A guide to Virginia’s literary heritage.Jane Baber
The Anne Spencer Garden.
Virginia is so rich in literary heritage that we’ve organized a special neighborhood we like to call the writer’s block. Of course, the following sites celebrating Virginia authors aren’t all in one block, but, strung together, they make a fine tour for any bibliophile.
Take in a chapter (or two) from the lives of a few of our favorite Virginia literati this year:
Poe Museum, Richmond
Discover the father of detective fiction and master of suspense Edgar Allen Poe by perusing artifacts like a lock of his hair and an issue of his Southern Literary Messenger. PoeMuseum.orgAnne Spencer House, Lynchburg
Civil rights activist and Harlem Renaissance poet Anne Spencer was a devoted gardener, and today her house and gardens provide the same relaxation for visitors that she once enjoyed. AnneSpencerMuseum.orgBooker T. Washington National Monument, Hardy
Though his name is more often associated with Tuskegee, Alabama, Booker T. Washington was in fact born on a Franklin County plantation. Visit to learn more about Washington’s Virginia roots. NPS.gov/BoWaWeems-Botts House, Dumfries
Scare up some inspiration at the reputedly haunted Weems-Botts House, once home to Parson Weems, the first biographer of George Washington. HistoricDumfries.com/WeemsBotts
Virginia Scenic Railway Adds Dome Car for Spectacular Valley Views The popular Virginia Scenic Railway just upped its game with a vintage dome car offering breathtaking 360° views of the Shenandoah Valley. The “Shenandoah”—built in 1948 as the “Silver Palace” for the California Zephyr—now gives passengers an unmatched vantage point on three-hour excursions from Staunton. […]
Eight Virginia schools received the National Blue Ribbon 2024 award for their high performances. The Exemplary High Performing Schools are Spring Hill Elementary in McLean, Green Run Collegiate in Virginia Beach, Bethel Manor Elementary in Hampton, and St. Andrew the Apostle School in Clifton. The Exemplary Achievement Gap Closing Schools are Central Academy Middle […]
In Colonial America, a grand garden was the ultimate status symbol—the 18th century equivalent of a Lamborghini. So when archaeologists at Colonial Williamsburg uncovered John Custis IV’s property, they struck horticultural gold: the remains of a football field-sized garden alongside his Jacobean manor house. Custis, a tobacco magnate and Martha Washington’s first father-in-law, went all […]
