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Introduction
Counties of the Piedmont
List of Sites
Begin the Tour
Essay on Piedmont History
Essay on the Civil War
Essay on Preserving the Piedmont
Learn More
Credits

The National Park Service's National Register of Historic Places, Scenic America, the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, and the National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers proudly invite you to explore Journey Through Hallowed Ground, featuring historic places on and near Route 15 in Virginia's Piedmont. The Northern Virginia Piedmont region (part of an upland plateau extending from Virginia to Alabama) is a scenic and historically rich landscape that has "soaked up more of the blood, sweat, and tears of American history than any other part of the country," according to the late historian C. Vann Woodward. "It has bred more founding fathers, inspired more soaring hopes and ideals and witnessed more triumphs, failures, victories, and lost causes than any other place in the country." Meandering through more than 75 miles and nine counties of Virginia hillside, U.S. Route 15 and State Route 20 form the spine of the Piedmont. This National Register of Historic Places Travel Itinerary explores 65 historic places that evoke in vivid detail the soldiers, statesmen, farmers, and slaves who fought, toiled, and governed in the Virginia Piedmont.

This itinerary focuses on the variety of buildings and landscapes that comprise the Piedmont. The Piedmont witnessed some of the bloodiest battles in the Civil War, now reflected in historic landscapes such as Manassas and Ball's Bluff National Cemetery, one of the nation's smallest military burial grounds and the site of a disastrous Union defeat in the first year of the Civil War. Madden's Tavern, built in 1840, is a rare surviving example of pre-Civil War black entrepreneurship in rural Virginia, first owned and operated by Willis Madden and now owned by his descendants. Numerous small towns, such as Culpeper or Warrenton, contribute to the character of the region, as do the green expanses of rural historic districts such as Madison-Barbour and Green Springs. This verdant region has been called the "cradle of democracy": Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and James Monroe each made their home here--estates that visitors can visit today. The great Supreme Court Chief Justice John Marshall used his Fauquier County home as a retreat. Jefferson's significant imprint on this region is evident not only at his home Monticello, and the "academical village" of the University of Virginia, but also at lesser known sites such as the unusual ruins of Barboursville, remains of a Jefferson designed house that burned in 1884.

Journey Through Hallowed Ground offers numerous ways to discover the historic properties that played important roles in Virginia's past. Each property features a brief description of the place's significance, color and historic photographs, and public accessibility information. At the bottom of each page the visitor will also find a navigation bar containing links to three essays that explain more about Piedmont History, the Civil War, and Preserving the Piedmont. These essays provide historical background, or "contexts," for many of the places included in the itinerary. The itinerary can be viewed online, or printed out if you plan to visit the Piedmont region in person.

Created through a partnership between the National Park Service's National Register of Historic Places, Scenic America, the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, the National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers (NCSHPO), and the National Alliance of Preservation Commissions (NAPC), Journey Through Hallowed Ground is an example of a new and exciting cooperative project. As part of the Department of the Interior's strategy to revitalize communities by promoting public awareness of history and encouraging tourists to visit historic places throughout the nation, the National Register of Historic Places is cooperating with communities, regions and Heritage Areas throughout the United States to create online travel itineraries. Using places listed in the National Register of Historic Places, the itineraries help potential visitors plan their next trip by highlighting the amazing diversity of this country's historic places and supplying accessibility information for each featured site. In the Learn More section, the itineraries link to regional and local web sites that provide visitors with further information regarding cultural events, special activities, and lodging and dining possibilities. Visitors may be interested in Historic Hotels of America, a program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, located in Clifton.

Scenic America is the fifth of more than 30 organizations working directly with the National Register of Historic Places to create travel itineraries. Additional itineraries will debut online in the future. The National Register of Historic Places and Scenic America hope you enjoy this virtual travel itinerary of the Piedmont's historic resources. If you have any comments or questions, please just click on the provided e-mail address, "comments or questions" located at the bottom of each page.

LOUDOUN COUNTY

This Northern Virginia county, formed from Fairfax County 1757, was named for John Campbell, fourth Earl of Loudoun, who was commander of British forces in North America during the early part of the French and Indian War and Governor of Virginia in 1756-59. The county seat is Leesburg.

PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY

Named for William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland and third son of King George II, this Northern Virginia county was formed from Stafford and King George counties in 1730. Its county seat is Manassas.

FAUQUIER COUNTY

Named for Francis Fauquier, Lieutenant Governor of Virginia from 1758 to 1768, this Northern Virginia county, known for its numerous estates, was formed in 1759 from Prince William County. Its county seat is Warrenton.

CULPEPER COUNTY

Formed from Orange County in 1749, Culpeper County probably was named for Thomas Culpeper, second Baron Culpeper of Thoresway, Governor of Virginia from 1677 to 1683, whose family long held proprietary rights in the Northern Neck. The county seat is Culpeper.

MADISON COUNTY

In the hills of the Piedmont, against the Blue Ridge Mountains, Madison County was formed from Culpeper County in 1792 and was named for James Madison, who then represented the area in Congress. The county seat is Madison.

ORANGE COUNTY

Formed from Spotsylvania County in 1734, this pastoral Piedmont county probably was named for William IV, Prince of Orange-Nassau, who married Princess Anne, eldest daughter of King George II, that same year. Its county seat is Orange.

LOUISA COUNTY

Located in the heart of the Virginia Piedmont, this rural county was named in honor of Princess Louisa, a daughter of King George II. It was formed from Hanover County in 1742. Its county seat is Louisa.

ALBEMARLE COUNTY

This Piedmont county was named for William Anne Keppel, second Earl of Albemarle and Governor of the Virginia colony from 1737 to 1754. It was formed from Goochland County in 1744, with part of Louisa County added later. The county seat is Charlottesville.

Fluvanna County

Fluvanna County takes its name from the 18th-century term for the upper James River, meaning "river of Anne," in honor of Queen Anne. It was formed from Albermarle County in 1777. The county seat is Palmyra.

Waterford Historic District

Waterford is a remarkably intact example of an early 19th-century rural village surrounded by historic farmland. Its significance rests on the almost pristine appearance of the village and landscape. Nestled in the countryside of Loudoun County's northern tip, Waterford developed as a 19th-century Quaker milling community. The village traces its origins to c.1733 when Amos Janney and other Friends arrived from Pennsylvania and established a mill complex here. By the 1830s Waterford was a flourishing community of some 70 houses with a tannery, chairmaker, and boot manufacturer, along with shops and a tavern.

Commerce declined by the early 20th century, leaving Waterford a remarkably preserved hamlet free of modern intrusions. Its quiet shady streets remain lined with examples of regional vernacular styles, both freestanding and attached, in a variety of materials including brick, stone, and log. A mid-19th-century mill stands at the north edge of town. Aggressive preservation efforts by the Waterford Foundation since the 1940s have maintained the town's unique character. Some 60 properties are protected by preservation easements.

Unfortunately, suburban growth still threatens the historic agricultural land surrounding the village. As of 1997, there were no state or local controls to prevent destruction of the historic values of this open space. Efforts are underway to correct this, but they may not occur in time to prevent incompatible development.

The Waterford Historic District is located northwest of Leesburg on Rte. 665, in Waterford. The district is a National Historic Landmark. Walking tour books can be obtained from the Waterford Foundation, open 9:00am to 5:00pm Monday-Friday, located at 40183 Main St., at the intersection of Second St. Contact the Foundation at 540-882-3018 or visit the website. Tour buses must call ahead.

The Waterford Historic District is the subject of an online-lesson plan produced by Teaching with Historic Places, a National Register program that offers classroom-ready lesson plans on properties listed in the National Register. To learn more, visit the Teaching with Historic Places home page.

Lucketts School 

A relic of simpler times, this little-altered elementary school is the principal landmark of Lucketts, a farming community steadily witnessing suburban encroachment. The Lucketts School educated three generations of children until it closed in 1972. The Leesburg School District bought five acres of land on June 20, 1912, for the sum of $625 on which to build the first Lucketts School. Built in 1913, the weatherboarded structure originally had four classrooms with no electricity or indoor plumbing. Although lacking modern utilities, the building was not without architectural dignity. With its regular facade and belfry, its design conformed to those published in architectural plan books of the early 1900s.

The building was expanded in 1919, and again in 1929, with the addition of two classrooms, an auditorium with dressing rooms, central heating and plumbing. Teachers earned about $400 a year during this period of time. The interior retains many early fittings including wooden wainscoting, embossed metal ceilings, slate blackboards, and a flexible wooden room divider. The school closed in 1972. A focus of local preservation interests, the building was converted to a community center. In 1981 the Loudoun County Department of Parks, Recreation, and Community Services reopened the school as a community center featuring year-round programs and activities, including the Lucketts Bluegrass Music series on Saturday evenings from October to April and the Lucketts Fair, held the last weekend of each August.

Lucketts School is located at 42361 Lucketts Rd., in Leesburg. It is open Monday, Wednesday, Friday 9:00am to 5:00pm; Tuesday, Thursday 9:00am to 9:00pm, and Saturday 9:00am to 12:30pm. Call 703-771-5281 for further information.

Rockland

Rockland takes its name from the limestone outcroppings permeating the 600-acre farm. General George Rust, a prominent Loudoun County gentleman, replaced deteriorating wooden structures with this imposing brick mansion in 1822. Of large scale and with boldly detailed woodwork, the house is one the finest of several important Federal plantation dwellings in the area. Gen. Rust's son Col. Armistead T. M. Rust, an 1842 West Point graduate who served with the 19th Virginia infantry during the Civil War, later inherited the property. His death in 1887 left his second wife, Ida Lee, with 14 children and an encumbered estate. Exuding tremendous energy and business acumen, she repaid the debt and educated her youngest children. She sent her sons west at age 15 to escape the hardships of Reconstruction. Her son Edwin enlarged Rockland around 1908. Rockland remains owned by Rust family descendants.

Rockland is located on the east side of Rte. 15 north of Leesburg. It is a private residence and is not open to the public.

Morven Park

The 1,200-acre estate of Morven Park was home to two governors: Thomas Swann, a governor of Maryland in the 19th century, and Virginia's reform governor Westmoreland Davis. Morven Park was the last home of Governor Davis, who served his gubernatorial term from 1918 to 1922, and his wife, the former Marguerite Inman of Atlanta, daughter of a wealthy New York cotton broker.

The mansion, a focal point of the estate, evolved from a fieldstone farmhouse in 1781 to its present turn-of-the-century appearance. The first owner of the 1780s farmhouse was Wilson Cary Selden. Judge Thomas Swann acquired the place in 1808 and added the Doric portico and dependencies in the 1830s. In 1858 Swann's son, Thomas Swann, Jr., later governor of Maryland, engaged Baltimore architect Edmund G. Lind to remodel the house into a grandiose composition calling for four Italianate towers. The main tower was omitted, and the tops of the other four towers were later removed.

From the time he acquired the property in 1903, Davis set a standard for grand-scale living and made Morven Park a model dairy farm and an agricultural showplace. Today the grounds at Morven Park offer not only spectacular views from manicured lawns, but trails shaded by evergreens, magnolias and dogwoods. In 1955 Governor Davis's widow established the Westmoreland Davis Foundation, and Morven Park was opened to the public as a museum, cultural center, and equestrian institute.

Morven Park is located 1 mile northwest of Leesburg off business Rte. 7. It is open 12:00pm to 4:00pm, April-October. There is a fee for admission. Call 703-777-2414 or visit the Virginia Tourism website for further information.

Ball's Bluff Battlefield and National Cemetery

Ball's Bluff Battlefield and National Cemetery are poignant reminders of a disastrous Union defeat in the first year of the Civil War when Confederate Brig. Gen. Nathan "Shanks" Evans stopped a badly coordinated attempt by Union forces under Brig. Gen. Charles P. Stone to cross the Potomac at Harrison's Island and capture Leesburg. On October 21, 1861, a Union force commanded by Col. Edward D. Baker, a senator from Oregon and a friend of President Lincoln, crossed the Potomac River and scaled Ball's Bluff on the Virginia shore, determined to capture Leesburg. Quickly surrounded by confederates, Baker was killed and his men stampeded over the bluff. Many drowned, and their bodies washed ashore downstream in Washington. More than 700 Union troops were captured. This Union rout had severe political ramifications in Washington and led to the establishment of the Congressional Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War, which investigated the defeat. Ball's Bluff National Cemetery, one of the nation's smallest military cemeteries, was established in December 1865 as the burial place of 54 Union casualties of the battle.

Ball's Bluff Battlefield and National Cemetery is located off of Rte. 15 just south of Rte. 7 on Battlefield Parkway. It is a National Historic Landmark. The Park is open sunrise to sunset and free to visitors. Brochures at the kiosk provide a self-guided tour. Call 703-779-9372 for further information, or visit the website of the Veterans Administration - National Cemetery Administration.

Leesburg Historic District

Established in 1758, the original 60-acre portion of Leesburg, laid off around Nicholas Minor's tavern, is a gently evolved Piedmont county seat with a varied assemblage of domestic, commercial, and governmental buildings built during three centuries. Leesburg was first known as Georgetown, after George II, but its name was changed to honor Francis Lightfoot Lee, signer of the Declaration of Independence, who owned property nearby. The district's 36 blocks are in a irregular grid of largely tree-lined streets. Preserving a nostalgic, small-town character, the district is centered around a park-like court square containing the 1895 classical courthouse and a porticoed Greek Revival academy building, now used for county offices. Lending distinction is a collection of regional vernacular architecture, including shops, compact town houses, and three early taverns. A scattering of Victorian structures contrasts with these plainer buildings.

Many buildings in the historic district date from Leesburg's 18th-century development. One type, a one-story, side-gable cottage constructed in either brick or stone or occasionally wood can be found on Loudoun, Wirt and Liberty Streets. There are also log structures such as the Stephen Donaldson Silversmithy, which is now part of the Loudoun Museum. Federal buildings, often two-story brick structures, reflect more delicate detailing and proportions characteristic of the Adam style. General George Marshall retired to Leesburg, to one of the town's Federal brick country houses. Interspersed among the Georgian and Federal structures in the historic district are many buildings from the second half of the 19th century, including the Italian Villa residence built in 1857 at 306 West Market Street and the three-story Italianate style home at 205 North King Street, built in 1848. Also noteworthy are the late19th-century commercial structures along King and Market Streets.

The Leesburg Historic District is located in the original area of town centered at the junction of Rte. 15 and State Rte. 9, Leesburg. The Tourist Information Center, housed at Market Station on Harrison St. provides maps and information. It is open Monday-Saturday 9:00am to 5:00pm and Sunday 12:00pm to 5:00pm. Call 703-777-0519 or 800-752-6118 for further information.

General George C. Marshall House

Before General of the Army George Catlett Marshall, Jr. (1880-1959) could retreat to the home he purchased in 1941 for his retirement, he served as Army chief of staff during World War II, secretary of state, secretary of defense and president of the American Red Cross. Marshall is perhaps best known as the architect of the post-World War II 1947 European Recovery Program, known as the Marshall Plan, which launched the restoration of Europe's economy.

Marshall made his home at this gracious Federal house from 1941 until his death in 1959. During these years, Marshall rose from a respected army officer to one of the 20th century's most influential figures. The achievement of the Marshall Plan made him the first career soldier awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Located in the Leesburg Historic District, the brick country house was built in the 1820s, and additions were made several times over the years. It served as a school in the 1850s before passing through various private hands. Marshall bought it for $16,000--it was the first home he and his wife ever owned--and named it for the Greek oracle, Dodona, who spoke from the top of the kind of oak trees that proliferate on the 3.92-acre estate.

General Marshall's favorite pastime was being an in-town gentleman farmer, tending to a large vegetable plot and flower garden. Other than establishing this extensive garden, Marshall made few changes here. All the furnishings belonged to the Marshalls, but "it's nothing to write home about," according to William Seale, the architectural historian and historic-interiors specialist in charge of the early phases of an ongoing 10-year renovation project. The George C. Marshall International Center is restoring the house and its surrounding acreage to their late 1940s-1950s appearance. Indeed, one of the best reasons for visiting Dodona Manor currently is to inspect the architectural restoration work underway.

The General George C. Marshall House is located at 217 Edwards Ferry Rd., in Leesburg. A National Historic Landmark, the property is open Monday-Saturday 10:00am to 4:00pm, but is closed Sundays and on Federal Holidays, there is a fee for admission. For further information call 703-777-1880 or visit the website.

Waverly

Built c.1890 as the retirement home of Robert T. Hempstone, a Baltimore businessman, Waverly displays the personal prosperity of its original owner. At a time when the economy of Loudoun County still suffered from the devastating effects of the Civil War, large dwellings such as Waverly were built primarily by individuals who had acquired their wealth elsewhere. A finely appointed example of a late Victorian residence incorporating features of both the Queen Anne and Colonial Revival styles, the house was built by the Leesburg firm of John Norris and Sons, probably using a scheme published in one of the many architectural design catalogues of the period. Waverly stood in shabby condition for many years but was restored in the 1980s and again in 1995, after a major fire, as the centerpiece of an office development known as Waverly Park Corporate Center.

Waverly is located at 212 South King St., in Leesburg. Now private business offices, the building is not open to the public.

Douglass High School

Douglass High School symbolizes the quiet tenacity and sense of purpose evinced by Loudoun County's black citizens in their determination to secure a high standard of secondary education for their children. The school stands on land purchased by African Americans and presented to the county school board in 1940. Though the building was paid for with public funds, the black community raised money for furnishings, laboratory equipment, and band instruments. Named for Frederick Douglass, a former slave and prominent abolitionist, the school operated as the county's first and only black high school from its opening in 1941 until the termination of segregated education in 1968. The building today houses an alternative school, serving students with special needs.

Douglass High School is a public school located at 407 East Market St., in Leesburg. It is not open for public tours.

Goose Creek Historic District

The Quaker influence in this region began in the 1730s with the English Friends who came into the area from Pennsylvania, Maryland, and New Jersey. The community's distinctive cast is still reflected in the region's small farms, many of which are yet defined by their 18th-century land patents. The Goose Creek Historic District is a scenically cohesive rural area of some 10,000 acres in central Loudoun County that sustained Virginia's largest concentration of Quaker settlers. Worked without slave labor, Quaker farms were limited in size to what could be run by a family unit. The district, which centers on the village of Lincoln, preserves a rich collection of 18th-, 19th-, and 20th-century rural vernacular architecture, much of it incorporating the superb stone masonry peculiar to Quaker settlers. Though threatened with creeping suburbanization, few other areas of the region retain such a high degree of unspoiled pastoral beauty.

The Goose Creek Historic District's location is roughly bounded by Purcellville, Rtes. 611, 728, 797, 622, 704 and 709, and Lincoln. The Goose Creek Friends Meeting House, within the district, is located in Lincoln, on Lincoln Rd; call 703-777-5979 for further information.

Oatlands Historic District

This rural district incorporates the Oatlands estate and several associated historic properties. The site of Oatlands Mills, a milling complex established by George Carter of Oatlands in the early 19th century, is at the southern end, along Goose Creek. The large mill was destroyed in 1905, leaving today only a small ruin and extensive archaeological remains. Surviving from the village of Oatlands nearby are several houses and the Episcopal Church of Our Savior, a simple brick structure erected in 1878. A later parish hall stands next to it. At the northern end of the district, on Route 15, is the Mountain Gap School, the county's last operating one-room school when it closed in 1953. Most of the property in the historic district is protected by preservation easements or is owned by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

The Oatlands Historic District is located south of Leesburg off Rte. 15. There are no organized tours of the district available at this time.

Oatlands

Begun in 1804 and embellished over the next two decades, this monumental mansion, along with its numerous outbuildings and extensive gardens, forms one of the nation's most elaborate Federal estates. The complex was developed by George Carter, one of the scions of prominent Tidewater families who migrated to Northern Virginia after the Revolution. Carter developed the mansion's design from illustrations in William Chambers's A Treatise on Civil Architecture (1786). With its stuccoed walls, demi-octagonal wings, parapeted roof, and a portico of slender Corinthian columns added by Carter in 1827, the house has a special lightness and elegance. The airy rooms with their intricate Federal ornamentation complement the exterior.

Prosperous and newly married during the 1840s, Carter made interior changes that echoed the popular Greek Revival style of the time. A miller's residence, brick manufactory, blacksmith shop, store, school and church soon followed as Oatlands quickly grew into a 3,000-acre working plantation. Other structures built by Carter include the stone and brick staircases and walls, a smoke house, a brick greenhouse with a hot-water heating system, and a granary. Oatlands's gardens were also designed by George Carter, who constructed ingenious connecting terraces which, by sheltering the area from wind, extended the growing season to supply food for the plantation.

Oatlands fared well during the Civil War compared to many other plantations, but after the war George II and Kate Carter, beset by mounting debts and numerous dependents, began operating Oatlands as a summer boarding house, a country retreat for affluent Washingtonians. This didn't produce the income needed to sustain a great home like Oatlands, and in 1897 they were forced to sell. Oatlands was briefly owned by founder of the Washington Post Stilson Hutchins, who never lived on the property. In 1903 Oatlands was sold to William Corcoran Eustis, grandson of banker and philanthropist William Wilson Corcoran and his wife Edith, who restored Oatlands to its former splendor.

Although Mr. Eustis died in 1921, Mrs. Eustis remained at Oatlands until her death in 1964. The Eustis daughters presented the estate (which had been reduced to 261 acres), house, and furnishings to the National Trust for Historic Preservation in 1965. Oatlands was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1972.

Oatlands is located south of the junction of Rtes. 15 and 651 in Leesburg. The property is a National Historic Landmark. It is open Monday-Saturday 10:00am to 5:00pm, Sunday 1:00pm to 5:00pm April-December. There is a fee for admission. Call 703-777-3174 or visit their website for further information.

Oak Hill

James Monroe (1758-1831), the fifth President of the United States, began the construction of Oak Hill, his Loudoun County mansion, between 1820 and 1823 and lived here following his presidency until 1830, the year before he died. For the design of Oak Hill, Monroe sought ideas from both Thomas Jefferson and James Hoban, architect of the White House. The house was constructed by local builder William Benton. Its dominant architectural feature is the unusual pentastyle portico. Oak Hill was visited by Lafayette in 1825 during his tour of America, and it was here that Monroe worked on the drafting of the Monroe Doctrine, a policy aimed to limit European expansion into the Western Hemisphere and assign the United States the role of protector of independent Western nations.

Monroe was born on April 28, 1758, in Westmoreland County, Virginia. After two years at the College of William and Mary, Monroe left in March 1776 to fight in the American Revolution. In 1779, Monroe formed the most important association of his life when he began the study of law under Thomas Jefferson, who was then governor of Virginia. Jefferson came to value Monroe for his persistence, patriotism, and devotion to republican principles. The two men, together with James Madison, formed political and personal bonds that lasted for half a century.

Monroe soon began a steady accumulation of offices, including acting as a delegate to the Continental Congress (1783-86); a member of the Virginia ratifying convention (1788), where he opposed adoption of the new federal Constitution; U.S. Senator from Virginia (1790-94); minister to France (1794-96); and Governor of Virginia (1799-1802). President Jefferson sent him on a diplomatic mission in 1803 to help Robert R. Livingston negotiate the purchase of New Orleans from the French. The two Americans were astonished when Napoleon I offered to sell the entire Louisiana Territory, which they quickly negotiated to purchase for the United States. After a term serving as President Madison's Secretary of State, Monroe was elected President by an overwhelming majority in 1816, distinguishing his term in office most notably in foreign affairs.

The estate passed out of the family after Monroe's death. The house was increased in size in 1922 by the enlargment of its wings and the addition of terminal porticoes during the ownership of Mr. and Mrs. Frank C. Littleton. Still a private residence, this historic seat is a fitting monument to the last of the "Virginia Dynasty" of presidents.

Oak Hill is located 8 Miles south of Leesburg on Rte. 15, near Aldie. The property is a National Historic Landmark. It is a private residence and is not open to the public.

Aldie Mill Historic District

Charles Fenton Mercer, military officer, legislator, and advocate of the colonization of African Americans, settled here in 1804. He named his property for Aldie Castle, his Scottish ancestral home. The large merchant mill, constructed in 1807 by Mercer's partner William Cooke, survives as one of the best outfitted early mills in the state. The three-part complex includes what was a plaster mill at one end and a store at the other. The mill's twin overshot Fitz wheels, installed in 1900, are a unique surviving pair in Virginia. Overlooking the mill is the large Federal house, built by Mercer in 1810 as his residence. Behind the mill is the miller's house. Completing the grouping is an early stone bridge across Little River. The mill operated into the 1970s. Mr. and Mrs. James Edward Douglas, whose family had owned and operated the mill continuously for six generations since 1834, donated it to the Virginia Outdoors Foundation in 1981. The Virginia Outdoors Foundation has been restoring the mill to serve as an operating example of an early 19th-century wheat and corn mill.

The Aldie Mill Historic District is located along Rte. 50, west of Rte. 15, in Aldie. Historic Aldie Mill is located at 39401 John Mosby Highway, and is open 12:00pm to 5:00 on Saturdays and 1:00pm to 5:00 pm on Sundays from April 30 to the last week of October. Call 703-327-9777 for further information.

Middleburg Historic District

The physical and psychological heart of Northern Virginia's hunt country, Middleburg is a compact and fastidious village retaining the qualities of its early years. There are approximately 600 people currently residing in the town established in 1787 by Leven Powell, a Revolutionary War officer and regional Federalist leader. He purchased the land for Middleburg at $2.50 an acre from Joseph Chinn, first cousin to George Washington. The town developed as a coach stop and relay station on Ashby's Gap Turnpike, becoming by mid-century a commercial center for lower Loudoun and upper Fauquier counties. Thus being in the "middle," the village provided the overnight resting stop for travelers making the 70-mile overland journey. The town saw frequent Civil War cavalry action and won a reputation for fierce Confederate loyalty but afterwards it declined in fortune and population.

By the second decade of the 20th century, it assumed a new identity as a social and equestrian center. Middleburg prospered and grew in reputation as the nation's foremost area for fox hunting, Thoroughbred breeding, and horse racing. With its tree-lined streets, brick sidewalks, and harmonious scale, the town has a diverse collection of late 18th- to early 20th-century architectural styles highlighted by early stone and brick structures.

The Middleburg Historic District is located at Rte. 50, and State Rtes. 626 and 776, in Middleburg. A self guided book tour, "Walk with History," is provided at the Pink Box, Middleburg's Visitor Center, located at 12 North Madison St., which is open from 11:00am to 3:00pm daily. Call 540-687-8888 for further information.

Red Fox Inn

One of the Virginia hunt country's best-known landmarks, the Red Fox Inn, occupies a site used for a tavern since the 18th century. The Red Fox Inn was a meeting spot for Confederate Colonel John Mosby and his Rangers. A century later, President Kennedy's press secretary, Pierre Salinger, held press conferences at the Red Fox in the Jeb Stuart room. Rawleigh Chinn, who originally owned the land on which Middleburg developed, reputedly built a tavern near this intersection in 1728. Chinn's Ordinary served travelers on the wagon trail, and later stagecoach route, that ran east-west generally along the present U.S. Route 50.

The present stone building may incorporate earlier fabric but was mostly constructed in 1830 for Nobel Beveridge, who stated in a newspaper advertisement that year: "A new House of Entertainment has been built . . . with all the rooms comfortable and well-furnished. The subscriber's bar is well-appointed with choice liquors." Beveridge's tavern since has been remodeled and enlarged several times. During the Civil War, the Beveridge House was often used by the Confederates. Most notably, General Jeb Stuart is said to have met with Colonel John Mosby and his famous Rangers here. The Inn's present appearance, largely dating from a 1940s renovation by local architect William B. Dew, is designed to attract its clientele with an old-fashioned ambience. The tavern has since become an area institution and remains a fashionable venue for lodging and repast.

Red Fox Inn is located at 2 East Washington St., Middleburg and is still used as a hotel and restaurant. Call 1-800-223-1728 for further information, or visit the website at http://www.redfox.com

St. Paul's Episcopal Church

Haymarket's Episcopal church was built in 1801 as a district courthouse for the counties of Fairfax, Fauquier, Loudoun, and Prince William. Like other early 19th-century Virginia courthouses it originally had an arcaded entrance. The district court was accommodated here until 1807 when changes in the court system resulted in the eventual sale of the building and its conversion to an academy. It was first used as an Episcopal church in 1822 and was consecrated by Bishop William Meade in 1834. Near both the first and second battles of Manassas, both sides at different times used it as a hospital. In November 1862 Union troops converted the building to a stable and then burned it. The congregation rebuilt within the original walls in 1867, at which time the arcade was closed up for the narthex and the belfry and bracketed cornice were added.

The St. Paul's Episcopal Church is located off State Rte. 55, in Haymarket. It is generally not open for tours, but large tour groups can call 703-754-7536 for information and possible interior viewing. Sunday Church services at 8:00am, 9:30am (children's event) and 10:30 (changed to 10:00am during the summer) are open to everyone.

Buckland Historic District

This tiny village bravely holds its own against the roar of constant traffic on U.S. Highway 29, which bisects the historic community. Buckland nonetheless is an especially picturesque example of the many mill-oriented settlements that characterized much of the Virginia Piedmont from the late 18th through the 19th centuries. Chartered by the Virginia legislature in 1798, Buckland was the first inland town established in Prince William County. It was an important wagon stop on the main east-west road between Alexandria and the territory beyond the Blue Ridge. The present turn-of-the-century grist mill is believed to be the third mill on this site. The water for the mill race was fed by Broad Run, which flows by immediately to the north. Also included in the district is an early 19th-century tavern and a small mid-19th-century church. These buildings, in addition to several residential dwellings, sustain the village's historic character.

The Buckland Historic District is centered at the intersectin of Buckland Mill Rd. and Rte. 29, in Buckland.

Greenwich Presbyterian Church

Built in 1858, this picturesque country Gothic church is distinguished by its rustic Gothic porches and lych (roofed) gate. Charles Green, an English cotton merchant from Savannah who built a dwelling at The Lawn nearby, donated the land on which the church stands. During the Civil War, Green objected when Union troops attempted to seize the church for a hospital, claiming that a clause in the deed provided that the land would revert to him if its religious use ceased, thereby making it English property. The church was thus the only one in the county not damaged by Union forces. Several Civil War soldiers are buried in the church cemetery, including one of Col. John S. Mosby's Confederate rangers, Captain Bradford Smith Hoskins. Wounded nearby in 1863, Hoskins was brought by Green to The Lawn, where he died.

The Greenwich Presbyterian Church is located at 9510 Burwell Rd., Greenwich.

For more information on the church and its accessibility visit the church's website (http://greenwichpres.org).

The Lawn

Named for its immaculately maintained greensward, the English-born Savannah cotton merchant Charles Green established The Lawn in 1855 as a country home following his marriage to Greenwich native Lucy Ireland Hunton. He built here a fanciful complex of Carpenter's Gothic structures. Green's Savannah residence, the famous Green-Meldrim house, is also Gothic Revival. The Greenwich buildings appeared quite foreign to the area. One Civil War visitor described the house as "the strangest in Virginia." The property served as a Union camp in 1864. Green was imprisoned, accused of being a Confederate spy. The noted French author Julian Green, grandson of Charles Green, visited The Lawn in his youth and used it as the setting for his novel Maud. Architecturally, The Lawn is unique and the only surviving example of a mid-19th-century Gothic Revival farm complex in Prince William County. The main house burned in 1924 and was replaced with a Tudor Revival work, completed in 1926, designed by A. B. Mullett and Co. of Washington.

The Lawn is located at 15207 Vint Hill Rd. off State Rte. 215, in Greenwich. It is a private residence, and is not open to the public.

Manassas National Battlefield Park

The 300-acre tract bordered by Bull Run was the scene of two Confederate victories. The First Battle of Manassas, fought July 21, 1861, was the opening engagement of the Civil War and pitted Union brigadier general Irvin McDowell's unseasoned troops against ill-trained but spirited Confederates under Brigadier General P. G. T. Beauregard. The naive, unprepared troops would soon have their hopes of a short war dashed as they came face to face with the horrors and carnage of war. The Union attack was repulsed by Confederates inspired by Gen. Thomas J. Jackson and his Virginians, who stood against the enemy like a "stone wall," earning Jackson his famous epithet. By the day's end, nearly 900 men lay dead and dying on what the day before had been the peaceful farms of Northern Virginia.

Thirteen months later the same armies, now much larger and battle hardened, would again clash over the same ground. Second Manassas, fought on August 28-30, 1862, cleared the way for Gen. Robert E. Lee's first invasion of the North. This time, the destruction would be far greater, more than 23,000 killed, missing or wounded. The outcome of the second battle would lead to the Southern army's first full-scale invasion across the Potomac River into Maryland. Surviving landmarks include the Dogan house, a Union snipers' nest in 1862; the Stone House, a Union field hospital during both battles; and the stone bridge, blown up in 1861 but reconstructed in the 1880s.

The Manassas National Battlefield Park, administered by the National Park Service, is located along U.S. Rte. 29 in Manassas, the entrance to the visitors center is just south of Rte. 29 on State Rte. 234.. It is open in the summer 9:00am to 6:00pm daily and in the winter 9:00am to 5:00pm daily. Call 703-754-1861 for further information or visit the website.

The Manassas National Battlefield Park is the subject of an online-lesson plan produced by Teaching with Historic Places, a National Register program that offers classroom-ready lesson plans on properties listed in the National Register. To learn more, visit the Teaching with Historic Places home page.

Warrenton Historic District

From its beginnings as a colonial village, this prosperous community has been home to lawyers and politicians such as Supreme Court Chief John Marshall, who practiced here; William Smith, governor of Virginia in 1846-49 and 1864-65; and Eppa Hunton, Confederate general and U.S. Congressman. Known as Fauquier Court House until its incorporation in 1810, Warrenton takes its present name from Warren Academy. The community has long been noted for its beautiful setting, healthful climate, and cultivated society. As a result it boasts an exceptional collection of houses, churches, and commercial buildings in a wide range of styles. The district also preserves a number of structures associated with the Civil War, when Warrenton was variously occupied by both sides. The architectural focal point is the county courthouse, a Classical Revival building erected in 1890 on the site of an earlier courthouse. The most prestigious residences line Culpeper and Falmouth streets.

The Warrenton Historic District is roughly bounded by Main, Waterloo, Alexandria, Winchester, Culpeper, High, Falmouth, Lee, and Horner Sts. in Warrenton. The Visitor Center, located at 183 Keith, is open 7 days a week 9:00am to 5:00pm and provides a walking tour brochure for the historic district. Call 540-347-4444 for further information.

Old Fauquier County Jail

Warrenton's former jail is a singular example of the state's early county penal architecture. The complex includes the 1808 brick jail, converted to the jailer's residence and completed in 1823, and the parallel 1823 stone jail with its high-walled jail-yard. Located next to the courthouse, the jail provides a telling picture of conditions endured by inmates of such county facilities. A jail was built for the county in 1779, but it proved to be inadequate within a number of years. The more substantial brick structure was finished in 1808, and County Jail c.1972 Photograph from National Register Collection, courtesy of Virginia Historic Landmarks Commission on October 24 the keys to the new jail were turned over to the sheriff. With the completion of the stone jail and its plank-lined cells, the resulting two-part building served the county until 1966. The complex is now maintained by the Fauquier County Historical Society as a county history museum.

The Old Fauquier County Jail is located at the Fauquier County Courthouse Square in Warrenton. It is open Tuesday-Sunday 10:00am to 4:00pm year round, but closed Christmas, Thanksgiving and New Year's Day. Call 540-347-5525 for further information.

Brentmoor

A classic Italian Villa-style dwelling, Brentmoor was built in 1859-61 for Judge Edward M. Spilman. In his book The Architecture of Country Houses (1850), Andrew Jackson Downing illustrated a design resembling Brentmoor described as "a simple, rational, convenient, and economic dwelling for the southern part of the Union." The Spilman family sold the property in the 1870s to James Keith, president of the Virginia Court of Appeals. In 1875 John Singleton Mosby, the Confederate ranger, purchased the house. Mosby, with his Partisans outwitted the Union army during the Civil War to the extent that much of northern Virginia was known as "Mosby's Confederacy." Mosby sold the house in 1877 to former Confederate general Eppa Hunton, who was then serving in Congress. Brentmoor was the childhood home of Eppa Hunton III, a founder of the prominent Richmond law firm Hunton and Williams.

Brentmoor is located at 173 Main St., in Warrenton. Although Brentmoor is currently not open to the public, the town of Warrenton has purchased it, and intends to open it as a museum in the future.

Monterosa

Located in Warrenton, Monterosa-Neptune Lodge was the main residence of William ("Extra Billy") Smith, two-term governor of Virginia (1846-49 and 1864-65). Smith also served in the Senate of Virginia, the U.S. House of Representatives, the Confederate House of Representatives, and as a Major General in the Confederate Army. Early in his career, Smith ran the longest mail route in the nation and was dubbed "Extra Billy" by a U.S. Senator during a Congressional investigation of waste in Federal spending, which focused, in part, on the U.S. Postal Service. Sharing the site with Smith's two-and-a-half story brick house are three outbuildings: an extraordinary Italianate brick stable built in 1847, a brick smokehouse and a two-story dwelling that dates from the late 19th century 19th-century stagecoach stables Photograph courtesy of Virginia Department of Historic Resources Archives known as the Office. James K. Maddux, a later owner and a leader in the Warrenton Hunt, remodeled Smith's Italianate dwelling in the Colonial Revival taste, adding the portico. He also changed the name to Neptune Lodge.

Monterosa is located at 343 Culpeper St., in Warrenton. It is a private residence and is not open to the public.

Oak Hill

Oak Hill was an early home of John Marshall, noted Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. The wood-frame dwelling, completed by 1773 when Marshall was 17, is a classic example of Virginia's colonial vernacular. John Marshall became the owner of Oak Hill in 1785 when his father, Thomas Marshall, moved to Kentucky. Although John Marshall lived mostly in Richmond and Washington, he kept his Fauquier County property, making improvements and using it as a retreat. In 1819 he built an attached Classical Revival house as a residence for his son Thomas. In 1835 Oak Hill was inherited by Thomas Marshall's son John Marshall II, whose overindulgence in hospitality forced him to sell the place to his brother Thomas. The property left the family after Thomas Marshall, Jr.'s mortal wounding in the Civil War.

Oak Hill can be seen from Interstate 66, and is located north of the highway just east of the exit for Rte. 17 near Delaplane. It is a private residence, and is not open to the public.

Oak Hill is the subject of an online-lesson plan produced by Teaching with Historic Places, a National Register program that offers classroom-ready lesson plans on properties listed in the National Register. To learn more, visit the Teaching with Historic Places home page.

Weston

An instructive amalgamation of farm buildings, Weston was originally the residence of the Fitzhugh family. The rambling house began as a log cottage probably built for Thomas Fitzhugh around 1810. The property was purchased from the Fitzhughs by Charles Joseph Nourse in l859. Nourse, who was reared in Georgetown, D.C., named the farm Weston in commemoration of his ancestral home Weston Hall in England. Under Nourse the house grew by steady accretion. Changes and additions made in 1860, 1870, and 1893 resulted in an L-shaped structure with Carpenter's Gothic detailing. Following Nourse's death in 1906, his widow, Annie, operated a school and summer camp here. During World War II the Nourse daughters maintained Weston as a hospitality center for servicemen, serving some 11,000 meals by the end of the war. Weston and its important collection of outbuildings is now a farm museum owned by the Warrenton Antiquarian Society.

Weston is located at 4447 Weston Rd., in the vicinity of Casanova. Owned by the Warrenton Antiquarian Society, Weston is now a museum. It is only open for tours occasionally. There is a suggested donation. Call 540-788-9220 for further tour information.

Culpeper Historic District

The county-seat town of Culpeper is significant for its architectural cohesiveness and associations with commercial, military, political, and transportation history. Originally known as Fairfax, Culpeper was founded in 1759. Most of the commercial buildings are vernacular, Italianate, and neoclassical-style brick structures. The quiet, tree-shaded residential streets hold a rich variety of domestic architecture. The district's focal point is the Culpeper County Courthouse, completed in 1874 by Samuel Proctor who crowned it with a fanciful cupola. Commercial history is linked with its early roads, stagecoach routes, and the railroad. Military history is represented by the homes of Revolutionary War general Edward Stevens and Confederate Lieutenant General Ambrose Powell Hill. The town served as a staging area and hospital center for armies of both sides in the Civil War. Though a growing community, Culpeper preserves a genial, typically American small-town ambiance.

The Culpeper Historic District is bounded by Edmonson, Stevens and West Sts. and the railroad tracks, in Culpeper. The Culpeper Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Center can provide you with "In and Around Culpeper," a brochure that includes 5 self-guided walking tours, and information on guided walking tours that start in June. Located at 109 South Commerce St., the Chamber is open 8:30am to 5:00pm weekdays, 10:00am to 4:00pm Saturdays, and 1:00pm to 4:00pm Sundays, or call 540-825-8628. The Museum of Culpeper History can provide you with more information on the history of Culpeper, and visit the website for details on the opening of their new museum.

Slaughter-Hill House

Maintaining connections to various phases of Culpeper's history, the Slaughter-Hill house began in the late 18th century as a one-room-plan structure built of planked log construction. A frame addition in the early 19th century doubled its size. The house was further remodeled between 1835 and 1840 when the older sections were renovated and enlarged. The core of the Slaughter-Hill house remains one of the region's rare examples of a one-room urban vernacular structure using planked log construction. It probably was built for John Jameson, who served as the country clerk from 1771 to 1810. The present name derives from Dr. Philip Slaughter, a prominent local physician who made the mid-19th-century modifications. The Hill name is from Sarah Hill, of the locally prominent Hill family, who purchased the house in 1888 and whose daughter owned it until 1944.

The Slaughter-Hill House is located at 306 Northwest St., in Culpeper. It can be viewed externally on one of the Culpeper Historic District's walking tours.

Hill Mansion

The Hill Mansion is a sophisticated example of the Italianate style, one of the several picturesque modes popular in the 1850s. The house was completed in 1857 for Edward Baptist Hill, member of a prominent Culpeper family. The front is sheltered by an arcaded veranda, a device advocated for southern houses in this period. Other noteworthy features are the scored stucco, the elaborate porches, both cast-iron and wood, as well as interior appointments, including a broad curving stair. The house served as a Confederate hospital and was visited both by Lieutenant General A. P. Hill, a brother of the builder, and Gen. Robert E. Lee, whose wounded son, Brig. Gen. W. H. F. ("Rooney") Lee, was nursed there. Later in the war it was used as headquarters for Union officers who permitted the Hill family to occupy two rooms.

Hill Mansion is located at 501 East St., in Culpeper. It is a private residence and is not open to the public. It can be viewed externally on one of the Culpeper Historic District's walking tours.

A.P. Hill Boyhood Home

Confederate Lieutenant General Ambrose Powell Hill (1825-1865) lived in the original portion of this house from age seven until 1842, when he entered the U.S. Military Academy. Hill's parents enlarged the plain Federal town house into the present Italian Villa-style building just before the Civil War, expanding its depth and adding the third story, heavy bracketed cornice, and cupola. Later altered for commercial use, the building, situated on one of the town's main intersections, remains a dominant architectural element in downtown Culpeper. A. P. Hill was one of General Robert E. Lee's most valued lieutenants; he assisted him in nearly every major engagement of the Army of Northern Virginia until felled on April 2, 1865, just after the siege of Petersburg, and was brought to Richmond for burial.

The A.P. Hill Boyhood Home is located at 102 North Main St., in Culpeper and is occupied by commericial businesses. It can be viewed externally on one of the Culpeper Historic District's walking tours.

Culpeper National Cemetery

The Culpeper National Cemetery was established in April 1867, in a county that may have seen more Civil War combat than any other in Virginia. Several monuments commemorate the Union casualties of the battle of Cedar Mountain fought on August 9, 1862. Occupied by each army for months at a time, Culpeper County was the scene of the battle of Brandy Station on June 9, 1863, the largest cavalry battle of the war. Here also was the Union Army's winter encampment of 1863-64, when Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant arrived to take command. Union dead from those actions are interred in the cemetery. The cemetery was established in 1867 for the burial of more than 2,000 Civil War soldiers. The Second Empire-style superintendent's lodge was built in 1872 from a design by Quartermaster General Montgomery C. Meigs. In 1978 the Veterans of Foreign Wars donated adjacent land that doubled the size of the cemetery and relieved pressure on Arlington National Cemetery. The cemetery is in active use for the burial of veterans of all wars and their dependents.

The Culpeper National Cemetery is located at 305 U.S. Ave., in Culpeper. It is open between dusk and dawn. The office is open 8:00am to 4:00pm, Monday-Friday except holidays. Call 540-825-0027 for further information, or visit the website of the Veterans Administration - National Cemetery Administration.

Burgandine House

The Burgandine House has long been considered to be Culpeper's oldest dwelling. Architectural evidence suggests that as originally built, it was a story-and-half structure put up in the late 18th century or the first part of the 19th century, and was probably a laborer's residence. The original core employs plank log construction, a building material not unusual for area vernacular houses. It later received a porch and was covered with weatherboards. A wing (since removed) was added in the mid-19th century. At one time the Burgandine House was used as a tavern. Despite other modifications the original simple lines of the house betray its early origins. The house was donated to the town of Culpeper in 1966 and has since served as the headquarters of the Culpeper Historical Society. This small, historic dwelling was restored in 1997.

The Burgandine House is located at 107 South Main St., in Culpeper. Call 540-829-6434 for seasonal visiting hours and days as well as additional information.

Greenwood

During the early 19th century many rich, influential men of the western Piedmont contented themselves with small yet commodious plantation houses. Greenwood, built c.1823-24, possibly around an earlier section, for John Williams Green, judge of the Virginia Supreme Court, illustrates this dwelling type. With its dormered center section and one-story wings, the house shows how a standard vernacular type could be expanded and given a pleasing but unpretentious formality. The interior preserves most of its Federal woodwork. In 1825 Judge Green received at Greenwood the Marquis de Lafayette and former President James Monroe during Lafayette's celebrated tour as "guest of the nation." The Civil War touched Greenwood when Federal troops occupied the house and established a gun emplacement on the grounds.

Greenwood is located at 1931 Orange St., in Culpeper. It is a private residence, and is not open to the public.

Madden's Tavern

This simple log structure is a rare relic of pre-Civil War black entrepreneurship in rural Virginia. Completed about 1840, the tavern was built by, owned, and operated by Willis Madden (1800-1879) a free black, and was likely the only tavern in the region with a proprietor of Madden's race. Virginia free blacks were able to earn and keep wages and to own and operate a business, but were forbidden to vote, bear arms, testify against a white person, or be educated. Madden built the tavern on property purchased in 1835 on the Old Fredericksburg Road. The western half of the structure was Madden's family quarters; the eastern portion consisted of a public room and a loft for overnight guests. A general store and blacksmith-wheelwright shop were also on the property. Union troops sacked the place in 1863-64. The property is still owned by Madden's descendants.

Madden's Tavern is located east of Culpeper near Lignum on Rte. 610, north of Rte. 3 and west of Rte. 647. It is not open to the public, but a Virginia State Historic Marker can be read at the roadside.

Mitchells Presbyterian Church

This simple Carpenter's Gothic church contains the most elaborate example of late 19th-century, folk-style trompe l'oeil frescoes in the state. Executed in the 1890s, or possibly earlier, by the Italian immigrant painter Joseph Dominick Phillip Oddenino, born in 1831 in Chieri, Torino, the artwork is a curious transplant in rural Virginia of the ancient art of fresco, a common form of interior embellishment throughout Europe. The scheme is architectonic, consisting of a Gothic arcade on the side walls and an apse flanked by pairs of twisted baroque columns. The ceiling is painted to resemble beams framing rosettes. Mitchells Church was built in 1879 under the leadership of the Rev. John P. Strider. The frescoes, along with the church, underwent complete restoration beginning in 1979. Several other examples of Oddenino's work remain in the region; Mitchell's Church is the finest and most complete.

Mitchells Presbyterian Church is located off Rte. 652 in the small settlement of Mitchells. It is not regularly open to the public, call 540-825-1079 for further information.

Rapidan Historic District

A tiny village bisected by the Rapidan River, though with its principal section on the Culpeper side, Rapidan began in the late 18th century as a small milling community known as Waugh's Ford. Reflecting optimism for future progress, the settlement was renamed Rapid Ann Station with the coming of the Orange and Alexandria Railroad in 1854. It was renamed Rapidan in 1886. As a strategic railroad stop and river crossing, the village suffered several Civil War raids during which most of its buildings were destroyed. The village emerged from the war as a shipping point for wood products. Its current buildings, mostly dating from the late 1800s and early 1900s, range from simple vernacular structures to large Italianate and late Victorian farmhouses. Especially significant are the two 1874 Carpenter's Gothic churches: Waddell Memorial Presbyterian Church on the Orange County side and Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Culpeper County.

The Rapidan Historic District is located at the junction of VA 614, VA 615, VA 673, in Rapidan.

The Residence

This compact plantation house was built c.1793 for William Madison, member of the Virginia House of Delegates for seven consecutive terms and brother of President James Madison. In 1793 James Madison asked Thomas Jefferson to supply plans for a house for his brother. Jefferson, a close friend of the president, suggested a floor plan for a seven-room house in a geometric configuration that is a hallmark of Jefferson's residential design. James Madison later wrote to Jefferson saying that William had adopted the plans. No Jefferson drawings have been positively identified as the Madison design, but the correspondence authenticates the Jefferson connection. The original, unacademic two-column portico suggests, however, that Jefferson was not involved in the execution.

In 1870 the property was purchased by Robert Stringfellow Walker, who remodeled the house in 1884. It was here that Walker founded Woodberry Forest School in 1889, naming it after the Madison plantation. The house was renamed the Residence and became the headmaster's house. Walker hired a tutor to educate his six sons and neighboring children. The first classes were taught in a room of The Residence. Additions made in 1884 changed the effect from Palladian to Victorian. Other renovations in 1948 created a large drawing room by eliminating partitions between three rooms, one of which was used as a back porch by the Madison family.

The Residence is located within the Woodberry Forest School, in Woodberry Forest and is the private residence of the headmaster. For more information visit the school's website.

Greenway

Built c.1780 for Francis Madison, a younger brother of President James Madison, Greenway is a traditional vernacular building type commonly used in the Virginia Piedmont from the mid-18th to the mid-19th century. The original core, a single-pile, hall-parlor dwelling, is interesting confirmation that acceptance of such indigenous forms extended even to members of influential families such as the Madisons. The facade formerly had side-by-side entrances, one for each room. These were replaced in the early 20th century by a single entrance sheltered by the gable-roofed porch. A rear wing, added c.1790, preserves a fine original mantel with pilasters and paneled frieze. Greenway has been a working farm since the 18th century and includes several farm buildings. The property remains in the ownership of descendants of a stepson of Francis Madison's daughter Catherine.

Greenway is located just south of the intersection of State Rte. 230 and Rte. 15 in Madison Mills, just north of the Rapidan River and the Orange county line. It is a private residence and is not open to the public.

Wadell Memorial Presbyterian Church

Built in 1874, Wadell Memorial Presbyterian Church is Virginia's finest specimen of Carpenter's Gothic architecture. A forest of spires sprouts from the nave, transepts, and vestry of the board-and-batten structure. All of the details are formed from milled boards reduced by sawing to the desired shapes and nailed together. The country church was named in honor of James Waddell, a local blind preacher and key player in the battle for religious tolerance during Colonial times. J. B. Danforth, an amateur architect who also was chief clerk at Richmond's Mutual Assurance Society, designed the church. A tracing of Danforth's drawings by the Richmond carpenter-architect John Gibson, who presumably worked on the building, is in the possession of the church. The design called for a steeple that was deleted from the finished work. The church is romantically sited on a hill overlooking the Rapidan River and broad stretches of countryside.

In 1998, the small 40-member congregation began a preservation effort to restore the church, replacing louvers, rebuilding numerous spires, removing old layers of paint and repainting the exterior. They are now in the process of a second round of fundraising to restore the church sanctuary.

Waddell Memorial Presbyterian Church is located southeast of Rapidan on State Rte. 615. The Sanctuary is open to the public during daylight hours; the back of the church, where the offices are located, is not. Call 540-672-0672 for further information.

Willow Grove

Built in the late 18th century for Joseph Clark, the original frame residence at Willow Grove was substantially enlarged in 1848 by the addition of a brick wing and a unifying Tuscan portico. It is believed some of the woodwork in this Federal portion was executed by the same artisans who crafted Montpelier, President James Madison's lifelong Orange County home. The remodeling was done for Clark's son William, who inherited Willow Grove in 1839. The resulting structure stands as an example of the influence of Thomas Jefferson's Classical Revival style on the country homes of Piedmont Virginia. The portico is accented by the distinctly Jeffersonian touch of Chinese lattice railings.

The mansion has withstood the ravages of two wars. Generals Wayne and Muhlenberg camped here during the Revolutionary War, and the mansion was under siege during the Civil War. Trenches and breastworks are visible near the manor house, and a cannonball was recently removed from the eaves. The house is enhanced by its pastoral setting and collection of outbuildings. Later the homestead of the Shackelford family, the house and outbuildings are now used as a country inn.

Willow Grove is located 2 miles northwest of Orange on the west side of Rte. 15. It is not open for tours, but to contact the inn you may call 1-800-949-1778 or visit the website at http://www.willowgroveinn.com.

Orange County Courthouse

The Orange County Courthouse marks a radical departure from the traditional classical-style Virginia courthouse, illustrating public acceptance of exotic taste in late antebellum times. Designed by Charles Haskins of the Washington firm of Haskins and Alexander and erected in 1858-59, the building has all of the major characteristics of the Italian Villa style: deep bracketed cornices, shallow-hipped roofs, and square tower. The work is Orange County's fourth court building constructed specifically as such in the town of Orange. It replaced an existing courthouse that was taken down as the result of railroad construction. The arcaded openings on the first floor were filled in c. 1948, but were opened in 2003 during a recent restoration. The courthouse is complemented by its clerk's office, jail and Confederate monument. An architecturally sympathetic addition is currently under construction on the courthouse's north end, and is expected to be completed in the fall of 2004.

The Orange County Courthouse is located at the junction of North Main St. and Madison Rd., in Orange. The courthouse is currently closed until construction of the addition is completed in the fall of 2004. Call 540-672-3313 for further information.

St.Thomas Church

This expression of Classical Revivalism is the successor to the original church of St. Thomas's Parish, demolished after the disestablishment. Erected 1833-34, the church originally lacked its Tuscan portico in antis. This feature was probably added in 1853 when the church was remodeled and enlarged. The alteration of the windows into pointed Gothic windows was made between 1890 and 1895. The builders of the church have not been documented, but they may have been William B. Phillips and Malcolm B. Crawford who worked for Jefferson at the University of Virginia and later built finely crafted Classical Revival works in the central Piedmont. During the Civil War, Robert E. Lee and other Confederates worshipped here in the winter of 1863-64. St. Thomas's also served as a Confederate hospital after the battles of Cedar Mountain, Chancellorsville, the Wilderness, and Spotsylvania Court House. St. Thomas's is noted for its stained glass windows, including one by Tiffany.

The St.Thomas Church is located at 119 Caroline St., in Orange. Open by appointment. Call 540-672-3761 for further information.

Ballard-Marshall House

Lending a sense of continuity and place to the town of Orange, the Ballard-Marshall house demonstrates the pervasiveness of the Classical Revival tradition in the Virginia Piedmont. Distinguished by its pedimented roof, Classical trim, and systematic proportions, the house was built in 1832 for Garland Ballard, a local merchant. The builders are not known, but the use of finely crafted Flemish bond and informed detailing suggests a connection with local projects constructed by craftsmen formerly employed by Thomas Jefferson. During the mid-19th century the house was owned by the locally prominent Taylor family. In 1882 it became the home of Fielding Lewis Marshall, the local superintendent of public education and grandson of Chief Justice John Marshall. The property remained in Marshall family ownership until 1962. Rescued from a state of neglect in 1986, the house has been rehabilitated for apartments.

The Ballard-Marshall House is located at 158 East Main St., in Orange. It contains several private residences and is not open to the public.

Mayhurst

The vibrancy that American architects gave to the Italian Villa style is no better shown than in Mayhurst, described by architectural historian William B. O'Neal as "a delicious Victorian fantasy." The architect has not been recorded; however, its stylistic similarity to Camden in Caroline County has led to its attribution to Norris G. Starkweather of Baltimore. The designer might also have been Charles Haskins of Haskins and Anderson of Washington, D.C., who designed the Villa-style Orange County Courthouse. The tall structure, decked out with a bracketed cornice, rusticated wood siding, and a cupola terminating in a scroll-ornamented finial, illustrates the mid-19th-century taste for the exotic. The house was commissioned by Col. John Willis, a great-nephew of James Madison and was begun in 1859. Restored in recent years as an inn, Mayhurst retains its park-like setting.

Mayhurst is located .4 mi. southwest of the junction of State Rte. 647 and Rte. 15, in Orange. It is now a bed and breakfast. Call 888-672-5597 for further information or visit the website at http://www.mayhurstinn.com/

Montpelier

Montpelier, the lifelong home of James Madison, the "Father of the Constitution" and fourth President of the United States, was also home to three generations of the Madison family from 1723 to 1844. The mansion core was built by Madison's father c.1760. Madison, born in 1751, married Dolley Payne Todd in 1794. After a second presidential term, the Madisons returned to Montpelier in 1817 where their legendary hospitality kept them in touch with world affairs.

With advice of his friend, Thomas Jefferson, Madison enlarged the house, adding the Tuscan portico c.1797. Additional changes were made c.1809 by James Dinsmore and John Neilson, master builders working for Jefferson. A domed garden temple was also built on the property. The house was further enlarged c.1900 by William duPont. Today, it remains the nucleus of a 2,700-acre estate containing farmlands, forests, formal gardens, 135 buildings, and a steeplechase course. Upon his death in 1836, Madison was buried on the estate. Dolley Madison later returned to Washington where she died in 1849. Her grave is also in the Madison family cemetery at Montpelier.

Following Madison's death, the contents of the house were auctioned off and Montpelier changed hands six times until it was purchased in 1900 by William and Annie Rogers duPont. Mr. duPont enlarged the house dramatically and added barns, greenhouses, staff houses, and even a train station. Mrs. duPont created a 2.5-acre formal garden which has been restored by the Garden Club of Virginia. The duPont's daughter, Marion, took over the 2,700-acre property in 1928. Today, the Montpelier property is owned and exhibited by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The mansion is undergoing a $30 million restoration to return the plantation house in size, structure, form and furnishings to the home that James and Dolley Madison knew in their post-presidential years of the 1820s.

Montpelier, a National Historic Landmark, is located four miles west of Orange on State Rte. 20. The house is open daily for tours from April-October from 9:30am to 5:30pm, and November-March from 9:30am to 4:30pm, while the grounds and museum store are open one-half hour later than the house; closed Christmas, Thanksgiving and New Year's Day. There is a fee for admission. Call 540-672-2728 or visit the website for further information. Montpelier has also been documented by the Historic American Buildings Survey

Montpelier is the subject of an online-lesson plan produced by Teaching with Historic Places, a National Register program that offers classroom-ready lesson plans on properties listed in the National Register. To learn more, visit the Teaching with Historic Places home page.

Somerset Christian Church

An unaltered example of a mid-19th-century country church, this diminutive building was erected c.1857 to serve a small but active community of the Christian denomination in the rural neighborhood of Somerset. With its bracketed cornice and porch echoing the Italian villa influence, the prominently sited church is a stylistic departure from the Greek Revival and Gothic modes that characterized most Virginia country churches of the period. The interior retains its original furnishings, including its pews, still decorated with painted wood graining. Maintained by a dedicated congregation, the church now holds regular Sunday services following a period of sporadic use.

The Somerset Christian Church is located on State Rte. 231, north of its intersection with State Rte. 20, 1500 ft. south of the Rapidan River. It is not open to the public.

Madison--Barbour Rural Historic District

Encompassing roughly 40 square miles of Piedmont countryside, the Madison-Barbour historic distirct (Viriginia's largest rural district) is one of the state's best-preserved cultural landscapes. The rolling, semi-mountainous terrain is broken periodically by broad stretches of fields and pastureland that attest to the area's rich tradition of agriculture and land preservation. A web of 18th- and 19th-century roadways offers expansive views of unspoiled pastoral scenery and early landscape features such as fence rows and old road beds. For more than two and a half centuries the area's gentry have exhibited their wealth by erecting some of the state's most impressive country houses. Sprinkled through the district are several 19th-century hamlets including Tibbstown, Barboursville, and Somerset.

The district's name refers to the area's two most prominent landowning families, the Madisons and the Barbours, who were responsible for its two nationally significant plantation complexes--Montpelier and Barboursville. The district also contains more than 200 contributing dwellings in various national styles and vernacular forms reflecting a broad socioeconomic spectrum, including Frascati, built c.1823 in the style of Thomas Jefferson; Rocklands, a significant architectural creation of early 20th century; and the Somerset Christian Church, c.1850.

The Madison--Barbour Rural Historic District is roughly bounded by Rte. 15, the Rapidan River and the Albemarle and Greene county lines. The district is several miles large and a driving tour is recommended.

Barboursville

Preserved as a ruin after its destruction by fire on Christmas Day, 1884, Barboursville was one of the largest and finest residences in the region. The only building in Orange County known to have been designed by Thomas Jefferson, Barboursville was constructed between 1814 and 1822 for Jefferson's friend James Barbour, Governor of Virginia (1812-1814), U.S. Senator, Secretary of War, and Ambassador to the Court of St. James.

Jefferson's drawings called for a dwelling with a recessed portico on the north front and a three-part bay sheltered by a portico on the south front, with dome above--a scheme resembling Jefferson's own home Monticello. The dome, however, was not built. Even in its ruinous state, the house presents a romantic image of the Jeffersonian ideal, a compact but architecturally sophisticated classical villa in a carefully contrived landscape setting. The great oval in front of the house was originally a racetrack. The stabilized ruins are now the centerpiece of one of Virginia's first large-scale wineries. They also serve as an exceptional background for the Four County Players' presentations of "Shakespeare at the Ruins" on August weekends.

Barboursville is located south of the junction of Rtes. 777 and 678. Self-guided tours of the ruins are allowed during the winery's hours of operation, 10:00am to 5:00pm. Monday-Saturday, and Sunday 11:00am to 5:00pm. Call 540-832-3824 or visit the website at http://www.barboursvillewine.com for further information.

Gordonsville Historic District

The assemblage of 19th- and early 20th-century residential, commercial, and church buildings forming this Piedmont community reflects the vicissitudes of a Virginia railroad town. It was named for Nathaniel Gordon, a late 18th-century innkeeper here, whose tavern was frequented by such prominent statesmen as Thomas Jefferson and Major General the Marquis de Lafayette. The hamlet exploded into a thriving transportation hub with the arrival in the 1840s and early 1850s of two railroads and two major turnpikes. Dr. Charles Beale, Gordons' son-in-law, foresaw the arrival of the railroad and essentially planned the Gordonsville of today.

During the Civil War, Gordonsville was of vital importance to Robert E. Lee and his Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the transportation of troops and supplies. In 1862, Major General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson had his headquarters at the old Gordon Tavern for several days. Wounded soldiers were brought to Gordonsville to be cared for at the Gordonsville Receiving Hospital (centered around the Exchange Hotel) and in churches and private homes.

Gordonsville's growth, which reached its peak after the Civil War, ended suddenly with completion in the early 1880s of a north-south railroad bypassing the town to the west. The district centers on a 3/4-mile stretch of Main Street leading south past tree-shaded 19th-century residences and churches to the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway overpass. The solid row of brick commercial structures forming the town's business district were built up following fires in 1916 and 1920.

The Gordonsville Historic District is bisected by Rte. 15 in Gordonsville. Call 540-672-1653 or visit the website at http://www.gemlink.com/~gordonsville/history.htm for further information.

Exchange Hotel

This Gordonsville landmark is a forerunner of the large railroad hotels that played an important role in the transportation history of late 19th- and early 20th-century America. The galleried structure was built in 1860 for Richard F. Omohundro next to an important railroad junction, when the Exchange Hotel offered a welcome stopping place for weary passengers on the Virginia Central Railway. Waist-coated gentlemen and hoop-skirted ladies were treated to the sight of the hotel's handsome architecture of wide verandas and stately columns.

In March 1862, because of its strategic location, the Exchange Hotel became part of the Gordonsville Receiving Hospital, admitting more than 23,000 sick and wounded in less than a year. The wounded and dying from nearby battlefields such as Cedar Mountain, Chancellorsville, Trevilian Station, Mine Run, Brandy Station, and the Wilderness were brought by the trainloads. Although this was primarily a Confederate facility, the hospital treated the wounded from both sides. Twenty-six Union soldiers died here. By war's end more than 70,000 men had been treated at the Gordonsville Receiving Hospital and just over 700 would be buried on its surrounding grounds. The scene of untold agony and death, the