Professional Development

PREP Sites

Petersburg Regional Education Partnership(PREP)

The 2008-2009 Petersburg Community Teacher Institute sponsored by PREP has been completed. Check back for information on the 2009-2010 Institute.


The mission of the Petersburg Regional Educational Partnership is to promote understanding by connecting classroom learning to first-hand knowledge. PREP is composed of the following organizations:

City of Petersburg Museums

Petersburg is an independent city in Virginia, United States located on the Appomattox River and 23 miles (37 km) south of Richmond. The city's unique industrial past created wealth for Virginia. Among the city's significant properties is Battersea, a Palladian-style house built in 1767-1768 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). Also on the NRHP is Petersburg National Battlefield of the American Civil War. Numerous historic properties and districts are associated with downtown. The Pocahontas Island National Historic District is the location of the largest free black population in 1860. Among the oldest black churches in the nation are two Baptist churches, established as the first of that denomination in the city in the early 19th century. The black churches were leaders in the national Civil Rights Movement of the mid-20th century that achieved historic legislation for civil and voting rights.

The U.S. Army Women's Museum

The U.S. Army Women's Museum serves as an educational institution, providing military history training and instruction to soldiers, veterans and the civilian community. The museum is the custodian and repository of artifacts and archival material pertaining to the service of women across all branches and organizations of the U.S. Army from inception to the present day. The museum collects, preserves, manages, interprets and exhibits these unique artifacts as a means to provide training and educational outreach.

Petersburg National Battlefield

Petersburg National Battlefield is composed of three major units and an additional managed component. Eastern Front Visitor Center and Park Tour Road Located off Virginia Route 36 east of Petersburg, the Eastern Front Visitor Center is the main visitor contact station for the Battlefield. Here, visitors can view exhibits and movies about the Siege of Petersburg as well as view Battery #5, an important early site in the Siege. The park entrance fee is also collected on the Eastern Front Visitor Center access road. After leaving the Visitor Center, one can begin their park tour. A motor tour route runs from Virginia Route 36 to US Route 301. Along the way, visitors can view sites such as Fort Stedman and The Crater.

Five Forks Battlefield

Located in Dinwiddie County about 14 miles (23 km) southwest of downtown Petersburg, this unit contains the site of the Battle of Five Forks, which destroyed a sizable portion of the remaining Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. Sometimes called the "Waterloo of the Confederacy," Five Forks helped set in motion a series of events that led to Robert E. Lee's subsequent surrender at Appomattox Court House.

City Point Unit

Battery XVI in the Main UnitSited next to the James River in Hopewell, City Point served as a major command and logistics hub for the Union Army during the Siege of Petersburg.

Poplar Grove National Cemetery

The 8.72-acre (3.53 ha) Poplar Grove National Cemetery, while technically a separate unit, is administered by Petersburg National Battlefield.

Historic Hopewell

The city of Hopewell is located in the southeastern part of Central Virginia at the confluence of the James and Appomattox Rivers. Settled in 1613, Hopewell celebrates a rich history. Appomattox Plantation at City Point was built in 1763. During the Civil War, General Ulysses S. Grant directed the Siege of Petersburg from the grounds of this historic home. Weston Manor, an elegant 18th-century plantation home, overlooks the Appomattox River. Its guided tour includes three floors furnished in period antiques and reproductions. Hopewell is also the gateway to Virginia’s historic James River Plantations, Berkeley and Shirley.

The Quartermaster Museum

Since 1957, the Quartermaster Museum has preserved the history and heritage of the U.S. Army Quartermaster Corps, the Army's oldest logistic branch. From the Revolution to the Persian Gulf, America's secret weapon is the one that keeps soldiers supplied with food, water, clothing, fuel, shelter and other things they can't survive combat without. This weapon is the Quartermaster Corps, and at the Quartermaster Museum, you’ll see how it’s sustained American soldiers since 1775.