1. Walk in the Footsteps of a General at Grant’s Headquarters at City Point
Grant's Headquarters at City Point is a museum located at Appomattox Manor in Hopewell, Virginia. It is part of the Petersburg National Battlefield Park and is operated by the National Park Service. During the last years of the American Civil War, from the port there, the City Point Railroad used City Point, a port on the James River, to supply the Union forces during the Siege of Petersburg. The capture of Petersburg and its railroads was crucial to the fall of the Confederate capital Richmond, leading to the end of the war a week later. The museum includes Grant's headquarters and the original plantation house with various outbuildings. Visitors can see the rooms in the plantation house furnished as they were during the Grant’s stay, an introductory video of the historic events, a diorama, and a bookshop.
1001 Pecan Ave, Hopewell, VA 23860-1532
2. Catch a Show at the Historic Beacon Theatre
Beacon Theatre, also called the Broadway Theatre and Pythian Lodge, is a historic theatre building constructed in 1928 in the Colonial Revival and Art Deco style at Hopewell, Virginia. The three-story vaudeville and movie theater had a storefront used as a commercial space, second-floor apartments and third-floor meeting rooms. The theater building is decorated with classical plaster friezes, a cove ceiling in the auditorium and an elaborate proscenium. The Beacon Theatre building was used as a theater until its closing in 1981, offering live performances and movies. The City of Hopewell has been working on restoring the historic building ever since. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
401 N Main St, Hopewell, VA 23860, Phone: 804-446-3457
3. Step Back in Time at Weston Manor
Weston Manor in Hopewell, Virginia, is a perfect example of the eighteenth-century Tidewater plantation mansion. It was built by William and Christian Eppes Gilliam in 1789. To this day it retains much of its original interior, the distinctive decorative moldings, wainscotings and chair rails, as well as the spiral stairway with concave paneling. The plantation is open to the public and the guided tour includes all three floors, gardens and grounds. Visitors learn about the history of families who lived at Weston and about the Civil War adventures of young Emma and George Wood from her own journal. The annual “Emma and George Days,” a two-day event organized at the plantation, offers visitors the opportunity to learn about how children lived during the civil war.
400 Weston Ln, Hopewell, VA 23860, Phone: 804-458-4682
Where to Eat:
4. If You Crave Waterfront Dining with Southern Flavor, Reserve a Table at The Boathouse
The Boathouse is a small chain of four restaurants in Virginia offering superb meals, special events and relaxed afternoon cocktail with friends. They serve only the freshest seafood in their classic beachfront menu - clam chowder, calamari, crab cakes and lobster being just a few favorites, together with their top choice steaks and Boathouse Burger. The boathouse Hopewell location is bringing waterfront dining back to Hopewell, offering a sweeping vista of the Appomattox and James rivers. The dining room is bright and spacious, with floor to ceiling windows, comfortable furniture, upscale design elements, private dining rooms, patio dining and an outdoor bar.
701 W Randolph Rd, Hopewell, VA 23860, Phone: 804-616-4222
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