Carroll County(20) ► Floyd County(24) ► Franklin County(25) ► Henry County(10) ► Stokes County, North Carolina(20) ► Surry County, North Carolina(33) ►
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On Ararat Highway (Virginia Route 773), on the right when traveling west.
This pattern is taken from "The Big Book of Civil War Quilts".
Bold interplay of darks and lights brings to mind images
of Civil War battles fought in fields divided by rail fences.
Carol Hopkins dedicated this quilt to all soldiers who . . . — — Map (db m162892) HM
"His dear lady did not suffer me to quit the house until I had promised to watch over her husband in the hour of battle." The words of Maj. Heros von Borcke, one of Stuart's most famous staff officers, describe Flora's admonition to him as he and . . . — — Map (db m99882) HM
Maj. General Stuart's concept of command focused on one word - attack. If the enemy was before him, on his flank, or behind him, he had one response - attack. A saber in its scabbard was useless. It must be drawn and used to strike a blow, and . . . — — Map (db m99880) HM
"Jeb never says, 'Go boys,' but always 'Come, boys.'" In writing these words George Cary Eggleston of the 1st Virginia Cavalry summed up his commander's philosophy of leadership. Stuart never sent his men where he could not go and never asked them . . . — — Map (db m99881) HM
"Raiding with General Stuart is poor fun and a hard business. Thunder, lighting, rain, storm, mud, nor darkness can stop him when he is on a warm fresh trail of Yankee game." Horse artilleryman George M. Neese's opinion of Stuart following the . . . — — Map (db m99878) HM
He never brought me a "fat" piece information." Robert E. Lee's words, uttered upon his hearing of Stuart's death, were a fitting epitaph for "the eyes of the army." General Joseph E. Johnston, on his transfer to the war's western theater, wrote to . . . — — Map (db m99879) HM
On Letcher Lane (Virginia Route 749) 0.5 miles west of Ararat Highway (Virginia Route 773), on the left when traveling west.
Local and oral tradition says that the large boxwoods before you were planted by Elizabeth Pannill Stuart, mother of J.E.B. Stuart. The Stuart's moved to this land about 1825 and lived here for a few years before building their home Laurel Hill, . . . — — Map (db m162904) HM
Near Letcher Lane (Virginia Route 749) 0.5 miles south of Ararat Highway (Virginia Route 773), on the left when traveling west.
One of the enduring mysteries in the preservation of Laurel Hill has been finding the location of William Letcher's home. Recent discoveries have shed some light on that question. In June of 2009, a number of students from Radford University, led by . . . — — Map (db m162907) HM
The Historical Roadbed that you see before you dates from the earliest colonial times of what is now Patrick County. This road may have been in use as early as the 1750 period. Approximately one thousand feet of this historic road forms the eastern . . . — — Map (db m99841) HM
The home of Archibald and Elizabeth Pannill Stuart was constructed on this site c. 1830. It was in this house that their most famous son. James Ewell Brown was born on February 6, 1833. Six other Stuart children would also be born in this house. Of . . . — — Map (db m99843) HM
On Ararat Highway (County Route 773), on the right when traveling south.
Laurel Hill, the 1,500-acre farm of Archibald and Elizabeth Letcher Pannill Stuart, was the birthplace of their seventh child, James Ewell Brown Stuart, at 11 a.m. on February 6, 1833. The house burned to the ground during the winter of 1847-48. . . . — — Map (db m54713) HM
On Ararat Highway (Virginia Route 773), on the right when traveling west.
Entered on the National
Register of Historic Places
on September 24, 1998
Entered on the Virginia
Landmarks Register on
January 23, 1998 — — Map (db m162893) HM
Young James
1845
Allen F. Weldhaas
2000
LAUREL HILL
"Although everyone deems his own
home, a spot supremely blest,
a dearer sweeter spot than all the rest."
"Yet experience has taught me it is
necessary to be deprived of it awhile
in order . . . — — Map (db m169381) HM
Near Letcher Lane (Virginia Route 749) at Ararat Highway (Virginia Route 773), on the left when traveling west.
After the murder of William Letcher in 1780, the history of the fifteen hundred acre farm that would become the birthplace and boyhood home of James Ewell Brown Stuart is complex, in some instances vague and uncertain. Shortly after her husband's . . . — — Map (db m162906) HM
The investigation of the Laurel Hill property by the College Of William and Mary's Center for Archaeological Research in 1993, revealed the presence of Native American activity on the crest during the Archaic and Woodland periods (c. 12000 BC to 900 . . . — — Map (db m99845) HM
On Riverside Drive / Ararat Highway (Route 773), on the right when traveling north.
North Carolina. North Carolina was one of the original thirteen states. The first settlement was made on Roanoke Island, 1585, but was not permanent. Settlers from Virginia occupied the Albemarle region before 1663, in which year the colony . . . — — Map (db m54712) HM
Near Letcher Lane (Virginia Route 749) 0.5 miles west of Ararat Highway (Virginia Route 773), on the right when traveling west.
The hand dug water-well before you is believed to date to the Stuart occupancy which began about 1825 and ended in 1859. The well which still contains water, is rock lined and about twenty feet deep. This well was described in a 1935 Richmond Times . . . — — Map (db m162908) HM
On Ararat Highway (Virginia Route 773), on the left when traveling north.
To the west stood Laurel Hill (built about 1830), where Confederate Maj. Gen. James Ewell Brown "Jeb" Stuart was born on 6 Feb. 1833 to Archibald Stuart, a lawyer and politician, and Elizabeth Letcher Pannill Stuart. The house burned in the winter . . . — — Map (db m54710) HM
This white oak tree is the offspring of the mighty white oak which stood in Hanover County, Virginia, for
more than 400 years before being destroyed by Hurricane Isabel in 2003
History relates it provided shade for Robert E. Lee and his staff . . . — — Map (db m99846) HM
Near Letcher Lane (State Road 749) 0.5 miles west of Ararat Highway (State Road 773), on the left when traveling west.
In March of 1949, Charlie Melton Dellenback Sr. became owner of the 169 acre tract that was a small part of the original Laurel Hill farm. This land included the farmhouse built in 1895 by William A. Mitchell and his son John. The farm contained . . . — — Map (db m241969) HM
Near Letcher Lane (Virginia Route 749) at Ararat Highway (Virginia Route 773), on the left when traveling west.
The Grave of William Letcher is the oldest in Patrick County with an inscription that reads:
"In memory of William Letcher, who was assassinated in his own house in the bosom of his family by a Tory of the Revolution, on the 2nd day of August, . . . — — Map (db m162901) HM
Near Ararat Highway (Virginia Route 773) 0.3 miles south of State Line ROad (Virginia Route 617), on the right when traveling south.
Looking through the trees across the Ararat River you will see the grave site of William Letcher, an American patriot. William Letcher was born about 1750, and died in 1780 at the hands of a Tory by the name of "Nichols", who was later apprehended . . . — — Map (db m162897) HM
On Ararat Highway (Virginia Route 773) 0.5 miles south of State Line Road, on the right when traveling west.
This graveyard marks the final resting place of many African-American slaves
who toiled at Laurel Hill during its existence. Although, slaves may have been present on the property prior to 1824, the first official indication of their presence . . . — — Map (db m162895) HM
This small graveyard has presented a historical mystery. In 1855, Archibald Stuart, the father of General Stuart passed away and was buried in the graveyard before you. In July 1859, his wife, Elizabeth Pannill Stuart sold the property and in so . . . — — Map (db m99844) HM
On this site, stood the outbuilding that served as the kitchen for the Stuart family. As was the custom in those days kitchens were housed in buildings separate from the main dwelling for protection against a fire that might erupt as a result of . . . — — Map (db m99842) HM
Near Letcher Lane (Virginia Route 749) at Ararat Highway (Virginia Route 773), on the left when traveling west.
Enclosed by this fence, is the grave of William Letcher an American patriot. This is the oldest known marked grave within Patrick County. William Letcher was born about 1750, and married Elizabeth Perkins about 1778. The couple most likely settled . . . — — Map (db m162899) HM
Near Letcher Lane (Virginia Route 749) at Ararat Highway (Virginia Route 773), on the left when traveling west.
After the Stuart family sold the Laurel Hill farm in 1859 to Robert R. Galloway and Dr. Joseph Hollingsworth, except for the possibility for a few tenant farmers, the land sat mostly idle for the next twenty years. In 1879, Samuel Hill Taylor, . . . — — Map (db m162902) HM
Near Letcher Lane (Virginia Route 749) 0.5 miles west of Ararat Highway (Virginia Route 773), on the left when traveling west.
William Letcher, the maternal great-grandfather of James Ewell Brown Stuart, was born about 1750 near Petersburg, Virginia. He was the second son of Giles Letcher of Goochland County, who was born in Ireland, and his wife, Hannah Hughes, who was of . . . — — Map (db m162905) HM
On Claudville Highway (Virginia Route 103) just north of the Virginia–North Carolina state line, on the right when traveling north.
Patrick County, Virginia. Area 485 Square Miles. Formed in 1790 from Henry, and named for Patrick Henry, who thus had two counted named for him. General J.E.B. Stuart was born in this county.
North Carolina. North . . . — — Map (db m65786) HM
On Abram Penn Highway (County Route 626) at Kootes Mill Road (County Route 703), on the left when traveling north on Abram Penn Highway.
200 yards south is “Poplar Grove,” Penn’s old home and burial place. At age 21 he “won his spurs” leading a company under General Lewis at Point Pleasant. During 1780–81 he organized the first Revolutionary troops from Henry and adjoining counties, . . . — — Map (db m65815) HM
On JEB Stuart Highway (U.S. 58) at Abram Penn Highway (County Route 626), on the right when traveling north on JEB Stuart Highway.
Four miles to the north is Rock Spring Plantation, the boyhood home of industrialist R. J. Reynolds. The land was settled in 1814 by Abram Reynolds and his wife Mary Harbour. About 1843 their son Hardin William Reynolds built the present brick . . . — — Map (db m22412) HM
On Homestead Lane west of Abram Penn Highway (County Route 626), on the right.
Built by Hardin Reynolds just prior
to his marriage in 1843, the house
that became known as Rock Spring
Plantation, faces the historic Norfolk
to Bristol Turnpike. Nearby was the
log dwelling of his father, Abram
Reynolds, who purchased 50 . . . — — Map (db m72851) HM
On Union Bridge Road (County Route 623) at Fairystone Lake Drive (Virginia Route 346), on the left when traveling north on Union Bridge Road.
Roanoke newspaper publisher Junius B. Fishburn donated the land to create Fairy Stone State Park. It is named for the cross-shaped crystals found in the region, which according to legend were formed from the tears of fairies. The National Park . . . — — Map (db m65852) HM
On Jeb Stuart Highway (U.S. 58) at Widow Drive (County Route 747), on the right when traveling west on Jeb Stuart Highway.
Floyd County. Area 376 square miles. Formed in 1831 from Montgomery, and added to from Franklin. Named for John Floyd, governor of Virginia, 1830–1834. Buffalo Knob is in this county.
Patrick County. Area 485 square . . . — — Map (db m104615) HM
On Business U.S. 58 at Blue Ridge Parkway, on the right when traveling west on U.S. 58Business .
Meadows of Dan. Patrick County is named for a fiddler, Patrick Henry, and is where the Piedmont Plateau meets the Blue Ridge Mountains. Settled in Revolutionary times, it has always been a musical place. Stuart, the county seat, is named for a . . . — — Map (db m104623) HM
Near Mabry Mill Road SE (Virginia Route 603) 0.2 miles south of Blue Ridge Parkway, on the left when traveling south.
On October 14, 1944, a B-17 Flying Fortress bomber, lost in a dense fog during a training mission, circled Mabry Mill twice before crashing in a nearby field.
Eighteen months earlier, the bomber had been purchased through the United States . . . — — Map (db m138448) HM
On Five Forks Road (County Route 660) at the North Carolina state line, on the left when traveling south on Five Forks Road.
This was the westernmost point of the survey of the Virginia-North Carolina border run in 1728 by a joint commission from both colonies led by Col. William Byrd II of Westover. The exact end of the line was marked on October 26, 1728, by a blazed . . . — — Map (db m65542) HM
On Jeb Stuart Highway (U.S. 58) at Penn Store Road (County Route 629), on the right when traveling east on Jeb Stuart Highway.
About three miles north stood Fort Mayo, commanded by Captain Samuel Harris in 1756 and visited in that year by Washington. This fort was the southernmost of the line of stockade forts built from the Potomac River to North Carolina as a frontier . . . — — Map (db m104593) HM
On West Blue Ridge Street (Virginia Route 8) at North Main Street, on the left when traveling west on West Blue Ridge Street.
This place, first known as Taylorsville for George Taylor, early settler, was established in 1792 after the formation of Patrick County. In 1849 it contained about fifty dwellings. The name was changed to Stuart for General J. E. B. Stuart, C. S. . . . — — Map (db m65807) HM
On Woolwine Highway (Virginia Route 8) at Pilson Sawmill Road (County Route 613), on the right when traveling north on Woolwine Highway.
The Blue Ridge Mission School was established by the Virginia Baptist General Convention in 1916 at the site just to the southeast. It provided general education and religious training, on both the elementary and secondary school level, to day and . . . — — Map (db m65849) HM
On Blue Ridge Parkway (at milepost 168), 2.8 miles south of Parkway Lane South (Virginia Route 8), on the left when traveling south.
Rising to 3,972 feet, Buffalo Mountain is an old and familiar landmark to local residents. Mothers would tell their children that they could go anywhere in a day as long as they could see "the buffalo." The great hump towers a thousand feet above . . . — — Map (db m134597) HM
Near Jacks Creek Road (State Road 615) 0.1 miles west of Woolwine Highway (State Road 8), on the right when traveling west.
This 48-foot span bridge built of oak crosses the Smith River. It was constructed in 1914 by Charles Vaughan of the Buffalo Ridge area and designed by Walter Weaver of Woolwine. This historic landmark, a silent reminder of the past, has been . . . — — Map (db m198780) HM
On Blue Ridge Parkway (at milepost 168.8), 3.5 miles south of Parkway Lane South (Virginia Route 8), on the left when traveling south.
The gorge is best seen from Rocky Knob's summit, where one can look into the valley 1800 feet below. An old road parallels the creek through the gorge. Initially a trail and later a wagon road, the old road has reverted to its former use as a hiking . . . — — Map (db m134594) HM