And that includes mine, as I have yet to visit Mount Vernon , the plantation house of George Washington, first President of the United States, and his wife Martha Washington. The estate is located on the banks of the Potomac River in Fairfax County, Virginia, near Alexandria, across from Prince George's County, Maryland. The mansion, which is undoubtedly the centerpiece of the estate, is made of wood in a loose Palladian style, and was gradually constructed by George Washington between 1758 and 1778. It occupies the site of a one and a half story farmhouse built by George Washington's father Augustine in 1735. When Augustin moved his family to the property in 1735, it was known as Little Hunting Creek Plantation. In the early 1740s, during the War of Jenkins' Ear, Lawrence Washington, George Washington’s eldest half-brother, served as a militia officer at the Battle of Cartagena. Lawrence inherited the Little Hunting Creek Plantation in 1743 and changed the name to ...

Most people know very little about James Monroe (1758-1831) other than the fact that he was one of the first presidents of the United States, if that. A recent discovery proves that the fifth commander in chief lived in much higher style than historians and history geeks previously thought. Indeed, the modest residence once touted as Highland, Monroe's estate near Charlottesville, Virginia, is now being classified as a mere guest house. So where did Monroe live? It turns out that the well-preserved foundation of what is being described as a "free standing and sizeable house" was discovered in the front yard of what was believed to be Highland for so many years. Archaeologists unearthed stone foundations, charred planks, a a chimney, and a wealth of artifacts, suggesting that a fire in the mid-19th century destroyed a considerably large and imposing structure. Tree rings visible on the wood in the house that still stands indicates it was cut down around 181...

Here are 20 fun facts about Virginia , officially known as the Commonwealth of Virginia : It is nicknamed "Old Dominion" due to its status as the first colonial possession established in mainland British America. It is also nicknamed "Mother of States" because eight U.S. presidents were born there, more than any other state. Among them were four of the first five commanders-in-chief: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and James Monroe. Six future first ladies were born in Virginia. It is the 35th largest state by area, being divided into 95 counties and 38 independent cities. Virginia has five major airports. The state has five different climate regions: the Tidewater, Piedmont, Northern Virginia, Western Mountain, and Southwestern Mountain regions. Forests cover over 60% of the state. The first people are estimated to have arrived in Virginia over 12,000 years ago. Virginia was named for Elizabeth I, England's "Virgin Queen....

On March 27, 1775, Future President Thomas Jefferson was elected to the second Continental Congress. Jefferson, a Virginia delegate, quickly made a name for himself in the Continental Congress with the publication of his paper, A Summary View of the Rights of British America . Several more papers would follow in the coming year, including Drafts and Notes on the Virginia Constitution . In June 1776, Congress assembled a committee to draft the Declaration of Independence. Following a great deal of discussion, the committee selected Jefferson to compose the document. At just 33 years of age, it only took Jefferson a couple of days to complete a draft of what is regarded as the most important document in the history of democracy. After a few small changes, the committee submitted the draft, titled A Declaration by the Representatives in General Congress Assembled , to Congress on June 28, 1776. The document was formally adopted by Congress on July 4, 1776, under the new title The Dec...

Most people have heard of or visited cities in the Commonwealth of Virginia like Alexandria, Richmond, Roanoke, and Williamsburg. But very few know much about Lynchburg, a city bursting with charm and history. Situated in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains along the banks of the James River, Lynchburg is known as the "City of Seven Hills" or the "Hill City." Lynchburg was established by charter in 1786 at the site of Lynch's Ferry on the James River. It became a major hub of commerce and manufacturing in the 19th century, and by the 1850s, Lynchburg was one of the richest towns per capita in the U.S., with tobacco, iron, and steel among its chief industries. From April 6-10, 1865, Lynchburg served as the Capital of Virginia. A Confederate supply base during the Civil War, it was the site of the Battle of Lynchburg, where the Confederates managed to repulse a Union attempt to capture the city. Moreover, Lynchburg holds the distinction of being the ...

Ever heard of Montpelier? Neither had I -- at least not until a couple of years ago. It happens to be the plantation house where James Madison (1751-1836), 4th President of the United States and father of the U.S. Constitution, and First Lady Dolley Madison (1768-1849) lived. They didn't live there full-time, of course, until Madison completed his second term in 1817. Located near Orange, Virginia, the estate is comprised of a mansion, historic buildings, exhibits, garden, forest trails and archaeological sites. The origins of the name Montpelier are dubious at best, but the first recorded use of the name is traced back to a letter written in 1781. Madison liked the French spelling of the word -- Montpellier -- which translates to "Mount of the Pilgrim." Madison had a staff of roughly 100 enslaved African Americans at Montpelier who served in a variety of roles, from cooks to carpenters. It was declared a National Historic Landmark and listed on the National Reg...

On this day in 1781, the Articles of Confederation were finally ratified. The Articles were signed by Congress and sent to the individual states for ratification on November 15, 1777, following 16 months of debate. Squabbles over land claims between Maryland and Virginia delayed final ratification for nearly four more years. Maryland finally approved the Articles on March 1, 1781, affirming the Articles as the outline of the official government of the United States. The Articles of Confederation guided the country until the implementation of the current U.S. Constitution in 1789. Less than five years after the ratification of the Articles of Confederation, many Americans agreed that the system was inadequate to the task of governance, prompting them to peacefully overthrow their second government in just over 20 years. The contrast between a group of sovereign states forming a confederation and a federal government established by a sovereign people stood at the heart of debate as the...

On this day in 1693, The College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, received its charter, thereby becoming the second institution of higher learning in the United States (after Harvard University). The original plans for William & Mary stretch back to 1618 -- decades before Harvard -- but were tabled by an "Indian uprising." James Blair traveled to Britain to advocate for a college on behalf of his fellow Virginians. On February 8, 1693, King William III and Queen Mary II of England signed the charter for a "perpetual College of Divinity, Philosophy, Languages, and other good Arts and Sciences" to be founded in the Virginia Colony. Just like that, William & Mary was born. Workers commenced construction on the Sir Christopher Wren Building, then known as the College Building in 1695, before the town of Williamsburg even existed. Over the next two centuries, the Wren Building would catch fire on three separate occasions, each time being re-...

A lot has been made of the Blizzard of 2016, otherwise known as "Snowzilla," which has dumped much of the East coast with record levels of snow. But did you know a snowstorm that struck Virginia in the late 1700s was so potent that it forced a pair of founding fathers to stay indoors? Indeed, the Washington and Jefferson Snowstorm of 1772, which kept George Washington and Thomas Jefferson holed up in their respective Virginia plantations, walloped the colony from the 26th through the 29th of January. The storm is so named because both men wrote in their weather diaries of unprecedented levels of snow falling in the vicinity. When it was all said and done, the snowstorm may have dumped as much as three inches of snow on the region, making it one of the biggest of its kind to ever hit the Virginia/DC area. Had you ever heard of the Washington and Jefferson Snowstorm before? Have you ever experienced a snowstorm yourself?

I just finished reading "The Last Founding Father: James Monroe and a Nation's Call to Greatness." I remember spotting the book at a local Barnes & Noble bookstore a few months ago and wondering why Monroe never seems to get as much attention as other Founding Fathers like George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. Interested in learning more about the last of the quartet of presidents who made up the so-called Virginia dynasty (Washington, Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe), I purchased the book. I learned a great deal about Monroe. For example, did you know he's the only person ever to have held the positions of Secretary of State and Secretary of War at the same time? Or that Monrovia, the first permanent Black American settlement in Africa, is named after said president? Or that Monroe nearly dueled with Alexander Hamilton had it not been for Aaron Burr, who himself would go on to kill Hamilton in a duel. Monroe fought valiantly in the Revolutionary War and ...