historic homes to tour in virginia

A Visit To These 8 Gorgeous Old Homes In Virginia Will Take You Back In Time

A lifelong Virginia resident, Beth loves exploring different parts of the world and currently resides in Charlottesville. She holds a degree in English Literature and one of her short stories has been featured in the Shenandoah Review. Other interests include hiking, songwriting, and spending time in the mountains.

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Living in Virginia means the opportunity to experience centuries worth of history. One of the most fascinating ways to do so is by exploring homes that have stood the test of time. From the architecture to the intricate hallways, these homes tell tales of Virginians who’ve lived through times we can only imagine.

While many of Virginia’s historic homes are either privately owned or once housed Presidents, the following sites are open to the public for tours. So if you’d like to step back in time, a visit to these 8 gorgeous Virginian homes will allow you to do just that.

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As you may have guessed, these 8 homes are just a few of the many historic houses to tour in Virginia. Which are some of your favorites? Be sure to share your experience with us!

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George Mason's Gunston Hall

Historic mansion tours in fairfax county.

Nothing will give you a taste of history more than this Virginia historic homes tour. Visit famous homes that were occupied by George Washington, George Mason, and more and see all the best architecture Fairfax County has to offer. The suggestions below will get you started on your tour of the most historic estates in the DC area.  

Estates, Mansions, and More

• George Washington's Mount Vernon and the Donald W. Reynolds Educational Center  
• Mount Vernon Inn
• George Washington’s Distillery and Gristmill
• Woodlawn Historic Site
• Pope-Leighey House
• Pohick Church
• Gunston Hall  

Soak up a little history on this Northern Virginia historic homes tour. Start your tour at our nation's first Presidential Estate. George Washington built his famous home along the Potomac River in Fairfax County, and today it remains as the #1 most visited historic estate in the United States, with more than one million visitors per year. You'll trace George Washington's steps as you learn about his life, his work, his passions, and his military history. Run your hand down the original bannister in the entry way of the home, peek into the living quarters where Martha Washington's daughter gave birth to their first grandchild, stroll into Washington's library where you'll find his original desk chair that he used while President, and then explore the incredible gardens on the property by the greenhouse. While on the grounds, keep a look out for George and Martha themselves, as they sometimes are seen going about their work. Don't forget to explore the stunning Donald W. Reynolds Educational Center & Museum, where you'll find interactive exhibits, hands-on activities for children, movies, original housewares, and so much more. After an informative morning at the Estate, be sure to stop by for lunch at the Mount Vernon Inn - a restaurant that serves up dishes from Washington's lifetime, including Virginia's famous peanut soup recipe and a really delicious pot pie! On your next stop, only a few short miles from Mount Vernon Estate, you'll find Washington's other passion project - and his most successful business endeavor - at his Distillery and Gristmill. While the original structure was destroyed in a fire, this recreation is identical to its predecessor. Learn from the master distiller how Washington made his famous rye whiskey. The whiskey is still made today on property, using the exact method Washington employed years ago. If you're lucky, you can still buy bottles of the unaged rye whiskey during certain times of year - so make sure to check with the gift shop on your way out. George Washington's Distillery & Gristmill is the only site in North America that can demonstrate 18th-century distilling from seed to barrel. The distillery and museum serve as the gateway to the American Whiskey Trail.

On Day 2 of your Historical Homes of Southern Fairfax County tour, you will learn how George Washington's roots stretch from his own Mount Vernon Estate to other areas of Southern Fairfax. Built between 1800 and 1805, Woodlawn Estate served as the home of Eleanor "Nellie" Custis and Lawrence Lewis, Martha Washington's granddaughter and George Washington's nephew, respectively. At Washington's behest, the Estate was designed by the architect of the first U.S. Capitol, Dr. William Thornton and was constructed by slaves from bricks fired in a kiln on the property. Today, you can see many Washington and Lewis family heirlooms and furnishings on display. In 1951, Woodlawn Estate became the first site named to the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Next on your tour, you won't have to go far. Also on the property of Woodlawn, you'll find Frank Lloyd Wright's Usonian architecture masterpiece, the Pope-Leighey House. Originally built in Falls Church, Virginia, the home was moved to avoid demolition due to highway construction. Commissioned in 1939 by Loren Pope, its style intended to be both affordable and distinctly American. Its second owner, Marjorie Leighey, donated the home to the National Trust for Historic Preservation in 1964. For your last stop, you will visit Pohick Church. Built in 1774, and supervised by vestrymen George Washington, George Mason, and George William Fairfax, the construction was completed just before the outbreak of the Revolutionary War. Both before and after the war, Washington was a faithful attendant at the church. During the Civil War, occupying Union forces stripped the building's interior for souvenirs of "Washington's Church" and used its worship space as a stable. Soldiers scrawled their names on the inside walls, carved graffiti onto the doorposts, and pockmarked the exterior with bullet holes. The interior damage can be seen from an iconic 1862 Mathew Brady photo, while the outside markings can still be viewed today.

On Day 3 of exploring these famous homes in Virginia, you will find yourself at Gunston Hall, the home of another Founding Father - George Mason. George Mason played an equally important a role in the early history of the United States. A delegate to the Constitutional Convention, Mason chose not to sign the document because it did not include an individual bill of rights. It may have cost him his friendship with George Washington, and certainly relegated him to lesser-known status among the Founding Fathers. At Mason's home, Gunston Hall, you'll learn all about his life, his work, and his family. Tour his home, an 18th century Georgian Mansion, and learn about the building's design and architecture. Stroll the massive central Boxwood allee, or hike down from the house to the banks of the Potomac, where the Masons and their children might have frolicked. Take a garden walk, play "Plantation Sleuth," learn the art of hearth-cooking, or experience the rigors of daily life at a military encampment during special events at the Estate. (Check their event calendar before visiting to find out details.) After your visit at Gunston Hall, head out to Mason Neck State Park, Fairfax County's only Virginia State Park. Located on a peninsula formed by Pohick Bay, Belmont Bay and the Potomac River, the park is an active heron rookery, and also attracts several other migrating and non-migrating species of birds, including whistling swans and several species of duck. The park boasts several hundred acres of hardwood forests consisting of oaks, holly, hickory and other species of trees, and several wetland areas. Opportunities for boating, fishing, biking, hiking, and picnicking are all available in the park. Don't forget to also make a trip to nearby Mason Neck Wildlife Refuge, the United States' first preservation refuge for bald eagles. Your last stop is Pohick Bay Regional Park, a water-oriented park that occupies a spectacular bayside setting on the historic Mason Neck peninsula in Fairfax County. In early times, George Washington visited the area frequently. Today the park features an 18-hole golf course, camping, an outdoor swimming pool, sailboat, pedal boat, canoe and sea kayak rentals, boating and fishing, miniature and Frisbee golf, four miles of bridle paths, nature trails, and a complete water park perfect for the kiddos.

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Travel Guide To Historic Sites In Virginia

• Revolutionary War Alexandria & Northern Heritage
• Fredericksburg Estates & Battlefields
• Colonial Charlottesville
• James River Plantation & Colonial Williamsburg
• Civil War Richmond & Environs
• First Settlements & Decisive Battlegrounds
• Newport News Forts & Plantations
• Mountain History
• Shenandoah Valley Battlefield & Historic Houses

Back to Top Revolutionary War Alexandria & Northern Heritage

1. arlington national cemetery.

In 1864 Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton designated Gen. Robert E. Lee's 200-acre estate as the federal military cemetery. Now 624 acres divided into 70 sections, the grounds contain more than 300,000 gravesites, including those of President and Mrs. John F. Kennedy, guarded by the eternal flame, and President William Howard Taft. A short walk west leads to the Tomb of the Unknowns, where the changing of the guard ceremony occurs on the hour, the Spanish-American War Monument, and the USS Maine Mast Memorial. (703) 607-8000 www.arlingtoncemetery.org

2. Carlyle House Historic Park

This 1753 Palladian stone home was built by British merchant John Carlyle for his wife, Sarah Fairfax, and later became Gen. Edward Braddock's headquarters during the French and Indian War. Fifty-minute guided tours of the home include the master quarters, study, parlor, and bedroom. Visitors can tour a historic 18th-century boxwood parterre. (703) 549-2997 www.carlylehouse.org

3. Christ Church

Robert E. Lee and George Washington worshipped in this Georgian red brick Episcopalian church, which has been in continuous use since 1773. Docents guide visitors through the original structure, which contains Washington's original pew and hand-blown glass windows depicting religious scenes. (703) 549-1450 www.historicchristchurch.org

4. Gadsby's Tavern

Opened in 1749, the tavern provided the likes of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson with food, drink, and rest. Visitors today can dine in colonial rooms and choose from a variety of early American menu options, including Washington's favorite, glazed duckling. Exhibits inside the two adjacent buildings feature a pair of looking glasses and a portrait of English founder John Gadsby. (703) 838-4242 (museum), (703) 548-1288 (restaurant) www.gadsbystavernrestaurant.org

5. George Washington's Mount Vernon Estate & Gardens

Home to George Washington between 1759 and 1799, the 21-room Georgian mansion sits on a bluff overlooking the Potomac. Self-guided tours of the interior showcase original Washington family pieces, including George's dressing table and Martha's china tea service. Two new visitors facilities a quarter mile from the house contain 25 galleries and theaters, lifelike wax models, and personal items, such as family jewelry and clothing. The four-acre Pioneer Farm Site is a re-created working farm with the original 16-sided treading barn and brewery. (703) 780-2000 www.mountvernon.org

6. Woodlawn

Originally part of President Washington's Mount Vernon estate, this Federal-style mansion was built by U.S. Capitol designer William Thornton as a wedding gift for George Washington's nephew, Maj. Lawrence Lewis, and his wife, Nelly Custis. Guided tours lead through the two levels of re-created 19th-century period rooms, which feature examples of Lewis's needle-work and his American Empire sofa. (703) 780-4000 www.woodlawn1805.org

7. Gunston Hall Plantation

Author of the 1776 Virginia Declaration of Rights, which predated the Declaration of Independence, George Mason IV owned this 5,000-acre wheat and tobacco plantation and 1755 Georgian mansion from 1759 to 1792. The home contains intricate English Rococo carvings by Mason's indentured servant William Bernard Sears, a 1770 walnut bookcase, and 38-piece flatware set used by the Mason family, which visitors can see on a 30-minute guided tour. Self-guided tours of the grounds include the kitchen, dairy, and smokehouse, as well as historic gardens with original gravel walkways and a boxwood allee. (703) 550-9220 www.gunstonhall.org

8. National Museum of the Marine Corps

The 100,000-square-foot museum celebrates 234 years of U.S. Marine history in "Making Marines," "Legacy Walk," and eight other extensive galleries. Four important "Leatherneck" aircraft—a Curtiss "Jenny," two Corsair fighters from World War II, and an AV-8B Harrier "jump jet"—hang from the glass ceiling. A Korean War-era exhibit has a room chilled to mimic winter weather. Retired marines conduct three 90-minute tours daily that leave from the front entrance desk. (800) 397-7585 www.usmcmuseum.com

9. Ben Lomond Historic Site

This 1837 Federal plantation home was used as a Confederate field hospital during both Manassas battles. Visitors can tour the home, see soldier graffiti on the walls and bloodstains on the floors, and learn about some famous patients treated here, including Robert E. Lee's cousin, Lt. Col. William Fitzhugh Lee. Self-guided tours of the surrounding grounds include a dairy, smokehouse, and slave quarters. (703) 367-7872 www.pwcgov.org/historicsites

10. Manassas National Battlefield Park

On July 21, 1861, the first major land battle of the Civil War occurred here at the junction of two rail lines. Thirty-two thousand Confederate troops under Gen. P. G. T. Beauregard defeated Gen. Irvin McDowell's 35,000 poorly trained Union soldiers in a brutal 10-hour battle witnessed by hundreds of picnickers from Washington D.C. The town again was a hot point from August 28 to 30, 1862, when Gen. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia overran Gen. Pope's Army of Virginia. The Henry Hill Visitors Center features a 45-minute film and battle map program. (703) 361-1339 www.nps.gov/mana

11. Oatlands Plantation

Founded as a wheat plantation by John Carter in 1798, this 3,408-square-foot estate became the center of a flourishing agricultural enterprise, surrounded by a mill complex, and acres of vineyards and fields. The Greek Revival-style home features a library, breakfast room, and octagonal drawing room that contain the Carter family's original furniture and portraits. Visitors can also walk the terraced formal gardens of boxwood, lilies, irises, and roses. (703) 777-3174 www.oatlands.org

12. George C. Marshall International Center at Dodona Manor

In 1941 George C. Marshall and his wife, Katherine, purchased this Federal-style manse as a weekend retreat. Guided tours start with an 18-minute video on Marshall's military career, followed by a 45-minute walk through the restored home, which is furnished with Marshall's red leather chair, bed, and Chinese artwork. (703) 777-1880 www.georgecmarshall.org

Back to Top Fredericksburg Estates and Battlefields

13. historic kenmore.

Home to George Washington's sister, Betty, and her husband, Virginia merchant Fielding Lewis, their 1775 Georgian mansion has retained its lavishly appropriate period furnishings. Intricate plasterwork ceilings adorn most rooms, and the carved over-mantel in the dining room depicting Aesop's fable "The Fox and the Crow" was reportedly suggested by Washington. The Bissell Gallery at the visitors center houses some of Kenmore's original artwork. Visitors can also walk through the three-acre 18th-century gardens. (540) 373-3381 www.kenmore.org

14. George Washington Birthplace National Monument

Based on drawings and archaeological evidence, Wakefield National Memorial Association has re-created the main house in which George Washington lived until age three when fire burned it down. Tours also visit several outbuildings, including the kitchen, and the Washington family burial ground. (804) 224-1732 www.nps.gov/gewa

15. Stratford Hall Plantation

This brick Georgian home, the birthplace of Robert E. Lee, is now a 1,900-acre working farm. The cultivated fields surrounded by outbuildings include an 18th-century kitchen and recreated mill. Guided tours of the Grand House reveal American and English decorative art and elaborate furniture, such as the drop-leaf table. The visitors center features audiovisual exhibits on Lee family history. (804) 493-8038 www.stratfordhall.org

16. Scotchtown

Virginia's first governor, Patrick Henry, his wife, Sarah, and their six children lived in this colonial home between 1771 and 1778, harvesting tobacco on the 41-acre plantation. On a 30-minute tour, visitors can view an 1820 map, a Charles Peale Polk portrait of George Washington, and period restored rooms. (804) 227-3500 www.apva.org/scotchtown

17. Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park

Encompassing four major Civil War battlefields—Fredericksburg, Spotsylvania, Wilderness, and Chancellorsville—this 8,374-acre military park contains a visitors center at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville, shelters with informational material staffed by park historians, and Historic Ellwood and Chatham Manor, the latter having served as the Union headquarters and hospital. Audio guides for driving tours of all the battlefields are available for purchase in the visitors centers. (540) 373- 6122 (Fredericksburg), (Chancellorsville) www.nps.gov/frsp

Back to Top Colonial Charlottesville

18. university of virginia.

Thomas Jefferson designed the University of Virginia because "it is safer to have the whole people respectably enlightened than a few in a high state of science and the many in ignorance." He situated 10 pavilions around a common area known as "the Lawn," each containing a classroom on the first floor and the professors' living quarters upstairs. The campus, opened in 1825 to 123 students, also included a library housed inside a three-story Palladian Rotunda inspired by the Pantheon in Rome. Free guided tours of the Rotunda and Lawn are offered daily. (434) 924-7969 www.virginia.edu

19. Thomas Jefferson's Monticello

Founding father Thomas Jefferson spent half his life building and modifying Monticello, his 43-room mountaintop Palladian masterpiece, with its 6,700-volume library and elegant, columned Southwest Portico. Visitors can book a 30-minute guided tour of the house's first floor and a 45-minute walking tour of Mulberry Row, home to the more than 150 slaves who operated the 5,000-acre plantation. A new visitors center displays interactive exhibits on Jefferson's transformational ideas on liberty and a bronze model of the plantation. (434) 984- 9822 www.monticello.org

20. Michie Tavern

Built in 1784 as a country inn, the tavern building was relocated to Charlottesville in 1927. Visitors can tour a meeting room, smoke house, root cellar, and ladies' parlor. A log cabin dining room serves a Midday Fare colonial meal. Costumed interpreters give interactive tours during which visitors can play period games, such as Shut the Box, and dance an 18th-century reel. (434) 977-1234 www.michietavern.com

21. Ash Lawn-Highland

America's fifth president, James Monroe, built his family estate two and a half miles from Jefferson's Monticello in 1799. The 30-minute tour of the farmhouse leads through Monroe's bedchamber and study, containing a Louis XVI desk and other 19th-century mahogany furniture designed by Duncan Phyfe, a well-known Scottish woodwork craftsman. Visitors can also explore ornamental gardens and plantation grounds that feature a restored 18th-century slave quarters and overseer's cottage. The 535-acre site hosts craft demonstrations and summer music festivals. (434) 293-8000 www.ashlawnhighland.org

22. James Madison's Montpelier

Apart from his two presidential terms, James Madison and his wife, Dolley, lived in this 22-room manor house, which is currently under restoration. The visitors center features Madison portraits, the Madison/Monroe flintlock pistols, and a 10-minute video presentation, while the education center contains the exhibit "James Madison: Architect of the Constitution and Bill of Rights." Hour-long guided tours take visitors through the manor home, while self-guided audio tours lead visitors throughout the 2,650-acre grounds, including a visit to the two-acre Annie duPont formal gardens. (540) 672-2728 x140 www.montpelier.org

Back to Top James River Plantations & Colonial Richmond

23. tuckahoe plantation.

Although the prominent Randolph family built this plantation in the early 18th century, it is largely remembered as the boyhood home of President Thomas Jefferson. Self-guided tours of the grounds include the one-room schoolhouse in which Jefferson studied math. Sixty-minute guided tours of the home start in the parlor and provide overviews of the plantation's residents, architecture, and furnishings. (804) 379-9554 www.tuckahoeplantation.com

24. Hollywood Cemetery

High on bluffs overlooking the rapids of the James River, this 135-acre cemetery was designed in 1847 by Philadelphia architect John Notman to commemorate the spot where Capt. Christopher Newport planted a wooden cross weeks after settling Jamestown in 1607. Historical walking tours guide visitors to the graves of Virginia's favorite sons, including Presidents Tyler and Monroe and Confederate leader Jefferson Davis. (804) 648-8501 www.hollywoodcemetery.org

25. Shirley Plantation

Virginia's first plantation, founded by English settler Edward Hill in 1613, has been home to 11 generations of Hills and Carters, including Gen. Robert E. Lee, and still operates as a private working farm. Thirty-minute tours of the Georgian home focus on its unusual three-story walnut "flying staircase" and Queen Anne forecourt. Original out-buildings on the plantation grounds include a stable, smokehouse, and dovecote. (804) 829-5121 www.shirleyplantation.com

26. Berkeley Plantation

In 1726 Benjamin Harrison IV, grandfather of future President William Henry Harrison, built his 1,000-acre plantation on the site of North America's first Thanksgiving celebration. Although occupied by armies during the Revolutionary and Civil wars, the estate remained intact as the family seat and served as the birth-place of President Harrison in 1773. Visitors can watch a 10-minute video on the plantation's history in the museum, take a 45-minute guided tour of the Georgian manor whose great rooms are furnished with 18th-century antiques, and walk among the boxwood flower gardens planted on five terraces cut into the bank of the James River. (804) 829-6018 www.berkeleyplantation.com

27. Sherwood Forest Plantation

In 1842 President John Tyler purchased the 18th-century Walnut Grove and renamed it for the forest in which Robin Hood had operated. During his 20-year residence, Tyler added a colonnade that connected the main house with its 19th-century Greek Revival-style kitchen, along with a series of porches, pilasters, and cornices. Descendants of Tyler still occupy the home, but guided tours of the 300-foot-long house, currently the longest wooden frame house in the United States, are available by calling ahead. (804) 829-5377 www.sherwoodforest.org

Back to Top Civil War Richmond & Environs

28. american civil war center at historic tredegar.

Housed within the original walls of the 1861 Tredegar Gun Factory on the Richmond riverfront, this new center offers interactive exhibits on the Civil War, including a film outlining the causes of the war. Displays explore the lives of common infantrymen, antislavery advocates, and northern industrial workers. The center also contains a large collection of photographs, uniforms, and armaments. (804) 780-1865 www.tredegar.org

29. Virginia State Capitol

Designed in 1785 by Thomas Jefferson, who modeled it after the Roman temple Maison Carree in Nimes, France, this newly renovated building continues to serve as the state legislative center. Seven marble busts of Virginia-born presidents, including James Monroe and Zachary Taylor, are located in the rotunda as well as a life-size Houdon statue of George Washington. The Old Hall of the House of Delegates, where Aaron Burr was acquitted of treason by Chief Justice John Marshall, features intricately carved woodwork and a 1938 English silver mace. (804) 698-1788 www.virginiacapitol.gov

30. Valentine Richmond History Center

Located in downtown Richmond, the 1812 Wickham house now serves as a museum that features 10 displays on the city's history, including "Settlement to Streetcar Suburbs" and the Edward V. Valentine sculpture studio. (804) 649-0711 www.richmondhistorycenter.com

31. John Marshall House

The fourth chief justice's 1790 brick Federal-style home remains one of the last buildings from the colonial period that still stands within downtown Richmond. Forty-five-minute guided tours take visitors through Marshall's law office, bedchamber, and dining room, which contain the original porcelain service. The 18th-century garden features an assortment of flowers and herbs such as spring irises, summer perennials, and fall asters. (804) 648-7998 www.apva.org/marshall

32. Richmond National Battlefield Park

This 100-square-mile park encompasses 13 different sites related to four major campaigns, including the 1864 Overland and 1864—65 Richmond-Petersburg actions, where Grant and Lee clashed for the first time after three years of conflict. The visitors center at Cold Harbor Battlefield features an electric map, which narrates the 13-day battle. A self-guided two-mile walking trail at Malvern Hill winds past historical markers and Civil War-era cannons. (804) 226-1981 www.nps.gov/rich

33. Petersburg National Battlefield

Lasting from June 1864 to March 1865, Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's nine-month assault on Petersburg, the strategic Confederate supply hub 25 miles south of Richmond, was the longest siege in American warfare, exhausting Gen. Robert E. Lee's ragged troops and forcing his surrender at Appomattox. Today the 2,646-acre park contains Grant's headquarters at City Point, where Abraham Lincoln visited shortly before his assassination, and the Crater Battlefield, now a 30-foot-deep, 80-foot-wide depression left from an attempt by Union army engineers to break the Confederate defenses by detonating explosives underneath enemy lines. Visitors can tour a replicated siege encampment and Fort Steadman, the location of the last Confederate offensive in the war. The Eastern Front visitors center features exhibits on siege history and extensive displays of period uniforms, medical kits, cannon balls, and swords. (804) 732-3531 www.nps.gov/pete

34. Pamplin Historical Park

This 422-acre living history site contains eight museums and historic buildings, including the National Museum of the Civil War Soldier and the 1812 Tudor Hall Plantation. Park rangers offer a "Lay of the Land" guided tour of the plantation and an interpretive walk through the Breakthrough Battlefield, the spot at which Grant finally drove through Lee's defenses at Petersburg. Open to visitors are the Field Quarter, which separated homes of slaves from the former headquarters of Confederate Gen. James Lane at the Banks House. A 45-seat theater located at the Battlefield Center showcases a multimedia presentation on the April 2, 1865, battle. (804) 861-2408 www.pamplinpark.org

35. Appomattox Court House National Historical Park

On April 9, 1865, Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered to Gen. Ulysses S. Grant in the parlor of Wilmer McLean's house, now a national park facility and open for self-guided tours. Adjacent is the Appomattox Court House, which houses the two-floor visitors center and contains artifacts and informational panels documenting the buildup to the April 9th surrender. Two slide programs are shown at the 70-seat theater, located next to the visitors center. The park also includes 25 other period structures. (434) 352-8987 www.nps.gov/apco

Back to Top First Settlements & Decisive Battlegrounds

36. jamestown settlement.

Not far from the original Jamestowne site lies this living history park, which contains a reconstructed 1607 fort, an armory, church, and Powhatan Indian village. A 30,000-square-foot museum exhibits educational panels, films, and 17th-century muskets, swords, and Indian armaments, as well as artifacts from the African slave trade. Costumed interpreters operate throughout the settlement. Visitors can climb aboard the fully operational 17th-century reproduction vessels Discovery, Godspeed, and Susan Constant, docked onsite. (757) 253-4838 www.historyisfun.org

37. Historic Jamestowne

The remains of the 1607 fort, England's first permanent colony in the New World, sits on a 22-acre island in the James River. A new 7,500-square-foot "Archaearium" enables visitors to look through special viewers and see a virtual 17th-century landscape. Some of the more than 1 million artifacts recovered from the site, including tools and musical instruments, are also on view. On the grounds, visitors can see the ruins of the first glass furnace in North America, as well as a 1690s brick church. Costumed interpreters guide living history tours of the site in the summer. (757) 229-1773 www.historicjamestowne.org

38. College of William & Mary

Chartered by King William III and Queen Mary II of England in 1693, this state university is the second oldest of its kind in the nation, as well as the alma mater of Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe, and John Tyler. General admission tours take two hours and explore the founding of the school and its historic structures, such as the 1695 Sir Christopher Wren Building, designed by the architect of St. Paul's Cathedral in London. (757) 221-4000 www.wm.edu

39. Colonial Williamsburg

Eighty-eight 18th-century structures crowd historic Colonial Williamsburg's 301 acres, including the Governor's Palace, where Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson worked; Bassett Hall, the former home of John D. Rockefeller Jr; and the King's Arms Tavern, where Revolutionary elites dined. Great Hopes Plantation, a living history reproduction of a southern tobacco farm, features dramatic and interactive presentations on the African American slave experience. Themed walking tours and special programs include "Historic Trades," a look into 20 types of 18th-century trades, and "Revolutionary City," which explores life in Williamsburg during the American Revolution. Several advance pass options are available for purchase online. (757) 229-1000 www.history.org

40. Yorktown Victory Center

This 25,000-square-foot museum examines the successful patriot siege of British forces at Yorktown, the Revolutionary War's decisive final battle. The "Witness to Revolution" gallery presents 10 primary-source war accounts, while the "Yorktown's Sunken Fleet" exhibit features artifacts from the Betsy, sunk during the siege. Costumed interpreters fire muskets and tend to crops in an outdoor Continental army encampment and 1780s farm. (757) 253-4838 www.historyisfun.org

41. Yorktown Battlefield

On October 19, 1781, Gen. Charles Cornwallis surrendered his British army to American and French troops under Gen. George Washington after unsuccessfully trying to establish a British port at Yorktown. The Encampment and Battlefield Road tours pass through original redoubts and Washington's headquarters. The visitors center features a 16-minute film and a reconstructed section of a gun deck. (757) 898-2410 www.nps.gov/york

Back to Top Newport News Forts & Plantations

42. endview plantation.

This 1769 colonial plantation served as a training ground during the War of 1812 and later as a Confederate hospital. Valued for its onsite freshwater spring, visitors can explore a Civil War-era battlefield and cemetery and take a 30-minute guided tour through the home, which has been restored to its 1862 appearance, complete with period furniture and a reproduction of former owner Humphrey Harwood Curtis's doctor's office. (757) 887-1862 www.endview.org

43. Lee Hall Mansion

Virginian tobacco planter Richard D. Lee completed this Italianate mansion in 1859 only three years before Confederate Gen. John Magruder seized it for his headquarters during the 1862 Peninsula Campaign. Thirty-minute guided tours lead visitors through seven period rooms furnished with 19th-century decorations. (757) 888-3371 www.leehall.org

44. Fort Monroe and Casemate Museum

As a lieutenant in the Federal Company of Engineers, Robert E. Lee helped to supervise this fort's final three years of construction in 1835, although the site's earliest fortification dates back to 1609 and the settling of the Jamestown colony. The fort's imposing six-sided ramparts rise above the only moat remaining in the United States, protecting the entrance to Hampton Roads in the Civil War. Inside, visitors can explore casemates and bombproof chambers that once contained the cell where Confederate president Jefferson Davis was imprisoned for treason after the war. Ninety-minute guided tours lead through military exhibits, ramparts, and the Chapel of the Centurion, the Army's oldest wooden structure still in use for religious services. (757) 788-3391 www.monroe.army.mil

45. Fort Wool

Sitting on a five-acre manmade island in the Chesapeake Bay, formerly known as Rip-Raps, the fort controlled the entrance to the harbor of Hampton Roads and the James River during the Civil War. A passenger ferry, Miss Hampton II, transports visitors from the Booker T. Washington Bridge to the island, where interpreters discuss the crucial role played by the fort during the war. Visitors can climb through open ramparts and view the bay and Virginia coast.

www.virginia.org/site/description.asp?attrid=12149 (757) 727-1102

46. Fort Norfolk

The only harbor fort remaining of the 19 authorized by George Washington in 1794, it protected Norfolk during the War of 1812 and Civil War. The four-acre site includes the "Black Hole" dungeon, where soldiers awaited court-martial, officers' quarters bearing Confederate graffiti, a restored carpenter's shop, a navy magazine with four-foot brick walls, and a guardhouse. (757) 642-8311 www.norfolkhistorical.org

47. Hampton Roads Naval Museum and Battleship Wisconsin

Norfolk's maritime science museum features exhibits spanning more than two centuries of naval history in the strategic Hampton Roads region. Moored on the grounds of the museum, the 887-foot, 20th-century battleship Wisconsin's "Wisky Walk" has displays that explore its three tours of duty from 1943 to 1991 and such artifacts as a 16-inch shell. (757) 322-2987 www.hrnm.navy.mil

48. Naval Shipyard Museum and Lightship Portsmouth

Founded in 1767, America's oldest and largest shipyard peaked with more than 43,000 workers during World War II. The museum features exhibits of 19th-century model ships, military artifacts, and displays highlighting the history of Portsmouth. Visitors can board and explore the 1915 lightship Portsmouth, which served as a navigational guide along Hampton Roads for 48 years. (757) 393-8591 www.portsnavalmuseums.com

49. Mariners' Museum

Sitting on a 550-acre park, this 60,000-square-foot museum celebrates sea-faring history with extensive galleries, displays, and exhibits featuring more than 35,000 international maritime artifacts, including navigational instruments and maps. Visitors can also see a full-scale replica of the Civil War ironclad at the USS Monitor Center. The “Defending Seas” gallery contains five re-created sections of U.S. Navy military ships, including the helm of an Axis submarine. The Crabtree Collection of 2,000 miniature ships illustrates the evolution of boat-building. (757) 596-2222 www.mariner.org

Back to Top Western Heritage

50. red hill patrick henry national memorial.

Patrick Henry, the Revolutionary War patriot who became governor of Virginia, lived here from 1794 to 1799. The simple home, reconstructed on the original site using paintings and plans, is furnished with authentic 18th-century pieces and features a portion of Henry's original law office. Visitors can also see a carriage house, smoke-house, slave cabin, and the kitchen and cook's quarters, in addition to a museum that has exhibits on the man who proclaimed, "Give me liberty or give me death!" (800) 514-7463 www.redhill.org

51. Thomas Jefferson's Poplar Forest

In 1806 Thomas Jefferson laid the foundation for this unusual octagonal Palladian house, which he designed as a personal idealistic architectural delight and a refuge from bustling Monticello. In 40-minute guided tours, visitors can travel through the dining room and bedrooms, later exploring the kitchen and lower wing on a self-guided tour. (434) 525-1806 www.poplarforest.org

52. Booker T. Washington National Monument

Author and statesman Booker T. Washington spent the first nine years of his life as a slave on James Burroughs's 207-acre tobacco farm. Visitors can see the reconstructed plantation buildings, including a slave cabin, smokehouse, and kitchen, on 30-minute guided and self-guided tours. (540) 721-2094 www.nps.gov/bowa

53. Southwest Virginia Museum Historical State Park

This four-story, sandstone and limestone mansion in Big Stone Gap was built in 1888 for Virginia Attorney General Rufus Ayers, who hoped to exploit the area's rich iron ore and coal deposits. The museum features exhibits on the pioneer stories of westward migration and life during the early boom and bust era of the late 1880s. (276) 523- 1322 www.swvamuseum.org

54. Wolf Creek Indian Village and Museum

Eastern Woodland Indians lived in the Wolf Creek Valley during the early 13th century. Visitors can tour the excavated original site as well as a 24-acre re-created village, featuring wigwams, a lodge, and a museum. Costumed guides demonstrate how these Indians lived and worked. (276) 688-3438 www.indianvillage.org

55. Historic Smithfield Plantation

Built by Revolutionary War veteran William Preston in 1773, this colonial plantation home served as a nexus of the area's social and political scene for nearly 200 years. On 60-minute guided tours, visitors can see the winter kitchen, children's bedroom, school-room, and parlor. (540) 231-3947 www.smithfieldplantation.org

56. Wilderness Road Crossroads to Settlement

Consisting of the Great Wagon Road, Fincastle Turnpike, and Carolina Road, this 62-mile section of historic Wilderness Road winds over the migration routes used by European settlers as they moved south during the late 18th century. Stops along the way include the Vinton History Museum, featuring World War II memorabilia; Gish's Mill, built in 1838 by early area settler David Gish; the Blue Ridge Institute, featuring exhibits on folk heritage; and the Roaring Run Furnace, which was used to make iron ingots and stoves. (800) 635-5535 www.crossroadstosettlement.com

57. Natural Bridge

In 1750 George Washington first surveyed this 20-story limestone natural feature, which would become one of the oldest tourist destinations in America. Thomas Jefferson acquired the site in 1774. Visitors can tour through the Monacan Indian Living History Village, wax museum, toy museum, and the Natural Bridge caverns, then take a quarter-mile walk to the bridge. (800) 533-1410 www.naturalbridgeva.com

Back to Top Shenandoah Valley Battlefields & Historic Houses

58. museum of the shenandoah valley.

This 50,000-square-foot museum features 11 exhibit spaces on the art and history of the Shenandoah Valley, including the R. Lee Taylor miniatures gallery and the Julian Wood Glass Jr. collection, which has several of Gilbert Stuart's oil portraits. Visitors can also tour the 1794 Glen Burnie House and the Chinese, parterre, and herb gardens on the six-acre grounds. (540) 662-1473 www.shenandoahmuseum.org

59. Cedar Creek & Belle Grove National Historical Park

Gen. Philip Sheridan's heroic counterattack at Middletown on the grounds of the Belle Grove plantation on October 19, 1864, secured a great Union victory—and built political capital for President Lincoln that helped him win reelection. Visitors can go on 45-minute tours of the 1797 manor, grounds, and garden. (540) 868-9176 www.nps.gov/cebe

60. New Market Battlefield State Historical Park

In May 1864, 257 Virginia Military Institute cadets ranging between ages 15 and 21 repelled Gen. Franz Sigel's veteran line of Union troops at New Market. Visitors can explore the Hall of Valor Museum on the institute's grounds, see Civil War uniforms, weapons, and photographs, and watch the 45-minute Emmy Award-winning film, Field of Lost Shoes. (866) 515-1864 www2.vmi.edu/museum/nm/index.html

61. Frontier Culture Museum

Six working farms dating from the late 1600s are spread across this 296-acre, living history museum. Structures include a fully functional Irish forge brought over from the Old World and two relocated 19th-century Virginia farms. Visitors can observe or assist costumed interpreters as they cook, garden, and work in the fields. (540) 332-7850 www.frontiermuseum.org

62. Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library and Museum

This three-story refurbished chateau-style mansion houses a research library and seven exhibit galleries that document Wilson's life before and during his two terms as president. The adjacent 1846 Greek Revival manse, the birthplace of the 28th president, features his original wooden crib and is open for self-guided tours. (540) 885-0897 www.woodrowwilson.org

63. George C. Marshall Museum at Virginia Military Institute

Located at the southern end of the Virginia Military Institute's parade ground, this castellated Gothic Revival museum opened in 1964 to honor its most famous alumnus with a "Soldier of Peace" gallery, documenting his evolution from a young lieutenant to five-star general during and after World War II. Exhibits also include uniforms, a 1942 jeep, a 27-minute narrated map on World War II, and the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Marshall for his postwar work rehabilitating Europe. (540) 463-7103 www.marshallfoundation.org

64. Stonewall Jackson House

While tenured as a professor of artillery tactics and physics at Virginia Military Institute from 1859 until 1861, Thomas Jonathan Jackson and his wife, Mary Anna Morrison, lived in this two-story brick colonial home. A visit opens in the front hall with a video on Jackson's day-to-day life in Lexington and follows with a 40-minute guided tour through the kitchen, parlor, study, bedroom, and dining room. (540) 463-2552 www.stonewalljackson.org

65. Chesapeake & Ohio Historical Society Museum

This museum houses one of the largest collections of railroad cars, engines, and associated artifacts in the country. Visitors can see Hocking Valley Railway engineer drawings, valuation maps, and rolling stock collection pieces including an F-7 diesel locomotive. (540) 862-2210 www.cohs.org

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The Rich History: Virginia Presidential Historic Homes

• Post published: July 29, 2022
• Post category: Central Virginia

Photo by: Hellodavey1902 / Cropped by: Richerman / CC BY-SA 3.0 / Source: Wikipedia – Mount Vernon

The history of Virginia is rich, and the state has several monuments dating back hundreds of years. Many historic homes in Virginia have withstood the test of time, and a reasonable number of them are still standing erect to date , including several presidential homes. 

Some of these homes are open to the public, allowing visitors to see where our nation’s leaders once lived. Each of these homes has its unique story and provides a glimpse into America’s past!

A Glance at Virginia Presidential Historic Homes

Virginia, also known as the Mother of Presidents, is indeed a unique place. This is not just because of her rich historical antecedents but precisely because of the uniqueness of her people.

Virginia has produced eight presidents in America, making it the only state with the highest number of presidents in American history. From Monticello to Montpelier, Virginia Presidential Historic Homes offer visitors a unique opportunity to experience the homes and lives of America’s presidents.

These homes are more than just buildings; they are living history museums that provide insight into the people who have occupied the nation’s highest office. Located in some of Virginia’s most scenic regions, these homes offer visitors a chance to explore the beautiful Virginia countryside while learning about the country’s rich Presidential history.

Whether you’re interested in presidential history or simply looking for a unique and beautiful place to visit, Virginia Presidential Historic Homes are sure to leave a lasting impression.

Goerge Washington (1732-1799)

Photo by: Otherspice / CC BY-SA 4.0 / Source: Wikipedia – Mount Vernon

The first U.S. President, George Washington , was born in Westmoreland County, Virginia. He lived most of his life in Virginia, including at his Mount Vernon estate overlooking the Potomac River. He was president of the United States of America between the years 1789 to 1797.

Washington initially leased Mount Vernon from Anne, his half-brother Lawrence’s wife. But inherited it when she died in 1761. Though he spent more time in his Alexandria home, his Mount Vernon home was more famous and is open to guided tourists year-round.

Mount Vernon is open 365 days between 9:00 am – 5:00 pm, with guided and unguided tours available daily.

Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826)

Photo by: Martin Falbisoner / CC BY-SA 3.0 / Source: Wikipedia – Monticello

The third U.S. President, Thomas Jefferson , was born in Albemarle County, Virginia. He is best known for his role in drafting the Declaration of Independence and as the primary author of the Jefferson Bible. He ruled between the years 1801 to 1809. He also founded the University of Virginia.

Jefferson’s Monticello estate is a masterpiece that reflects his personality and taste for art. The house has been redesigned many times and is now open to the public for a guided tour. The building features original furnishings, artwork, and personal items belonging to Jefferson and his family.

There are plenty of items to shop at Monticello if you visit. It is located on Route 53, Thomas Jefferson Parkway. Albemarle County.

James Madison (1751-1836)

Photo by: Pthomaskmadigan / CC BY-SA 4.0 / Source: Wikipedia – Montpelier (Orange, Virginia)

The fourth U.S. President, James Madison , was born in Orange County, Virginia. He is best known as the “Father of the Constitution” for his leading role in drafting the U.S. Constitution.

Madison lived most of his life at his Montpelier estate. Though the building had initially lost its original shape and structure due to age, it has since been revisited and restructured to look even better than its original form when it was first built. It now hosts a museum shop, garden, and trails.

Tourists are guided to explore the gardens and grounds of Montpelier 5 days a week. It opens from Thursdays to Mondays year-round.

James Monroe (1758-1831)

Photo by: RebelAt / Public domain / Source: Wikipedia – Highland (James Monroe house)

The fifth U.S. President, James Monroe , was born in Westmoreland County, Virginia. He is best known for his “Monroe Doctrine” foreign policy. He was president between the years 1817 to 1825.

Monroe lived most of his life at his Ash Lawn-Highland estate, now a museum offering various engaging programs such as slavery at highlands, working blacksmith, plantation-style agriculture, and art exhibitions.

You can explore the Highland with private guides daily between 9:30 and 4:30 am.

William Henry Harrison (1773-1841)

Photo by: Jet Lowe / Public Domain / Source: Wikipedia – Berkeley Plantation

The ninth U.S. President, William Henry Harrison, was born in Charles City County, Virginia. He is best known for being the first president to die in office after serving only 31 days.

Harrison grew up in Berkeley Plantation, which belonged to his parents, Benjamin and Elizabeth Harrison. The home is now open to the public for tours led by knowledgeable guides. The estate includes Harrison’s original furniture, paintings, exhibition, and museum.

Berkeley Plantation is open to the public from Tuesday to Saturday, 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. Guided tours are available on the hour.

John Tyler (1790-1862)

Photo by: Pi3.124 / CC BY-SA 4.0 / Source: Wikipedia – Sherwood Forest Plantation

The tenth U.S. President, John Tyler, was born in Charles City County, Virginia. He is best known for being the first vice president to take office after the death of a sitting president. He served as president between 1841 and 1845.

Tyler’s Sherwood Forest Plantation is a historic site that includes the main house, outbuildings, grounds, and cemetery. The plantation was passed down through Tyler’s family for generations and is now open to the public for tours led by knowledgeable guides.

Sherwood Forest Plantation is open daily from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, with guided tours on the ground to show you around.

Zachary Taylor (1784-1850)

The 12th U.S. President, Zachary Taylor, was born in Orange County, Virginia. He is best known for being a Mexican-American War hero and the only president who had slaves while in office. He served as president between 1849 and 1850.

Taylor’s boyhood home, Montebello, is now a state historic site that includes the main house, outbuildings, grounds, and cemetery. Visitors can take self-guided or guided tours of the property led by knowledgeable guides.

There are speculations that Zachary Taylor was born in Hare Forest Farm, orange county, Virginia, which belongs to her maternal grandfather.

Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924)

Photo by: David Brossard / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Source: Wikimedia Commons

The 28th U.S. President, Woodrow Wilson, was born in Staunton, Virginia. He is best known for leading the United States during World War I and creating the League of Nations. He served as president between 1913 and 1921.

Woodrow Wilson’s boyhood home, now called the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library and Museum , is a state historic site that includes the main house, Pierce-arrow limousine, and a Museum. 

The Woodrow Wilson Birthplace is open daily from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm on Monday – Saturday and 12:00 noon to 5:00 pm on Sunday. The facility is closed on holidays.

Final Thought

In addition to providing a fascinating glimpse into the past, these Virginia Presidential homes offer a unique opportunity to reflect on the present.

After all, as we walk through the same halls that served as the backdrop for momentous historical events, we are reminded of the importance of preserving our heritage. 

These homes are a tangible reminder of the vital role that Virginia has played in shaping our nation’s history – and they will continue to engage and educate visitors for generations to come.

These homes and many others are available for tourists and buyers. You can get in touch with me for further information.

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Belle Grove is located in the northern Shenandoah Valley near Middletown, Virginia. It was the home Major Isaac Hite and his wife Nelly Madison Hite, sister of President James Madison. Major Hite, grandson of Shenandoah Valley Pioneer Jost Hite, used enslaved labor to expand his original 483 acres to a prosperous 7500 acre plantation, growing wheat, raising livestock, and operating a large distillery and several mills. The Manor House, completed in 1797, was the centerpiece of the property and is open for touring today. MORE

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Chesapeake Bay Magazine

The Best of the Bay

An Insider’s Tour of Historic Homes and Gardens in Virginia’s Eastern Shore 

The kitchen garden at Andua. Photo by Diane Ginsberg.

Have you ever caught a glimpse of a historic home down a tree-lined shell driveway or across an expanse of calm water and wished you could be invited to look around? On Saturday, April 22, you have the opportunity to take a leisurely look behind the well-maintained hedges of five magnificent homes and their gardens on the Eastern Shore of Virginia as part of the 90 th annual Historic Garden Week across the entire state.

“It’s a wonderful day that lets visitors explore the Eastern Shore of Virginia and see gardens, houses, and interiors of creekside, waterfront homes they would not normally be able to access,” says Megan Ames, publicity chairperson for The Garden Club of the Eastern Shore.

The Eastern Shore of Virginia—the two counties that comprise the farthest southern reaches of the Delmarva Peninsula—conceals a treasure trove of lovingly maintained historic houses. The five homes on the tour, several dating to the 1700s, lie like a string of pearls between the Chesapeake and the Atlantic and can be visited in any order between 9:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. the day of the tour. The tour is an ideal way to explore the backroads of this historic, unspoiled, and often overlooked part of the Chesapeake Bay landscape.

Plus, the monumental and absolutely gorgeous flower arrangements created and placed by the Garden Club in many of the rooms of the participating homes are worth the trip by themselves. Docents are on hand to explain the history and distinctive architectural features and furnishings of each home.

A centerpiece of the tour is Eyre Hall , which overlooks Cherrystone Creek near the town of Cheriton. Construction began in 1758 and now the home is listed as a National Historic Landmark. Eyre Hall has been home to eight generations of the same family. Original furniture and ceramics from the colonial era and period woodwork are complemented by some of the oldest continuously maintained gardens in the United States featuring enormous crepe myrtles and ancient boxwoods. 

Andua on Hacks Neck is believed to be named after a Native American queen who lived on the property. It was constructed in phases between 1730 and 1820 in the traditional Eastern Shore home style, sometimes called “big house-little house-colonnade-kitchen.” Restoration in 2000 revealed the use of wooden pegs rather than iron nails in the original construction. Andua’s formal gardens are bordered by oyster shell paths and river birch trees and have views of Nandua Creek.

Two homes on the tour are in the charming bayside town of Onancock. The Minton House, the only modern home on the tour, lies near the wharf and includes a hand-painted botanical mural in the front hall and both formal and unstructured gardens with a view of Onancock Creek. Ker Place , an outstanding Federal-period mansion, was built between 1799 and 1803. It has been lovingly restored to its 1806 appearance and features tablescapes of antique porcelain, tableware, and elaborate flower arrangements.

Wharton Place in Hallwood was built in the early 1800s by reputed privateer John Wharton and is on the National Register of Historic Places. The two-story brick house features fanlights above the front and back doors and faces the Atlantic with bonus views of Assawoman Creek. The garden features formal brick paths and casual shell traces, terraced hillsides, and the lovely fragrance of mock orange, quince and lilac. 

“These gardens look different every week of the year and they always seem to look the most spectacular over Historic Garden Week,” says Megan Ames.

Details and tickets ($40 per person) at VAGardenWeek.org , click “Tickets” and select Eastern Shore. Learn more on Instagram @historicgardenweekeasternshore or on Facebook Historic Garden Week on the Eastern Shore .

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Explore the Historic Homes and Museums of Virginia Beach

As the landing site for our country’s first settlers, and only about an hour away from the Historic Triangle of Yorktown, Jamestown and Williamsburg, the foundations of our country began right here. Virginia Beach History Museums represents the diversity of Virginia’s heritage in its historic homes and museums spread throughout our coastal city. Visit one or all of them, and discover the hidden histories of our region, and their place in the rich history of the United States.

Atlantic Wildfowl Heritage Museum

The virginia beach surf and rescue museum, thoroughgood house, lynnhaven house, francis land house, ferry plantation house, princess anne county training school/ union kempsville high school museum, upper wolfsnare house.

Housed in the historic DeWitt Cottage, which was built in 1895, the Atlantic Wildfowl Heritage Museum exhibits artifacts from our wild-fowling history and contemporary wildfowl artwork, such as decoys and decorative carvings. Just steps off of the Virginia Beach Boardwalk, the museum also features volunteer carvers each day, so you can see how these works of art are created.

Another historic oceanfront building, The Virginia Beach Surf and Rescue Museum, operates out of a former U.S Life Saving Station, built in 1903 on the Virginia Beach Boardwalk. Today, the museum preserves our coastal city’s maritime history through exhibits on local surfing legends, superstorms that have hit Virginia Beach, shipwrecks, local lifeguards and more.

@zephobias_virginia, Instagram

Learn about one of Virginia’s first colonists and see a dramatic turned staircase at the oldest home, Thoroughgood House, circa 1719. The house, which reopened in May 2018, has a new education center that brings the early 1700s colonial time period to life with hands-on activities and school programs that include a mock archaeological excavation.

Often considered to be among the most well-preserved examples of early Virginia vernacular architecture, The Lynnhaven House, circa 1725, is a glimpse into what life was like leading up to the American Revolution. Lynnhaven tours highlight the roles of the original builder, Francis Thelaball, his family, and several enslaved people that worked on the smaller plantation. 

Visitors will learn about the Tidewater region of the early 18th Century and explore the unique architectural and design elements of the house, including its brick archways, a closed-spindle staircase, and ship’s lap floor construction. 

The Lynnhaven House is currently closed for restoration. House grounds, and the Lynnhaven Colonial Education Center, are open for select events and programs. Email  [email protected]  to learn more.

Located in the heart of Hilltop area, the Francis Land House takes you directly from modern-day straight back to the past. Built in 1805, it was once surrounded by hundreds of acres of land, this historic home once served as the residence to Francis Land VI, a wealthy plantation owner. 

Tours offer a good overview of plantation living, complete with 1800s fashion, Federal style furnishings, Georgian architecture, and a look at how the new nation’s formation affected private lives. 

Deriving its name in 1642 from the Ferry Boat Service that ran the Lynnhaven waterway, The Ferry Plantation was the site of the Second and Third Princess Anne court houses, as well as The Walke Family Manor house, which burned down in 1828. Two years later, the Walke/MacIntosh family used the good bricks from the house to rebuild, building the house which still stands today.

The tour includes stories of life in what is now Virginia Beach, from the 1600’s to mid-1800’s. In addition to the tour of the beautiful 10-room, central passage Federal farmhouse, visitors will also be regaled with stories of the famous Witch of Pungo, whose 1706 trial by water took place in the nearby Lynnhaven River. 

The Princess Anne County Training School was the first high school for African Americans in Princess Anne County, now called Virginia Beach. The school opened in 1930 as the result of the African American community joining forces to raise money to build a school that could offer their children the proper education they deserved.

In 1962, the school changed its now to Union Kempsville High School and, in 1969, the school graduated its last class due to city-wide school integration. The museum carries on this legacy by sharing the stories of family, community, sacrifice, and the importance of education for all children. The museum operates under the same schedule as the City schools.

The history of the Upper Wolfsnare house began in 1612, when Thomas Walke received a land grant for the property. 140 years later, Thomas Walke III built his home on the property in 1759. His son, Thomas Walke IV, a colonel in the Colonial Militia, later inherited the land and the house. The original Georgian style of the house reflects the gentry class life style of the builder.

Today, Upper Wolfsnare House is  in the custodianship of the Princess Anne County Virginia Beach Historical Society. Tours can be arranged in the months of July and August, by appointment only.

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LYH – Lynchburg Tourism

Historic Homes of Lynchburg

September 12, 2022, historic homes tour.

Our view of the Blue Ridge Mountains and historic James River made Lynchburg a unique place for industrialists and adventurers to call home. These people created a city that, at times throughout its history, ranked as one of the wealthiest communities per capita in the nation. This affluence fueled the construction of extraordinary buildings in a diverse array of architectural styles. And none are more grand and eclectic than the homes built by our more influential residents. 

Garland Hill Historic District

Visit the Point of Honor Historic Mansion and experience life during the early 1800s as you explore the house and grounds of the original owner and builder, Dr. George Cabell, whose patients included American patriot Patrick Henry. A tour of this historic Federal style home, with its classic architecture and period furnishings, gives insight into the lives of all who lived and worked in this remarkable home. After visiting Point of Honor, the Historic District Driving Tour step-on guide will take you through Lynchburg’s seven nationally designated Historic Districts. These prosperous neighborhoods sprang up during the mid to late 19th century when tobacco tycoons, shoe production, doctors, and attorneys made Lynchburg one of the wealthiest cities in the nation for its size.

Point of Honor

Enjoy lunch at a place of your choosing and don’t be afraid to try one of our local restaurants for some great flavors.

After Lunch find yourself at Historic Sandusky ! Built-in 1808, Historic Sandusky is one of the Lynchburg area’s first homes to display the architectural details and refinements characteristic of Federal-style mansions. Taken over and used as a Union headquarters during the Battle of Lynchburg, the home is now the site of the Historic Sandusky Museum and Civil War Center. Continuing on with the tour, the next stop is Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest . Poplar Forest is Thomas Jefferson’s secluded retreat, now a National Historic Landmark. A mature and innovative architectural masterpiece, Jefferson designed the octagonal house during his second term as President of the United States. Jefferson sojourned to Poplar Forest between the ages of 66-80 to rekindle his creativity, spend time with his grandchildren and escape the crowds at Monticello.

The Anne Spencer House & Garden Museum was home to an internationally acclaimed poet who was part of the Harlem Renaissance, Anne Spencer was the only black woman and the only Virginian included in the Norton Anthology of Modern American and British Poetry. Take a tour of the house and garden that many Civil Rights luminaries visited during her lifetime. The Avoca Museum , built in 1901, is an American Queen Anne-style house and was the home of Revolutionary War hero Colonel Charles Lynch. Designated a Virginia Historic Landmark and listed in the National Register of Historic Places, Avoca also features an 1880s log cabin and is home to an impressive Civil War exhibit. The last stop on our tour is Patrick Henry’s Red Hill . Red Hill is the final home and burial place of American patriot Patrick Henry. He is best known for his five terms as governor of Virginia and his “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death” speech to the Virginia Convention in 1775.

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These Historic Holiday Home Tours Let Your Explore NoVA’s Past Christmases 

Take a tour to learn about the region’s history and holiday traditions.

By Michele Kettner December 1, 2023

While NoVA is full of holiday lights, markets, and other festivities, some of the most beloved holiday events are the annual historic home tours. Homes dating back from the early 1700s through the mid-20th century deck the halls and open their doors, sharing stories and traditions of the region. Here are six holiday home tours across Northern Virginia to enjoy this season.  

Mount Vernon by Candlelight  

December 1–2, 8–9, and 17, times vary  

If you haven’t toured the estate by candlelight, you can’t miss out on this opportunity. The 45-minute tour will showcase 18th-century holiday traditions as you listen to stories of past Christmases at Mount Vernon. After the tour, munch on complimentary ginger cookies and spiced cider and visit Aladdin, the Christmas camel. George Washington’s Mount Vernon: 3200 Mount Vernon Memorial Hwy., Mount Vernon, $20–$28 for members, $30–$38 for non-members  

Holiday Tours at Pope-Leighey House  

December 1–2, 8–9, and 15–16, 6–8 p.m.  

Take a step back in time for a special mid-century holiday celebration. The Frank Lloyd Wright– designed home will be decked to the nines as it opens its to guests this holiday season. Advanced registration is recommended. Woodlawn & Pope-Leighey House: 9000 Richmond Hwy., Alexandria, $15  

Hillsboro Homes Walking Tour  

December 9, 10 a.m.–7 p.m.  

Spend the day touring five historic homes in Hillsboro. Along Main Street, you’ll find holiday decorations, carolers, and homemade goodies. Guests can choose between the self-guided, guided, or candlelight tour. Hillsboro Old Stone School: 37098 Charles Town Pk., HIllsboro, $15 for self-guided tour, $18 for guided tour, $22 for candlelight- guided tour  

Historic Holiday Open House at the Weems-Botts Museum  

December 9, 1–5 p.m.  

The annual tour welcomes the entire community to the historic home following the Dumfries Holiday Parade. The holiday tours will feature live music from Broad Run Strings, cookie decorating, and tasty treats. 3944 Cameron St., Dumfries, free  

Colonial Holiday Evening at Carlyle House  

December 9, 4–7 p.m.  

Celebrate the season 18th century-style. Learn about how the holidays used to be celebrated hundreds of years ago as you tour the first floor of the historic home. Registration not required. Carlyle House: 121 N. Fairfax St., Alexandria, $12 for adults, $4 for children ages 6–12  

Candlelight Holiday Tour at Sully Historic Site  

December 9 and 16, 4:45–7:45 p.m.  

Tour the home of Northern Virginia’s first member of Congress, Richard Bland Lee. Candlelight will illuminate the home while you listen to tales of the families and enslaved people who lived and worked throughout the house. Holiday crafts and hot beverages and cookies will be available. 3650 Historic Sully Way, Chantilly, $12  

Feature image courtesy of George Washington’s Mount Vernon

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Subscriber only, home and garden | historic garden week starts saturday. here’s a guide for eastern virginia., some homes were built in the 1600s; others, this decade. see them from suffolk up through the plantations and across to the eastern shore..

Virginia’s Historic Garden Week — the only statewide house and garden tour in the country — runs April 20-27. It will have more than 30 tours across Virginia, with almost a third of those in or near Hampton Roads.

The featured properties change each year, making the tour a unique opportunity for garden lovers, history buffs and the curious who want a peek inside historic sites, private homes and gardens. Ticket proceeds go to restoring and preserving historic public gardens and landscapes; 129 projects at more than 50 public spaces have been completed.  

Dates and ticket prices for each tour vary. We’ve included prices for advance tickets; tickets bought the day of the event will be $10 more. The full schedule can be found and tickets purchased at vagardenweek.org .

Here, taken from the guidebook, is a list of stops in the Hampton Roads area. The guidebook, available at vagardenweek.org/guidebook , has suggested itineraries and other historic sites to visit.

Gloucester-Mathews 

Saturday. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets, $50. This is a shuttle-only tour except for the Fine Arts Museum of Gloucester, 6894 Main St. Tour headquarters for River Promise and Paget is the T.C. Walker Education Center, 6099 T.C. Walker Road, Gloucester. Shuttles to the Mazzocco Home run from Ware River Yacht Club, 5992 Ware Point Road, Gloucester.

Sunday. 10 a.m.- 4 p.m. A separate ticket, $30, allows access to Gardens at Goshen, 7628 Goshen Lane, Gloucester. 

The Mazzocco Home. The home is a modern take on a traditional house with spare, clean lines that create an open and airy feeling. A large porch offers sweeping views of the Ware River. The property covers about 11 acres and includes gardens. 

River Promise. Overlooking the Ware, River Promise was built in a classic Victorian style in 1987. The current owner and her husband purchased the property in 2005 years after a hurricane destroyed the property’s only tree. The couple are members of the American Conifer Society and began planting more than 100 trees on the property, including conifers, elms, crape myrtles, Japanese maples and bald cypress.  

Paget. This Federal-style house was built in 1928 with the main level designed as one large room surrounding a central chimney; in the 1930s it became a fitting site for a summer camp for boys. The gardens include oaks, magnolias, pines, fruit trees, heirloom and cultivar azaleas, rhododendrons and boxwoods.

Fine Arts Museum of Gloucester. Opened in June after the Cook Foundation acquired more than 300 works and artifacts by Kacey Carneal (1935-2022), a folk artist who painted at her Gloucester home every day for nearly 50 years. 

The Gardens at Goshen. Goshen (circa 1750) was originally the home of the Tomkies family. “Goshen” means a “place of plenty.” The current owner and her husband purchased the property in 1987 and started restoring the house and gardens. Reduced in size since Colonial times, the property covers about 400 acres, with the lawns and gardens taking about 40 acres.

Saturday. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets, $35. Pick up the tour wristband at event headquarters, Suffolk Elks Lodge, 329 W. Constance Road.

The Gay House. 515 W. Riverview Drive. This Colonial Revival was built in 1938 and is curated with Southern, French and English antiques. The main floor has its original random-width plank flooring with the pegs intact, 10½-foot ceilings, transom windows and heavy molding. Carved woodwork enhances the archways in the living room, dining room and entrance hall. 

501 N. Broad St. (garden only). The back garden of the Gallotta property includes a slate courtyard surrounded by hydrangeas with a trellis of jasmine. Propagation beds were added with English boxwood, holly, beautyberry, oak saplings and more.

724 W. Riverview. The two-story white brick home has been described as a modified Colonial and English country house. The proportioned and spacious rooms have deep-set windows, arched double doorways and wide crown dentil molding. An herb garden in the front has climbing roses; the backyard has pergolas, trellises and a raised kitchen garden surrounding a pool with climbing roses and smilax.

805 W. Riverview Drive. This Georgian-style home, built in 1923, features bilateral symmetry inside and out. The interior has an open foyer with large pocket doors, and original French doors to the side porch and the side sunroom. It has a guest house with attached garden sheds. The home hosts a 120-year-old magnolia tree and three beech trees that are over 100 years old.

726 Jones St. This Georgian-style home was built in 1950 by a camellia enthusiast. The current owners bought the house 12 years ago and have worked to restore the garden and its hundreds of camellias. Updates include a new parterre, antique brick walkways and two extensive flower borders with lamb’s ear, gaura, hydrangeas, lady’s mantle, anemones, fatsia, ferns and more.

813 Dumville Ave. This Colonial Revival home was built in 1946, and the original garden has been maintained in the front. In August 2020, a tornado destroyed the rear garden; the site has been renovated and includes boxwoods, roses, herbs, perennials and annuals, and ornamental, deciduous and evergreen trees.

Historic Berkeley, Shirley and Westover

Sunday and Monday, 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tickets, $60. A self-driving and walking tour. Along the James River, off Route 5 in Charles City County.

Historic Berkeley. 12602 Harrison Landing Road . The Georgian mansion, built in 1726, sits on a hilltop overlooking the James River. The estate is the birthplace of Benjamin Harrison, signer of the Declaration of Independence and governor of Virginia, and William Henry Harrison, the ninth U.S. president; and is the ancestral home of William Henry’s grandson, Benjamin Harrison, the 23rd president. Berkeley’s gardens and lawn extend a quarter mile from the front door to the riverbank.

Historic Shirley.  501 Shirley Plantation Road. The home represents the early American history of the Indigenous, colonizers, indentured and enslaved. Established six years after John Smith’s settlement at Jamestown in 1607, it is the oldest family-owned business in North America, dating to 1638. Grounds contain eight original outbuildings with exhibits. Notable landscape features include an oak tree alley entrance, pastoral views, boxwood gardens, vegetable and herb beds, native sun garden, grape arbor and stately trees.

Historic Westover.  7000 Westover Road . A premier example of Georgian architecture, Westover has an elegant yet simple form, best viewed from the edge of the front lawn. Grounds include a large formal garden arranged around William Byrd II’s marble tomb, outbuildings such as a five-hole privy, escape tunnel and icehouse, and three English wrought-iron gates. Westover has been featured in Historic Garden Week almost continuously since 1929.

Williamsburg

Tuesday. 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tickets, $40. A shuttle tour of three homes with gardens in the Walnut Hills neighborhood and a guided tour of two Colonial Williamsburg homes and the historic area’s gardens. Tour headquarters is the Colonial Williamsburg Visitor Center, 101 Visitors Center Drive.  

The Darling House. The Georgian-style home on four acres boasts mature native trees, including a walk-under juniper that was the Darling siblings’ imaginary play garden. The house was built in 1937 by Max Reig, Colonial Williamsburg’s pewtersmith and silversmith, with antique bricks repurposed from a Newport News brewery.

The Stephens House. This contemporary home is on a corner lot with a matching pair of Japanese maples. It includes the family’s love of modern and antique wooden pieces, including a dining room table built from the flooring of the University of North Carolina gym and dining room chairs that are Asian, Scandinavian and Mission-inspired.

The Towler House. This Colonial Revival home has large windows and sits on an expansive lawn shaded by towering white oak and Japanese maple trees. Brick pathways provide boundaries for woodland shrubs and shade-loving plants in the front and back gardens.

Travis House. 345 W. Francis St. Built about 1765, the house has a long gambrel roof and single brick end. The west portion of the house was built first, with two additions built before the 19th century. When the building transferred to the Williamsburg Holding Corp. in 1928, it was a residence for the superintendent of Eastern State Hospital. The building was moved to Duke of Gloucester Street in 1929 and operated as a tavern. It was returned to its original location in 1968. 

The Red Lion. 201 E. Duke of Gloucester St. The Red Lion was reconstructed in 1938 on the foundation of the original 1720-25 structure. The supporting structures, built in the same period, did not include a kitchen building. This was rare in Williamsburg but not unheard of. The house was used for various purposes in the 18th century, including a tavern. It housed an antiques store after its reconstruction.

Poquoson, Hampton, Newport News

Wednesday. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets, $45. This is a partial shuttle tour; the Burcher Home can be accessed only with the shuttle from tour headquarters, Poquoson Museum, 968 Poquoson Ave. 

28 Wagner Road (garden only). Mature willow oaks, river birch and sweet bay magnolias line the driveway to this 3½-acre home on a creek off the Poquoson River. It includes a garden house, fish cleaning area, and boat dock with pathways lined with asparagus fern, sea grasses, iris, coleus and numerous birdhouses.

104 Browns Neck Road. The homeowners built this modern one-story home to fit the curving point on White House Cove. The nearly 3-acre property has about 489 feet of shoreline with views of one of Poquoson’s most traveled waterways.

7 Crescent Point. The owners built this classic brick Georgian home on a lot across the street from its present location. They decided to live on the water and had the house moved – all while the home was fully furnished and decorated. 

15 Crescent Point. Natural and reflected light infuses this transitional brick home on 3 acres surrounded by marsh and woodlands on White House Cove. High gloss lacquer paint in the dining and living rooms and pearlized wallpapers reflect the light.

The Burcher Home. This 964-square-foot, midcentury modern home sits on a half-acre manufactured peninsula, jutting into a bay bordered by Bennetts Creek and Floyds Bay. L. Cornell Burcher commissioned it to be designed in 1965 by Ling Po, an apprentice of Frank Lloyd Wright. The home was designed in the Usonian style and takes advantage of the water views surrounding it. .

The York/Poquoson Master Gardeners Learning Garden. 968 Poquoson Ave. The Virginia Cooperative Extension York/Poquoson Master Gardeners established the Poquoson Learning Garden in partnership with the Poquoson Museum in 2013. The gardeners promote sustainable landscaping with native plants, trees and shrubs, and pollinators. 

Virginia Beach

Wednesday. Morning tour 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.; afternoon tour, 1:30 to 5 p.m. Tickets, $50. Trolley-based tour. A two-day ticket, Virginia Beach and Norfolk, is $80. Trolley tour and headquarters are at the Princess Anne Country Club, 3800 Pacific Ave. 

The McCaa Home. Bright pinks and greens mix with other bold colors to create a home that is a creative hub for three active kids. Whimsical wonders include reclaimed doors found on antique shopping trips and an antique kimono hung as a work of art. The backyard, shaded by old-growth trees and mature azaleas, is a child’s wonderland.

The McCarty Home. The architecture was inspired by cedar shake homes on the Outer Banks and cottages on Cape Cod. Works by local artists hang  throughout.  

The Battaglia Home. Oiled white oak floors lead to a spectacular open kitchen and living area with custom woodwork and handmade clay tilework. The backyard has ipe decking and an outdoor fireplace.

The Denton Home. Built in 1937, this house has been restored. French Provençal antiques sit alongside 18th- and 19th-century American case pieces passed down through generations.

The Brock Garden. The garden is for a private residence and was designed by the owner’s daughter, a landscape architect. It has shaded spots for serene moments and open swaths for entertaining. 

The Goodman Home. The home has a lush, award-winning garden on one side and the Atlantic Ocean on the other. The formal garden spans two lots with shaded places among the papyrus and a sun-filled yard buffered by the largest dune in Virginia Beach.

Thursday. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tickets, $45.  The tour includes homes or gardens on the same street in the Lochhaven neighborhood. A two-day ticket, Virginia Beach and Norfolk, is $80. Admission to the Virginia Zoo and Norfolk Botanical Garden are included. Tour headquarters is the Hermitage Museum & Gardens, 7637 North Shore Road, and includes activities including garden tours and tree seedling giveaways.  On-street parking is available at Second Presbyterian Church at 7305 Hampton Blvd. and throughout the neighborhood.

7640 North Shore Road. This two-story Dutch Colonial home was built in 1952. It has been updated several times but retains many original features, including its slate roof, wood siding and hardwood oak floors. 

7700 North Shore Road (garden only). This primarily shade-loving garden is filled with native plants and poet’s laurel, heirloom azaleas, camellias, ferns and hydrangeas. It features a small koi pond and a weathered statue of St. Francis.

7477 North Shore Road (garden only). The gardens at this Arts and Craft/Tudor-style home overlook the Lafayette River. After three years of renovating the 1912 residence, the owners have been establishing planting areas and garden rooms while being mindful of the property’s legacy plants, shrubs and trees.

7474 North Shore Road. This Colonial Revival home was built in 1929. Four decades after its construction, it was the residence of the president and co-founder of the Dalton-Bundy Lumber Co. The house retains its original hardwood flooring, a horsehair and plaster medallion on the dining room ceiling, and double brick walls partially exposed in the kitchen.

7471 North Shore Road. Built in 2002, this Hamptons-style cottage offers views of the Lafayette River and the shores of the Hermitage. The back of the house includes a large porch overlooking the river and a garden filled with hydrangeas, peonies, roses, black-eyed Susans and daylilies.

7464 North Shore Road (garden only). It is a courtyard garden in the Charleston style. It features a fountain and a multilevel entertaining space.

7446 North Shore Road. This 8,800-square-foot Colonial brick home was built in 1951. Lush landscaping around the all-brick patio includes a live oak tree, bronze trellis, hydrangea garden, brick koi pond with waterfalls and fountain, and a 50-foot heated saltwater gunite lap pool.

Middle Peninsula-Essex County

Friday. 10 a.m. to  4 p.m. Tickets, $35. Print out tickets; internet connection is unreliable. Self-driving tour.

Little Egypt, 515 Faulconer Road, Tappahannock. Two-hundred-year-old cedar trees and mature shrubbery make this 3-acre property serene. Little Egypt was built in the 1750s and may have served as a tavern at some point. The earliest structure was a “one-over-one” with a central hall and fireplace under a gambrel roof.

Thornbury, 653 N. Church Lane, Tappahannock. Thornbury is a stately two-story Greek Revival-style home built between 1915 and 1920. It was named after the home of the original owner’s mother in Thornbury, England. At the entrance stand two lions weighing 700 pounds each, made of cast stone. The home overlooks the Rappahannock River.

The Essex Inn, 203 Duke St., Tappahannock. Once known as the Roane-Wright-Trible house, this brick Georgian mansion was built in 1850 by Dr. Roane. It has gone through significant renovations and opened as the Essex Inn. The distinguished Greek Revival style structure of white stucco over brick sits atop a high English basement.

Wheatland, 1154 Wheatland Road, Loretto. Wheatland sits on farmland overlooking the Rappahannock River. It was built in 1848 by an ancestor of the current owners. The drive leads to a setting of ancient pecan and poplar trees, including an Osage Orange tree once designated as having the largest circumference in Virginia. An English boxwood allée leads to the river’s edge, where a steamboat wharf was constructed in the 1890s and rebuilt in 1916 after a fire. It is the only one still in existence in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

Mountcastle House, 829 Brooks Bank Road, Loretto. This modern farmhouse, completed in 2022, sits high above the Rappahannock. More than 100 works of art, including paintings and sculptures, are throughout the home and include pieces by nationally recognized and local artists in styles ranging from traditional landscape to contemporary to abstract.

Eastern Shore

April 27.  9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tickets, $40. Self-driving tour. 

Chatham, 8218 Chatham Road. Machipongo. Chatham was built in 1818. Maj. Scarborough Pitts named his house after William Pitt, the first Earl of Chatham. The nearly 300-acre farm has a mile of waterfront on Church Creek and was placed in the Virginia Land Trust in 2008.

Eyre Hall, 3215 Eyre Hall Drive, Cheriton. The historic property, completed in 1758, offers a rare picture of Colonial plantation living. Eyre Hall’s preservation lies in its descent through eight generations of a family. The garden has crape myrtles towering above parterres enclosed by boxwood and set off by colorful mixed borders. Beyond the house and garden are broad fields and views over Cherrystone Creek.

Eyre Rectory, 6520 Indiantown Road, Eastville. Built in the 1850s, this home was the rectory for Christ Church in Eastville and Hungars Church in Bridgetown until 1908. John Eyre paid for construction. The property may have been a part of the Underground Railroad.

72 Creekside Lane, Cape Charles. Constructed in 2022, the home has classically inspired features. Notable interior features include 10-foot ceilings, a Chippendale staircase, floor-to-ceiling bookcases and natural finished oak f loors. A Virginia bluestone terrace leads to oyster-shell garden paths and a garden of hydrangeas, roses, crape myrtles, abelia and herbs.

100 Creekside Lane, Cape Charles (garden only). A shell path leads through hostas and ground coverings including pachysandra, periwinkle and liriope. Flower accents of daffodil, calla lily, Siberian iris and hydrangea contrast the backdrop of hollies and conifers.

606 Carousel Place, Cape Charles. This traditional home with bayfront views was built in 2020. The homeowners created functional spaces, from an artful, open wood stairway to reclaimed doors turned into cabinetry. The second floor features a kitchen, dining, living and sunrooms. New Ravenna mosaics accent several spaces, including the butler’s pantry and powder room.

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• Historic Old Town Alexandria Home and Garden Tour

Tour kicks off Garden Club of Virginia statewide tour

By Kim Davis

Thursday, April 18, 2024

A 91-year-old treasured Spring tradition returns this Saturday, April 20, when the Garden Club of Virginia hosts its Historic Old Town Home and Garden Tour. This year’s tour is a must see, showcasing five of the city’s most spectacular homes and gardens and one public property, Lee-Fendall House. 

The walking tour features a behind-the-scenes glimpse into centuries-old homes including four properties clustered in North Old Town on Queen, North Fairfax and Oronoco Streets as well as two a few blocks away on South Fairfax Street. 

The North Old Town section features a home first owned by an Irish whiskey distiller in 1815 on 213 North Fairfax Street. Current owners purchased the property in 2016, and embarked on a significant renovation and addition, resulting in 6,000 square feet of meticulously restored living space. A stunning new kitchen addition includes classic walnut cabinetry with a sophisticated backsplash of striking Persian green and white marble. Discrete built in cooler drawers provide easy access to beverage and snack options in numerous rooms. And a sitting room between the kitchen and living room features beautifully lacquered custom cabinetry in teal blue with gold handles. The kitchen addition overlooks a walled patio featuring a black half-moon fountain and tasteful but simple garden plantings. 

The home is fully automated with the most up-to-date technology. Featuring a total of 24 heating and air conditioning zones, most of the home’s flooring is heated. Touch panels provide state of the art technology access, including settings for privacy, security, television and streaming apps, whole house audio, whole house video intercom, heating, and cooling. 

Another home located around the corner at 611 Queen Street was purchased in 1803 and sold twice before it was acquired in 1807 for $250. In 1815, the property sold for $4,000 to the president of the Common Council of Alexandria who along with then Alexandria Mayor John Roberts met the Marquis de Lafayette during a visit to Alexandria in 1824. Current owners Dominique and Dorn Wenninger purchased the home in 2021 and undertook significant renovations. This charming home has an eclectic vibe and a significant collection of artwork and furnishings from the Wenningers’ travels in Asia, South America, and Africa. The beautiful garden has been replanted and the patio expanded to create “a whimsical secret garden with cozy spaces and quirky corners of interest, complete with Mexican stone carvings and an antique bench from Mexico,” Dominique said.

A block away sits 513 Queen Street, dating back 234 years. Records from 1789 describe a one-room, one-story log and frame structure. The property is a garden-only tour featuring a mature Kwanzan cherry and a majestic Natchez crepe myrtle which creates an intimate patio retreat in the heart of the city.

Owners describe an interesting anecdote about the home. “Apparently, as the story goes, in 1946 the homeowner permitted chickens inside the house in defiance of a new law banning farm animals within yards. As would be expected, this resulted in deplorable conditions at the time within the house,” he said. 

The current owners fell in love with the gardens, so they “bought the garden and took the house,” he said. The couple unearthed an old milk bottle in the garden, likely a gift from the former neighboring dairy bottling company. 

A featured property on the tour in North Old Town is Lee-Fendall House Museum & Garden. This year marks the 50th anniversary of its opening as a museum and garden, providing insight into American history through the experiences of those who lived and worked on the property for two centuries. A newly designed garden incorporates the bones of a pleasure garden created in the 1850s, a Bicentennial Project of the Garden Clubs of Northern Virginia.

The properties situated on South Fairfax Street are both lovely and add historic interest. 410 South Fairfax Street was purchased in 1795 and the home was built in 1870 or earlier. Current owners Lauren and Christopher Bishop bought the property in 2016, also undertaking a renovation in 2019 that included a mudroom, kitchen, and family room in keeping with the character of the home. The living room features its original 12-foot ceilings and plaster moldings. In 2021, the couple excavated the basement and converted it into a finished space. The home features elegant furnishings, beautiful abstract art and a charming garden filled with spring flowers.

Across the street is 417 Fairfax, purchased in 1796 by a cooper, a crafter of wooden containers. The back portion of the parcel possessed two dwellings that were homes to free black tenants as early as 1823. Current owners purchased the property in 2022 from the estate of Richard Simmons, former president of The Washington Post. Throughout the years, owners added a kitchen, baths, flooring, lighting, slate, stone, and brick patios as well as a stone wall. An early 19th-century carriage house is now a pool house. During renovations, beautiful interior brick work and exposed beams were revealed. In the garden, a beautiful, large magnolia and a crepe myrtle anchor the patios, where extensive new landscaping provides space for entertaining.

Tickets also include admission to six nearby public properties, including: Mount Vernon, River Farm, Carlyle House, Gunston Hall and Green Spring Gardens. Advance tickets are $55 online at  www.vagardenweek.org  and may be purchased tour day at the Alexandria Visitor’s Center located at 221 King Street.

The Garden Club of Virginia’s beloved statewide tour is the only one of its kind in the nation. It includes an eight-day statewide tour from April 20 to 27 including 170 private properties throughout Virginia, including stately manors, renovated farmhouses, private homes, and waterfront villas. Proceeds fund restoration and preservation of nearly 50 Virginia historic public gardens. The annual event also funds a historic landscape research fellowship program that is building a comprehensive library documenting the Commonwealth’s important gardens and landscapes. The tour draws approximately 25,000 tourists annually and dates to 1929.  

The Old Town Alexandria tour is hosted by the GCV’s two local garden clubs, Hunting Creek Garden Club and Garden Club of Alexandria. For more information, visit  www.vagardenweek.org , online, @historicgardenweekoldtownalexandria on Facebook 

and @historicgardenweekoldtown on Instagram. 

The event also features a special pop-up Marketplace Boutique located in the Atheneum at 201 Prince Street. The boutique features a curated collection of beautiful clothing, gifts, and jewelry. Offerings include soft cashmere scarves, linen dresses, and Scottish woven sweaters by Heidi Wynne; elegant personalized stationery, invitations and gifts from Georgetown Paperie; exquisitely handmade, timeless designs by Deo duPont Jewelry; hand painted art featuring flowers and animals by the talented and gifted artist Virginia Donelson; a beautiful selection of children’s clothing, toys and personalized gifts from Old Town’s Monday’s Child boutique; Indo-Chic women’s classic silk blouses, jackets, and skirts; Sarah Bray Bermuda Hats made of sea grass and palm leaf, adorned with beautiful vintage floral and grosgrain ribbon; A Shirt Story offering pre-loved 100% cotton men’s oxford shirts reworked for women; and, an extensive inventory of stunning peony bulbs from Peony’s Envy. The Marketplace is open from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. 

Refreshments will be available for tourgoers throughout the day at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church at 228 South Pitt Street from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. and the historic church will be open for touring.                    

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Please join us April 20 – 27, 2024 for tours throughout Virginia during Historic Garden Week!

For one week next April, visitors will tour inspired private landscapes, public gardens and historic sites across Virginia, enjoying our beautiful state at the peak of spring. In addition, more than 1,000 world-class floral arrangements created by Garden Club of Virginia members will enhance tour properties. This beloved statewide event will include unique tours organized and hosted by 48 member clubs located from the foothills of the Shenandoah Valley all the way to the beaches of Tidewater.

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Historic Garden Week in Virginia

"Historic Garden Week 2024 Guidebook"

The beginning of Historic Garden Week dates to 1927 , when a flower show organized by the Garden Club of Virginia raised an impressive $7,000 to save trees planted by Thomas Jefferson on the lawn at Monticello.

The Garden Club of Virginia operates as a non-profit organization comprised of 48 member clubs and 3,500 volunteers. Proceeds from Historic Garden Week fund the restoration and preservation of Virginia’s historic public gardens and provide graduate level research fellowships.

Historic Garden Week is held annually:

Dates for 2025 are April 26-May 3. Dates for 2026 are April 18-25.

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Media inquiries, general information and logistics: Karen Ellsworth, Historic Garden Week State Director and Editor of the Guidebook [email protected] or 804-644-7776 , Ext. 21

Historic Garden Week Guidebook advertising, general information and logistics: Terri Lowman, Historic Garden Week Marketing and Program Coordinator. [email protected] or 804-644-7776 , Ext. 22

© 2024 Historic Garden Week in Virginia & Garden Club of Virginia. All Rights Reserved

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Historic garden week’s alexandria tour.

• Alexandria Visitor Center 221 King Street Alexandria, Virginia

Every April, five of Old Town Alexandria’s private homes and gardens will open to the public, as part of the annual Historic Garden Week of Virginia, the oldest and largest house and garden tour in the nation. The homes will feature beautiful flower arrangements, created by the members of the Hunting Creek Garden Club and the Garden Club of Alexandria, both sponsors of the tour. Tickets may be purchased in advance at www.vagardenweek.org or at the Alexandria Visitor Center, 221 King Street. On the day of the tour, tickets may be purchased at any house on the tour or at the Alexandria Visitor Center. Please visit our website for additional information on next year’s event.

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OLD TOWN ALEXANDRIA 2024 HOME AND GARDEN TOUR

Glimpse into a few stunning Alexandria homes and gardens!

Apr. 20, 2024 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Get tickets here.

Old Town Alexandria , Virginia

Apr. 16, 2024

OLD TOWN ALEXANDRIA 2024 HOME AND GARDEN TOUR OFFERS GLIMPSE INTO STUNNING HISTORIC HOME TRANSFORM

Old Town Alexandria's Home and Garden Tour slated for Saturday, April 20, provides a lovely way to enjoy Spring's emerging beauty and peek into the city's most spectacular homes and gardens.

Tickets are available here.

The event kicks off the Garden Club of Virginia's beloved statewide tour, the only one of its kind in the nation. Offering a glimpse into the town's storied past, the tour features homes dating from 1785 lovingly renovated as envisioned by a new generation. Visitors will be treated to six beautifully appointed properties featuring tasteful furnishings, unique art collections, and spectacular floral arrangements designed by blue ribbon garden club members. Gardens filled with bountiful Spring flowers are timed to bloom in concert with the tour.

Tickets include admission to five private homes and gardens, Lee-Fendall House, once a private home with a rich history now housing a museum, as well as six nearby public properties, including: Mount Vernon, River Farm, Carlyle House, Gunston Hall and Green Spring Gardens.

Advance tickets are $55 online at www.vagardenweek.org and may be purchased tour day at the Alexandria Visitor's Center located at 221 King Street.

The event also includes a special pop-up Marketplace Boutique located in the Atheneum at 201 Prince Street. The boutique features a curated collection of beautiful clothing, gifts, and jewelry. Offerings include soft cashmere scarves, linen dresses, and Scottish woven sweaters by Heidi Wynne; elegant personalized stationery, invitations and gifts from Georgetown Paperie; exquisitely handmade, timeless designs by Deo duPont Jewelry; hand painted art featuring flowers and animals by the talented and gifted artist Virginia Donelson; a beautiful selection of children's clothing, toys and personalized gifts from Old Town's Monday's Child boutique; Indo-Chic women's classic silk blouses, jackets, and skirts; Sarah Bray Bermuda Hats made of sea grass and palm leaf, adorned with beautiful vintage floral and grosgrain ribbon; A Shirt Story offering pre-loved 100% cotton men's oxford shirts reworked for women; and, an extensive inventory of stunning peony bulbs from Peony's Envy. The Marketplace is open from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The Garden Club of Virginia's (GCV) eight-day statewide tour from April 20 to 27 includes 170 private properties throughout Virginia, including stately manors, renovated farmhouses, private homes, and waterfront villas. Proceeds fund restoration and preservation of nearly 50 Virginia historic public gardens. The annual event also funds a historic landscape research fellowship program that is building a comprehensive library documenting the Commonwealth's important gardens and landscapes. The tour draws approximately 25,000 tourists annually and dates to 1929.

The Old Town Alexandria tour is hosted by the GCV's two local garden clubs, Hunting Creek Garden Club and Garden Club of Alexandria. For more information, visit www.vagardenweek.org .

General Admission: USD 55.00

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ARTS & CULTURE EVENTS

Hillsboro homes walking tour.

HILLSBORO HOMES WALKING TOUR.    Saturday, December 9, 2023, 10am to 7pm

Start your holiday season with a festive tour of historic sites along Hillsboro’s Main Street.  Carolers, warm libations and homemade goodies available en route.

Program includes

• Self guided tours from 10:00 am – 12:00 pm
• Guided tours with live performances – 1:00 – 4:00 pm
• Candlelight tour with live performances – 5:00 pm

All tours leave from the Hillsboro Old Stone School at 37098 Charles Town Pike

Sponsored by the Hillsboro Preservation Foundation in cooperation with the the Town of Hillsboro.

HISTORIC HILLSBORO HOLIDAY MARKET

Hillsboro’s Annual Holiday Market returns for 2023 at the

Hillsboro Old Stone School (37098 Charles Town Pike, Hillsboro, VA 20132)

10AM to 5PM

[Interesting in being a vendor?  Go to www.oldstoneschool.org to register]

SPONSORSHIP INFORMATION

For availability and additional details, contact [email protected]

EVENT DONATIONS

Make sure you choose  the event name  in the dropdown on the Donate page.

8 of the most historic places to spend the night in West Virginia

C LARKSBURG, W.Va. (WBOY) — West Virginia history has become a tourism draw for many. From historic ritzy hotels to converted fire towers , West Virginia has lots of overnight rentals that take you back in time.

Here are a few of our favorites. In general, this list goes from most to least grand, so if you’re looking for a more humble piece of history, read the list from the bottom up.

Greenbrier Hotel in White Sulphur Springs

When it comes to old, swanky hotels, the Greenbrier, “America’s Resort,” is about as fancy as it gets in West Virginia. The resort in White Sulphur Springs has been operating for more than 200 years, and the Greenbrier building as we know it today has been standing since the 1930s. The grounds have served as a hospital for soldiers during the Civil War and World War II, and after reopening as a hotel in 1948, the U.S. Government Emergency Relocation Center , a bomb shelter capable of housing Congress, was built there during the Cold War.

Now owned by West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice, the resort is considered one of the fanciest places to stay in the state. Accommodations from full wings to suites, to cottages, to more simple guest rooms are available. All the rooms are decorated with Dorothy Draper’s Modern Baroque style of décor and are definitely a step back in time.

Earlier this year, it was voted one of the most beautiful hotels in the United States .

Blennerhassett Hotel in Parkersburg

The Blennerhassett Hotel has been operating since 1889 and was built to be the fanciest hotel in the state. It was meant to be a place where the millionaires of the day could stay amid Parkersburg’s oil and gas boom. It is believed to be the first building in Parkersburg that had functional modern-day electricity, according to the hotel’s website .

The rooms in the Blennerhassett are designed in a European style with elegant jewel tones that drew presidents and other famous guests, and the restaurant is considered one of the best fine dining experiences in the area.

Because of its long history, some claim the Blennerhassett Hotel is haunted, and several ghosts have reportedly been spotted in various parts of the hotel .

Country Inn of Berkeley Springs

The current Country Inn sits on 10 lots, several of which are historically significant. One lot was the site of a lodging house where George Washington stayed in 1784 and another was owned by James Smith, who signed the Declaration of Independence. A 500-room resort was built on part of the current property in the 1840s. The building was destroyed in a fire in 1898 but was rebuilt in 1932. Although the inn’s name has changed several times, it has become a landmark in Berkeley Springs.

Although the rooms are updated, they still have a vintage feel of historic charm.

General Lewis Inn in Lewisburg

Built in the early 1800s, the General Lewis Inn was owned by the namesake of Lewisburg and has been operating as a hotel since 1929. The Hock family, who owned the inn at that time, spent years collecting antiques to decorate it, gravitating to pieces that were from the 1800s. The decoration is still inspired heavily by the 1920s, and the guest rooms are completely unique, even down to their West Virginia-inspired names.

Graceland Inn in Elkins

Graceland recently reopened for the first time since COVID . The Victorian mansion was originally built by Sen. Henry Gassaway Davis in 1893 during Elkins’ railroad boom. It sits on top of the hill on Davis & Elkins College’s campus and has one of the best views in the city. It fell into major disrepair and was fully renovated into an inn in the 1990s. Now, it has 10 guest rooms and a newly opened restaurant.

At 16,000 square feet, it is rivaled only by its neighbor Halliehurst Mansion, which was the home of Sen. Stephen Benton Elkins and now houses the administrative office for the college. Both buildings are part of the Davis and Elkins Historic District which is considered a National Historic Landmark .

Stonehouse Bed & Breakfast in Harpers Ferry

Although not as grand as some of the other hotels on this list, the Stonehouse is the only bed and breakfast located in Harpers Ferry’s Historic Lower Town. The building is from 1839 and has five different rooms, and although it’s in a national historic park and the rooms do have a certain vintage charm, it promises “a doily-free environment,” according to its website . “The New Room” includes a balcony that give you a view of the Potomac River, B&O and Winchester and Potomac railroad bridges and Maryland Heights.

Cass Company Houses

The town of Cass remains almost completely unchanged since it was founded in 1901, according to West Virginia State Parks, even down to its accommodations. Cass was built as a logging town with identical homes for company workers to live in. The restored Company Houses are available to rent with 3, 4 or 5 bedrooms through the West Virginia Parks website . There are at least 19 Company Houses that are available, ranging from $156 to $216 per night on average.

Thorny Mountain Fire Tower in Seneca State Forest

If you’re scared of heights, this stay is not for you. In the Seneca State Forest in Pocahontas County, the Thorny Mountain Fire Tower has been an overnight rental since 2015. The tower was originally part of a series of lookout towers used to spot fires in West Virginia’s remote forests . However, they stopped being used in the 1970s, and most of the nearly 100 towers in the state have either been torn down or fallen into disrepair.

Stays in the Thorny Mountain Fire Tower start at about $115 but usually sell out up to a year in advance. In the Monongahela National Forest, the Red Oak Fire Tower is currently under construction and is expected to open as an overnight rental as soon as 2025.

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