On the heights one mile to the west, the home of the Thorntons from about 1736. Francis Thornton 2nd was a Justice, a Burgess 1744-45, and Lieut.-Colonel of His Majesty's militia for Spotsylvania County. He and two of his brothers married three . . . — — Map (db m217983) HM
On the heights one mile to the west, the home of the Thorntons from about 1736. Francis Thornton 2nd was a Justice, a Burgess 1744-45, and Lieut.-Colonel of his Majesty's militia for Spotsylvania County. He and two of his brothers married three . . . — — Map (db m5094) HM
Historic Fredericksburg Foundation
George Gravatt House
1846-47
Moved to this site
from 610 Princess Anne St. in 1977
[Lower plaque:]
Philip Y. Wyatt
1907 - 1984
Practiced . . . — — Map (db m149237) HM
Built for John Anderson's lumber yard
On Princess Anne Street, moved to Caroline Street in 1877 as a doctor's office, and to this site in 1902. — — Map (db m149246) HM
Historic Fredericksburg Foundation
1888
Built for James Lee, Cook
[Lower plaque:]
Jacob Wray of Elizabeth City County purchased Lot 225 — Block 58 from Roger Dixon in 1764. Wray sold the lot to James . . . — — Map (db m148462) HM
Originally Wallace Library
[Dedication tablet above entrance:]
This tablet is erected to perpetuate
the fact that this library building
was built and this library established
by virtue of a bequest of.
Fifteen thousand . . . — — Map (db m148540) HM
When Black seniors from Walker Grant High School sought to have their commencement exercises at the Fredericksburg Community Center, which is now the Dorothy Hart Community Center, their request was denied. Two weeks later, upon further review by . . . — — Map (db m242246) HM
Historic Fredericksburg Foundation
1851
Built for Eustace Conway, Lawyer
Visited by President William McKinley in 1900
[Additional plaque below:]
Owners of
401 Hanover Street
Land
Original Land . . . — — Map (db m148568) HM
“Dark rolled the Rappahannock’s flood,
Michigan, my Michigan;
The tide was crimsoned with thy blood,
Michigan, my Michigan;
Although for us the day was lost,
Yet it shall be our proudest . . . — — Map (db m5374) HM
The canal in front of you is a section of a navigation system that extended 50 miles up the Rappahannock River. The downstream terminus was a turning basin, in the block to your right. Several industries were established nearby, some that benefited . . . — — Map (db m1068) HM
The canal in front of you, constructed in the 1830s, was part of a navigation system that extended 50 miles up the Rappahannock River. The downstream terminus was a turning basin, in the block to your right. Several industries were located . . . — — Map (db m95316) HM
3 May 1863. During the Chancellorsville Campaign, Brigadier General John Gibbon deployed his Union division in this area in support of other federal units in Fredericksburg.
On the morning of May 3, Gibbon’s troops rushed forward to assault . . . — — Map (db m1064) HM
On May 3, 1863, Brigadier General John Gibbon advanced his division into this area in support of Federal attacks on Marye’s Heights. Union troops rushed forward to cross this canal and assault the hills in front of you, but the Confederates had . . . — — Map (db m95313) HM
A Family Affair: The Washingtons
From the Washingtons' Ferry Farm to a University and hospital named after Mary, the family of the first U.S. president has had a monumental presence in the Fredericksburg area.
[Captions:] . . . — — Map (db m309455) HM
Fredericksburg has experienced floods since its earliest settlement. The Rappahannock River originates 77 miles to the west, in a mountain spring, and the upriver watershed drains a very large expanse. By the time is passes Fredericksburg, the . . . — — Map (db m90971) HM
On this site, the Fredericksburg Area Veteran's Council honors the local men and women who gave their lives in wars and military actions during the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.
The extension of George Street to a new high school cut . . . — — Map (db m64223) HM
On this site, the Fredericksburg Area Veterans' Council honors the local men and women who gave their lives in wars and military actions during the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.
The extension of George Street to a new high . . . — — Map (db m217528) HM
Historic preservation does not freeze time, but makes visible the ongoing changes within a community. While many architectural details remain intact, most of the street-level storefronts are different today than they were in the 1920s, and . . . — — Map (db m148078) HM
The Rappahannock Navigation system provided a means to transport bulk cargo between Fredericksburg and upriver farms and mines. In 1829, with financial assistance from Virginia’s Board for Public Works, the Rappahannock Company began construction of . . . — — Map (db m7179) HM
Beginning in 1829, the Rappahannock Company constructed a series of dams and canals along the river, to transport bulk cargo. Gold had been found in Spotsylvania County in 1806 and a canal could bring heavy equipment and other materials to the . . . — — Map (db m95304) HM
"We marched past the court-house, —past churches, schools, bank-buildings, private houses, —all lighted for hospital purposes, and all in use, though a part of the wounded had been transferred across the river. Even the door-yards had . . . — — Map (db m148064) HM
Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park became a unit of the National Park System in 1933, at the height of the "Jim Crow" era in the South. "Jim Crow" laws required separate public facilities for Caucasians and people of color. . . . — — Map (db m148432) HM
Wounded Union Soldiers in a Fredericksburg yard, May 1864. All but one of these men have been wounded in the leg. Most of the wounded soldiers brought to Fredericksburg survived…
…But some did not. Hundreds of men died in the hospitals here . . . — — Map (db m2575) HM
During the December 13, 1862 battle, thousands of wounded Union soldiers were crowded into Fredericksburg's houses and churches, including the Presbyterian Church across the street from you. During that period, Clara Barton, the future founder of . . . — — Map (db m148062) HM
In the aftermath of the Civil War, many formerly enslaved persons came to Fredericksburg where there was an established free black community. Many of them took work as laborers and servants. Others brought artisan skills to their new community. . . . — — Map (db m149228) HM
In the aftermath of the Civil War, numerous former slaves came to Fredericksburg where there was already an established free black community. Many freedmen took work as laborers and servants. Others brought artisan skills they had practiced in . . . — — Map (db m733) HM
Fredericksburg’s Historic Old Mill District dates its origins to the earliest settlers along the Rappahannock River. This walking tour takes you through what can be considered the city’s first industrial park as it winds along the Rappahannock . . . — — Map (db m1135) HM
Fredericksburg’s Historic Old Mill District dates its origins to the earliest settlers along the Rappahannock River. This walking tour takes you through what can be considered the city’s first industrial park as it winds along the Rappahannock . . . — — Map (db m292569) HM
Faced with a populace divided over the upcoming Emancipation Proclamation, President Abraham Lincoln prodded his army and its commander, Ambrose Burnside, into a rare wintertime campaign. Lincoln hoped military victory would heal political . . . — — Map (db m148435) HM
Formal white abolitionist societies emerged at the end of the 18th century and the Quakers were the first white abolitionists. However, black abolitionism began when the first African was forcibly extracted from his homeland and shipped to . . . — — Map (db m176108) HM
Every day that a human being had to endure the horrors of slavery required extreme bravery. Yet, the resilience of slaves in the constant company of this evil stare of existence is worthy of note and admiration. For many, it is incomprehensible . . . — — Map (db m176132) HM
The Shiloh Baptist Church (Old Site) resides on the site once occupied by the African Baptist Church. Constructed as the Fredericksburg Baptist Church, the building was sold to its African-American members in 1857, after the white congregation had . . . — — Map (db m1084) HM
In August 1608, the first meeting between the Mannahoac Indian people of the Piedmont and the English colonists at Jamestown occurred at the falls of the Rappahannock River. Men from the upriver town of Hasinninga were hunting here at the eastern . . . — — Map (db m9218) HM
While the Civil War entailed immense destruction and tragedy, it did not always engender hate. For two days following the battle, wounded Union soldiers, caught between the lines, cried out for water. Though exposure to enemy fire even for a . . . — — Map (db m8661) HM
(Left marker):
Here and on hills to the left and right the Confederates developed a powerful concentration of artillery.
Enfilading Fire
During the Federal attacks of December 13, 1862, Confederates cannon poured devasting . . . — — Map (db m4178) HM
One of the most common symbols of American slavery was the auction block. The auction block was the ultimate manifestation of the capitalistic and inhumane nature of American slavery. It was here that the slave as property was most evident. As . . . — — Map (db m176105) HM
This monument is dedicated to honor the memory of the 51 Confederate Soldiers buried here in the Barton Street Cemetery. They died in Fredericksburg, Virginia between the months of October 1861 and March 1862. The Rev. Alfred M. Randolph of St. . . . — — Map (db m39824) HM
Taken in 1864, this image looks south along Willis Hill (part of Marye's Heights) from near this very spot. It shows some of the overgrown earthworks built by the Confederates in 1862 and 1863. Behind them are the ruins of three brick buildings . . . — — Map (db m217991) HM
December 13, 1862 the Confederates under Lee defeated the Federals under Burnside in a sanguinary conflict marked by extraordinary bravery on both sides. In a series of gallant charges the Federal army sustained heavy losses and Burnside was forced . . . — — Map (db m4762) HM
During the First and Second Battles of Fredericksburg, the Confederates occupied Marye’s Heights, a defensive position enhanced by a sunken road and stone wall on the eastern slope. On 13 Dec. 1862, during the first battle, Lt. Gen. James . . . — — Map (db m1672) HM
Founded in 1913, Beta Gamma Sigma is the international business honor society for AACSB-accredited schools. The University of Mary Washington earned AACSB accreditation in November 2018 and the Beta Gamma Sigma chapter was chartered on April 9, . . . — — Map (db m218022) HM
Two weeks of Union delay before the Battle of Fredericksburg gave the Confederates time to bring up large cannons rarely seen on other battlefields in Virginia. The sturdy gun emplacements above you protected a huge siege gun, capable of firing a . . . — — Map (db m220048) HM
“Fredericksburg is a captured town, the enemy took possession of the Stafford Hills … and their guns have frowned down upon us ever since… The Federal army has abolished slavery wherever it has gone.”
— Jane Beale,
a . . . — — Map (db m32388) HM
On the site formerly stood office and warehouse of the Bridgewater Mills 1822 - 1908
Operated by members of the Ficklen family, this concern's flour won first prize at the world's first international exposition held at Paris, France in 1878. . . . — — Map (db m76514) HM
Hazel Hill, the home of John Minor (13 May 1761 – 8 June 1816), a close friend of President James Monroe, once occupied this site. Minor served as a soldier in the American Revolution, as a colonel of the Spotsylvania County militia, and as a . . . — — Map (db m195328) HM
The house and grounds are not open to the public. "The pillars of the porch...were speckled with the marks of bullets. Shells and shot had made sad havoc with the walls and the woodwork inside. The windows were shivered, the partitions torn . . . — — Map (db m8635) HM
In the 1850s, work gangs leveled this railway bed by cutting through hills and filling in valleys. They established culverts where the mounded earth would have otherwise blocked streams. To construct such facilities, they first laid . . . — — Map (db m95323) HM
