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A painting of Mount Vernon, George Washington's house, which overlooks the Potomac River south of Washington, DC. It is one of the largest houses of the colonial era, and has a wooden facade cut to look like stone, which was too expensive to use at the time. Washington's forebears came from Yorkshire and Northamptonshire. Ironically, Sir John Washington moved to Virginia ca. 1656 after supporting the royalist side in the British Civil War. |
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This is Arlington House, built by relatives of George Washington (who had no children of his own). By marriage it came into Robert E. Lee's hands, and is sometimes known as the Custis-Lee mansion. It is open for free tours and sits on a knoll overlooking Washington with one of the best views in the city. When Lee joined the Confederacy the property was occupied and turned into Arlington National Cemetery. |
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At the end of the Civil War the Confederate Army lost Richmond, its capital, and retreated west along the James River. This is the house in the town of Appomattox Court House where General Robert E. Lee surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant of the federal forces.
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An autumn view of the Shenandoah Mountains which run in a southwestern direction near the western border of the state. The Shenandoah Valley is fertile and the northern end is known for its apple crop. Roanoke is the largest city in the western part of the state. Just west of here is the state of West Virginia which split off during the Civil War (1861-1865).
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Tobacco and peanuts are important crops across the southern edge of Virginia known as Southside. Smoking is often more stringently regulated in America than Europe, and is generally forbidden inside school buildings, airports, etc. Tobacco sales have declined but it is still an important product. Virginia's peanut production has dropped by half since 1990 due to a drop in government subsidies plus competition from foreign countries, such as Mexico and China. |
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This is an aerial view of the Chesapeake Bay, with most of Virginia to the west. The tail end of the eastern part is also Virginia, though the area is shared with Delaware and Maryland. The Bay is one of the largest estuaries in the world and has been historically rich in crabs and other seafood, though pollution and agricultural run-off has cut that drastically. The biggest river flowing into the Bay is the Potomac, which serves as the boundary between Virginia and Maryland. Both states were named for Tudor monarchs, our Commonwealth being named for Elizabeth, the Virgin Queen, and Maryland being named for her sister Queen Mary. Just off the photo to the south are Norfolk and Portsmouth, home to ship-building, submarine-building, and the world's largest naval base. |
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The Netherlands Carillon was a gift to America from the the Dutch people for aid received during and after the Second World War. The carillon itself symbolizes the friendship between our two peoples. It is placed in Arlington National Cemetery immediately adjacent to the Marine Corps ("Iwo Jima") Memorial. Canada also received a carillon which stands adjacent to the Parliament Building in Victoria, British Columbia. |
On the previous page is Shirley Plantation and then Monticello, which was designed by Thomas Jefferson and overlooks Charlottesville.
August 29, 2003. Comments to ccowden@nvcc.edu.