Historic Homes

A walk or drive along High and Beech streets, just north of Longwood University’s campus, offers a picturesque view of centuries-old homes – a peek into bygone eras.

 Take The Whitfield Building for example. Located at 308 North Main Street, this building was constructed in the early 1860’s, this is the oldest storefront building still in its original form in Farmville. The building was designed from noted architect Asher Benjamin’s early 19th century books on architecture. Of interest is the Greek Key over the windows on the second floor.

Click here for a full map and description of each of these nearby historic homes, churches and downtown buildings!

J Fergeson Gallery

The J Fergeson gallery brings together the work of nationally recognized and local artists in the gallery space as well as in the gift shop. The gallery was opened in 2008 by Jarrod Fergeson, whose mission is to feature contemporary painting, ceramics, sculpture and photography.

The carefully curated gift shop displays a similar variety -- from handmade jewelry and gifts to art books, woodwork and even one-of-a-kind belt buckles. The range of work promises to introduce gallery visitors to artists and craftspeople they might not otherwise encounter, meaning the J Fergeson gallery has an eye on education as well as aesthetics.

Jarrod Fergeson opened the J Fergeson gallery in Farmville, Virginia, a destination for antiques and home furnishings known all along the East Coast. The gallery is Farmville’s only commercial art gallery.

Farmville is located approximately 60 miles southwest of Richmond, Virginia, and 160 miles south of Washington, DC. Learn more here.

Robert Russa Moton Museum

Farmville, Virginia’s former Robert Russa Moton High School, now a National Historic Landmark and museum, is the student birthplace of America’s Civil Rights Revolution.

“[The 1951 Moton Student Strike] marked the start of the modern civil rights movement . . . [and] forever changed the landscape of American education.”  - Don Baker, The Washington Post Magazine

Farmville, Virginia’s former Robert Russa Moton High School, now a National Historic Landmark and museum, preserves and constructively interprets the history of Civil Rights in Education, specifically as it relates to Prince Edward County, and the leading role its citizens played in America’s transition from segregation toward integration.

Moton strives to promote dialogue and advance positions that ensure empowerment within a constitutional democracy.

Dreamed by 16-year-old Barbara Johns, the 1951 Moton Student Strike produced three-fourths of the plaintiffs in Brown v. Board of Education (1954), the landmark Supreme Court decision desegregating U.S. schools.

From 1959 to 1964 Prince Edward County closed their public schools to avoid integration.  The Supreme Court in Griffin v. Prince Edward (1964) ordered schools to reopen, declaring “the time for mere ‘deliberate speed’ has run out.”

“If . . . you are looking for the handful of places where this nation’s civil rights revolution began, check out the old Moton High School in Farmville, Va.” - The Toledo Blade

This institution is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

Adventure Park at Sandy River Retreat

This tree-top adventure park is the largest and first of it's kind in central Virginia. Participants independently traverse obstacles suspended between trees. There are 52 obstacles including 13 zip line,  separated into four different courses/trails, similar to those found on a ski mountain.The courses are different levels of difficulty, ranging from beginner to challenging.  Each trail consists of elements like rope bridges, logs, cargo nets, swings, ladders, and zip lines. Located in Rice, VA.

Sailor's Creek Battlefield Historic State Park

Nearly a quarter of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee’s army, more than 7,700 men, were killed, wounded or captured on April 6, 1865, at the battle of Sailor’s Creek. Lee surrendered his army 72 hours later at Appomattox Court House. The Overton-Hillsman farmhouse, circa 1780, is open to the public for guided tours. The house was restored to reflect the 1865 conditions the family and soldiers experienced when the house served as a Union field hospital. The park’s visitor center houses exhibits showcasing artifacts and research about the battles of Sailor’s Creek and the war’s impact on the citizens of Southside Virginia. Visitors will be taken back that wet spring day when both armies and a galaxy of generals met at Sailor’s Creek for what was the last major battle of the American Civil War in Virginia.

Shenandoah River State Park

A state park located along the Shenandoah River in Virginia, near the town of Bentonville.

Virginia’s First Crop

One of the most popular crops in the US was first grown in the state of Virginia. The Peanut was first grown on the edge of the Blue Ridge Mountains. It had perfect soil for the peanut plant.

Farmville: America’s First two-College Town

College towns are great places to live and work. They are vibrant places offering a menu of music, art and college sports more commonly associated with major metropolitan areas. But Farmville is something even more rare than a great college town. It’s a great two-college community. This has been true almost from our very beginning, more than two centuries ago.

Virginia‬'s Colonial National Historical Park

Virginia‬'s Colonial National Historical Park memorializes several important American sites. Visit the oldest permanent English settlement in North America at Jamestown and tour Green Spring, the 17th century plantation home of Sir William Berkeley.

National Park Week

Upcoming National Park Week April 16-24th Enjoy Fee-Free Days at National Parks in Virginia!

Roberta Russa Moton Museum

Located in historic Farmville, just 25 miles from Appomattox, and within 60 miles of Charlottesville, Lynchburg and Richmond, Moton is one of Virginia’s top six historic destinations.

George Washington National Forest

The George Washington National Forest, of the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests, is comprised of 959,414 acres in Virginia and 104,866 acres in West Virginia. The Forest extends from near Winchester, VA in the north to Covington, VA in the south. It surrounds the Shenandoah Valley, which is comprised of forested mountains and valleys.

Cascade Falls

About 150,000 visitors a year visit the Cascades. Without question, Cascade Falls is one of the most beautiful waterfalls in Virginia and possibly on the entire East Coast. Little Stony Creek falls over a vertical cliff in several different streams. Several streams cascade a couple times on the way down while others fall the whole distance of the falls.

The 69 ft. falls crash into a large pool surrounded by two hundred foot cliff walls from which large ice formations hang in the winter. The scene is both breathtaking and peaceful as the falls combine both power and beauty. The falls are also fairly easy to view, with wooden stairs and platforms on one side of the pool allowing a visitor to get very close to the falls as well as allowing a photographer many different angles for photographs.

Cascades Recreation Area, Jefferson National Forest, Pembroke
For more information call: 540-552-4641

Monongahela National Forest

Considered by The Nature Conservancy to be in an area of global ecological importance, the Monongahela is one of the most biologically diverse national forests.  Much of this diversity can be attributed to the wide range in elevation and the resulting patterns of precipitation.  The lowest part of the Forest is on the eastern side and is about 1000 feet above sea level, while the central portion of the Forest contains the State's highest peak, Spruce Knob at an elevation of 4863 feet above sea level.

Blue Ridge Parkway

The Blue Ridge Parkway winds 469 miles along the ridges of the Appalachian Mountains from Shenandoah National Park in Waynesboro to the Great Smoky Mountains in North Carolina.

Farmville, VA

A historical quaint town full of family fun activities including hiking at the High Bridge Trail State Park or enjoying a float ride down the Appomattox River.

Woodlawn

George Washington gave 2,000 acres of his Mount Vernon estate in 1799 as a wedding gift to Eleanor "Nelly' Custis, his wife's granddaughter, and her husband, Major Lawrence Lewis, Washington's nephew. Their home was designed by Dr. William Thornton, first architect of the U.S. Capitol. Spacious rooms and beautifully landscaped ground and formal gardens reflect Virginia plantation life in the early 1800s. Handsome furnishings include mementos of Eleanor's childhood at Mount Vernon and years as mistress of her own elegant mansion. Operated as a historic house museum since 1949, Woodlawn is an interesting case-study of the cultural relevance of the house museum.

Open March 1 - November 30

Monticello

No other home in the United States more accurately reflects the personality of its owner than Monticello. Monticello is the autobiographical masterpiece of Thomas Jefferson—designed and redesigned and built and rebuilt for more than forty years—and its gardens were a botanic showpiece, a source of food, and an experimental laboratory of ornamental and useful plants from around the world.

Guided tours of the house are offered daily throughout the year; outdoor gardens and plantation tours are offered daily April-October. Children under 5 are free. Reduced rates for adult and student groups are available.