![]() So we began to explore Virginia’s history and a great deal of that history, particularly about the Civil War, can be discovered by visiting plantations. in the 70s, we hadn’t spent much time in Virginia. Although we had lived in Washington, D.C. How did the two of you come together to write this book?Ĭharlene: About five years ago, my husband and I began dividing our time between New York City and Alexandria, Virginia. Jai and Charlene talk about what became for them a transformative journey, researching and writing Plantations of Virginia. These “works in progress” have fascinating stories to tell. Like so many other areas of the country, Virginia has become focused on preserving its history, which, in many cases, involves saving and restoring these homes and surrounding grounds. Their homes, Mount Vernon, Monticello, and Montpelier, remain the crown jewels and should be experienced by every American for their historic value.īut there are many other plantations worth a visit, including the grand mansions located along the James River. Virginia has produced eight presidents and three of those – George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison – were Founding Fathers whose leadership and inspiration were critical to the birth and success of the new country. Their new book, Plantations of Virginia, has just been published by Globe Pequot Press. ![]() My judgement might be clouded as I am a history buff and I learned nothing on this short visit.Jai Williams and Charlene Giannetti spent six months visiting 40 plantations in Virginia, taking tours and talking with the families and the professionals tasked with caring for these historic properties. But, in all honesty I do wish I would have had the time to buy a combo ticket to include another sight as overall it was a below average experience. I know it costs to keep buildings in good order and grass cut. The price of the admission is not bad - $8. If I would have had bug spray I am sure I would have stayed longer - and a gravel path to walk on would have helped I am sure. By this time I was being eaten alive by chiggers and mosquitoes so I quickly viewed and left. I walked a ways and figured out I needed to walk the opposite direction. The path leads to a large open grassy field, with no sign pointing which way to go. I then walked through the nature path to view another cemetery on the property - this was very confusing as it just has one sign pointing to the cemetery and nothing else. After touring the house you are given a map to follow to other sights on the property - two small grave yards and a small wooden building (that was moved from another sight) There are no path ways so you have to walk through the grass for viewing, this would not have been an issues except with the dampness on the ground (it was 11 AM) by the time I walked to the small building both my socks and shoes were very wet. The tour guide really did not have much to say, however, she was friendly and would answer questions when asked. In the main office they had a small display showing the homes history along with the area's time line. The house itself is old and interesting, however, since it has very little from the original owners they had on display items from that time period. I was very excited to have time to visit as I had seen it from the road several times.
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