On Skyline Drive (at milepost 17), on the right when traveling south.
"It is a wonderway over which the tourist will ride comfortably in his car while he is stirred by a view as exhilarating as the aviator may see from the plane." Senator Harry F. Byrd, Virginia
When construction began on Skyline Drive . . . — — Map (db m134291) HM
On Old Mill Road (County Route 683), on the left when traveling south.
During the Civil War, two mills stood on the Rush River in this vicinity on the property of John Jett, who resided at Ellerslie half a mile south of here. They included the Avon Mill before you and the Jett Mill (no longer standing), located half a . . . — — Map (db m31910) HM
On Bank Road at Lee Highway (U.S. 211) on Bank Road.
In July and August, 1862, the Union Army of Virginia’s 2nd Corps under Gen. Nathaniel P. Banks
camped in and around Little Washington. Col.
Charles E.F. Collis’s Zouaves, noted for their
French-style red and blue uniforms, served as
Banks’s . . . — — Map (db m77529) HM
On Library Road (County Road 683) at Old Mill Road, on the right when traveling west on Library Road.
When Union Gen. Nathaniel P. Banks marched east into Rappahannock County through Chester Gap in July 1862, he and his 16,000 men were still reeling from recent defeats in the Shenandoah Valley. There, although Banks's command had bested . . . — — Map (db m171260) HM
On Library Road (County Road 683) at Old Mill Road (County Road 683), on the right when traveling west on Library Road.
When Union Gen. Nathaniel P. Banks's 2nd Corps, Army of Virginia, camped here in the summer of 1862, Capt. Karl Sauer Csaky von Nordendorf (1840-1884), served as Banks's aide-de-camp and cartographer. Known as Charles C. Nordendorf, the Austrian . . . — — Map (db m171295) HM
On Skyline Drive (at milepost 17), on the right when traveling south.
”Park roads are for leisurely driving only. If you are in a hurry you might do well to take another route now, and come back when you have more time.” From an early National Park Service brochure
This is no . . . — — Map (db m134299) HM
On Gay Street just south of Piedmont Avenue, on the left when traveling south.
This monument is erected through efforts of the local chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, and other notaries of Southern Chivalry, a tribute of honor and affectionate regard for the unwavering patriotism, faultless valor, and . . . — — Map (db m171309) WM
On Lee Highway (Bypass U.S. 211) at Tiger Valley Road (County Route 626), on the right when traveling east on Lee Highway.
One-half mile southeast of this location is Ellerslie, which was built in 1814 by French Huguenot Col. John Jett and his wife Hannah Calvert for their son James Jett, Jr., on a 1,000-acre tract. In 1749, George Washington named Jett Street in the . . . — — Map (db m8371) HM
On Porter Street (County Road 626) at Mt. Salem Avenue (County Road 626), on the right when traveling east on Porter Street.
Believed to be the zero mile marker for the roads of Rappahannock county when the Town of Washington was established as the county seat in 1833.
With thanks to Charles K. "Pete" Estes - Oral Historian
— — Map (db m171311) HM
On Gay Street, 0.1 miles north of Porter Street, on the right when traveling north.
During the Civil War, military units were recruited locally, and neighbors, friends, and relatives fought and died side-by-side. Almost 1,200 of the approximately 6,000 white male residents of Rappahannock County in 1860 served in thee . . . — — Map (db m171308) HM
In the years before the Civil War, Virginia’s laws restricted free blacks and also tightened the legal grip on slaves. Some blacks, however, struggled through the system to freedom, just as many slaves wended their way to Union lines during the . . . — — Map (db m31191) HM
On Long Mountain Road (County Road 626) 0.1 miles west of Ridgeview Road, on the left when traveling west.
Mt. Salem Baptist
Meeting House
has been placed on the
National Register
of Historic Places
by the United States
Department of the Interior
1824
Mount Salem Baptist
Meeting House
1824
has been listed . . . — — Map (db m171258) HM
After Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee’s stunning victory at Chancellorsville in May 1863, he led the Army of Northern
Virginia west to the Shenandoah Valley, then north through central Maryland and across the Mason-Dixon Line into
Pennsylvania. . . . — — Map (db m77528) HM
On Skyline Drive, on the left when traveling south. Reported missing.
From here you can see a rare Skyline Drive view, a look southwestward down the length of the Blue Ridge. Many of Shenandoah National Park's highest peaks are visible here, including Stony Man, the northernmost Blue Ridge peak to rise above 4,000 . . . — — Map (db m106702) HM
On Library Road (County Road 683) at Old Mill Road (County Road 683), on the right when traveling west on Library Road.
While there were no large-scale military actions, several dozen skirmishes and many troop movements occurred here. As a gateway to the northern Shenandoah Valley, the county was a major thoroughfare for both Union and Confederate forces on a . . . — — Map (db m171306) HM
On Library Road (County Road 683) at Old Mill Road (County Road 683), on the left when traveling east on Library Road.
Freedom - upon death of owner
"I do hereby free and emancipate all my slaves that I may own at my death… Such of my said slaves are so nearly white as to render it unsafe for them to go to Liberia I desire may be sent to the State of . . . — — Map (db m171307) HM
On Main Street (Business U.S. 211) at Mt. Prospect Lane, on the right when traveling north on Main Street.
Middleton Miller, who built this residence about 1840, owned a woolen factory on the Rappahannock River near Waterloo about 15 miles east of here. It manufactured "Confederate Gray" cloth, and Union troops destroyed it early in the war. Miller . . . — — Map (db m171313) HM
On Library Road (County Road 683) at Old Mill Road (County Road 683), on the left when traveling east on Library Road.
More than 1,000 Rappahannock County men fought for the Confederacy. Many were mustered into service here in Washington.
The Rappahannock Old Guard (Co. B, 6th Virginia Cavalry), which carried an unusual dark battle flag, played an important . . . — — Map (db m173043) HM
On Gay Street at Jett Street, on the right when traveling south on Gay Street.
Surveyed and platted by George Washington with the assistance of John Lonem and Edward Corder, as chainmen; August 4, 1749.
Organized and established as a town by the General Assembly of Virginia, December 14, 1796.
Incorporated as a . . . — — Map (db m166355) HM
On Library Road (County Road 683) at Old Mill Road, on the left when traveling east on Library Road.
In July and August 1862, 30,000 men in two corps of Gen. John Pope's newly formed Union Army of Virginia camped across much of Rappahannock County. Confederate Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson had recently defeated them during Jackson's . . . — — Map (db m171263) HM
On Library Road (County Road 683) at Old Mill Road (County Road 683), on the right when traveling west on Library Road.
For nearly a month in the summer of 1862, the 2nd Corps of the newly created Union Army of Virginia had its encampment on this ground with outposts extending several miles to the east, south and west. Organization and leadership were in constant . . . — — Map (db m171296) HM
On Piedmont Avenue (County Road 626) just east of Oden Avenue, on the left when traveling east.
Washington Graded School was built here ca. 1924 to serve African American students. The Parents' Civil League, a local organization of African Americans, conveyed the land to the district school board. Contributions for the two-teacher building . . . — — Map (db m171312) HM
On Main Street (Business U.S. 211) at Baldwin Lane, on the right when traveling north on Main Street.
Of the 28 Washingtons in the United States, the “records very conclusively disclose” that this town, “the first Washington of all,” was surveyed and platted by George Washington on the 24th of July (old style), 1749. He was assisted by John Lonem . . . — — Map (db m204083) HM
On Lee Highway (U.S. 211) at Library Road (County Route 683), on the right when traveling west on Lee Highway.
One of more than thirty Washingtons in the United States, only this town, “The First Washington of All,” was surveyed and platted by George Washington on the 24th day of July (old style) 1749. He was assisted by John Lonem and Edward . . . — — Map (db m8296) HM
