In 2001, we decided to become kayakers. We had friends from Farmville, VA and had been told there was a nice place to buy kayaks there. Without any real plans, we took off. We found the Appomattox River Company without any trouble and found they had a huge selection of kayaks and prices lower than we could find in the DC area. They didn't really have any place to paddle, though. Oh well.
We
bought a kayak and had it delivered to their Richmond store so we could
pick it up later. How
could you carry a kayak on a convertible. We asked them about a
place to stay. They suggested a bed and breakfast (can't remember
or find the name) across from Longwood University. Rather than
stay in one of the bedrooms in the house, we spent a little more money
and rented the chicken coop. At least that's what it used to be.
Now its very nice.On Sunday, we decided to head to Appomattox Court House. It wasn't far and it didn't seem reasonable to miss it. We're not big civil war buffs but some things shouldn't be missed.
The first place to stop is at the Visitor's Center. It used to be the Appomattox Courthouse and now is the visitor's center and museum. Take some time to wander through here. They have a large display where they use blue and gray lights to show troop movements across a map. It makes history much more interesting and will give you a sense of the area and the town.
From here, you can wander the area. There are several stores and offices that have been rebuilt. The McLean House is where the surrender occurred and should be seen. The National Park Service website has a map of the area showing the location of the buildings. The map link takes you to a numbered list of buildings which are no longer standing. The link to the map is at the top. Standing buildings are named while missing buildings are numbered.
Lee's
surrender to Grant occurred at McLean House. The parlor where the
surrender occurred has been furnished with original pieces and some from
that era. The house changed hands a few times over the years and was finally disassembled and prepared
for a move to Washington, DC. For several reasons including cash flow
problems, the house remained in pieces in Appomattox Courthouse. In 1949, the house was
rebuilt and is now on display. As significant as the surrender
was, the house isn't so impressive. I guess it was the right house
in the right place at the right time. Here's a link to the
NPS information
on the house.The picture album linked by the button at the top were taken a few years before I considered a website. As a result, my notes weren't as good as they could be. None the less, I decided that there might be others that would like to see them.