Virginia

Virginia is where American history first took root—and where it has grown, twisted, reformed, and revived through every chapter since. The Old Dominion is more than birthplace to eight presidents or cradle of colonial dreams; it is the ground upon which revolutions were pledged, battles were fought, freedoms were defined, and contradictions endured.

But Virginia is not a museum piece locked in amber—it has always looked forward while holding the past close. From Tidewater plantations to Blue Ridge hollows, from segregated classrooms to global headquarters, Virginia evolves. In this installment of the History250 Semiquincentennial Series, we trace not just monuments and mansions, but maverick diners, mountain fire towers, and theme parks that mix barley with Bavaria. It is a journey through America’s first chapter and its never-ending rewrite. In Virginia, the weight of history does not burden—it deepens the story. 

Pre-historic mounds... octagon houses... The Crooked Road... iron horses... Utopian communities... fire towers... windmills... peanuts... geodesic domes... tobacco... moonshine... the CCC... Art Deco stunners... kit houses...the golden age of motoring... canals... show caves... kissing bridges... Presidents... cast iron... Naval Baseball... Dry Docks... Frank Lloyd Wright... drive-in movies... brick kilns... Carnegie libraries... engineering marvels... shot towers... Nascar... fox hunting. This book will have you telling stories like a native in no time.

The photos and stories collected here are a fast and fun way to learn the explanations behind the quirks, the traditions and the secrets that make Virginia uniquely Virginia. Where will you find America’s “first air conditioned building? Solved. Where was the “best World Series no one ever saw” played? A mystery no more. Where can you find entire streets built with kit houses? Identified. Where is the world’s largest reinforced thin shell concrete dome? Revealed. 

in print and ebook
A kitchen made round for a roadside meal, A stovetop illusion that once felt surreal. No handle or spout, yet the message was clear: "Come in for a bite and a hot cup of cheer." It’s mimetic charm from a bygone plot, That brewed up its fame as a buil

A kitchen made round for a roadside meal, A stovetop illusion that once felt surreal. No handle or spout, yet the message was clear: "Come in for a bite and a hot cup of cheer." It’s mimetic charm from a bygone plot, That brewed up its fame as a building-shaped pot.

A dome of clay with chimney wide, Where bricks were baked and time defied. The prisoners worked by glowing heat, To line each town with red-clay street. One kiln remains, its story told, Of labor, fire, and bricks grown bold.

A dome of clay with chimney wide, Where bricks were baked and time defied. The prisoners worked by glowing heat, To line each town with red-clay street. One kiln remains, its story told, Of labor, fire, and bricks grown bold.

When cash was too scarce to attend a new play, They paid with potatoes and squash on a tray. From pigs to performers, the curtains would rise— A ham for poor Hamlet beneath mountain skies. A legacy born in the midst of despair, Still barters a laugh

When cash was too scarce to attend a new play, They paid with potatoes and squash on a tray. From pigs to performers, the curtains would rise— A ham for poor Hamlet beneath mountain skies. A legacy born in the midst of despair, Still barters a laugh for those willing to care.

A Gothic pile of local stone, Where spires and granite muscle shone. The price ballooned, the schedule slipped, But not a single frill was skipped. Now offices fill halls once grand— A civic dream carved by hand.

A Gothic pile of local stone, Where spires and granite muscle shone. The price ballooned, the schedule slipped, But not a single frill was skipped. Now offices fill halls once grand— A civic dream carved by hand.

The post, the potbelly, checker’s call, A peddler’s shop that served them all. Though catalogs once dimmed its light, The bluegrass jam brought back the night. A general store with songs to lend— Where Crooked Road and rhythm blend.

The post, the potbelly, checker’s call, A peddler’s shop that served them all. Though catalogs once dimmed its light, The bluegrass jam brought back the night. A general store with songs to lend— Where Crooked Road and rhythm blend.

A raid that struck the Union’s core, Where Brown knocked slavery’s rusted door. He seized the guns and held his stand, To free the chains across the land. Though brief his fire, it lit the spark, That lit the fuse through shadows dark.

A raid that struck the Union’s core, Where Brown knocked slavery’s rusted door. He seized the guns and held his stand, To free the chains across the land. Though brief his fire, it lit the spark, That lit the fuse through shadows dark.