An open-air shelter provides orientation exhibits. A five-mile driving tour and several walking trails provide access to key spots on the 1864 battlefield.

Prior to Independence, the predecessor of the American Episcopal Church was the Anglican Church, known generally as the Church of England. Virginia law required its colonists to attend and support that church, which made it unpopular with many of them.

In 1749, the unincorporated town of Orange Court House became the county seat. The Town was incorporated in 1872; in 1890, the official name was shortened to Orange.

The lifelong home of James Madison, “Father of the Constitution” and fourth President of the United States, was also home to three generations of the Madison family from 1723 to 1844. The mansion core was built by Madison’s father c.1760.

George Gilmore, a former enslaved African at Montpelier, built this home after his emancipation. George and his wife, Polly, leased the land from Dr. James Madison (a great-nephew of President Madison) in the late 1860s.

William Jones built Ellwood circa 1790, and he or his descendants would own the place for the next century. In 1825, Revolutionary War hero Marquis de Lafayette dined at Ellwood during his triumphant tour of America. Other founding fathers, such as James Madison and James Monroe, may have stopped here, too.

Barboursville Ruins is the only building in Orange County known to have been designed by Thomas Jefferson. It was constructed between 1814 and 1822 for Jefferson’s friend James Barbour, Governor of Virginia (1812-1814).