Journey Through Hallowed Ground - Historically Significant Sites

Historically Significant Sites

Backgrounder/Fact Sheet

Selected African American Sites:

Gettysburg, PA: Gettysburg was a key stop on the Underground Railroad and the site of abolitionist Thaddeus Stevens’ first law practice. Before the Civil War, Stevens became famous for his free legal defense of fugitive slaves. As a Congressman, Stevens led the opposition against the Fugitive Slave Act and the Compromise of 1850.

Lincoln Cemetery, Gettysburg, PA: A marker by this almost forgotten hallowed ground reads: “Lincoln Cemetery-Established in 1867 by the Sons of Good Will for the Proper Burial of Gettysburg’s African American citizens and Civil War Veterans.” All totaled, an estimated 198,000 African Americans risked all to fight for their rights, their families and the Union.

Antietam National Military Park, Sharpsburg, MD: Antietam was the first Civil War battle in which African American soldiers fought.

Aldie Mill, Aldie, VA: In 1804, Aldie Mill became the home of Charles Fenton Mercer, an early advocate of African American colonization.

Douglass High School, Leesburg, VA: Named for Frederick Douglass, a former slave and prominent abolitionist, the school operated as the county's first and only black high school, from its opening in 1941 until the termination of segregated education in 1968.

Madden’s Tavern, Culpeper, VA: Built c. 1840, Madden’s Tavern was the first business built and operated by a free black in Northern Virginia.

Mt. Zion Old School Baptist Church, Aldie, VA: The Mount Zion Old School Baptist Church, served a congregation of approximately 400, including African-American freedmen and slaves. During the Civil War it was used as a field hospital and barracks and its graveyard as a cemetery for war casualties. The Church burial grounds are the final resting place for twelve Union cavalrymen killed in action, thirteen Confederates who died after the War, and sixty-three African-Americans who were slaves or freed men buried prior to 1865

Harpers Ferry, Harpers Ferry, WV: In 1859, abolitionist John Brown made a raid on the U.S. Arsenal at Harpers Ferry in a failed attempt to arm African American slaves against their owners. Shortly after the Civil War, Harpers Ferry became home to Storer College, a school founded to educate former slaves. In 1906, Dr. W.E.B. DuBois chose Storer College as the site of the second Niagara Conference, the first meeting of this early civil rights group on American soil and an inspiration to Mary White Ovington, later co-founder of the NAACP.

Waterford Historic District, Waterford, VA: By 1830, African Americans headed a fourth of Waterford 's households; many of them owning their own homes. During the Civil War, this Quaker village did not secede from the Union and the pacifist stance taken by residents made Waterford a frequent Confederate target. Just two years after the Civil War ended, the Second Street School opened to educate the black community. Today the Second Street School is a living history program. Visitors can also take walking tours of the African American experience in Waterford .

Bremo Slave Chapel, Fluvana, VA: The Bremo Slave Chapel is the state's only known slave chapel. It was built in 1835 as a slave chapel for Bremo, the adjacent plantation of John Hartwell Cocke. As a devoted Christian, Cocke decided that his slaves should be taught to read and also that they should be given religious instruction and their own church.

Selected Revolutionary War Sites:

During the Revolutionary War, the Route 15 corridor served as an American stronghold.

Monticello, Charlottesville, VA: In 1781, British Troops sacked Monticello in a failed attempt to kidnap Governor Thomas Jefferson.

Willow Grove, Orange, VA: This historic house served as the temporary headquarters of American Generals Wayne and Muhlenberg throughout the Revolutionary War.

Castle Hill, Albemarle, VA: The earliest portion of this two-part house is a traditional colonial Virginia frame dwelling built in 1764 by Dr. Thomas Walker, a colonial leader and explorer of the west. Here in 1781 Walker's wife delayed the British colonel Banastre Tarleton to give the patriot Jack Jouett time to warn Thomas Jefferson and the Virginia legislators of Tarleton's plan to capture them.

Point of Fork Arsenal: On of the few 18 th Century arsenals and an important arsenal during the Revolutionary War.

Middleburg Historic District, Middleburg, VA: Established in 1787 by Leven Powell, a Revolutionary War officer and regional Federalist leader, he purchased the land for Middleburg at $2.50 an acre from Joseph Chinn, first cousin to George Washington.

Boswell’s Tavern, Green Springs, VA: A landmark for travelers since Nicholas Johnson built its earliest section c.1735, this weatherboarded structure on the edge of the Green Springs Historic District is one of the state's time-honored rural taverns. A number of political figures, including Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry, and James Madison frequented the tavern. It served as a headquarters for the Marquis de Lafayette in 1781. British colonel Banastre Tarleton captured colonial troops here during his attempt to seize Jefferson. The Marquis de Chastellux made reference to Boswell's hospitality in his Travels in North America in the Years 1780, 1781, and 1782.

Selected Civil War Sites:

Less than 100 years after the Revolutionary War, the Route 15 corridor saw some of the fiercest battles of the Civil War as the North and South struggled to gain control of this strategic corridor.

Pennsylvania:

Gettysburg Nat’l Military Park
Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address

Maryland:

Antietam, Sharpsburg
Boonsboro
Monocacy, Frederick

Virginia:

Manassas ( Bull Run)
Ball’s Bluff, Leesburg
Buckland
Cedar Mountain, Culpeper
Chancellorsville
Brandy Station
Aldie Mill, Aldie
Middleburg
Bristoe Station
Wilderness, Wilderness Corner

Selected Presidential Sites:

Eisenhower Nat’l Historic Site, Gettysburg, PA: Following his retirement from public office, President Eisenhower spent his last years on his farm just outside of the Gettysburg National Military Park.

Camp David, MD: For nearly half a century, Camp David has served as a strategic retreat for the president and meeting place for leaders from around the world.

Oak Hill, Aldie, VA: James Monroe began the construction of Oak Hill between 1820 and 1823 and lived here following his presidency. It was here that Monroe’s Secretary of State, John Q. Adams drafted the Monroe Doctrine. Today, Oak Hill is a private residence.

Montpelier, Montpelier Station, VA: Home to our fourth president, James Madison, Montpelier is well known for its extensive gardens and meticulously landscaped grounds.

Camp Hoover, Graves Mill, VA: Built in 1929, President Herbert Hoover’s hunting cabin tin the newly designated Shenandoah National Park became known as the “Summer White House”
well before Camp David.

Montebello, Gordonsville, VA: Zachary Taylor, the second cousin of President James Madison and out twelfth president, was born on November 24, 1784 at Montebello. Closed to the public.

Ashlawn-Highland, Charlottesville, VA: James Monroe called Ashlawn-Highland home for almost 20 years before leaving the estate to become our nation’s fifth president.

Monticello, Charlottesville, VA: Thomas Jefferson spent more than half his life designing and building Monticello in the rolling foothills of the Virginia Piedmont.

Pine Knott, Keene, VA: Edith and Theodore Roosevelt purchased this rustic retreat in 1905 as a place to get away from public life and enjoy close contact with nature. Advance appointment required for visit.

Selected Native American & Early History:

In 1662, English Colonel Abraham Wood reported that the Susquehannock tribe traded regularly with Carolina tribes on behalf of the Dutch, traveling along a path on the east side of the Blue Ridge Mountains, through the heart of the Virginia Piedmont region. Over the next century, this trail became known as the Carolina Road and today is part of Route 15. In the late 1600’s the Iroquois moved into the Piedmont, displacing the Susquehannock, and made the area their hunting preserve. For over half a century, the Iroquois moved freely throughout the Virginia Piedmont and continued to trade with southern tribes using the Carolina Road.

In 1722, under pressure from English settlers angered by increasing raids, the Iroquois agreed not to travel east of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia and the Route 15 corridor became open for European settlement. Throughout the 18 th Century, German, English and Dutch settlers moved into the area, establishing farms, towns, mills and trading posts along the thriving Carolina Road.

Biggs Ford Site, Frederick, MD: The well-preserved Biggs Ford site is one of the few known large prehistoric Native American village sites in the Monocacy Valley.

Selected War Of 1812 Sites:

Rokeby: During the War of 1812, with the city of Washington in flames, 22 wagonloads of United States documents, including the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, the Constitution, much of George Washington's correspondences, and Congressional and State Department records, were brought to Rokeby for safekeeping.