Historical Highway Markers

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The Virginia Department of Historic Resources sanctions historical highway markers in the Commonwealth.

Albemarle County

Marker Name Marker Text Marker Location Route Name
Advance Mills Villages such as Advance Mills were once common features of rural Virginia, serving as economic and social centers. Advance Mills grew around a single mill that John Fray constructed in 1833 on the north fork of the Rivanna River. By the twentieth century, Advance Mills had expanded to include facilities to process corn, flour, wool, sumac, and lumber for local farmers. A general store also sold goods to nearby residents. Industrialization, electricity, and the increasing efficiency of automobiles led to the disappearance of Advance Mills, as well as other similar communities around Virginia, in the latter half of the twentieth century. Route 743, just west of bridge over the Rivanna River Advance Mills Rd.
Albemarle County/Nelson County "Albemarle County
Albemarle County was formed in 1744 from Goochland County and named for William Anne Keppel, the second Earl of Albemarle, titular governor of Virginia from 1737 to 1754. A portion of Louisa County was later added to Albemarle County. In 1761, part of Albemarle County was divided to form Buckingham and Amherst Counties. President Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) was born in this county at Shadwell and here he built his home Monticello. The city of Charlottesville is the county seat and the home of the University of Virginia, chartered in 1819 and opened for instruction in 1825. Jefferson designed the university and supervised its construction.
Nelson County
In the foothills of Virginia’s Piedmont, Nelson County was formed in 1807 from Amherst County. The county was named for Thomas Nelson, Jr., governor of Virginia from June to November 1781. The county seat is Lovingston. The Nelson County courthouse was built under the supervision of George Varnum in 1809, according to the plans submitted by Sheldon Crostwait, one of the justices. Though the courthouse has been modified and enlarged over the years, it is one of Virginia’s best-preserved historic court structures." Rte. 250, at the county line, north side of road Rockfish Gap Turnpike
Albemarle County/Nelson County "Albemarle County
Albemarle County was formed in 1744 from Goochland County and named for William Anne Keppel, the second Earl of Albemarle, titular governor of Virginia from 1737 to 1754. A portion of Louisa County was later added to Albemarle County. In 1761, part of Albemarle County was divided to form Buckingham and Amherst Counties. President Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) was born in this county at Shadwell and here he built his home Monticello. The city of Charlottesville is the county seat and the home of the University of Virginia, chartered in 1819 and opened for instruction in 1825. Jefferson designed the university and supervised its construction.
Nelson County
In the foothills of Virginia’s Piedmont, Nelson County was formed in 1807 from Amherst County. The county was named for Thomas Nelson, Jr., governor of Virginia from June to November 1781. The county seat is Lovingston. The Nelson County courthouse was built under the supervision of George Varnum in 1809, according to the plans submitted by Sheldon Crostwait, one of the justices. Though the courthouse has been modified and enlarged over the years, it is one of Virginia’s best-preserved historic court structures." Rte. 29, at the county line, in the median Thomas Nelson Hwy
Barclay House and Scottsville Museum Here stands the Barclay House, built about 1830, later the home of Dr. James Turner Barclay, inventor for the U.S. Mint and missionary to Jerusalem. He founded the adjacent Disciples Church in 1846 and served as its first preacher. It is now the Scottsville Museum. 290 Main Street Main Street
Birthplace of George Rogers Clark George Rogers Clark was born a mile northeast of here on 19 Nov. 1752. He grew up on a farm in Caroline County. Clark explored the Ohio River Valley, fought in Dunmore’s War in 1774, and helped convince the General Assembly to organize Kentucky as a county of Virginia. As a militia officer during the Revolutionary War, he allied with French communities on the Mississippi River, defeated the British at Fort Sackville in present-day Indiana, and fought Shawnee Indians in the Ohio Country, strengthening Virginia’s claim to the Old Northwest. His younger brother, William, and Meriwether Lewis led the 1803-1806 Lewis and Clark Expedition to the Pacific Ocean. Rte. 20, opposite intersection with Winding River Road Stony Point Rd.
Birthplace of Meriwether Lewis Half a mile north was born, 1774, Meriwether Lewis, of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, sent by Jefferson to explore the Far West, 1804-1806. The expedition reached the mouth of the Columbia River, November 15, 1805. Rte. 250, at intersection with Owensville Road Ivy Rd.
Castle Hill The original house was built in 1765 by Doctor Thomas Walker, explorer and pioneer. Tarleton, raiding to Charlottesville to capture Jefferson and the legislature, stopped here for breakfast, June 4, 1781. This delay aided the patriots to escape. Castle Hill was long the home of Senator William Cabell Rives, who built the present house. Rte. 231, at southwest corner of intersection with Keswick Winery Drive Gordonsville Rd.
Colle Philip Mazzei, a Tuscan merchant and horticulturist, arrived in Virginia in 1773 and was persuaded by Thomas Jefferson to settle here. Jefferson gave him 193 acres of land, and Mazzei named his property Colle (meaning “hill”). He built a house ca. 1774 and organized a company to produce wine, oil, and silk. Mazzei wrote tracts supporting American independence, and, during the Revolution, served in a militia unit and was Virginia’s agent to the Grand Duke of Tuscany. He rented Colle to Hessian prisoner of war Gen. Friedrich Riedesel in 1779. The present French Colonial Revival house, designed by architect William Delano, was completed in 1940 for Stanley Woodward, a prominent diplomat. Rte. 53, at entrance to Jefferson Vineyards Thomas Jefferson Pkwy
Convention Army-The Barracks In Jan. 1779, during the American Revolution, 4,000 British troops and German mercenaries (commonly known as “Hessians”) captured following the Battle of Saratoga in New York arrived here after marching from Massachusetts. It was called the Convention Army after the instrument of its surrender. Most prisoners lived in primitive huts spread out over several hundred acres of the barracks camp, where they endured great hardships. Supplying and guarding the Convention Army taxed the resources of the community and militia. By Feb. 1781, the last of the prisoners had been relocated. Intersection of Barracks Farm Road and Barrackside Farm entrance Barracks Farm Rd.
Covesville Apple Industry In 1866 Dr. William D. Boaz established the first commercial apple orchard in Covesville. These orchards specialized in the Albemarle Pippin, which became one of the most prized and profitable apple varieties grown in Virginia. By 1890 the success of this variety, shipped as far away as England and France, helped the Boaz orchards become one of the most productive commercial orchards in Virginia. As the business grew, it spurred the development of many of Covesville’s buildings, including apple-packing plants, cider mills, workers’ housing, stores, depots, and cooperages. Several of these sites remain within the Covesville Historic District, which is on the National Register of Historic Places. Rte. 29, at Covesville post office, south of Charlottesville Monacan Trail Rd.
Crozet The town grew around a rail stop established on Wayland's farm in 1876. It was named for Col. B. Claudius Crozet, (1789-1864)--Napoleonic army officer, and the state's engineer and cartographer. He built this pioneer railway through the Blue Ridge. The 4273' tunnel through the rock-solid mountain below Rockfish Gap carried traffic from 1858-1944. His talents were tested in solving safety, drainage and ventilation problems posed by the construction of this tunnel. Rte. 240, in Crozet, at southern end of railroad underpass Crozet Ave.
Earlysville Union Church Earlysville Union Church is a rare surviving early-19th-century interdenominational church constructed in Albemarle County. Built in 1833, this frame structure served as a meetinghouse for all Christian denominations on land deeded by John Early, for whom Earlysville is named. This building provided an early home for several local congregations of the Baptist, Methodist, and Presbyterian faiths. The church is an excellent example of the 19th-century public architecture of rural Piedmont Virginia. It was listed on the Virginia Landmarks Register and the National Register of Historic Places in 1997. On Earlysville Road, but it sits in front of 505 St. Francis Avenue Earlysville Rd.
Edgehill William Randolph patented the Edgehill plantation, just to the north, in 1735. His grandson, Thomas Mann Randolph, married Thomas Jefferson’s daughter Martha, acquired Edgehill in 1792, and was later governor of Virginia. The couple built a frame house ca. 1799 but resided mainly at nearby Monticello. Their son, Thomas Jefferson Randolph, erected a brick residence in 1828. A workforce of enslaved African Americans lived at Edgehill. Martha Jefferson Randolph and her family operated a school for girls here; its successor, established after the Civil War, was a highly regarded women’s academy. The main house burned in 1916 but was rebuilt using the original walls. Rte. 250, about 900 feet west of Louisa Road intersection Richmond Rd.
Free State Free State, a community of free African Americans, stood here. Its nucleus was a 224-acre tract that Amy Farrow, a free black woman, purchased in 1788. Her son Zachariah Bowles lived here and married Critta Hemings of Monticello, an older sister of Sally Hemings. Free State residents farmed and practiced trades, accumulated personal property, and did business with local whites. The small community expanded after the Civil War and by early in the 20th century was home to the Free State Colored School and the Central Relief Association, a local benevolent society. Belvedere Blvd. near intersection with Free State Road Belvedere Blvd.
General Thomas Sumter Thomas Sumter was born on 14 Aug. 1734 in this region. Sumter, a member of the Virginia militia during the French and Indian War, moved to South Carolina in 1765. He served as a lieutenant colonel in the Continental Army (1776-1778); in June 1780 he came out of retirement. In Oct. 1780, he became a Brigadier General, and was instrumental in defeating the British in the Carolinas. He served in Congress (1789-1793; 1797-1801) and was an U. S. senator (1801-1810). He died on 1 June 1832. Sumter's name is also associated with the Civil War, because Fort Sumter is named for him. Rte. 231, east side, between Lovers Lane and Klockner Road Gordonsville Rd.
Grace Episcopal Church The vestry of Fredericksville Parish commissioned a church for this site in 1745. First known as Middle Church, the wood-frame building was later called Walker’s Church. Thomas Jefferson attended the nearby classical school of the Rev. James Maury, who was rector here and is buried in the churchyard. Jefferson served on the parish vestry from 1767 to 1770. Parishioner Judith Page Walker Rives enlisted William Strickland, one of the nation’s foremost architects, to design a replacement for the old frame church. The Gothic Revival sanctuary, consecrated by Bishop William Meade as Grace Church in 1855, is Strickland’s only known work in Virginia. 5607 Gordonsville Road Gordonsville Road
Greenwood-Afton Rural Historic District The Scots-Irish settled the Greenwood-Afton area in the 1730s, linking the agriculturally rich Shenandoah Valley with eastern Virginia. Settlement routes expanded into prominent roads and turnpikes. In the 1850s the railroad arrived, with Claudius Crozet's Blue Ridge Tunnel becoming the longest tunnel in the United States when it opened in 1858. The depot villages of Greenwood and Afton followed, drawing wealthy residents who built elaborate estates. Skyline Drive and the Blue Ridge Parkway, constructed in the 1930s, furthered the bucolic appeal of the region as a tourist destination. The area was officially designated as the Greenwood-Afton Rural Historic District in 2011. Rte. 250, north side, 400 feet west of intersection with Hillsboro Lane Rockfish Gap Turnpike
Hatton Ferry James A. Brown began operating a store and ferry at this site on rented property in the late 1870s. In 1881 he bought the land from S. P. Gantt at which time the store became a stop on the Richmond and Alleghany Railroad. Two years later, Brown was authorized to open a post office in his store, which was named Hatton for the young federal postal officer who signed the authorizing documents. The ferry is one of only two poled ferries still functioning in the continental United States. Rte. 625, at railroad crossing Hatton Ferry Rd.
Historic Scottsville In 1745 Old Albemarle County was organized at Scott's landing, its first county seat, here on the Great Horseshoe Bend of the James River. In 1818 the town was incorporated as Scottsville. Beginning in 1840 it flourished as the chief port above Richmond for freight and passenger boats on the James River and Kanawha Canal. It played a vital role in the opening up of the west. The 1840s and '50s were its golden era. Valley Street at intersection with Main St. Valley St.
Jackson's Valley Campaign During the Shenandoah Valley Campaign (March-June 1862) Confederate Maj. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson used deceptive maneuvers and sharp attacks to divert Union forces from the Peninsula Campaign against Richmond. Late in April, Jackson’s men began an eastward march over the Blue Ridge Mountains, convincing the Federals that they were bound for Richmond. On 3 May, Jackson bivouacked at nearby Mechum's River Station on the Virginia Central Railroad. The next day, part of his army returned to the Valley by train while the rest followed on foot. At the Battle of McDowell in the Allegheny Mountains on 8 May, Jackson defeated the vanguard of Union Maj. Gen. John C. Frémont's army. Ivy Road, about 850 feet east of intersection with Three Notched Road and Rockfish Gap Turnpike Ivy Rd.
Maury's School Just north was a classical school conducted by the Rev. James Maury, Rector of Fredericksville Parish from 1754 to 1769. Thomas Jefferson was one of Maury's students. Matthew Fontaine Maury, the "Pathfinder of the Seas," was Maury's grandson. Rte. 231, about 3/4ths mile north of intersection with Lindsay Road Gordonsville Rd.
Miller School A bequest of Samuel Miller (1792-1869) provided funds to found the Miller School in 1878. Miller, a Lynchburg businessman born in poverty in Albemarle County, envisioned a regional school for children who could not afford an education. The school was a pioneer in combining the value of hands-on labor with a liberal arts education. Coeducational from 1884 until 1928, then all male, the school became coeducational again in 1992. Built on property once owned by Miller, the principal building ("Old Main") was designed by Albert Lybrock and D. Wiley Anderson in the High Victorian Gothic style. Miller School was listed on the Virginia Landmarks Register in 1973 and the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. Rte. 635, main entrance of school Miller School Rd.
Mirador Nearby stands Mirador, the childhood home of Nancy, Viscountess Astor, the first woman member of Parliament. Born Nancy Witcher Langhorne in 1879, she lived here from 1892 to 1897. In 1906 she married Waldorf Astor and moved to England permanently. Mirador also was home to her sister Irene, wife of Charles Dana Gibson and model for the Gibson Girl of the 1890s. New York architect William Adams Delano remodeled Mirador in the 1920s for Lady Astor's niece, Mrs. Ronald (Nancy Perkins) Tree. Later, as Nancy Lancaster, she greatly influenced interior design by creating the "English country house look." Rte. 250, about 1/4 mile west of intersection with Greenwood Road Rockfish Gap Tpke.
Monacan Indian Village Near here, on both sides of the Rivanna River, was located the Monacan Indian village of Monasukapanough. This village was one of five Monacan towns that Captain John Smith recorded by name on his 1612 Map of Virginia, though many more existed. Monasukapanough was a chief's village and was occupied for several centuries until it was abandoned in the late seventeenth or early eighteenth century. Monacan descendants still reside throughout the central Virginia area. The tribe's headquarters today is on Bear Mountain in Amherst County. Rio Mills Road, 70 feet from northwest corner of Seminole Trail intersection Rio Mills Road
Proffit Historic District Ben Brown and other newly freed slaves, who founded the community after the Civil War, first named the settlement Egypt and then Bethel. About 1881, the community became known as Proffit when the Virginia Midland Railway placed a stop here, stimulating further development between 1890 and 1916 by white landowners who built along Proffit Road. Prominent reminders of Proffit's black heritage are Evergreen Baptist Church, built in 1891, and several houses constructed by the Brown and Flannagan families in the 1880s. The district was listed on the Virginia Landmarks Register in 1998 and the National Register of Historic Places in 1999. Mossing Ford Road, at fork with Proffit Road Mossing Ford Rd.
Revolutionary Soldiers Graves Jesse Pitman Lewis (d. March 8, 1849), of the Virginia Militia, and Taliaferro Lewis (d. July 12, 1810), of the Continental Line, two of several brothers who fought in the war for independence, are buried in the Lewis family cemetery 100 yards south of this marker. Rte. 250, 50 feet west of intersection with Colonade Drive Ivy Rd.
Rio Mills The 19th-century mill village of Rio Mills stood 600 yards west of here, where the former Harrisonburg-Charlottesville Turnpike crossed the South Fork of the Rivanna River. Following the Battle of Rio Hill on 29 February 1864, Union General George Armstrong Custer burned the covered bridge and gristmill at Rio Mills. Immediately rebuilt under the direction of Abraham L. Hildebrand, the gristmill continued to grind wheat and corn for the Confederacy. The milling operation apparently closed down soon after 1900. Rio Mills Road, 80 feet west of northwest intersection with Seminole Trail Rio Mills Road
Shadwell, Birthplace of Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson--author of the Declaration of Independence, third president of the United States, and founder of the University of Virginia--was born near this site on 13 April 1743. His father, Peter Jefferson (1708-1757), a surveyor, planter, and officeholder, began acquiring land in this frontier region in the mid-1730s and had purchased the Shadwell tract by 1741. Peter Jefferson built a house soon after, and the Shadwell plantation became a thriving agricultural estate. Thomas Jefferson spent much of his early life at Shadwell. After the house burned to the ground in 1770, he moved to Monticello, where he had begun constructing a house. Rte. 250, about a quarter mile west of the VDOT headquarters entrance Richmond Rd.
Skirmish at Rio Hill On February 29, 1864, General George A. Custer and 1500 cavalrymen made a diversionary raid into Albemarle County. Here, north of Charlottesville, he attacked the Confederate winter camp of four batteries of the Stuart Horse Artillery commanded by Captain Marcellus N. Moorman. Despite the destruction to the camp, 200 Confederates rallied in a counterattack which forced Custer's withdrawal. Few casualties were reported. Rio Hill Center, at the Rio Hill Shopping Center Rio Hill Center
Southern Albemarle Rural Historic District Bounded by the James River to the south and the Rivanna River to the north, this nationally significant district encompasses 83,627 acres. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2007, it includes buildings influenced by Jefferson’s Classical Revival ideals. The beauty of the Piedmont landscape is revealed in the panoramic vistas, farmlands, and vineyards. The district reflects the architectural and cultural influences of former residents Thomas Jefferson and James Monroe. The landscape remains predominantly agricultural with large farm complexes, historic villages, and an early transportation network of roads and waterways. Scottsville Road, south end of Carter's Bridge over the Hardware River Scottsville Rd.
Southwest Mountains Rural Historic District Extending from the Orange County line on the north to the outskirts of Charlottesville with the Southwest Mountains forming its spine, this historic district encompasses more than 31,000 acres and contains some of the Piedmont’s most pristine and scenic countryside. Thomas Jefferson often traveled along the eastern side of the Southwest Mountains to Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. and referred to the mountains as the “Eden of the United States.” The district includes a broad range of 18th through early 20th century rural architecture, reflecting the evolving cultural patterns of more than 250 years of settlement. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992. Rte. 22, at intersection with Keswick Road Louisa Rd.
St. John School--Rosenwald Funded The St. John School, built here in 1922-1923, served African American students during the segregation era. Julius Rosenwald, president of Sears, Roebuck and Co., collaborated with Booker T. Washington in a school-building campaign beginning in 1912. The Rosenwald Fund, incorporated in 1917, helped build more than 5,000 schools and supporting structures for African Americans in the rural South by 1932. The Rosenwald Fund contributed $700 for the St. John School, while local residents donated $500 and Albemarle County provided $1,300. The two-classroom school closed during the 1950s and was later purchased by St. John Baptist Church. 1569 St. John Road St. John Road
Staunton and James River Turnpike The Staunton and James River Turnpike ran through here at Batesville and stretched for 43 ½ miles from Staunton to Scottsville. Construction began in 1826 and was completed by 1830. The turnpike provided a direct route for Shenandoah Valley farmers to transport agricultural products to Scottsville, then to Richmond via the James River and Kanawha Canal. Because the turnpike became impassable during wet weather, it was converted to a plank road (wooden boards laid crosswise to the road surface) beginning in 1849. The emergence of the railroad industry and the high cost of maintenance resulted in its disuse by the late 1850s and eventual incorporation into the country's road system. Rte. 692, at Batesville, between Schoolhouse Hill and Miller School Road Plank Rd.
Union Occupation of Charlottesville On 3 Mar. 1865, after the Battle of Waynesboro, Maj. Gen. Philip H. Sheridan's Union Army of the Shenandoah entered Charlottesville. As Bvt. Maj. Gen. George A. Custer’s 3d Cavalry Division arrived, Mayor Christopher L. Fowler, local officials, and University of Virginia professors Socrates Maupin and John B. Minor, likely with rector Thomas L. Preston, met Custer on the University Grounds. Fowler surrendered the town and keys to the public buildings. The professors asked that the University be protected as a national asset. Custer agreed, posting guards during a three-day occupation. The University suffered little damage, unlike the Virginia Military Institute, which was burned in June 1864. Rte. 250, about 100 feet west of Colonnade Drive intersection Ivy Rd.
Wilson Cary Nicholas 1761--1820 "Just to the south was Mount Warren, the home of Wilson Cary Nicholas. He served in the Continental army, represented Albemarle County in the General Assembly (1784–
1789, 1794–1799), and was a delegate to the Virginia Convention of 1788 that approved the United States Constitution. Nicholas was a member of the U. S. Senate (1799–1804), served in the House of Representatives (1807 - 1809), and was governor of Virginia (1814–1816). A close personal friend and political ally of Thomas Jefferson, Nicholas is buried at Monticello." Rte. 726, about a quarter-mile east of intersection with Rte. 627 James River Rd.


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