58 historical Virginia homes open free of charge this weekend

Virginia's Executive Mansion, Richmond

Free admission to select historic homes this weekend

This is a great weekend to head out and explore 58 of Virginia's historic homes free of charge. What a fantastic opportunity to get an up-close-and-personal look at the Commonwealth's Executive Mansion, Edgar Allen Poe Museum, the Dooley Mansion in Richmond's Maymont Park, homes of our historical figures such as Patrick Henry and Light Horse Harry Lee, taverns, the coast guard station in Virginia Beach, and many other homes and mansions from the coast to the mountains and everywhere else in the Old Dominion. Best of all, admission is waived Saturday and Sunday, September 14 and 15, 2013. The listing of all 58 homes is here.

Virginia is for history lovers!

From the Governor's website:

In celebration of the Executive Mansion's 200th Anniversary, Governor Bob McDonnell and First Lady Maureen McDonnell declared 2013 the "Year of the Historic Home." There are over 120 sites scattered across Virginia classified as Historic Homes that span from pre-Colonial times through the Modern era, all of which provide an abundance of cultural, historical, and architectural information and promote an understanding of, as well as an interest in, Virginia’s story.

To further promote the Year of the Historic Home effort, in the spring of 2013, seven historic homes across Richmond came together in a collaborative effort to open their doors admission-free to the public for an entire weekend to "Time Travel through Virginia History." Because of the successes and benefits experienced from the spring promotional weekend, the homes throughout Richmond are coming together to host this collaborative weekend in the fall, as are over 50 homes throughout Virginia. 

Exclusively during the weekend of September 14 and 15, 2013, Virginia’s most renowned historic homes and museums will be open free to the public, in support of theYear of the Historic Home. 

"My husband and I have been thrilled with the excitement surrounding the Year of the Historic Home," said First Lady Maureen McDonnell. "The spring success of the Historic Home Promotional Weekend in Richmond came as a pleasant surprise, and promoting this initiative in September as a statewide effort is extremely exciting and promises great results.  We encourage you to print your passport and visit these historical sites, which have been home to many of America’s Founding Fathers, U.S. presidents, and many other important figures."

A list of the participating homes follows as well as details of each home,and their hours of operation on September 14 and 15, please visit our Learn page. Please don’t forget to visit our "time travelers" page and print your passport in order to be granted free admission.