Near Staunton, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)

Birthplace of Woodrow Wilson

U.S. President 1913–21

Photographed by J. J. Prats, September 24, 2008

1. Birthplace of Woodrow Wilson Marker

Inscription.
Three and one half miles south, on Coalter Street in Staunton, is the birthplace of Thomas Woodrow Wilson, 8th Virginia-born President. New Jersey Governor, 28th President (World War I). He was chief author and sponsor of the League of Nations. Born Dec 28, 1856, died in Washington, Feb 3, 1924. The birthplace is maintained as an historic shrine.

Erected 1950 by Virginia Conservation Commission. (Marker Number A-61.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Peace • War, World I. In addition, it is included in the Former U.S. Presidents: #28 Woodrow Wilson, and the Virginia Department of Historic Resources (DHR) series lists. A significant historical date for this entry is February 3, 1864.

Location. 38° 10.6′ N, 79° 2.124′ W. Marker is near Staunton, Virginia. It is on Lee Highway (U.S. 11) south of Woodrow Wilson Parkway (Virginia Route 275), on the right when traveling south. It is at the city northern city line. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Staunton VA 24401, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley.

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It is also in the American South

and specifically in the Upper South.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the original Thirteen Colonies,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 3 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Grandma Moses in Augusta County (approx. 1.4 miles away); Staunton History of African American Cemetery (approx. 1.9 miles away); The Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind (approx. 2.4 miles away); Staunton History of African American Schools (approx. 2.4 miles away); Staunton History of African American Freemasonry (approx. 2.4 miles away); Staunton History of African American Business Community (approx. 2.4 miles away); Staunton Military Alumni Memorial (approx. 2.4 miles away); In Memory of Our Dead Heroes (approx. 2.4 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Staunton.

More about this marker. A similar marker is on U.S. 11 at

Photographed by J. J. Prats, September 24, 2008

2. Birthplace of Woodrow Wilson Marker

the southern city line.

Related marker. Click here for another marker that is related to this marker. The similar marker on U.S. 11 at the southern city line.

Also see . . .
1. The Birthplace - The Manse. Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library and Museum website entry (Submitted on March 28, 2025, by Larry Gertner of New York, New York.)

2. Mutual Relation of Masters and Slaves as Taught in the Bible (Joseph Wilson's sermon of 1/6/1861). Available at UNC's Documenting the American South (Submitted on March 17, 2009, by Robert H. Moore, II of Winchester, Virginia.)

Additional commentary.
1. Joseph Ruggles Wilson and the Civil War
Woodrow Wilson's father, Joseph Ruggles Wilson, was originally from Steubenville, Ohio. However, after moving to Virginia and becoming the pastor of Staunton's Presbyterian Church, he became "unreconstructedly Southern" in values and politics.

The family left this residence before the Civil War, and moved to Augusta, Georgia where Joseph Wilson continued in his role as a Presbyterian minister. There, his "Mutual Relation of Masters and Slaves as Taught in the Bible"

Birthplace of Woodrow Wilson image. Click for full size.

Photographed by J. J. Prats, September 24, 2008

3. Birthplace of Woodrow Wilson

The house, now the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library and Museum, is in on North Coulter Street, at the corner with East Frederick Street in Staunton. Tours are available daily. The white building on the right between the house and the tree is one of buildings on the Mary Baldwin College campus, which is across Frederick Street from the Library.

sermon of January 6, 1861, at the First Presbyterian Church in Augusta, displayed his attitude and drew a great deal of interest. When asked to submit his sermon for publication two days later, Wilson responded, "It is surely high time that the Bible view of slavery should be examined, and that we should begin to meet the infidel fanatacism of our infatuated enemies upon the elevated ground of a divine warrant for the institution we are resolved to cherish." By December, Wilson was directly involved in establishing the Confederate or Southern Presbyterian Church.

— Submitted March 17, 2009, by Robert H. Moore, II of Winchester, Virginia.

Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library Foundation image. Click for full size.

Photographed by J. J. Prats, September 24, 2008

4. Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library Foundation

The offices of the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library Foundation are housed here, the next house on Coulter Street to the left of the Birthplace of Woodrow Wilson.

Birthplace of Woodrow Wilson Terrace image. Click for full size.

Photographed by J. J. Prats, September 24, 2008

5. Birthplace of Woodrow Wilson Terrace

This terrace, the gift of the Garden Club of Virginia in 1968, is between the small parking lot on Berkley Place and the gift shop, which is housed in a house that fronts East Frederick Street behind the Woodrow Wilson house. The gift shop is behind the photographer and the parking lot is behind the trees on the distant right.

Entrance to the Garden Behind the Birthplace of Woodrow Wilson image. Click for full size.

Photographed by J. J. Prats, September 24, 2008

6. Entrance to the Garden Behind the Birthplace of Woodrow Wilson

The garden is between the gift shop house and terrace and the birthplace. Tablet on the wall reads “Commemorating the birthplace of Woodrow Wilson. This enclosing wall and garden laid out as of the period of 1846–1857, is dedicated by the Garden Club of Virginia.”

Rear of the Birthplace of Woodrow Wilson Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by J. J. Prats, September 24, 2008

7. Rear of the Birthplace of Woodrow Wilson Marker

This view is from the garden behind the house. Gift shop is behind the photographer. The some of the garden paths and stairs were being reconstructed when these photographs were taken.

White Flowering Redbud in Woodrow Wilson Birthplace Garden image. Click for full size.

Photographed by J. J. Prats, September 24, 2008

8. White Flowering Redbud in Woodrow Wilson Birthplace Garden

The gift shop is housed in the building behind this tree. This Cercis canadensis ‘Alba’ was planted on March 22, 2000 in honor of Malcom R. Murlless, Honorary Trustee of the Woodrow Wilson Birthplace.

President Woodrow Wilson image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Pach Brothers, New York, December 2, 1912

9. President Woodrow Wilson

This photograph is courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Credits. This page was last revised on May 1, 2026. It was originally submitted on October 11, 2008, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio. This page has been viewed 1,866 times since then and 55 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. submitted on October 11, 2008, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio.