History and Nature in Central Virginia
James Madison’s Montpelier, the University of Virginia, Shenandoah Natl. Park, Shenandoah River State Park, Natural Bridge State Park
April 2022
View from Shenandoah Natl. Park
In central Virginia, we spent a few days near Charlottesville. We had seen Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello years ago, so we didn’t revisit it. Instead, we went to Montpelier, to learn about the man who was our 4th President and the author of the Constitution and Bill of Rights.
James Madison’s Montpelier, restored to look as it did when the Madisons lived there.
Underneath this garden temple, a 24-foot deep ice house was filled with ice cut from a frozen pond, so that the Madisons could enjoy cool drinks and ice cream in summer.
We could not take pictures inside the house on our guided tour, and we saw only a few rooms, but our guide did a great job telling about the life of James Madison. The house had several different owners after Dolley died, and the furnishings were sold to pay debts, so the house is now furnished in the style of Madison’s time, and based on written evidence.
Some of the slave buildings, which are right next to the house. There was an exhibit about the slaves in the basement of the house.
Back side of the house and slave buildings
The Annie du Pont formal garden. William du Pont Sr. and his wife Annie bought the mansion in 1900.
We also took a free historical tour of the Rotunda and Lawn at the University of Virginia. Thomas Jefferson wanted the Rotunda to look like a smaller version of the Pantheon, an ancient temple in Rome. He designed the Lawn so that students and faculty could interact outside, in addition to inside, the classroom.
Students and faculty live in these buildings on both sides of the Rotunda, with a wide lawn in between.
After leaving Charlottesville, we camped at Shenandoah River State Park near the north entrance of Shenandoah Natl. Park. We really liked this state park—huge campsites, lots of trails, and this excellent view of the Shenandoah River!
On our first visit to Shenandoah NP, we stopped at the visitor center first, and bought a CD tour of Skyline Drive to follow as we headed south on the drive through the northern half of the park.
It was pretty hazy on the two days we explored the northern half of the park. Plus the leaves weren’t out on all the trees, yet, so there wasn’t much color on the mountains, except at lower elevations.
We hope at some point in the future, we can come back (autumn would be beautiful). We’d like to drive the southern half next time, too. We read that it takes over 3 hours to drive the whole thing one way, but that’s if you don’t stop anywhere.
On the way to West Virginia, we stopped at Natural Bridge State Park. This rock formation was taller than we expected. It was pretty impressive! We walked under it and along a trail, which made for a nice break in the middle of our travel day.
We really liked Virginia: there is so much history to learn about, and the state is beautiful, especially in the spring!