November 2010

Warrenton's former jail is a singular example of the state's early county penal architecture. Located next to the courthouse, the jail provides a telling picture of conditions endured by inmates of such county facilities. A jail was built for the county in 1779, but it proved to be inadequate within a number of years. The more substantial brick structure was finished in 1808, and on October 24 the keys to the new jail were turned over to the sheriff. With the completion of the stone jail and its plank-lined cells, the resulting two-part building served the county until 1966. The complex is now maintained by the Fauquier County Historical Society as a county history museum.

In its final form, the National Museum of the Marine Corps will present a comprehensive study of more than 200 years of Marine Corps history. Individual galleries depict specific eras and highlight Marine contributions to significant events in American history. The National Museum of the Marine Corps will be the centerpiece of a complex of facilities called the Marine Corps Heritage Center. This multi-use, 135-acre campus will include the Semper Fidelis Memorial Park and Chapel; a demonstration area with parade grounds; hiking trails and other outdoor recreational offerings; a conference center and hotel; and an archive facility to restore and preserve Marine artifacts.

Visitors can join the Marines at boot camp, get yelled at, lift a pack, test rifle skills, feel the ground shake on Iwo Jima, and brave the cold of a Korean battlefield.

George Mason was instrumental in the framing of the United States government, but he shied away from public office and preferred, instead, to manage his plantation estate, Gunston Hall. Today, visitors can explore this 550 acre National Historic Landmark in Fairfax County, Virginia and tour Mason's home. Constructed in the 1750s, his house is an architectural gem, featuring elaborate interior design and carvings. The elegant antiques show the lifestyle of the Virginia gentry. Elaborate gardens, on-going archaeology, and farm animals round out the offerings.

In the summer of 1861, enthusiastic volunteers in colorful uniforms gathered to fight the first major land battle of the Civil War. Confident that their foes would turn and run, neither side anticipated the smoke, din and death of battle.

Nearly one year later, both sides met again on this same battlefield. Confederates forces won a solid victory, bringing them to the height of their power.

The park offers a wide array of activities, scenic vistas, historic sites and walking trails to interest visitors.

The visitors' center offers electronic battle maps, displays of equipment and battle memorabilia, and interpretive presentations of the battlefield's history by Park Service rangers.

Exhibits featuring technological developments such as electronic media, home appliances, aircraft, and medical devices are on display at this museum.

While this may seem too recent a subject for a historical museum, with the rapid pace of technological change, items from the first half of the 20th century are truly "museum pieces" at this point. Technology from the latter half of the century may not seem so antiquated, but items from this period help to show how the earlier items relate to current technology. Major technological developments of the 20th century include electronic media and recording/reproduction (radio, television, film, phonograph, etc.), computers, home appliances (washing machine, dishwasher, refrigerator, microwave oven, air conditioning), telephones, automobiles, aircraft and spacecraft, agricultural mechanization, and medical devices.

For more than 400 years, watermen who harvested seafood from the Commonwealth's rivers and Chesapeake Bay have played an important role in the economy and history of Virginia.

This museum preserves and interprets their material culture with exhibits that feature paintings, photographs, tools, and equipment, full sized boats and models. Located on the York River, the museum hosts the Heritage Festival in July, with work boat races, seafood, crafts, and demonstrations. Polular education programs based on Virginia SOLs, designed for kindergarten through third grade, are offered in spring and fall. Programs for scouts, older students, and adults may also be arranged. Visitors can also take sightseeing and fishing cruises that depart regularly from the museum's pier.

Featuring a wide array of artifacts illustrating the area's history, especially the Civil War era, the museum also includes several offsite buildings, such as the Manassas Railroad Depot of 1914 and the 1825 brick farm house, Liberia, once the home of the largest number of enslaved African Americans in the Manassas area. Several Confederate generals made Liberia their headquarters. Abraham Lincoln visited this site in 1862. Permanent and temporary historical exhibits at the museum interpret Northern Virginia Piedmont history through artifacts, documents, videos, and images. Nationally noted, the museum has been profiled in a number of national magazines and parts of its collection loaned out to such facilities as the Reagan Presidential Library.

The Farm is managed and operated by the Friends of Claude Moore Colonial Farm, through a cooperative agreement with the National Park Service. Living history programs and demonstrations offer a glimpse of what life was like for a poor farm family, just before the Revolutionary War. Children can pitch in with colonial chores, such as hoeing the garden, making johnnycake, and carding wool.

Construction of the estate began in 1803 in the Federal style and surprisingly finished in the 1820s in the Greek Revival style. The plantation features beautiful furnishings and unique architechture. During most of the 20th century Oatlands served as the country estate of Mr. and Mrs. William Corcoran Eustis, affluent Washingtonians with strong ties to the American political arena. Oatlands' formal gardens are among the finest examples of early Virginia landscape design.

George Washington dreamed of opening up the undeveloped Ohio territory by making the Potomac River navigable. The remains of his Patowmack Canal around Great Falls can be found on the Virginia side of the river. At Great Falls, the Potomac River builds up speed and force as it falls over a series of steep, jagged rocks and flows through the narrow Mather Gorge. The Patowmack Canal offers a glimpse into the early history of this country. Great Falls Park has many opportunities to explore history and nature, all in a beautiful 800-acre park only 15 miles from the Nation's Capital.