November 2010

This museum was originally built to house Charles Willson Peale's 1768 portrait of William Pitt, the Parliamentarian largely responsible for the repeal of the Stamp Act. The Museum provides exhibits and programs of the important history of Westmoreland County and its people. The exhibits include a geographical look at the region and depict life in Westmoreland County, and the Northern Neck from the time of Virginia's Indians and first English settlements through to the early 20th century. This museum is also home of the Northern Neck of Virginia Historical Society and the Presidents' Garden, the first garden in the region designed by Charles Gillette.

The exhibits at the county museum exhibit highlight the Rappahannock Tribe, an early English settlement, and local patriot Francis Lightfoot Lee. An old country store has been recreated, including a rural post office of the early 20th century. Special events at the museum include February Black History Month, a Holiday Tree Illumination the first weekend in December.

The architectural integrity of the tower is representative of one of John McComb's best and most important constructions. The Light also symbolizes the first bold steps the nation's new government took to fulfill its obligations to its people.

In early October, 1792, George Washington renewed his interest in the lighthouse and requested a list of applicants for the keeper. After review, Laban Goffigan, probably of Norfolk, became the first keeper to light the fish oil burning lamps of Cape Henry Lighthouse in late October. The new government completed its first federal work project and fulfilled its obligation to the sea travelers of the Virginia coast. The final cost of $17,700 exceeded the first estimate by $2,500. Over the years repairs and replacements to the lighthouse had to be made. During the Civil War, Confederate troops damaged the light so to render the Lighthouse useless for its enemies. However by 1863, Union troops repaired the equipment and used it to navigate the waters of the Chesapeake Bay.

From the rivers to the Chesapeake Bay and finally, into the depths of the Atlantic Ocean, this journey of water through Virginia introduces visitors to the many aquatic animals and plants that are native to the state.

Chestnut Square Historic Village is a collection of six historic homes, a replica of a one-room school house, a chapel and a store on 2.5 acres just south of the downtown McKinney Square. The grounds also include a blacksmith shop, smoke house, and beautiful chapel and reception gardens. The buildings house period artifacts illustrating how people lived in Collin County from 1854-1920.

The 19th century burial ground of the Boush family stands watch to the south of the house that family also once owned. Typical of early colonial planters' homes, the Lynnhaven House features a hall-parlor plan with molded ceiling joists and a closed string Jacobean-type stair. Costumed docents conduct tours of the house and grounds as visitors arrive. The grounds also contain gardens and a small Revolutionary War graveyard. Furnishings inside the home reflect the early eighteenth century.

This environmentally focused, interactive visitor information center in First Landing State Park portrays a historical exhibition of the first landing of the settlers in 1607, plus three aquariums, various environmental exhibits, and a wet lab and touch tank.

The most surprising aspect of this very old house for today's visitors is its size--it seems awfully small to be the home of one of the most prosperous and prominent families in the colony. But in the 17th century, when the majority of English settlers were living in one-room shacks with dirt floors, this sturdy brick structure would have been the envy of all. This is the house for people who like antiques, as it is furnished entirely with unusual 17th-century pieces.

Current exhibits explore various aspects of North Texas history. A Civil War exhibit uses words, photos, and objects to tell the story of the Reluctant Confederates.
A Pioneering exhibit showcases why people came to Texas, the life of pioneer era women, a day in the life of a child, and the technology that “brought us out of the mud.”

Nestled on the south side of the James River, Smith's Fort Plantation offers a quiet refuge from the bustle of everyday life. Built sometime between 1751 and 1765, the story-and-a-half brick house is laid in Flemish bond and was home to Jacob Faulcon and his family. A gabled roof is accented with dormer windows. Its architectural significance lies in the interior where much of the original woodwork still exists.

However, Smith's Fort had a long and varied history in Virginia. Directly across from Jamestown on Gray's Creek, Smith's Fort offered a strategic location in the early seventeenth century. Later in that century, Chief Powhatan gave his new son-in-law, John Rolfe, a grant of land as a dowry gift on the occasion of his marriage to Pocahontas.