Travel
Virginia: Guide
to going places
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Top
Travel Destinations:
Central Virginia
Appalachia
– Blue
Ridge – Shenandoah
Valley
– Fredericksburg/Northern
Virginia
Chesapeake
Bay
– Tidewater/Hampton
Roads
– Central
Virginia
Walton’s
Mountain Museum
6484 Rockfish River Rd. (Rt. 617)
Schuyler, Va.
“Good
night, John Boy,” is almost audible at the Walton’s Museum in Nelson
County. In the same building young Earl Hamner, Jr., also known as, “John
Boy,” attended school, now holds replicas of sets from “The
Waltons,” the poignant television series he created. Take a step
back into time to John-Boy’s bedroom, the Waltons’ home and Ike Godsey’s
store, which is also the museum’s gift shop. Open daily from the first
Saturday in March through the last Sunday in November. Closed Easter,
Thanksgiving and the last Saturday in September.
Telephone:
(434) 831-2000;(888) 266-1381; (800) 282-8223 (event information)
E-mail: [email protected]
Montpelier
11407 Constitution Highway
Montpelier Station
“Father
of the Constitution,” and fourth President, James Madison, established
Montpelier as his home. Madison described Montpelier as, “a squirrel’s
jump from Heaven,” and visitors today have the opportunity to tour
his historic estate. Explore a 200-acre-old growth forest with two miles
of hiking trails, watch active archeological excavations, or visit the
restored formal gardens. The Madison family and slave cemeteries are also
open for tourists as well as a landscape arboretum on this 2,700-acre
manor.
Telephone:
(540) 672-2728
(540) 672-0004
E-mail: [email protected]
Pamplin
Historical Park/The National Museum of the Civil War Soldier
6125 Boydton Plank Road
Petersburg
Pulitzer
Prize-winning historian James McPherson called Pamplin Historical Park
and The National Museum of the Civil War Soldier “the new crown jewel
of Civil War History destinations in America.” Covering 422 acres,
the park features an antebellum plantation home, living history demonstrations,
a museum and a historic battlefield, where on April 2, 1865, Union forces
broke through Petersburg’s defense lines. This resulted in the capture
of the Confederate Capitol in Richmond that night and Gen. Robert E. Lee’s
surrender less than a week later. Pamplin Park opened its doors in 1994
and is fast becoming America’s finest Civil War attraction. Hours: 9 a.m.
to 5 p.m. Daily.
Telephone: 804-861-2408; 877-PAM-PLIN
E-mail: [email protected]
Petersburg
National Battlefield
1539 Hickory Hill Road
Petersburg
Multiple
battles raged here during the Civil War between June 15, 1864 and April
1, 1865. Petersburg was the main supply source for Richmond, the Capital
of the Confederacy, and Ulysses S. Grant knew it. In June 1864, Grant
surrounded the city of Petersburg and wore down the supply lines to the
desperate Confederate soldiers. General Robert E. Lee and his troops managed
to hold off Grant and his army for nine and-a-half months, the longest
siege in American warfare. By early April the Confederates could hold
on no longer and evacuated the damaged and bombarded city, leaving 70,000
casualties behind. Lee’s surrender at Appomattox Courthouse occurred one
week later.
Telephone: 804-732-3531; 804-732-3571
E-mail: [email protected]
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Jack
Hollingsworth/Virginia Tourism Corp.
Thomas
Jefferson’s Monticello is one of many things to see in the Charlottesville
area.
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Monticello/The
University of Virginia
931 Thomas Jefferson Parkway
Charlottesville
Thomas Jefferson
called this architectural masterpiece home. Outdoor gardens and plantation
tours are offered daily April-October, while guided tours of the house
are offered daily throughout the year.
Admission
prices are as follows: Adults: $13; Children: $6; Children under 6: admitted
free; Reduced rates for adult and student groups. Hours: March-October:
8 a.m.-5 p.m.; November-February: 9 a.m.- 4:30 p.m. And don’t forget to
stop in at the University of Virginia – which Jefferson created, nurtured
and loved — five miles from Monticello near downtown Charlottesville.
Telephone: (434) 984 -9822; (434) 984-9800
E-mail: [email protected]
Virginia
State Capitol
9th and East Grace Street
Capitol Square
Richmond
Thomas
Jefferson designed the Capitol of Virginia, which houses the oldest legislative
body in the western hemisphere and officially became the Capitol of the
Confederacy of May 21,1861. The Rotunda holds noted sculpter Jean Antoine
Houdon’s statue of George Washington that is the only work he posed for
from life and one of Virginia’s most treasured works of art. Busts of
Confederate heroes Stonewall Jackson, J.E.B. Stuart, Joseph E. Johnson
and Fitzhugh Lee, and a statue of Robert E. Lee are located here. Free
guided tours are given daily.
Telephone: 804-786-4344
White
House of the Confederacy/Museum of the Confederacy
1201 East Clay Street
Richmond
The
White House of the Confederacy was home to Confederate President Jefferson
Davis and his family during the Civil War and contains more than half
the furnishings that were there with the Davis family. The adjacent museum
is home to the world’s largest collection of artifacts, manuscripts and
images associated with the domestic, military and political life during
the time of the Confederacy. Open daily Mon.-Sat: 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sun:
Noon-5 p.m. Free parking.
Adults $10.00 $7.00 $7.00; Seniors 62 and older $9.00
Telephone: 804-649-1861
E-mail: [email protected]
St.
John’s Church
2401 East Broad Street
Richmond
In
the spring of 1775 more than 100 Virginia colonial leaders, including
George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Richard Henry Lee and Patrick Henry,
met at this church. The Second Virginia Convention opened in March 1775
and Patrick Henry’s famous speech in defense of liberty, “Give me
liberty, or give me death!” occurred on March 23, 1775 inside St.
John’s. The American Revolution began the following month when shots were
fired at Lexington and Concord. Tourists can attend a reenactment of the
Second Virginia Convention or take a guided tour. Sunday, May 30, 2004
– Sunday, Sept. 5, 2004 – Monday-Saturday 10 a.m. until 3:30 p.m.; Sunday
1 p.m. until 3:30 p.m.
The last tour of the day begins at 3:30 p.m. The grounds and gift shop
are open until 4 p.m. each day.
Telephone: 804-648-5015; 804-649-7938
E-mail: [email protected]
Paramount’s
Kings Dominion
1600 Theme Park Way
Doswell
Four
hundred acres of rides and family entertainment, including a 19-acre WaterWorks
Park, make up this theme park. Kings Dominion has 12 roller coasters filled
with unexpected twists, hairpin turns and drops. The “Triple Spin”
rotates and spins riders 360 degrees; the Hypersonic XLC takes riders
90 degrees straight up and then 90 degrees straight down.
Telephone: 804-876-5000
Berkeley
Plantation
12602 Harrison Landing Road
Charles City
The first official Thanksgiving took place at Berkeley in 1619. It is
also the birthplace of Benjamin Harrison, signer of the Declaration of
Independence, and ninth President William Henry Harrison whose grandson,
Benjamin, became the 23rd president. The elegant 1726 Georgian mansion,
furnished with rare period antiques, has five terraces of restored boxwood
and flower gardens overlooking farmlands with breathtaking views of the
James River. There is an audio-visual program, where you can hear “Taps,”
composed at Berkeley in 1862. Hours:8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily
Telephone: (804) 829-6018
Evelynton/Westover
Plantation
7000 Westover Road
Charles City
Originally part of William Byrd’s expansive Westover Plantation, Evelynton
was named for Byrd’s daughter, Evelyn, and has been home to the Ruffin
family since 1847. Edmund Ruffin fired the first shot of the Civil War
at Fort Sumter, S.C.. This plantation was the site of ferocious Civil
War skirmishes in 1862, when General George McClellan waged the Peninsula
Campaign. The 2,500-acre farm is still family owned and operated with
the house, grounds and gardens open daily from 9 a.m to 5 p.m.
Telephone:
(804) 829-2882
Sherwood Forest
Plantation
Route 5
14501 John Tyler Highway
Charles City
Home of President John Tyler, the first Vice President to ascend to the
presidency, and ninth president, William Henry Harrison, this estate is
one of the few complete plantation yards in America. Outstanding architecture
makes up, “The House,” circa 1730, which is the longest frame
dwelling in America. Keep your eyes and ears open for the “Gray Lady,”
a ghost who has been heard rocking in the Gray Room for more than 200
years. Grounds
open daily, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., except Thanksgiving and Christmas day. $5
per person. AAA discount $4. Guided tours of the president’s big house
available by advanced registration and payment. $ 35 per guest minimum
$350 or 10 guests.
Telephone: (804) 282-1441
Shirley
Plantation
501
Shirley Plantation Road
Charles City
Shirley
is the oldest plantation in Virginia, circa 1613, and the oldest family-owned
business in North America, circa 1638, and is inhabited by descendants
of the original owners. Anne Hill Carter, mother of General Robert E.
Lee, was born and married here. Guided tours of the Manor House highlight
family portraits and the famous, “flying,” staircase. Outbuildings
included on the self-guided tour are the old kitchen, laundry, ice house/granary,
tool barn, smokehouse, stable, root cellar and pump house. Shirley Plantation
has been designated a National Historic Landmark. Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Telephone:(800) 232-1613; (804) 299-5121
E-mail: [email protected]
Appomattox
Court House National Historic Park
Appomattox
Come see where the Civil War ended and General Robert E. Lee surrendered
to General Ulysses S. Grant. Park personnel and slide presentations brief
visitors on the background of the park. Highlights include the McLean
House, where the actual surrender took place, the Clover Hill Tavern,
where parole passes were printed, and the surrender triangle, where the
stacking of arms occurred. Period re-enactors bring living history to
your visit. 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Telephone: (804) 352-8987
Virginia
Museum of Fine Arts
200 N. Blvd.
Richmond
One of the world’s leading collections of the art of India, Nepal and
Tibet are only some of the highlights at this museum. The Mellon collections
of British Sporting Art, French Impressionism; Post-Impressionism; the
Lewis collections of Art Nouveau, Arts & Crafts, Art Deco and Modern
Decorative arts, are some of the outstanding features. The museum also
features The Pratt Collection of Russian Imperial Easter eggs by Faberge;
the Gans collections of English silver; European and American masterpieces,
Ancient, Classical, and Egyptian art. Hours: Wed. – Sun: 11 a.m.-5 p.m.;
Free with a $5 suggested donation.
Telephone: (804) 340-1400; (804) 340-2702; (804) 340-1405-(event
ticket desk)
Email: [email protected]
Science
Museum of Virginia
2500 West Broad St.
Richmond
First hand interaction with science and scientific theories come to life
at this museum. Explore this historic renovated railroad station filled
with inter-active life sciences exhibitions such as Bioscape. The five-story
theater with its tilted dome screen and digital sound system allows you
to be in the middle of the action. Find out how a computer works, examine
gem specimens from around the globe, play laser pool, and watch the Foucault
pendulum prove the Earth’s rotation.
Telephone: (804) 864-1400; (800) 659-1727
E-mail: [email protected]
Children’s
Museum of Richmond
2626 W. Broad St.
Richmond
Interaction comes to life in what has been dubbed the East Coast’s most
exciting innovative children’s museums. Experiment with kitchen chemistry,
climb to an Eagle’s nest, explore a cave, tinker in an inventor’s lab
or create one-of-a-kind works of art. Voted 11th Best Children’s Museum
in America by CHILD Magazine. Hours: Tues. – Sat. 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sun.
Noon – 5 p.m. Closed on Mondays from Labor Day to Memorial Day.
Telephone: (804) 474-CMOR; (877) 295-CMOR
E-mail:
[email protected]
Hollywood
Cemetery
412 South Cherry St.
Richmond
This historic cemetery was named for its multitude of holly trees and
is situated in Richmond’s Oregon Hill neighborhood overlooking the James
River. President Monroe is buried here as well as President John Tyler
and Confederate President Jefferson Davis. Notable Civil War Generals
George Pickett and J.E.B. Stuart are buried here as well as 18,000 Confederate
soldiers, who lie beneath an amazing 90 foot pyramid made entirely without
mortar. Hours: Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Telephone:
804-648-8501
E-mail: [email protected]
Sources:
Virginia Tourism Corporation, U.S. National Park Service, Paramount’s
Kings Dominion, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, the Children’s Museum of
Richmond
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