Fredericksburg VA Area Historic Attractions
Fredericksburg Area Museum and Cultural Center. www.famcc.org. To complement our exhibitions and extensive collection of artifacts, FAMCC holds programs and events throughout the year that are both fun and educational. In addition to our regularly scheduled activities, new program initiatives are always under development.
Discovery Carts – Docents interact with visitors and offer hands-on experience with period reproductions.
2nd Saturdays in the Museum – Hands-on activities for the whole family. Activities throughout the series will support the Museum's exhibits. In addition to hands-on activities, Hallowed Ground Tours will be offering architectural walking tours of downtown Fredericksburg. 1-3, second Saturday of the month. Most activities are FREE with Museum admission and are FREE to Museum members.
Movies in the Museum – Join us as we enjoy the Museum at night with Movies in the Mansard Gallery.
Music in the Museum – Listen to your favorite local musicians as you explore the Museum's many exhibits.
Gallery Talks and Demonstrations – Artisans and other experts in various fields round out your Museum experience. Topics include: Native basket making or pottery, Civil War re-enactment, flinting or gunsmithing.
Summer Workshops – FAMCC’s summer children’s workshops are a wonderful way for your child to have a fun, educational experience. See schedule of events for "Made In Virginia - summer camp '09."The Fredericksburg Area Museum and Cultural Center’s mission is to collect, interpret and present the history of the Fredericksburg region. (540)371-3037
NEW HOURS: Beginning September 1, 2009, Thur - Sat 12-5, Sun 1-5, Mon 1-5. Closed Tues and Wed. December - open until 4. Closed in Jan and Feb.
Gari Melchers Home and Studio is a 27-acre estate and former residence of the artist Gari Melchers and his wife Corinne. The property, which is operated by the University of Mary Washington, is both a Virginia Historic Landmark and a National Historic Landmark. Located at 224 Washington St. in Falmouth, Va., a quarter mile west of the intersection of U.S. 1 and U.S. 17, it is open daily with an admission charge. The museum also serves as the official Stafford County Visitor Center. Family Tours will be offered through Labor Day, daily at 10:30 am & 3 pm. Family Tours, geared to children ages 5-12, will be offered this year at a new reduced price. Two children will be admitted free with each paying adult. Prior registration for family tours is not necessary. This summer's Family Tour theme is "Children at Belmont." Various vignettes throughout the historic 1790s house will depict the experiences of several children who either lived at Belmont or who visited the Melchers for extended periods of time.For directions and other information, call (540) 654-1851 or visit the museum Web site at www.GariMelchers.org.
George Washington’s Ferry Farm, located along the Rappahannock River in southern Stafford County, Virginia, is where George Washington grew to manhood. Programs for all ages are based on historical, archaeological, agricultural, and ecological assets at Ferry Farm. 268 Kings Highway, Fredericksburg, VA. General Admission: $5/adults; $3/children (6 to 17 & anyone with a student ID); children under 6 free. Events may have special fees. Open daily 10 a.m.—5 p.m. from Mar. 1—Oct. 31, and 10 a.m.—4 p.m. Nov. 1—Dec. 30. Closed Thanksgiving Day, Dec. 24, 25, 31. Events may have special hours. For more information and directions, please call (540) 370-0732 or visit our website at www.ferryfarm.org. George Washington’s Young Friends, first-person interpreters, will offer glimpses into 18th-century life at Ferry Farm on the following Saturdays: March 21, April 4, May 16, August 15, September 26, October 24, November 21. For all ages. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Fee: general admission
Historic Kenmore, located at 1201 Washington Avenue, Fredericksburg, Virginia, was built in 1775 by George Washington’s sister Betty and her husband, Fielding Lewis. General Admission: $8 for adults; $4 for children ages 6 to 17 and anyone with a student ID; free for children under 6. General Admission: $8/adults; $4/children (6 to 17 & anyone with a student ID); children under 6 free. Events may have special fees. Open daily 10 a.m.—5 p.m. (last tour at 4:15 p.m.) Mar. 1—Oct. 31, and 10 a.m.—4 p.m. Nov. 1—Dec. 30 (last tour at 3:15 p.m.) Closed Thanksgiving Day, Dec. 24, 25, 31. Events may have special hours. For more information, please call (540) 373-3381 or visit our website at www.kenmore.org. With the restoration complete, a new tour has been launched at Kenmore. Now, along with the architectural beauty of the house, groupings of furniture and accessories give a visual image of life in the 18th century in these beautiful rooms. Visit for the first time, or come again to experience the way the Lewis family lived when the house was new. For all ages. Fee: general admission
The National Museum of the Marine Corps. 18900 Jefferson Davis Hwy., Triangle. 877-635-1775. You are invited to follow in the footsteps of Marines from the yellow footprints that young recruits must fill at boot camp to the boot prints left in the sands of Pacific island beaches during World War II, in the snow of the Chosin Reservoir during the Korean War, and in the red dirt of Hill 881 South in Vietnam. Admission and parking are free. Guided tours are run daily and a free audio tour is also available. Wheelchairs are available upon request. VIP tours and special educational programs are available. The Museum Store carries a full line of Marine themed merchandise and the Mess Hall and Tun Tavern offer a variety of refreshments. Open daily 9am-5pm except Christmas. www.usmcmuseum.com
Mary Washington House. 1200 Charles St., F'burg. In 1772, George Washington purchased a house from Michael Robinson in Fredericksburg, Virginia for his mother. Mary Ball Washington spent her last seventeen years in this comfortable home. Tradition has it that, during the Revolution, General Lafayette found Mrs. Washington in her garden attending her favorite hobby. The President-to-be came to this home to receive his mother's blessing before attending his inauguration in 1789. In 1891, the APVA acquired the house and saved it from certain destruction. The house underwent a restoration and was opened to the public. A mirror, Mrs. Washington called her "best dressing glass" and other possessions are on view in the house. Her sundial still tracks the time of day in the garden. Open daily except some holidays. Adults $5, children/youth $2. 6 and under free. 540-373-1569. http://www.apva.org/marywashingtonhouse/
St James' House. 1300 Charles St., F'burg. James Mercer (an attorney, a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses, first judge of the General Court in Fredericksburg, and the attorney who drew up the will for Mary Washington) built the house on land once owned by Fielding Lewis. The eighteenth-century portion is quite small -- an entry hall with two identical long, narrow rooms (the parlor and dining room) on the ground floor and a bedroom upstairs. The 1853 kitchen (an earlier one burned) is now used as a den –- you can still see the residue of coats of whitewash on the ceiling. The den is connected to the 18th-century portion by the "Taproom", once an open "dog trot" or breezeway and now an informal eating area and kitchen. 800-678-4748. http://www.apva.org/stjameshouse/
Rising Sun Tavern. 1304 Caroline St., F'burg. Built by Charles Washington around 1760 as his home, this frame building became a tavern in 1792, operating in the bustling town of Fredericksburg. The Tap Room features a reconstructed bar cage and fine collection of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century English and American pewter. Another spacious room provided a space for meetings and private dinners by patrons of the tavern. "Tavern Wenches" provide visitors with a lively interpretation of eighteenth-century tavern life. The tavern is filled with period furnishings and stories of early life in Fredericksburg. Open daily except some holidays. Adults $5, children/youth $2. 6 and under free. 540-373-1776. http://www.apva.org/risingsuntavern/
Hugh Mercer Apothecary. 1020 Charles St., F'burg. This eighteenth-century building was restored to house the Hugh Mercer Apothecary. Dr. Mercer served the citizens of Fredericksburg with medicines and treatments of the time. Leeches, lancets, snakeroot, and crab claws made up just some of the remedies. Dr. Mercer practiced medicine for fifteen years in Fredericksburg. His patients included Mary Washington. Dr. Mercer left his practice to join the Revolutionary army and died as a Brigadier General at the Battle of Princeton. Open daily except some holidays. Adults $5, children/youth $2. 6 and under free. 540-373-1776. http://www.apva.org/hughmercerapothecary/
Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania County Battlefields Memorial (includes F'burg, Chancellorsville, Wilderness and Spotsy Battlefields). Called The Bloodiest Landscape in North America - Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Wilderness, and Spotsylvania - more than 85,000 men wounded; 15,000 killed. No place more vividly reflects the Civil War’s tragic cost, in all its forms. These places reveal the trials of a community and nation at war. The park is closed on Thanksgiving Christmas and New Year's Day. Call (540) 654-5532 for information on park closure during inclement weather. http://www.nps.gov/frsp/index.htm
Chatham. This magnificent Georgian mansion, its various outbuildings and dependencies, and the historic ground which surrounds it represent a small preserve in which the entire scope of Virginia heritage can be understood and appreciated. Today Chatham is part of Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park. The buildings and grounds are open daily 9:00-4:30. Five of the ten rooms contain exhibits and the rest of the building as well as the outbuildings are park offices. http://www.nps.gov/frsp/chatham.htm
Civil War Life Museum. The Spotsylvania area was the scene of four major Civil War battles and the death of Stonewall Jackson. The Civil War Life Museum brings this turbulent period to life with extensive displays of Original artifacts and life-size displays. Museum admission charged. $5 Adult, $2.50 Children age 7 - 16, $3 Military, Military in uniform are free. Discounts for seniors and groups (please call). 3-D Theater admission $3 for all over age 6. Combo tickets for museum and 3-D theater: Adult $7, Children, $4.50, Seniors $6.50. Winter hours September through December 20, February through April, 10 am to 5 pm. Closed December 20 through February 1 except for weekends in January. Summer hours May through August, 9 am to 5 pm. http://civilwar-life.com and http://www.civilwarlife.org/
White Oak Museum, Stafford County. Unlike many Virginia communities, Stafford County's Civil War history does not detail the treacherous scene of full-scale battle. Instead, its tales include unique accounts of ship-to-shore attacks, cavalry skirmishes, "beanpoles and cornstalks" railroad bridges, and prisoner camps. But most notably, over 140,000 soldiers camped in Stafford, Virginia in the winter 1862-63 — arguably the largest encampment during the Civil War. Here in the encampments, between battles and behind the front lines, many would die of wounds and disease. Adults $4, Seniors $2, Ages 13-17 $2, Ages 7-12 $1, 6 & Under FREE. Open 10am-5pm Wed-Sunday. http://www.whiteoakmuseum.com/the_exhibit/index.php
