville — Claude Moore, M.D. — 1892–1991 |
| | A native of Radford, Virginia, Dr. Moore was a 1916 graduate of the School of Medicine and a gifted player on the University’s football team. He served in the Army Medical Corps in France during World War I. Dr. Moore began his career in radiology at the Mayo Clinic and later worked at George Washington University and in private practice. — Map (db m8823) HM |
| Virginia, Charlottesville — Q-29 — Edgar Allan Poe |
| | Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849)—writer, poet, and
critic—was born in Boston, Mass. Orphaned at a
young age, Poe was raised by John and Frances Allan of Richmond. He attended schools in
England and Richmond before enrolling at the University of Virginia on 14 Feb. 1826 for one term, living in No.13 West Range. He took classes in the Ancient and Modern Languages. While at the university, Poe accumulated debts that John Allan refused to pay. Poe left the university and briefly returned . . . — Map (db m8765) HM |
| Virginia, Charlottesville — Fernando Símon Bolívar — 1810–1898 |
| | Fernando Bolívar, a native of Venezuela, attended the University of Virginia in 1827. He was the nephew and adopted son of Símon Bolívar, The Liberator, who sent him to study in the “Republic of Washington and Jefferson.” A friend of James Monroe and an admirer of Thomas Jefferson, Bolívar chose to continue his studies at the University. He returned to Venezuela where he became a distinguished man of letters and a brilliant diplomat. — Map (db m8820) HM |
| Virginia, Charlottesville — Q-16 — First Baptist Church, West Main Street |
| | The Charlottesville African Church
congregation was organized in 1864. Four years later it bought the Delevan building, built in 1828 by Gen. John H. Cocke, and at one time used as a temperance hotel for University of Virginia students. It became part of the Charlottesville General Hospital and sheltered wounded soldiers during the Civil War. The church members laid the cornerstone for a new building in 1877 on the Delevan site, and the First Baptist Church, West Main Street, was completed in . . . — Map (db m8824) HM |
| Virginia, Charlottesville — Q-25 — Gen. Alexander Archer Vandegrift |
| | Gen. Alexander Archer Vandegrift was born in Charlottesville on 13 Mar. 1887. He entered the U.S. Marine Corps in 1909 and served
on posts in the Caribbean, Central America,
China, and the United States. General
Vandegrift led American forces in their first successful major Pacific offensive in World War II at Guadalcanal and was awarded the Navy Cross and the Medal of Honor.
He also served as the Commandant of the Marine Corps from l944 to 1947 and in 1945
became the first active-duty . . . — Map (db m18547) HM |
| Virginia, Charlottesville — Q-26 — Georgia O’Keeffe |
| | Georgia O’Keeffe was born in Wisconsin in 1887. Her mother moved to Charlottesville in 1909 and rented the house here. Beginning
in 1912, O’Keeffe intermittently lived with
her mother and sisters. She took a summer
drawing class taught by Mon Bement at the University of Virginia. O’Keeffe taught art classes at the university each summer between 1913 and 1916. O’Keeffe used a number of mediums to showcase her artistic talents throughout her long career. In 1916. noted photographer, art . . . — Map (db m19092) HM |
| Virginia, Charlottesville — Historic Courthouse Square |
| | This building, in continuous use as a
courthouse for over 200 years, is one of America’s most historic. No other courthouse has been used by three early
American Presidents at the same time, The original wood frame courthouse was erected on a two-acre lot in 1762 when
the city was founded by Dr. Thomas
Walker. Here local elections were held and the County Court conducted business with the help of young attorneys and magistrates such as Thomas Jefferson and James Monroe. These men along . . . — Map (db m19723) HM |
| Virginia, Charlottesville — Q-17 — Jack Jouett’s Ride |
| | On 4 June 1781, John “Jack” Jouett Jr. arrived at the Albemarle County Courthouse to warn the Virginia legislature of approaching British troops. The state government under Governor Thomas Jefferson had retreated from Richmond to reconvene in Charlottesville because of the threat of British invasion during the Revolutionary War. Jouett had spotted Colonel Banastre Tarleton and his 180 dragoons and 70 cavalrymen 40 miles east at Cuckoo Tavern, and rode through the night to reach here . . . — Map (db m18549) HM |
| Virginia, Charlottesville — G-23 — James Monroe’s First Farm — Site of the University of Virginia |
| | In 1788 James Monroe purchased an 800-acre farm here to be close to his friend Thomas Jefferson and to establish a law office. In 1799 the Monroes moved to their new Highland plantation adjacent to Monticello and sold the first farm. In 1817 the Board of Visitors of Central College purchased 43¾ acres of Monroe’s old farm, for the Lawn and the Ranges of the “academical village” that Jefferson was planning to build with private contributions. On 6 Oct. President Monroe, with former . . . — Map (db m8762) HM |
| Virginia, Charlottesville — Q-30 — Jefferson School |
| | The name Jefferson School has a long association
with African American education in Charlottesville.
It was first used in the 1860s in a Freedmen's
Bureau school and then for a public grade school
by 1894. Jefferson High School opened here in
1926 as the city’s first high school for blacks, an
early accredited black high school in Virginia.
The facility became Jefferson Elementary School
in 1951. In 1958, some current and former Jefferson
students requested transfers to two white . . . — Map (db m19834) HM |
| Virginia, Charlottesville — Meriwether Lewis and William Clark — 1774–1809, 1770–1838 |
| | Bold and farseeing pathfinders who carried the flag of the young republic to the western ocean and revealed an unknown empire to the uses of mankind.
A territory of 385000 square miles was added to the country by the efforts of these men, an area larger than the then existing size of the United States. — Map (db m8353) HM |
| Virginia, Charlottesville — W-200 — Monticello |
| | Three miles to the southeast, Thomas Jefferson began the house in 1770 and finished it in 1802. He brought his bride to it in 1772. Lafayette visited it in 1825. Jefferson spent his last years there and died there, July 4, 1826. His tomb is there. The place was raided by British cavalry, June 4, 1781. — Map (db m65069) HM |
| Virginia, Charlottesville — Q-31 — Monticello Wine Company |
| | The Monticello Wine Company’s four-story brick building was located on the middle of Perry Drive on the north side. Founded in 1873 using grapes from local vineyards, it operated until about the time Prohibition began in Virginia in Nov. 1916. Spurred by production increases and highest-awards honors from exhibitions in the United States and abroad, the Charlottesville region proclaimed itself the “Capital of the Wine Belt in Virginia.” In 1904 its wine was used to christen the USS . . . — Map (db m17993) HM |
| Virginia, Charlottesville — Paul Goodloe McIntire — 1860–1952 — Jackson Park |
| | Paul Goodloe McIntire (1860–1952) commissioned in 1921 the statue of General Thomas Jonathan (“Stonewall“) Jackson from Charles Keck. He gave the statue and this park to Charlottesville, the city of his birth, for the pleasure of all who pass by.
The regeneration of this park is dedicated in loving admiration to Mary Frazier Cash 1903–1971 by her friends and family. Her leadership in community affairs and good government, her infinite tolerance and her hopes . . . — Map (db m19753) HM |
| Virginia, Charlottesville — President Monroe’s Local Homes |
| | In 1789 James Monroe moved to Charlottesville and for one year his home was located in the first block west of this site. Then he lived for nine years in the home he built on what is now called “Monroe Hill” at the University of Virginia. His final Albemarle home, near “Monticello” was his “Highland” estate, now called “Ash Lawn.” — Map (db m19808) HM |
| Virginia, Charlottesville — Roosevelt “Rosey” Brown, Jr. |
| | Roosevelt Brown, Jr. (1932-2004) was born In
Charlottesville and played football at Jefferson High
School, the City’s only African-American High
School. Following a stellar career he attended
Morgan State University where he was named to
the Black All-American Team In 1952. Upon graduation Rosey was drafted by the New York Giants
where he became a stand-out offensive lineman,
earning numerous Pro Bowl and All-Pro honors. His
career culminated with the sport’s ultimate . . . — Map (db m30546) HM |
| Virginia, Charlottesville — Sacajawea |
| | This plaque is dedicated to Sacajawea, whose contribution of traditional and cultural knowledge, with courage and bravery, earned her recognition in the chronicles of American History.
Sacajawea was a Lemhi Shoshone (Agaidika) born in Salmon, Idaho in 1788. She was the only female to travel on the long, arduous journey with the Lewis and Clark Expedition (1805–1806).
Sacajawea served as an ambassador, bridging relations amongst nations. Her contribution to the people of today . . . — Map (db m21757) HM |
| Virginia, Charlottesville — Site of Old Swan Tavern |
| | Site of old Swan Tavern where lived and died Jack Jouett, whose heroic ride saved Mr. Jefferson, the Governor, and the Virginia Assembly from capture by Tarleton June 1781. — Map (db m18552) HM |
| Virginia, Charlottesville — Q-20 — Stone Tavern and Central Hotel |
| | George Nicholas, Albemarle County’s Virginia General Assembly delegate in 1783, built a stone house here in 1784. James Monroe occupied it 1789-1790, while improving the dwelling at his nearby farm, later the site of the University of Virginia. Here on 15 Dec. 1806, while the house was being operated as the Stone Tavern, the return of Meriwether Lewis from his expedition to the Pacific with William Clark was celebrated with a dinner. Thomas Jefferson hosted a reception in the tavern (renamed . . . — Map (db m19830) HM |
| Virginia, Charlottesville — G-27 — Technical Sergeant Frank D. Peregory |
| | Born at Esmont on 10 April 1915, Frank D. Peregory enlisted in May 1931 in Charlottesville’s Co. K (Monticello Guard), 116th Inf. Regt., 29th Inf. Div. On D-Day, 6 June 1944, T. Sgt. Peregory landed in the assault on Omaha Beach, Normandy, France. At Grandcamp, on 8 June, he single-handedly charged an enemy stronghold with grenades and bayonet, killing 8 soldiers and capturing 35. Six days later he was killed in action near Couvains. For his valor T. Sgt. Peregory was awarded the Medal of . . . — Map (db m18584) HM |
| Virginia, Charlottesville — Q-27 — The Farm |
| | The Farm stands on a 1020-acre tract acquired by Nicholas Meriwether in 1735 and later owned by Col. Nicholas Lewis, uncle of Meriwether Lewis. A building on the property likely served as headquarters for British Col. Banastre Tarleton briefly in June 1781. In 1825, Charlottesville lawyer and later University of Virginia law professor. John A. G. Davis purchased a portion of the original tract and engaged Thomas Jefferson’s workmen to design and build this house. It is considered one of the . . . — Map (db m19582) HM |
| Virginia, Charlottesville — Q 21 — The Three Notch’d Road |
| | Also called Three Chopt Road, this colonial route ran from Richmond to the Shenandoah Valley. It likely took its name from three notches cut into trees to blaze the trail. A major east-west route across central Virginia from the 1730s, it was superceded by Route 250 in the 1930s. Part of Jack Jouett's famous ride and the Marquis de Lafayette's efforts to prevent Gen. Charles Cornwallis from obtaining munitions occured along this road. Today West Main Street and part of University Avenue . . . — Map (db m5576) HM |
| Virginia, Charlottesville — The University “Corner” — A Student Rendezvous Since the Mid-1800s |
| | In the early 1900s “The Corner,” so named by the University crowd, was but a sparse collection of businesses at the entrance to the University Grounds—literally just a corner. In the intervening years “The Corner” has grown into a bustling commercial district.
Many of “The Corner’s” early structures still stand along University Ave.—between 14th and Chancellor Streets—including the C&O railroad bridge (1901), also known as the . . . — Map (db m8681) HM |
| Virginia, Charlottesville — Thomas Jefferson Monument |
| | Proclaim Liberty throughtout the land unto the inhabitants thereof —Leviticus XXIV.
This monument to Thomas Jefferson was presented to the people to perpetuate the teachings and examples of the Founders of the Republic.
Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776.
Religious Freedom of 1776. —God, Jehovah, Brahma, Atman, Ra, Allah, Zeus. — Map (db m8805) HM |
| Virginia, Charlottesville — Triumph of “The Charlottesville Twelve” |
| | Lane High School. French Jackson, Donald Martin, John Martin.
Venable Elementary School. Charles E. Alexander, Raymond Dixon, Regina Dixon, Maurice Henry, Marvin Townsend, William Townsend, Sandra Wicks, Roland T. Woodfolk, Ronald E. Woodfolk.
On September 8, 1959, three African American children bravely entered Lane High School by order of U.S. District Court Judge John Paul. With the assistance of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the . . . — Map (db m64024) HM |
| Virginia, Charlottesville — Triumph of “The Charlottesville Twelve” |
| | Venable Elementary School.
Charles E. Alexander, Raymond Dixon, Regina Dixon, Maurice Henry, Marvin Townsend, William Townsend, Sandra Wicks, Roland T. Woodfolk, Ronald E. Woodfolk.
Lane High School.
French Jackson, Donald Martin, John Martin.
On September 8, 1959, nine African American children bravely entered Venable Elementary School by order of U.S. District Court Judge John Paul. With the assistance of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the . . . — Map (db m65187) HM |
| Virginia, Charlottesville — I-3 — University of Virginia |
| | Thomas Jefferson founded the University of Virginia. The cornerstone of its first building was laid on October 6, 1817, in the presence of three presidents of the United States—Jefferson, James Madison, and James Monroe. In 1825, the university admitted its first scholars, who were educated in what Jefferson called “useful sciences.” Following Jefferson’s beliefs, the university was nonsectarian and allowed its students to choose their own courses of study. The honor system . . . — Map (db m61101) HM |
| Virginia, Charlottesville — Walter “Rock” Greene Albert “AP” Moore Gymnasium — Architects of Success |
| | Washington, DC native, Walter “Rock” Greene, began his coaching
career in 1957 as an assistant football and basketball coach under
legendary Coach “Bob” Smith. Coach Greene became head coach to
the Burley Bears basketball team in 1960. That year the team
became Western District Runner-up, followed by the Western District
Championship in 1961. In 1963, Coach Greene received an invitation
from his alma mater, Phelps High School, in Washington, DC to
become head . . . — Map (db m65229) HM |
| Virginia, Charlottesville — Watering Fountains |
| | During the late 1800’s, the City of Charlottesville installed four watering fountains in the downtown area. The fountains were designed to provide water to the citizens, their horses and other domesticated animals. Water was provided by the City water system and fed through four fish-like features to the upper bowl. The overflow then filled the lower trough for the smaller animals. A fountain similar to this once stood in front of the courthouse on Jefferson Street and was removed a the time . . . — Map (db m19739) HM |
| Virginia, Chesapeake — At Dawn on December 9, 1775 |
| | In late October 1775, the Virginia Committee of Safety ordered Colonel William Woodford and his 2nd Virginia Regiment, along with five companies of Culpeper Minutemen, to march towards Norfolk and protect “…all friends to the American cause.” The army departed Williamsburg in mid-November. After crossing the James River, Woodford detached a special unit led by Lieutenant Colonel Charles Scott to advance and explore Dunmore’s movements and position. Scott arrived at Great Bridge on . . . — Map (db m54946) HM |
| Virginia, Chesapeake — KY-5 — Battle of Great Bridge |
| | In this vicinity, in 1775, was the southern end of a causeway, with bridges, by which the swamp and stream were crossed. Here William Woodford's Virginia riflemen defended the passage. When Lord Dunmore's British regulars attempted to cross the swamp on December 9, 1775, they were cut to pieces by the fire of the riflemen. This defeat forced Dunmore to evacuate Norfolk. — Map (db m29926) HM |
| Virginia, Chesapeake — Battle of Great Bridge DAR Monument — December 9, 1775 |
| |
(side 1)
This monument honors
Patriots who assembled
at this site in the Cause of
American Freedom in 1775
American Patriots
at the Battle
Second Virginia Regiment
Commanded by
Colonel William Woodford,
of Caroline County, Virginia
Culpeper Minute Men
Battle of Great Bridge
December 9, 1775
Monument placed by the
Virginia Daughters of the American Revolution
Mary Jane Irwin Davis, Sate Regent 2001-2004
(side 2)
American . . . — Map (db m48940) HM |
| Virginia, Chesapeake — Billy Flora |
| | His courage “amid a shower of bullets” helped achieve victory at the Battle of Great Bridge.
Private William (Billy) Flora was a free black from the Portsmouth area and a member of the Norfolk County Militia who served as a sentry for Colonel Woodford’s army. On the early morning of December 9, 1775, Flora was stationed behind a pile of shingles near the Great Bridge, more than 300 yards away from the patriot line. Before leaving his dangerous post and retreating to the . . . — Map (db m54952) HM |
| Virginia, Chesapeake — Bridging the Past with the Present — Great Bridge Battlefield & Waterways Park and Visitor Center |
| |
1600s: Woodlands, Marshes and the Great Bridge
The rich forests and fields south of the Elizabeth River and in northeastern North Carolina gave the early settlers in the late 1600s bountiful yields of shingles, naval stores, lumber, grain and tobacco. Supplies traveled across a series of causeways (roads) and bridges north to market.
1700s: From Colony to Nation
The Great Road was the route over which much needed supplies traveled from North Carolina to Great Bridge to be . . . — Map (db m48957) HM |
| Virginia, Chesapeake — Causeway Construction |
| | Some areas of the marsh were high enough to allow crossing on a corduroy road made of logs. Lower areas of the marsh required a stronger infrastructure, like the one seen here. This exhibit illustrates how five or six timbers, each ranging from 15 to 25 inches wide, were first laid in parallel rows on the bed of the swamp. Next, timbers of equal size were placed across the first layer in parallel rows 10 to 15 feet apart. The resulting cribs, or boxed-in areas, were filled with rot-resistant . . . — Map (db m54950) HM |
| Virginia, Chesapeake — Causeways |
| | “There is great want of a bridge for horse and man over the swamp at the head of the Southern Branch of Elizabeth River…” Norfolk County Deed Book 5, part 2, Orders. page 4, 1686
In the mid-1600s, as the early settlers began to acquire land in the southern part of Norfolk County, a land route was needed to connect the area to people living on the north side of the Southern Branch of the Elizabeth River and its wide marsh. In 1686, the Norfolk County Court ordered . . . — Map (db m54948) HM |
| Virginia, Chesapeake — Civil War Anchor — The Waterways |
| | This 7,900-pound anchor was manufactured in 1861 by the Naval Yard Foundry in Washington, D.C., and most likely belonged to the USS Hartford, a Union warship immortalized at the Battle of Mobile Bay on August 5, 1864, when Admiral David Glasgow Farragut cried out from her deck:
“Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!”
The USS Hartford, commissioned in 1859, the same year the Albemarle & Chesapeake Canal opened for traffic, was dismantled at the Norfolk Navy Yard . . . — Map (db m54957) HM |
| Virginia, Chesapeake — K 264 — Dale Point |
| | Just north is the birthplace of Commodore Richard Dale (6 Nov 1756 - 26 Feb 1826). He served on the United States brigantine Lexington. The British captured and wounded him several times during the Revolutionary War. Captain John Paul Jones chose him to be first lieutenant on the Bon Homme Richard. On 19 September 1779, the Bon Homme Richard defeated the British ship Serapis due largely to Dale's actions. He served as superintendent of the Norfolk Naval Yard in 1794. . . . — Map (db m40678) HM |
| Virginia, Chesapeake — Dismal Swamp Canal — The Battle of South Mills |
| | Before you is the Dismal Swamp Canal, a much sought after prize of war during the Civil War. The Confederates made good use of the canal facilities during the initial stages of the conflict. A large volume of supplies passed through in both directions.
Naval ordinances and supplies were shipped through the canal for the CSS Sea Bird, commanded by Flag Officer W.F. Lynch, at Elizabeth City, North Carolina, on February 10, 1862. The supplies did not arrive before Union naval forces . . . — Map (db m37765) HM |
| Virginia, Chesapeake — Father & Son Canal Builders — The Waterways |
| |
Marshall Parks, Sr.
1786-1840
The Dismal Swamp Canal, located about six miles west of here, officially opened in 1805. Dug completely by hand, its shallow depth limited navigation to flat boats and lighters manually poled or towed from a path alongside the canal.
Steam power and demand for timber due to growth of the Gosport Navy Yard prompted the need for improvements to the canal. In the 1820s, under the leadership of Marshall Parks, Sr., the Superintendent and Chief . . . — Map (db m54956) HM |
| Virginia, Chesapeake — First Fire |
| | At daybreak on the morning of December 9, 1775, the British rolled two four-pounder cannon field pieces across the bridge under the cover of smoke from burning buildings and piles of shingles located on the south island. The fires were set by British Lieutenant John Batut’s advance unit in order to camouflage the operations.
The cannon were placed near the southern edge of the island facing the right flank of the American breastwork directly across the marsh. This position allowed constant . . . — Map (db m54947) HM |
| Virginia, Chesapeake — Fort Murray |
| | By the summer of 1775, British control over the Colony of Virginia was in peril and Dunmore looked to Norfolk, the most heavily populated town in Virginia and the largest seaport between New York and Charleston. The occupation of Norfolk and Hampton Roads and control of the Chesapeake Bay were vital to Dunmore in his effort to maintain British sovereignty. He was joined by units of the British 14th Regiment of Foot, commanded by Captain Samuel Leslie.
On his way to try to establish a base . . . — Map (db m54941) HM |
| Virginia, Chesapeake — Glencoe — "He was brave, gentle and polished" |
| | “Glencoe,” the plantation home of Capt. William Wallace of the Jackson Grays, was located approximately one-half mile northeast of this site. William C. Wallace was born at Wallaceton, Norfolk County, Virginia, on March 23, 1842, and mustered into Confederate service on June 11, 1861, with the Jackson Greys. Wallace was immediately elected the company’s 1st Lieutenant. He was slightly wounded on March 8, 1862, while serving at Sewell’s Point during the CSS Virginia’s (Merrimack) . . . — Map (db m22446) HM |
| Virginia, Chesapeake — Great Bridge Marshall Memorial |
| | Fauquier County, Virginia
Officers of the Culpeper Minute Battalion
At the Battle of Great Bridge
Major Thomas Marshall (1730-1802)
Member, 1st, 2nd, 3rd & 4th Virginia Conventions
Colonel, 3rd Virginia Regiment
Colonel, Virginia Sate Artillery Regiment
Member, Virginia General Assembly
And his son
Lieutenant John Marshall (1755-1835)
Captain, 11th Virginia Continental Regiment
Member, United States House of Representatives
4th United States Secretary of . . . — Map (db m54953) HM |
| Virginia, Chesapeake — WP 11 — Herring (Heron) Ditch |
| | Herring Ditch was one of many ditches that connected with the Dismal Swamp Canal. Ditches were used to transport goods to the canal, allow access to swamp timber, and provide drainage. Walter Herron, a Dismal Swamp Canal Company stockholder, began the construction of Herring Ditch in the mid-1820s as a millrace that ran from the canal eastward three miles to present Shillelagh Road. It was later extended north to connect with the Southern Branch of the Elizabeth River providing a link between . . . — Map (db m41529) HM |
| Virginia, Chesapeake — Liberty to Slaves |
| | “…to reduce this colony to a proper sense of their duty…to His Majesty’s crown and dignity…”
On November 15, 1775, the day after his success in routing the rebels at Kemp’s Landing, Lord Dunmore issued a proclamation declaring martial law and offering freedom to any indentured servant or slave willing and able to bear arms for “His Majesty’s Troops.” This new unit of soldiers for the Crown would be called “Lord Dunmore’s Ethiopian Regiment.” To unify . . . — Map (db m54942) HM |
| Virginia, Chesapeake — Liquid Highways — The Waterways |
| | The Canal Becomes a Federal Government Waterway
Competition from the railways and the re-structured Dismal Swamp Canal Company signaled the downfall of the Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal Company in 1910. By 1913, Congress, recognizing the economic value of an inland waterway along the East Coast, bought the canal, authorized the Atlantic lntracoastal Waterway and placed it under the control of the United States Army Corps of Engineers.
The Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal was made . . . — Map (db m48964) HM |
| Virginia, Chesapeake — Oak Grove Methodist Church |
| | A direct outgrowth of the New Mill Creek Society organized in 1772 by the Rev. Joseph Pilmoor, the first official Methodist missionary to America. Methodist meetings were held as early as 1770 in the Cutherell home, a regular preaching place for more than forty years. The first meeting house, called Cutherell’s or Cutherell Church, was located about one mile west of here. The present building was built in 1852 and has since been enlarged. — Map (db m48923) HM |
| Virginia, Chesapeake — Planning a Canal |
| | The Albemarle & Chesapeake Canal did not exist at the time of the Battle of Great Bridge…
...but plans for a canal at Great Bridge were in place more than three years before the battle. In 1772, the need for trade and commerce with North Carolina led to legislation by the colonial assembly, presided over by Royal Governor Lord Dunmore, to approve the digging of a canal from the Elizabeth River to the North Landing River.
Dunmore authorized surveys and studies to determine if the . . . — Map (db m54955) HM |
| Virginia, Chesapeake — Pleasant Grove Baptist Church Cemetery — Home of the Jackson Greys |
| | This is the former site of the Pleasant Grove Baptist Church. The monument to the "Jackson Greys" honors the regiment that was formed on the grounds of Pleasant Grove Baptist Church by Capt. (later Lieutenant Colonel) William H. Stewart who lived nearby in his home "Beechwood". Hundreds of other local men served in this company, including Lt. William Wallace of "Glencoe", who was killed during the August 19, 1864, Battle of Weldon Railroad.
The Jackson Greys were recruited from St. Bride's . . . — Map (db m45788) HM |
| Virginia, Chesapeake — Seven Patriot Heroes — Homes and Last Resting Places |
| | Nearby were the homes of three Afro-Virginians who served in the United States Colored Troops (USCT) during the Civil War. Sgt. March Corprew, Co. I, 2nd USCT Cavalry, and his brother Pvt. Daniel Corprew, Co. D, 1st USCT Cavalry, lived on a plantation here before enlisting. Pvt. Samuel Hopper, Co. C, 38th USCT Infantry, also lived nearby. He was killed in action on September 29, 1864, at the Battle of Chaffin’s Farm (New Market Heights), just east of Richmond.
Three other USCT veterans are . . . — Map (db m48918) HM |
| Virginia, Chesapeake — Site of the Original Causeway |
| | The Albemarle & Chesapeake Canal changed the landscape of this area.
Constructed between 1855 and 1859, the Albemarle & Chesapeake Canal cut through the causeway and marsh lying between the south island and the village of Great Bridge. The original causeway and the marsh were buried under spoils dredged from the canal, raising this area six feet or more above the original marsh bed.
After the canal was completed, a new dirt road was laid out across the elevated area on top of the . . . — Map (db m54949) HM |
| Virginia, Chesapeake — Southern Branch Chapel / Battle of Great Bridge / Wilson Family |
| |
Site of
Southern Branch Chapel
A Chapel of ease of the Anglican Church
for the
Elizabeth River Parish 1701 - 1761
St. Brides Parish 1761 - 1845
Encampment area for American Patriots
Battle of Great Bridge
December 1775
First land battle for the American Revolution fought in Virginia
Residence of the
Wilson Family
who on 24 February 1855
gave one hundred and seventy-five acres
to the overseers of the poor of
Norfolk County
which is now the . . . — Map (db m48944) HM |
| Virginia, Chesapeake — WP-10 — St. Bride's Church |
| | At this point stood St. Bride's Church. The parish church of St. Bride's Parish which was established in 1761. The church, sometimes known as Northwest Church, was built in 1762 and survived until 1853. — Map (db m46530) HM |
| Virginia, Chesapeake — The Battle of Great Bridge — Great Bridge Battlefield & Waterways Park and Visitor Center |
| |
In the early morning of December 9, 1775, two opposing forces faced each other across the Great
Bridge, the British on the north end and the patriots to the south. The battle lasted about thirty minutes...but its outcome will last as long as America...and is still being felt today.
The Great Bridge spanning the Southern Branch of the Elizabeth River along with a series of causeways and little bridges crossing the marshes, provided the only landward approach to Norfolk and created a . . . — Map (db m48958) HM |
| Virginia, Chesapeake — The Cuffeytown Thirteen — Patriot Heroes |
| | Thirteen African American veterans of the Civil War are interred nearby at the Cuffeytown Historic Cemetery. They served in the 5th, 10th, and 36th United States Colored Troops infantry regiments organized in 1863 and 1864, after the Emancipation Proclamation authorized the recruitment of blacks for the U.S. Army and Navy. The 5th USCT, organized in Ohio in August 1863, fought in North Carolina as well as in the Virginia battles of the Crater at Petersburg, New Market Heights, and Fair Oaks. . . . — Map (db m48917) HM |
| Virginia, Chesapeake — The Day is Our Own! |
| | I then saw the horrors of war in perfection, worse than can be imagined; 10 and 12 bullets thro’ many; limbs broke in 2 or 3 places…Good God, what a sight! Captain Richard Kidder Meade, Southampton District, 2nd Virginia Regiment
British Captain Charles Fordyce emerged from the smoke of burning structures and cannon fire on the south island, leading his officers and grenadiers of the 14th Regiment of Foot. The troops advanced onto the narrow causeway, bordered by quick mire and . . . — Map (db m54951) HM |
| Virginia, Chesapeake — The Iron Titans Tame the Marsh? — The Waterways |
| | The Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal Gains Steam
By 1850, larger steam driven commercial carriers needed a faster, deeper and wider passage to market than the hand dug Dismal Swamp Canal, a few miles west of here. Digging the Dismal Swamp Canal, between 1793 and 1805, was filled with challenges. Manually dug by slave and indentured labor through snake-infested swamp land, the canal proved too narrow and shallow for steam powered vessels.
Steam power changed the face of America. The . . . — Map (db m48963) HM |
| Virginia, Chesapeake — The Marshall Family |
| | The Thomas Marshall family lived in the backwoods of the Virginia frontier.
Thomas Marshall of Fauquier County served as a vestryman, High Sheriff, and member of the House of Burgesses. He was a close boyhood friend of George Washington, who helped him become a successful surveyor.
Marshall and his wife, Mary Randolph Keith, raised ten children in “The Hollow,” a 16 X 28 foot house with two rooms and a loft, which still stands today near Markham in northern Virginia. . . . — Map (db m54954) HM |
| Virginia, Chesapeake — Under Two Flags — The Waterways |
| | Both the Confederacy and the Union recognized the strategic importance of the Albemarle & Chesapeake Canal…and both sides fought for control.
The Albemarle & Chesapeake Canal (A&C) provided the Confederacy the means to avoid the coastal blockade ordered by President Lincoln in late April 1861. Most all vessels, labor and provisions necessary to construct Confederate defenses in the Albemarle-Pamlico region came from Norfolk and the Gosport Navy Yard, and had to pass by here.
A . . . — Map (db m54959) HM |
| Virginia, Chesapeake — Village of Deep Creek — The Dismal Swamp Rangers |
| | Before you is the Deep Creek Lock of the Great Dismal Swamp Canal. The canal was an important thoroughfare, connecting the North Carolina Sounds with Hampton Roads and the Chesapeake Bay. The Dismal Swamp Canal is the oldest operating artificial waterway in the United States. Construction was authorized by the Virginia legislature in 1787 and subsequently by North Carolina in 1790. Both Union and Confederate strategists recognized the canal’s importance and sought to control the waterway. One . . . — Map (db m4773) HM |
| Virginia, Chesapeake — Village of Great Bridge — A Vital Link |
| | The village of Great Bridge was located at a strategic crossing of the Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal. This canal, along with the Dismal Swamp Canal, was recognized as being a strategically important corridor by both the Union and Confederate forces.
The Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal was built as a commercial rival of the Dismal Swamp Canal. The six-mile long canal cut through the flat Tidewater countryside to connect the South Branch of the Elizabeth River at Great Bridge with the North . . . — Map (db m48919) HM |
| Virginia, Chesapeake — Welcome — To the Great Bridge Battlefield & Waterways Park and Visitor Center |
| |
The Battle of Great Bridge, in 1775, influenced everything you see today. Location, lives and legends are all here.
A. Great Bridge Lock Park
Enjoy a boat ramp, playground, picnic shelters and the many inviting vistas. Walk the nature trail and discover the scenic Southern Branch of the Elizabeth River, a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay. While you’re here, visit the Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal Observation Platform, and watch the canal’s unique lock mechanism in action. . . . — Map (db m48955) HM |
| Virginia, Chesapeake — What is a Lock? — The Waterways |
| | Why doe the Canal Need a Lock?
The Great Bridge Lock is unique, because it is a guard lock—it guards water quality. Fresh water flows into the lock on your left from Currituck Sound in North Carolina. Salty water flows into the lock on your right from the Elizabeth River which connects to the Chesapeake Bay. When the two types of water mix, plants and animals are in danger. In 1915, it was decided to leave the lock open. By 1930, the mixing of the waters adversely impacted . . . — Map (db m48960) HM |
| Virginia, Chesapeake — Why Build a Canal Here? — The Waterways |
| | A Safer, Faster Route was Needed
Prior to the Revolutionary War, the most direct routes to transport goods to Norfolk and points north from North Carolina were, either the very slow overland route through the village of Great Bridge, or the very dangerous ocean route through “The Graveyard of the Atlantic” around Cape Hatteras.
Transporting goods was expensive; before the canal, a farmer could spend a third of the value of his crop getting it to market.
A . . . — Map (db m48962) HM |
| Virginia, Colonial Heights — S 31 — "Brave to Madness" |
| | Nearby on 9 May 1864, Brig. Gen. Johnson Hagood's South Carolina Brigade attacked advancing elements of the Union X and XVIII Corps. As they 11th S.C. Infantry Regiment engaged the Federals across Swift Creek near Arrowfield Church, the 21st and 25th S.C. crossed the creek and charged up the hill to attack Brig. Gen. Charles A. Heckman's "Star" Brigade. Repulsed with a loss of 137 casualties, the South Carolinians were praised in an official report as "brave to madness." Their gallant charge . . . — Map (db m14624) HM |
| Virginia, Colonial Heights — Colonial Heights War Memorial |
| | Dedicated in
memory of the
men of Colonial
Heights who
gave their lives
in the service
of their country
World War II
1941 ··· 1945
Sponsored by
Colonial Heights Post No. 284
The American Legion
Percy M. Adkins
Lewis F. Ayscue
Oscar L. Bell
W. Leslie Blankenship
Robert G. Charles
Thomas P. Crumpler
J. William Dance, Jr.
Stanley S. Dimirack
Preston H. Goulder
John A. Mann
Herbert B. Nunnally
Carlton B. Rowland
John B. Trench
Benjamin . . . — Map (db m57276) WM |
| Virginia, Colonial Heights — Confederate Fortification |
| | This Fortification was part of a line of Confederate earthworks that guarded Swift Creek and the western approaches to Fort Clifton on the Appomattox River. It was probably constructed in response to Federal threats during Butler’s Bermuda Hundred campaign in May-June 1864. Archeological evidence indicates that this fortification was defended by field artillery, supported by infantry sharpshooters drawn from the garrison of nearby Fort Clifton. The defenders of Fort Clifton included Confederate . . . — Map (db m17077) HM |
| Virginia, Colonial Heights — Dunlop Station — "...burning cartridges like shooting stars" |
| | Dunlop Station on the Richmond and Petersburg Railroad was located here on the southern boundary of David Dunlop's Ellerslie estate. During the siege of Petersburg, June 1864-April 1865, a military rail spur was completed in March 1865 that extended southwest from here to a Confederate quartermaster depot at Ettrick, making this an important railroad junction. It enabled trains to avoid Federal shelling of the main rail line from Dunlop Station to Petersburg, two miles south. Passenger trains . . . — Map (db m14636) HM |
| Virginia, Colonial Heights — S 34 — Dunlop's Station |
| | At the nearby junction of the Richmond and Petersburg Railroad and the Confederate military spur line to Ettrick, stood Dunlop's Station, a Confederate telegraph post and supply depot. During the siege of Petersburg, southbound passengers were detrained here to avoid Federal shells that endangered travel over the Appomattox River railroad bridge to the south. On 2 April 1865, surplus ammunition was moved here as the Confederates prepared to evacuate Petersburg. During the night of 2 April, the . . . — Map (db m14637) HM |
| Virginia, Colonial Heights — S 35 — Electric Railway |
| | Located here was Stop 54 on the electric interurban railway line between Richmond and Petersburg. Opened in 1902 by the Virginia Passenger and Power Co., the line crossed Swift Creek on a steel truss bridge and followed Ashby Avenue to its intersection here with the Richmond-Petersburg Turnpike. Turning south, the line followed the Boulevard to Stop 66 (Chesterfield Ave.) and crossed the Appomattox River on a trestle. Stone and Webster purchased the line in 1925, renamed it the Virginia . . . — Map (db m1993) HM |
| Virginia, Colonial Heights — S 32 — Ellerslie |
| | In 1839, David Dunlop and his wife, Anna Mercer Minge, a niece of President William Henry Harrison, acquired the Ellerslie tract. Robert Young designed the castellated Gothic Revival mansion for Dunlop in 1856, and construction began the next year. Surrounded by elaborately landscaped grounds, Ellerslie was damaged during the Civil War by Union artillery on 9 May 1864. Later, Gen. P. G. T. Beauregard established his headquarters here, and a Confederate rest camp occupied the grounds. In 1910, . . . — Map (db m17078) HM |
| Virginia, Colonial Heights — Ellerslie — Beauregard’s Headquarters |
| | In 1864, Ellerslie stood in the middle of the Confederate defense line along Swift Creek. On May 9-10, Confederate Gens. Johnson Hagood and Bushrod Johnson, with 4,200 men, contested the advance of a much larger Federal force, composed of elements of Gen. Benjamin F Butler’s Army of the James. During the fighting on May 9, a Confederate battery near the house dueled with Federal gunners across the creek at Arrowfield Farm. A cannonball struck the house’s wall and remained embedded until 1910. . . . — Map (db m48440) HM |
| Virginia, Colonial Heights — S 33 — Fort Clifton |
| | A short distance east on the Appomattox River stands Confederate Fort Clifton, an important fortification that guarded Petersburg against Union naval attack during the Civil War. On 9 May 1864, Federal gunboats commanded by Maj. Gen. Charles K. Graham attacked the fort. During the engagement, Fort Clifton's artillery disabled the army gunboat Samuel L. Brewster, which its crew then scuttled. The fort's garrison, commanded by Capt. S. Taylor Martin, of the Virginia artillery, received a . . . — Map (db m17073) HM |
| Virginia, Colonial Heights — Fort Clifton — Guardian of the Appomattox |
| | Confederate Fort Clifton guarded the Appomattox River and helped protect Petersburg in 1864-1865. The three earthworks that comprised the fort’s batteries still stand on the bluffs along the river. Artillerists and militiamen garrisoned the position in 1862, and the fortifications were completed early in 1864. A powder magazine, guardhouse and prison stockade, hospital, and even a “ladies quarters” stood inside the fort, while underground huts were “built into ravines and . . . — Map (db m17074) HM |
| Virginia, Colonial Heights — Fort Clifton — A stronghold that was never taken |
| | Fort Clifton, constructed between 1862 and 1864, helped protect the city of Petersburg from Union gunboats. Its high elevation and well-placed gun embrasures made Fort Clifton a stronghold that was never taken by Union forces until it was abandoned after the fall of Petersburg in April 1865. In 1864, Federal gunboats frequently steamed up the Appomattox River to observe the fort.
The most important event in Fort Clifton’s history occurred on May 9, 1864, when five Union gunboats sailed up . . . — Map (db m17075) HM |
| Virginia, Colonial Heights — 26-S — Lafayette At Petersburg |
| | From this hill Lafayette, on May 10, 1781, shelled the British in Petersburg. (On stone under the marker): Headquarters of General Lafayette 1781 Frances Bland Randolph Chapter D.A.R. 1903. — Map (db m14638) HM |
| Virginia, Colonial Heights — Lee at Violet Bank — Siege Headquarters |
| | Lt. Col. Walter H. Taylor, Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee’s aide, established Lee’s headquarters here at Violet Bank on June 17, 1864, at the beginning of the siege of Petersburg. The city, protected by Confederate defensive works to the east and south, remained connected to Richmond, the Confederate capital, via the Richmond and Petersburg Railroad as well as the Manchester and Petersburg Turnpike. Violet Bank was located near each transportation route, enabling Lee to travel quickly to . . . — Map (db m17069) HM |
| Virginia, Colonial Heights — S-27 — Lee's Headquarters |
| | Lee's headquarters from the latter part of June, 1864 to September, 1864 were here. — Map (db m14639) HM |
| Virginia, Colonial Heights — Magnolia Acuminata |
| | Commonly called “Cucumber Tree”
One legend says that Thomas Shore, the owner of Violet Bank, planted this tree from a slip given to him by Thomas Jefferson.
General Robert E. Lee was camped here on the morning of July 30, 1864 and heard the explosion of the Crater. — Map (db m17070) HM |
| Virginia, Colonial Heights — Violet Bank |
| | The present building was built around 1815 as it is the domestic architecture of the federal period. There are two theories concerning the origin of the name “Violet Bank”.
(1) Because of the thousands of violets that covered the hillside.
(2) An allusion to the quotation from “Midsummer’s Night Dream – ‘the bank where the violets grow’”.
Thomas Shore, the owner, was a reader of Shakespeare and had a mult-volume set of the poet’s works in his library. — Map (db m17065) HM |
| Virginia, Danville — Q 7e — 750 Main Street — Danville |
| | On this site stood the residence of James E. Schoolfield. In the parlor of his house were held the meetings to organize both Dan River, Inc. on July 20, 1882 and the Young Women's Christian Association of Danville on December 19, 1904. — Map (db m66042) HM |
| Virginia, Danville — D-1 — Andrew Jackson Montague |
| | This house was built in 1891 as the home of Andrew Jackson “Jack” Montague, 1862-1937, Governor of Virginia, 1902-1906. During his residence in Danville, Mr. Montague established himself as a lawyer, U.S. District Attorney, orator, and political campaigner, whose talents led to his election in 1897 as Virginia’s Attorney General and then as governor. — Map (db m14474) HM |
| Virginia, Danville — Q 5m — Bloody Monday |
| | In the spring of 1963 local African American ministers and other leaders organized the Danville Movement to combat widespread racial segregation and discrimination. On 10 June, two demonstrations occurred. Police clubbed and fire-hosed the marchers, injuring at least 47 and arresting 60. The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., offered protesters his "full, personal support" when he arrived in Danville on 11 July. The nonviolent protests, which became known as "Bloody Monday," gained national news . . . — Map (db m66038) HM |
| Virginia, Danville — q 5h — Confederate Prison No. 6 |
| | Constructed in 1855 as a tobacco factory by Major William T. Sutherlin, this renovated structure housed Union prisoners during the Civil War, 1861-1865. It was one of six Danville Confederate prisons in which as many as 7000 Union soldiers were confined. — Map (db m66006) HM |
| Virginia, Danville — Danville Cemeteries — National Cemetery |
| | The remains of 1,323 Federal soldiers, 148 of them unknown, who died in Danville’s Civil War prisons are interred here. Many died from smallpox which ravaged the six prisons during the winter of 1863-1864.
The names of the dead were recorded by the rector of the Episcopal church, Dr. George Washington Dame, and turned over to Federal authorities when the city was occupied by Gen. Horatio Wright’s Sixth Corps in April 1865. Dr. Dame served as Danville’s military chaplain during the Civil War. . . . — Map (db m66010) HM |
| Virginia, Danville — Danville Confederate Soldier's Monument |
| | Danville, Virginia
1878
Gen. Robert E. Lee
Confederate dead memorial tribute of Virginia's daughters to the fallen brave.
Gen. Thomas J. Jackson
They died as men who nobly contend for the cause of truth and right. "They softly and sweetly sleep."
Patriots!
Know that these fell in the effort to establish just government and perpetuate constitutional liberty. Who thus die, will live in lofty example.
Quidquid ex his amavimus, quidquid mirati sumus, manet . . . — Map (db m66066) WM |
| Virginia, Danville — Danville Fortifications — Civil War Earthworks Constructed for Danville's Protection |
| | Danville residents, feeling vulnerable to enemy attack because of the vast amount of commissary and quartermaster supplies stored in their town and the presence of the Confederate arsenal, petitioned the town council in February 1863 to build fortifications. Little work was performed, however, until November when the first of more than 7,000 captured Union soldiers arrived from Richmond en route to six prisons converted from tobacco warehouses.
Col. Robert Enoch Withers, commander of the . . . — Map (db m66004) HM |
| Virginia, Danville — Q 5-d — Danville System |
| | On this site stood Neal's Warehouse where the "Danville System" of selling tobacco began in 1858. Previously tobacco had been sold by sample from hogsheads, but under the new system it was sold at auction in open, loose piles so buyers could examine the whole lot. It is in general use today. — Map (db m66037) HM |
| Virginia, Danville — Q 5-n — Danville Tobacco Warehouse and Residential District |
| | This area formed the economic core of 19th-century Danville. Founded in 1793 at Wynne’s Falls on the Dan River to facilitate tobacco inspection, Danville became a regional center of activity because of the river and later the railroad. Situated in an area especially well-suited for the cultivation of bright leaf tobacco, the city became a major tobacco manufacturing center. Textile mills were built in the 1880s, partially financed by the profits from the booming tobacco industry. This district, . . . — Map (db m66034) HM |
| Virginia, Danville — U 39 — Dix's Ferry |
| | John Dix established his ferry approximately three miles south of here on the Dan River. During the American Revolution, in February 1781, the ferry was a strategic site in Gen. Nathanael Greene's "race to the Dan," the pursuit of Greene to the Dan River in Virginia by British Gen. Charles Cornwallis. The ferry also transported troops and supplies for Greene's army in his actions against Cornwallis at the Battle of Guilford Courthouse. In 1791 President George Washington crossed the Dan River . . . — Map (db m66032) HM |
| Virginia, Danville — Frederick Delius — Last Performance in Danville |
| | In this building, on January 30, 1897, the composer Frederick Delius (1862-1934) and his traveling companions - Halfdan Jebe and the "stowaway" Princess de Cysteria - gave a public concert at the Danville College for Young Ladies, later Stratford College.
Delius' colleagues, billed as Professor Lemmanoff, violinist, and Madame Donodossola, soprano, and the noted composer himself, played to a delighted audience, some of whom took notice also of the "big feet of the Princess."
Many . . . — Map (db m66050) HM |
| Virginia, Danville — Q 7-d — Holbrook-Ross Historic District |
| | The Holbrook-Ross Historic District, named for two major streets, is significant as the first neighborhood in Danville for African American professionals. Lawyers, ministers, dentists and physicians, as well as, business owners, insurance agents, postal clerks, and skilled craftsmen, made it their home in the late 19th century. It grew rapidly during the 1880s following the construction of the Danville School, the city's public school for blacks. By the turn of the 20th century, Holbrook Street . . . — Map (db m66044) HM |
| Virginia, Danville — Lady Astor Birthplace |
| | In this house Nancy Witcher Langhorne was born 19 May 1879. As Lady Astor she became the first woman to sit in the British House of Commons, serving from 1919 to 1945. Through the Langhorne family, her roots in Virginia run deep into the Seventeenth Century. — Map (db m66047) HM |
| Virginia, Danville — Q 5-A — Last Confederate Capitol |
| | This, the former home of Major W.T. Sutherlin, is regarded as the last capitol of the Confederacy, April 3-10, 1865. Here President Davis stayed and here was held the last full cabinet meeting, Breckinridge alone being absent. The establishment of the Confederate government in Danville ended when the news of Lee's surrender arrived on April 10. — Map (db m66012) HM |
| Virginia, Danville — Q 5C — Loyal Baptist Church |
| | The Loyal Street Baptist Church congregation, which was organized between 1865 and 1866 on Old Hospital-Dance Hill by former slaves, built its church here in 1870. Worship continued at this site until 1924 when the congregation moved to Holbrook Street. The name was then changed to Loyal Baptist Church. — Map (db m66036) HM |
| Virginia, Danville — Prison Number 6 — Confederate Prison 1863-1865 |
| | Built for use as a tobacco factory and leased to the Confederate government, this building housed many Federal soldiers captured in the Battle of the Crater at Petersburg in July 1864.
It was one of six buildings used in tobacco manufacturing, that housed more than 7,000 Union prisoners from November 1863 to April 1865. A smallpox epidemic was responsible for the deaths of a large number of the prison population early in 1864. A total of 1,323 deaths occurred among prisoners during the 16 . . . — Map (db m66005) HM |
| Virginia, Danville — Richmond & Danville Railroad — Reconstruction Period |
| | When Confederate President Jefferson Davis was informed April 2, 1865, that Petersburg had fallen and Federal armies were approaching, he used the Richmond & Danville Railroad to evacuate his government to Danville.
Ten days later, after Davis’ refugee government continued south, the rail bridge crossing the Dan River barely escaped demolition orders issued by Confederate Gen. Lunsford L. Lomax.
Danville Mayor J.M. Walker protested the order as a useless and unjustified sacrifice of . . . — Map (db m66007) HM |
| Virginia, Danville — Richmond & Danville Railroad — During the Civil War |
| | At the outbreak of the Civil War, the Richmond & Danville Railroad was already part of a rail network that would sustain the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. The Richmond & Danville extension to Greensboro, North Carolina, known as the Piedmont Railroad, was built as part of the war effort in 1862-1864.
The building of this modest extension to Greensboro was prolonged for two years by chronic problems: the shortage of labor and materials and the lack of standard railroad gauge. The . . . — Map (db m66008) HM |
| Virginia, Danville — Richmond & Danville Railroad — Development of the Railroad |
| | By the outbreak of the Civil War, the Virginia General Assembly had chartered only eight railroads totaling 638 miles. The North, in contrast, had developed an immense network of railroads and canals. This transportation network reached into the heart of the trade centers, contributing to the political alignment of the Northwest to the industrial Northeast, and helping to isolate the South.
Whitmell P. Tunstall, a of Pittsylvania County, was not yet 28 years old when he stood to address . . . — Map (db m66009) HM |
| Virginia, Danville — L 53 — Saponi Religious Beliefs Explained |
| | On 12-15 October 1728, Col. William Byrd II and his party camped just west of here while surveying the Virginia-North Carolina boundary. Bearskin, Byrd's Saponi guide, described his tribe's religious beliefs, which, wrote Byrd in his diary, contained "the three Great Articles of Natural Religion: the Belief of a God; the Moral Distinction betwixt Good and Evil; and the Expectation of Rewards and Punishments in another World." Bearskin's religion also included a Hindu-like belief in reincarnation. — Map (db m66052) HM |
| Virginia, Danville — Q 5K — Schoolfield |
| | Schoolfield, established in 1903 as a textile mill village, was named for three brothers who founded Riverside Cotton Mills, later Dan River Mills. By the 1920s, this company town—complete with a school, churches, stores, a theatre, and other recreational facilities—was home to over 4,500 residents, mostly mill employees and their families, living in some 800 rental houses. A strike in 1930-31 ended a decade of employer/employee cooperation known as "Industrial Democracy," yet the . . . — Map (db m66051) HM |
| Virginia, Danville — Q 5E — Stratford College |
| | Stratford College (1930-1974) and its constituent preparatory school, Stratford Hall (1930-1964), maintained the tradition of liberal arts education for women begun in 1854 at the Danville Female College. Main hall was built in 1883 to house the Danville College for Young Ladies (1883-1897) and is a landmark also of its successors, Randolph-Macon Institute (1897-1930) and Stratford. — Map (db m66049) HM |
| Virginia, Danville — Sutherlin Mansion — Danvill Museum of Fine Arts and History |
| | This Italian villa mansion was the home of Maj. William T. Sutherlin, wartime quartermaster for Danville and one of its most prominent citizens. For one week, April 3-10, 1865, Sutherlin and his wife opened their home to Jefferson Davis and the Confederate government. In this house, Davis wrote and delivered his final proclamation to the Confederacy on April 4. Four days later, during the final cabinet meeting in this city, Lt. John S. Wise arrived with news of that the Army of Northern . . . — Map (db m66011) HM |
| Virginia, Danville — Q 32 — The Gibson Girl / Lady Astor |
| | (side 1)
The Gibson Girl
Here stood the residence in which Irene Langhorne Gibson, 1873-1956 was born. Her beauty, charm, and vivacity captivated the artist Charles Dana Gibson who, following their marriage in 1895, cast his celebrated, style-setting "Gibson Girl" illustrations in her image.
(side 2)
Lady Astor
Here stood the residence in which Nancy Langhorne, Viscountess Astor, 1879-1964, was born. Lady Astor, noted for her wit, advocacy of Women's . . . — Map (db m66045) HM |
| Virginia, Danville — The Worsham Street Bridge |
| | The Worsham Street Bridge was built in 1928 by the Atlantic Bridge Company of Greensboro, North Carolina. Replacing a smaller iron-and-wood bridge from the early 1900s, it was an open-spandrel reinforced concrete arch bridge and one of the longest and tallest of this type designed by noted engineer Daniel B. Luten. The bridge helped relieve traffic congestion on the nearby Main Street Bridge and facilitated farmers getting their tobacco crops to the warehouses and processing facilities on the . . . — Map (db m66041) HM |
| Virginia, Danville — Q-5B — Wreck of the Old 97 |
| | Here, on September 27, 1908, occurred the railroad wreck that inspired the popular ballad, "The Wreck of the Old 97". The southbound mail express train on the Southern Railroad left the tracks on a trestle and plunged into the ravine below. Nine persons were killed and seven injured, one of the worst train wrecks in Virginia history. — Map (db m63397) HM |
| Virginia, Emporia — U-91 — Brunswick County, Virginia — "The Original Home of Brunswick Stew" |
| | According to local tradition, while Dr. Creed Haskins and several friends were on a hunting trip in Brunswick County in 1828, his camp cook, Jimmy Matthews, hunted squirrels for a stew. Matthews simmered the squirrels with butter, onions, stale bread, and seasoning, thus creating the dish known as Brunswick stew. Recipes for Brunswick stew have changed over time as chicken has replaced squirrel and vegetables have been added, but the stew remains thick and rich. Other states have made similar claims but Virginia's is the first. — Map (db m60633) HM |
| Virginia, Emporia — S-72 — Meherrin Indians |
| | The Meherrin Indians lived in the coastal plain of Virginia and North Carolina along the Meherrin River. They farmed and hunted and spoke a language, Meherrin, that belonged to the Iroquoian language family. The Meherrin remained relatively undisturbed by the English settlements, until about 1650 when trading in furs increased their contact with settlers. By 1680 the Meherrin had become official tribute-paying subjects of the Virginia colony that temporarily gave them a protected land base . . . — Map (db m60634) HM |
| Virginia, Emporia — Memorial League WWI Memorial |
| | In memory of
all Black Men of
Greeensville County, Va.
who served in the
United States
Armed Forces
during World War I
By
Trustees of Memorial League
D.L. Bradley
W.E. Hall
M.H. Knox
N.C. Walker — Map (db m19182) HM |
| Virginia, Fairfax — B 261 — Birthplace of the Confederate Battle Flag |
| | During the First Battle of Manassas, amid the smoke of combat, troops found it difficult to distinguish between Union and Confederate flags. Generals P.G.T. Beauregard, Joseph E. Johnston and Quartermaster General William L. Cabell met near here in September 1861 and approved the first Confederate battle flag; a square red flag with blue diagonally crossed bars, and 12 stars. This pattern was adapted for use in other battle flags and was incorporated into the Confederate national flag in 1863. . . . — Map (db m7095) HM |
| Virginia, Fairfax — Blenheim (Willcoxon Farm) — Civil War Soldier Art |
| | Blenheim, built for Albert and Mary Willcoxon about 1859, contains some of the nation’s best-preserved Civil War soldier writings. More than 110 identified Union soldiers, representing units from New York, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Massachusetts, and New Jersey, left their marks on the house walls. The earliest dated signature is from March 11, 1862, and the last is from June 20, 1863. From the front door to the attic, the soldiers covered the new white plaster walls of . . . — Map (db m21077) HM |
| Virginia, Fairfax — Blenheim House — Historic Blenheim |
| | “... a brick building recently erected and fitted up in handsome style...”Richmand Daily Dispatch, August 9, 1861 In 1855, fire consumed an earlier house on this site. Owner Albert Willcoxon had no insurance; so upon finishing this house—a center hall plan vernacular Greek Revival brick house with a double chimney on each end—he took out a $2,000 insurance policy in January 1860. In July 1861, the Union Army reportedly vandalized the new . . . — Map (db m28608) HM |
| Virginia, Fairfax — C-19 — Bull Run Battlefields |
| | Ten miles west were fought the two Battles of Manassas or Bull Run. — Map (db m619) HM |
| Virginia, Fairfax — BW-2 — Burke’s Station Raid |
| | Burke’s Station, four miles south, was raided by Stuart’s cavalry, December, 1862. Stuart telegraphed to Washington complaining of the bad quality of the mules he had captured—a famous joke. — Map (db m618) HM |
| Virginia, Fairfax — Dairy Barn Complex — Historic Blenheim |
| | “The outlook for agriculture in Fairfax is dismal.”County Agent R.B. Davis, Jr., 1946 Why was Davis so pessimistic? As he wrote, Blenheim owner Marguerite “Daisy” Duras’s diary cows were setting production records. Just seven years earlier in 1939, her Uncle Harry P. Willcoxon’s dairies were lauded for bringing “Fairfax milk into favorable notice in city markets.” Grandfather Alfred Willcoxon helped found the Central [Fairfax] Farmers Club; he grew corn, . . . — Map (db m25842) HM |
| Virginia, Fairfax — Dr. William Gunnell House |
| | Built c.1835 Old Town Fairfax It was in this house that Ranger John Mosby captured the Union area commander Brig. Gen. Edwin H. Stoughton, in bed, the night of March 9, 1863. — Map (db m6233) HM |
| Virginia, Fairfax — Draper House |
| | Built c.1820 Old Town Fairfax Built by Dr. Samuel Draper, this house probably served as his office and examining rooms. Many of the buildings adjoining the house were constructed as out-buildings. — Map (db m6298) HM |
| Virginia, Fairfax — Draper House — 1821 |
| | Built by Dr. Simeon and Catherine (Wilkinson) Draper on a lot leased from town founder Richard Ratcliffe, this is the second oldest home still standing in the Old Town Fairfax Historic District. Catherine's sister was Matilda Wilkinson, the daughter-in-law of Richard Ratcliffe. Later, it became the family home of the Drapers' daughter Maria Louisa and husband William Chapman. Chapman was the village tailor and later postmaster. — Map (db m8226) HM |
| Virginia, Fairfax — Efe Quality House |
| | Built 1930 Old Town Fairfax The home was built on top of the Manassas Gap Railway right-of-way which was the railway started before the Civil War. This railway construction was disbanded during the Civil War. The house was renovated in 1992 by Dr. Johnson A. Edosomwan. — Map (db m6296) HM |
| Virginia, Fairfax — Fairfax — Spies, Mosby and Marr |
| | On June 1. 1861, the first major skirmish of the Civil War occurred on the main street of Fairfax Court House. In the pre-dawn hours 50 men of Co. B, Second U.S. Cavalry, led by Lt. Charles H. Tomkins, rode into town firing their weapons. As Capt. John Quincy Marr, commander of the Warrenton Rifles, rallied his men against the Union attack, he was killed by a stray bullet—becoming the first Confederate officer to die in the war.
On March 9, 1863, Confederate Col. John
S. Mosby and . . . — Map (db m626) HM |
| Virginia, Fairfax — Fairfax County Courthouse — War on the Courthouse Grounds |
| | At different times, Union and Confederate forces occupied the Fairfax County Courthouse at this important crossroads. The flag of each side flew from its cupola during the war, and the building suffered damage. On April 25, 1861, the Fairfax Riflemen (CS) were organized here, and on May 23, voters here ratified the Ordinance of Secession, 151 to 8. Before dawn on June 1, Lt. Charles Tompkins led the 2nd New York Cavalry in an unsuccessful attack on three Confederate units here. Capt. John . . . — Map (db m43134) HM |
| Virginia, Fairfax — Fairfax Court House |
| | Built in 1800. This building, designed by James Wren, served as the first permanent courthouse of Fairfax County. — Map (db m621) HM |
| Virginia, Fairfax — Fairfax Court House |
| | Built 1800 Old Town Fairfax This building is on the National Register of Historic Places. George and Martha Washington’s wills were recorded here and still remain in this complex. Confederate President Jefferson Davis reviewed strategy in the tavern across the street with his generals on October 1 and 2, 1861. — Map (db m6259) HM |
| Virginia, Fairfax — Fairfax Hay & Grain Store |
| | Built 1900 Old Town Fairfax This vernacular, commercial building is a typical example of construction at the turn of the century. — Map (db m6286) HM |
| Virginia, Fairfax — Fairfax Herald & Print Shop |
| | Built 1900 Old Town Fairfax The Fairfax Herald was established in 1882 by Capt. S.R. Donohoe, who, in 1904 moved it to this small, one-story frame structure. The Herald remained in operation until 1966. — Map (db m6275) HM |
| Virginia, Fairfax — Fairfax Rosenwald School |
| | The Fairfax Rosenwald School of “Fairfax Colored School” was constructed in 1925–26 on this site. It replaced an earlier African-American school on Main Street east of the Fairfax Cemetery. In 1917, Julius Rosenwald, president of Sears, Roebuck & Co., formed the Julius Rosenwald Fund, a philanthropic foundation that funded construction of over 5,000 schools for African-Americans across the rural south between 1917 and 1932. The Fairfax Roselwald School was one of four such . . . — Map (db m29482) HM |
| Virginia, Fairfax — B 262 — First Confederate Officer Killed |
| | In the early morning hours of 1 June 1861, a detachment of Co. B, Second Cavalry, entered the Town of Fairfax Court House and engaged the Warrenton Rifles in the first land conflict of organized military units in the Civil War. The skirmish resulted in the death of Capt. John Quincy Marr, who was struck by a stray bullet, the first Confederate officer killed in the Civil War. Marr's body was found at daybreak near this location. — Map (db m21451) HM |
| Virginia, Fairfax — Ford Building |
| | Built c.1835 Old Town Fairfax This was the home of Antonia Ford, imprisoned as a spy following Ranger Mosby's night capture of the local Union commander, Brig. Gen. Edwin H. Stoughton, March 9, 1863. A search of the house had revealed an honorary aide-de-camp commission to Antonia from Gen. Jeb Stuart. — Map (db m6366) HM |
| Virginia, Fairfax — Historic Blenheim |
| | A family farm, a Civil War encampment site, and a country home, Historic Blenheim now welcomes visitors to explore its landscape and many stories. Over 200 years ago, family patriarch Rezin Willcoxon moved here from Prince Georges County, Maryland. By the Civil War, his extended family owned most of the acreage along today’s Old Lee Highway. A labor force, including a small number of African-American slaves, aided the family’s growing prosperity. During the Civil War, Union soldiers camped . . . — Map (db m24662) HM |
| Virginia, Fairfax — Historic Fairfax Elementary School |
| | Built 1873 Old Town Fairfax This is the oldest, two-story, brick public school house in Fairfax County. Bricks were made from a clay pit on the Farr property across Main St. The original portion of this structure, the rear, was build for then considered exorbitant cost of $2,750. The front was added in 1912. — Map (db m6303) HM |
| Virginia, Fairfax — Joshua Gunnell House |
| | Built c.1830 Old Town Fairfax The first skirmish of the Civil War occurred on Main Street June 1, 1861. Ex-Governor, "Extra Billy" Smith, a civilian, ran from this house to take charge of the Warrenton Rifles. Their commanding officer, Capt. John Quincy Marr, had been killed, the first Confederate officer killed during the Civil War in a military engagement between opposing forces. — Map (db m6258) HM |
| Virginia, Fairfax — Monument to John Q. Marr |
| | This stone marks the scene of the opening conflict of the war of 1861–1865, when John Q. Marr, Captain of the Warrenton Rifles, who was the first soldier killed in action, fell 800 ft. S. 46 W. Mag. of this spot, June 1st, 1861. — Map (db m620) HM |
| Virginia, Fairfax — Moore House |
| | Built c.1840 Old Town Fairfax During his March 1863 raid, Ranger John S. Mosby searched here, with no success, for the Union mercenary Col. Percy Wyndham who had called Mosby a horse thief. Mosby had replied that the only horses he had every stolen had Union troopers on their backs armed with two pistols and a saber. — Map (db m6260) HM |
| Virginia, Fairfax — Mosby |
| | Here on the night of March 8th, 1863, Col. John Singleton Mosby with 29 Confederate soldiers penetrated the Union lines of 3000 men and captured in the brick dwelling north of this spot Brig. General Edwin H. Stoughton, U.S.A., with 100 prisoners and horses. — Map (db m6246) HM |
| Virginia, Fairfax — B 26 — Mosby’s Midnight Raid |
| | Col. John Singleton Mosby formed the 43rd Battalion Virginia Cavalry “to weaken the armies invading Virginia by harassing their rear.” Near midnight on 8 March 1863, he led his horsemen undetected through Union lines to disrupt communications between Dranesville and Alexandria. Without losing a man or firing a shot, Mosby and his Rangers rode into and out of the garrisoned village of Fairfax Court House and captured Union Brig. General Stoughton in his bed, as well as two captains, . . . — Map (db m5086) HM |
| Virginia, Fairfax — Nickell's Hardware |
| | Built 1895 Old Town Fairfax An example of venacular commercial architecture, a popular construction type at the turn of the century. — Map (db m6278) HM |
| Virginia, Fairfax — Old Baptismal Area |
| | Local residents recall the period through the 1930s when Mount Calvary Baptist Church regularly conducted baptismal services in the Accotink Branch, in the pool formed at its confluence with the Tussico. White-robed candidates were immersed by the church clergy as they were baptized into the Christian community. Mount Calvary Baptist Church, founded 1870, is believed to be the first African-American church in the city of Fairfax. — Map (db m5593) HM |
| Virginia, Fairfax — Old Fairfax High School |
| | This building opened in 1935 as the first 4-year "Fairfax High School," becoming the largest consolidated high school in the county as the Oakton and Clifton High Schools were closed. It closed in 1972 when the new school opened on Old Lee Highway. Serving briefly as the north campus of George Mason University, it became Paul VI Catholic High School in 1982. Fairfax High School began in 1911 in the 1873 elementary school building as a 1-year school, expanded in 1913 to a 2-year school and . . . — Map (db m7099) HM |
| Virginia, Fairfax — Old Fairfax Jail |
| | Built in late 19th Century Old Town Fairfax The original “gaol” (1802) burned down in 1884. The Alexandria jail was used until this building was completed. The last jailer, Mr. William F. Lowe, and his family lived in the front quarters of this building until 1954. The structure is of the Italianate architecture. — Map (db m6256) HM |
| Virginia, Fairfax — Old Town Hall |
| | Built 1900 Old Town Fairfax Joseph E. Willard, who served as lieutenant governor of Virginia and minister to Spain, built Old Town Hall and gave it to the town in 1900. He was said to have been the most influential political figure in Fairfax County at the turn of the century. He was the only child of Confederate spy, Antonia Ford and Joseph C. Willard, a Union major, co-owner of the famed hotel in Washington, D.C. — Map (db m6361) HM |
| Virginia, Fairfax — Peyton Anderson |
| | Payton Anderson of the Rappahannock Cavalry was severely wounded on picket duty 122 ft. N.W. of this spot May 27, 1861.
The first soldier of the South to shed his blood for the Confederacy. — Map (db m29389) HM |
| Virginia, Fairfax — Ralston's Store |
| | Built 1895 Old Town Fairfax This vernacular, commercial building is a typical example of construction at the turn of the century. — Map (db m6295) HM |
| Virginia, Fairfax — Ratcliffe-Allison House (Earp’s) |
| | Built 1812 Old Town Fairfax This is the oldest house in the City of Fairfax and the first city-owned building to be placed on the National Register of Historic Places (1973). The oldest section of the house, the eastern portion, was built by Richard Ratcliffe around 1812 to the specifications of the original lot sales in the Town of Providence. — Map (db m6261) HM |
| Virginia, Fairfax — Richard Ratcliffe's Mount Vinyard Plantation |
| | On the knoll 70 yards NE of this marker, stood the home of Richard Ratcliffe (1751-1825). The mansion was on his 600-acre "Mount Vineyard," part of a 1714 land grant of 1,930 acres to George Mason II. In 1798 Ratcliffe donated 4 acres to the east of Mount Vineyard for the Fairfax County Courthouse, built in 1800. Ratcliffe petitioned the Virginia Assembly to establish a town on adjacent property and on January 14, 1805 this town was chartered as "Providence," becoming the City of Fairfax in 1961. — Map (db m7096) HM |
| Virginia, Falls Church — Big Chimneys |
| | Large log house named for its two huge chimneys. One datestone was inscribed 1699, the traditional date quoted for the community's founding. First recorded owner of site is Henry Gunnell (1773 22.75 acre grant). James Gordon, owner 1803-1836, had license for an inn. Thompsons owned cabin from 1845-1868 and Lynchs from 1868, until it was torn down about 1908. At that time cabin was about 25x55 feet with 3 chimneys, 4 rooms on ground floor and 3 rooms above. Foundation stones were dug up in 1972 . . . — Map (db m4192) HM |
| Virginia, Falls Church — Cherry Hill |
| | Greek revival house believed built in 1845 by Wm. Harvey, who bought 66.5 acres (part of 1729 248-acre Trammell grant). Outbuildings added about 1857. Name derived from trees lining lane from Leesburg Turnpike. In 1870, Joseph S. Riley bought the property. In 1875 he became a key figure in incorporating the town and establishing a public school. Nephew, poet James Whitcomb Riley, visited farm many times. House was occupied by descendants for nearly a century. City bought and restored the . . . — Map (db m555) HM |
| Virginia, Falls Church — Columbia Baptist Church |
| | In 1859, the church trustees bought this ½ acre (part of 1729 248-acre Trammell Grant) for $100. The 2-story clapboard over timber church served as a Union hospital and appears in Matthew Brady photos. Pastor John Read was shot by Mosby Troops as Union spy. When congregation became inactive, church was site of 1875 first town council meeting and first public school. Jefferson Institute, 1875 to 1882. Church was reorganized in 1880 and relocated in 1909 to West Columbia St. Church here was . . . — Map (db m17576) HM |
| Virginia, Falls Church — Dulin Methodist Church |
| | After the Civil War demolition of Fairfax Chapel, the original part of this Gothic revival church was built by Southern sympathizers in 1869 on 2 acres donated by Wm. Y. Dulin (Part of 1742 208-acre Geo. Harrison Grant). Original chapel now forms the right and rear side of the sanctuary and vestibule, a tower, new entrance, and stained glass windows were added in 1892. In 1926 Gothic Sunday-school wing was added in the west; Church exterior was stuccoed because color of handmade brick in the . . . — Map (db m2841) HM |
| Virginia, Falls Church — Fairfax Chapel |
| | Circuit riders brought methodism to area in the late 1700s, holding meetings in homes. Fairfax Circuit initiated in 1776. Clapboard chapel built in 1779 and enlarged in 1798 on acre of land donated in 1918 by heirs of George Minor (a part of 1731 271-acre T. Harrison grant). Larger red brick structure built in 1819. Services suspended in 1861; Union soldiers demolished chapel using bricks for fireplaces. Site abandoned by methodists after war, but surrounding Oakwood Cemetery remains. In 1885, . . . — Map (db m2832) HM |
| Virginia, Falls Church — Falls Church — Between the Armies |
| | In 1861, Falls Church was a farm village located on the Alexandria-Leesburg Turnpike. On May 24, when Virginia's vote of secession became effective, Union troops crossed the Potomac and occupied Arlington Heights and Alexandria. On June 1, the 2nd U.S. Cavalry left the Falls Church area to launch the first major skirmish of the war against Confederate forces at Fairfax Court House. After the Union defeat at the First Battle of Manassas (Bull Run) on June 21, Union troops withdrew from the area . . . — Map (db m2825) HM |
| Virginia, Falls Church — Falls Church Home Front — Cherry Hill Farm in the Civil War |
| | Although soldiers repeatedly overran and raided Cherry Hill Farm during the Civil War, this ca. 1845 farmhouse and the ca. 1856 barn behind it survived almost intact. William Blaisdell, of Massachusetts paid $4,000 for the 66-acre property in 1856. The migration of Northerners to this area resulted in a populace of mixed loyalties on the eve of the Civil War. Blaisdell and twenty-five others in the Falls Church District voted against secession in the statewide referendum held on May 23, 1861, . . . — Map (db m65407) HM |
| Virginia, Falls Church — Hangman's Tree |
| | On this site stood the Hangman's Tree According to legend, an old oak used by Col. Mosby to hang Union spies after the Battle of The Peach Orchard during the Civil War. The tree was removed 1968. Marker by the Falls Chruch Historical Commission 1968 — Map (db m37608) HM |
| Virginia, Falls Church — Henderson House |
| | This colonial revival bungalow (part of 1724 1,279-acre Pearson Grant) bought by Dr. Edwin B. Henderson in 1913. Henderson's ancestors include Powhattan Chief Mimetou. In 1904 he was first African-American certified to teach physical education; 1920-1954 director of P.E. in D.C. segregated schools. Long active as organizer, coach, and official in New "Negro" leagues. Author in 1939 of "The Negro in Sports"; He also wrote over 3,000 letters to editors stressing need for equal opportunities. He . . . — Map (db m4202) HM |
| Virginia, Falls Church — Jefferson Institute |
| | (Front Side Text): In 1875, citizens of newly chartered town subscribed to build school, as classes were held in Baptist Church, in 1880 Joseph Birch donated land (a part of 1837 24.5-acre Kidwell grant) specifying it always must be used for education. In 1882 Jefferson Institute opened as county primary school in this 2-story brick building with belfry, 6 classrooms and 3 teachers. In 1926, Jefferson became town high school, and reverted to grade school when a new county administered . . . — Map (db m2856) HM |
| Virginia, Falls Church — Living in Fear — Mosby's Falls Church Raid |
| | Confederate Col. John Singleton Mosby's Partisan Rangers (43rd Battalion Virginia Cavalry) conducted raids on Falls Church through the summer and fall of 1864. On the night of October 17, a detachment of Mosby's command rode through the village down the Middle Turnpike (Broad Street) near where you are standing.
Mosby's men killed Frank Brooks, an African American member of the highly unusual interracial Falls Church Home Guard, after he sounded the alarm. The horsemen then stopped at the . . . — Map (db m63930) HM |
| Virginia, Falls Church — Presbyterian Church |
| | In 1846 Presbyterians first met in private homes. In 1854, Dr. Simon J. Groot bought 11 acres for $179 (part of 1729 246-acre Trammell grant); Built two-story Groot Hall in 1856; Used for Sunday services, private school, community groups, town hall, and Union army hospital. Presbyterians bought hall in 1866; Used until torn down in 1925. East of Groot Hall, Gothic style church with steepled bell tower was built in 1884 from local granite; It was the town's first stone building. At least half of . . . — Map (db m2865) HM |
| Virginia, Falls Church — Rolling Roads |
| | Site believed near intersection of two indian trails, later used by colonial horsemen and wagons. Tobacco growers improved the routes for delivering this valuable crop which was about ½ of all colonial exports. Draft animals pulled large rolling cylindric casks or hogsheads along the original courses of Alexandria-Leesburg and Little Falls Roads. 1730 law established dockside warehouses & inspectors. They set the quantity and quality of tobacco casks and issued notes to farmers. Notes were . . . — Map (db m4204) HM |
| Virginia, Falls Church — Star Tavern |
| | (Front Side of Marker): After no luck in western goldmines Walter H. Erwin in 1852 bought two acres for $100 (part of 1729 248-acre Trammel grant). Built frame tavern on this site which became a landmark on Leesburg Pike. 1861 sketch shows it with a verandah and green glass star atop a pole. After war, the Independent Order of Grand Templars held their temperance meetings in the tavern. Inn was used for many purposes as successively remodeled. It served as community post office until the . . . — Map (db m2874) HM |
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