西北方是夏洛茨维尔，一个大学城
它也是杰斐逊故居的一部分
杰斐逊住在这里——蒙蒂塞洛
对他来说蒙蒂塞洛不仅仅是住宅
对于一些历史学家来说，
这座建筑掺入了杰斐逊自传色彩
蒙蒂塞洛的含义是“意大利的小山”
它合适的定位描述是
他把自己设计的建筑物当做家来居住
这座43个房间的豪宅在1770年开工
不久之后，杰斐逊被选举成了公职人员
蒙蒂塞洛又经过了反复的设计修改
至到1809年才完工， 这时已是杰斐逊总统任期的最后一年
蒙蒂塞洛的风格 受后期意大利帕拉第奥式建筑风格影响
杰斐逊在法国旅行时 又灵光一闪给蒙蒂塞洛增加了法式天窗
和出了名的圆屋顶
杰斐逊重视隐私
在蒙蒂塞洛周围布满树林
并留出了一些足够的空间作为花园
热心的园艺家在这里种植了 共超过250种蔬菜和草本植物
杰斐逊曾说过：这世界上没有比在蒙蒂塞洛更快乐了
现实中没有其他地方
能让我想长眠于此，只有蒙蒂塞洛。
杰斐逊于1826年7月4日去世
恰好在美国独立50周年纪念日
杰斐逊留下遗嘱
他要一座方尖石碑
在石碑上写下如下碑文：
这里埋葬着 托马斯·杰斐逊
美国《独立宣言》的起草人
《弗吉尼亚宗教法案》的起草人
弗吉尼亚大学的创始人
杰斐逊甚至没有在碑文里 提起自己是第三任总统
但清晰的表达了 不希望自己为弗吉尼亚大学所作的工作被世人遗忘
杰斐逊参与创作了弗吉尼亚大学的每个元素
他设计了建筑，又为校图书馆选择了图书
帮着决定课程选择
一个退休的政治家 甚至为学生们每周准备周末晚宴
其中有个叫EAP的年轻作家
写过《掠夺》和《讲述传奇的心》
但在弗吉尼亚大学却没有取得学位
这是因为他欠了太多赌债
他不得不早早退学
在1825年学校刚开放时，
一个年级只有123名学生
今天，每年会招大约3000名新生
国立高校最著名之一
杰斐逊创建的弗吉尼亚大学至今享誉全美
夏洛茨维尔区域有几个酒庄
杰斐逊的酿酒庄被传承了下来
这些酒庄因是美国国父的酒庄而知名
杰斐逊在这里布下了一打葡萄品种
当一小队意大利葡萄酒商来到弗吉尼亚时
杰斐逊捐赠出200英亩的土地种意大利葡萄
禁酒令之后，
弗吉尼亚的葡萄酒生产几乎消失了
但是在过去的20年里，
酒庄数量增大6倍
超过了100个
在夏洛茨维尔的东北方是 蒙彼利埃
这个种植园是杰斐逊门徒詹姆斯·麦迪逊的家
美国第四任总统麦迪逊在卸任之后
发现自己的土地已荒废了
他几乎是破产了
这位美利坚宪法之父
保存了他从政时的一些私人资料
他希望在他去世之后， 这些资料能为他的妻子多利换来一些钱
1836年的夏季
最后一位在世的开国国父病危
据传，麦迪逊的朋友力劝他服药 把生命结束在独立纪念日7.4
麦迪逊拒绝了， 最后他于独立日60周年纪念日之前一周过世
不久，他的妻子迫不得已卖了种植园蒙彼利埃 来偿还与日俱增的债务
APPOMATTOX COURT HOUSE NATIONAL PARK,
20 MILES EAST OF LYNCHBURG,
IS WHERE THE LAST CHAPTER IN CIVIL WAR HISTORY
WAS WRITTEN.
THE 1,800-ACRE PARK HAS 27 RESTORED STRUCTURES,
INCLUDING THE McLEAN HOUSE.
IT WAS HERE ON APRIL 9, 1865, THAT GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE
HAD A 90-MINUTE MEETING WITH ULYSSES S. GRANT.
LEE AND GRANT HAMMERED OUT THE TERMS
OF A SURRENDER OF LEE‘S TROOPS,
ENDING THE BLOODIEST WAR IN AMERICAN HISTORY
WITH A HANDSHAKE.
THERE WAS NEVER AN OFFICIAL PEACE TREATY SIGNED
BETWEEN THE NORTH AND THE SOUTH.
THAT WOULD HAVE MEANT ACKNOWLEDGING THE CONFEDERACY
AS A SEPARATE COUNTRY,
SOMETHING THE UNITED STATES REFUSED TO DO.
VIRGINIA‘S SHENANDOAH VALLEY IS A 200-MILE-LONG SWATH
OF WIDE-OPEN GREEN SPACE.
BORDERED BY THE BLUE RIDGE MOUNTAINS ON ONE SIDE
AND THE ALLEGHENIES ON THE OTHER--
THIS LUSH SPACE IS DOTTED WITH HISTORIC VILLAGES AND TOWNS,
AND FILLED WITH MORE THAN ITS FAIR SHARE
OF NATURAL WONDERS.
THE VALLEY IS NAMED FOR THE MAJESTIC RIVER
THAT RUNS THROUGH IT.
THE NATIVE AMERICANS CALLED IT THE SHENANDOAH,
OR "DAUGHTER OF THE STARS,"
BECAUSE OF THE WAY THE LIGHT SPARKLES OFF IT.
EXPLORERS FIRST DISCOVERED THE AREA IN THE MID-1600s,
BUT THE FIRST EUROPEAN SETTLERS DIDN‘T PUT DOWN ROOTS HERE
UNTIL THE EARLY 1700s.
WITH ITS SCENIC COUNTRYSIDE,
LEXINGTON HAS ATTRACTED MANY TRANSPLANTS TO THE AREA--
INCLUDING STONEWALL JACKSON, WHO SPENT A DECADE HERE.
HE NOTED THAT, "LEXINGTON IS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL PLACE
THAT I REMEMBER OF HAVING EVER SEEN
IN CONNECTION WITH THE SURROUNDING COUNTRY."
JACKSON LIVED HERE WHILE TEACHING
AT THE VIRGINIA MILITARY INSTITUTE.
THE NATION‘S OLDEST STATE-SUPPORTED MILITARY COLLEGE
HAS MORE THAN A THOUSAND STUDENTS.
THEY SERVE IN ROTC WHILE ENROLLED HERE,
BUT MAY GO INTO THE ARMED FORCES OR BECOME CIVILIANS
WHEN THEY GRADUATE.
WHEN STONEWALL JACKSON TAUGHT HERE,
HE WAS STILL KNOWN BY HIS GIVEN NAME, THOMAS.
BUT HE SOON EARNED HIS FIRST NICKNAME.
HE WAS SO UNPOPULAR THAT HIS STUDENTS CALLED HIM "TOM FOOL."
JACKSON LEFT TO FIGHT THE CIVIL WAR IN APRIL 1861
AND NEVER RETURNED.
HE WAS BURIED HERE IN MAY 1863
AFTER THE BATTLE OF CHANCELLORSVILLE.
THE FORMER TEACHER OF ARTILLERY TACTICS
DIED OF COMPLICATIONS FROM A GUNSHOT WOUND--
AFTER BEING ACCIDENTALLY SHOT BY HIS OWN MEN.
LEXINGTON IS ALSO THE FINAL BURIAL PLACE
OF GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE.
HIS REMAINS ARE AT WASHINGTON AND LEE UNIVERSITY,
WHERE HE SERVED AS PRESIDENT.
NOT FAR AWAY, ONE OF THE OLDEST
TOURIST ATTRACTIONS IN THE NATION
SOARS ACROSS THE SKY.
NATURAL BRIDGE IS 90 FEET WIDE AND OVER 200 FEET TALL,
AND ESTIMATED TO WEIGH ABOUT 36,000 TONS.
THIS WAS A SACRED SITE FOR NATIVE AMERICANS,
WHO FIRST DUBBED IT "THE BRIDGE OF GOD."
IN THE EIGHTEENTH AND NINETEENTH CENTURY,
EUROPEAN TOURISTS TRAVELING THE COUNTRYSIDE BY CARRIAGE
CONSIDERED THIS A FAVORITE DESTINATION.
AND IT WAS OFTEN LISTED
AS ONE OF THE SEVEN NATURAL WONDERS OF THE WORLD.
THOMAS JEFFERSON BOUGHT THE SITE FROM KING GEORGE III OF ENGLAND
TO MAKE SURE THAT IT STAYED IN PUBLIC HANDS.
JEFFERSON FELT THAT IN THIS SPOT
"THE RAPTURE OF THE SPECTATOR IS REALLY INDESCRIBABLE."
NEAR NATURAL BRIDGE SITS A CURIOSITY
THAT‘S DEFINITELY MANMADE--
SEEMINGLY FAMILIAR, AND YET UNIQUE.
THIS REPLICA OF STONEHENGE, BUILT BY MARK CLINE,
OPENED ON APRIL FOOL‘S DAY 2004, AND IS KNOWN AS FOAMHENGE.
THE ORIGINAL IN ENGLAND WAS BUILT OVER HUNDREDS OF YEARS.
THIS REPLICA--WITH 16-FOOT-TALL PIECES OF STYROFOAM--
WENT UP IN LITTLE MORE THAN A DAY.
THE FIRST VERSION OF IT BLEW RIGHT OVER,
SO CLINE ADDED PIPES TO ROOT IT TO THE GROUND--
AND IT‘S BEEN STANDING TALL EVER SINCE.
THE VALLEY IS DOTTED WITH SMALL TOWNS,
EACH ONE MORE PICTURESQUE THAN THE LAST.
BUT RURAL VIRGINIA DOESN‘T GET MUCH MORE QUAINT THAN MAYBERRY.
MAYBERRY‘S PICTURESQUE MABRY MILL
IS ONE OF THE MOST POPULAR SPOTS ON THE BLUE RIDGE PARKWAY--
AND ONE OF THE MOST PHOTOGRAPHED SITES IN VIRGINIA.
BORDERING THE SHENANDOAH VALLEY IS A SCENIC STRETCH OF ROAD
THAT HUGS THE BLUE RIDGE MOUNTAINS,
RUNNING FROM FRONT ROYAL TO WAYNESBORO.
PRESIDENT HERBERT HOOVER WAS KNOWN TO FISH IN THE AREA,
AND LEGEND HAS IT THAT HE LIKED THE VIEW SO MUCH
HE WANTED OTHERS TO BE ABLE TO SHARE IT--BY CAR.
THE ROAD WAS FINALLY APPROVED BY PRESIDENT FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT.
THE 105-MILE ROAD WAS BUILT BY LOCAL FARMERS,
SOME OF WHOM WERE DISPLACED BY PRESERVATION EFFORTS HERE.
THE EVENTUAL COST WAS ABOUT $40,000 A MILE.
BUT THE VIEW--PRICELESS.
SOUTH AND WEST OF THE SHENANDOAH VALLEY
LIES THE REGION KNOWN AS APPALACHIA.
THIS IS A PLACE WITH A RICH CULTURE ALL ITS OWN,
AND A LONG TRADITION OF EXPLORATION AND ADVENTURE.
FORGED BY WIND AND WATER,
CUMBERLAND GAP IS ONE OF THE FEW MAJOR BREAKS
IN THE APPALACHIAN MOUNTAIN CHAIN.
THIS 20-MILE-LONG NATIONAL PARK
CONTAINS 20,000 ACRES OF WILDERNESS
EXTENDING INTO TENNESSEE AND KENTUCKY.
ADVENTURERS LIKE DANIEL BOONE
HELPED TO FORGE THE WAY THROUGH THE GAP FOR EARLY PIONEERS.
IT CONTINUED TO BE THE BEST ROUTE TO THE WESTERN U.S.
UNTIL THE EARLY 1800s.
AT VIRGINIA‘S SOUTHERN BORDER SITS THE CITY OF BRISTOL.
BUILT ON THE SITE OF A FORMER CHEROKEE VILLAGE,
THE TOWN WAS A POPULAR STOP FOR PEOPLE HEADING WEST
IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF DANIEL BOONE.
BUT BRISTOL MAY BE BEST KNOWN FOR A VICIOUS BORDER DISPUTE
WITH THE NEIGHBORING TOWN OF BRISTOL.
BRISTOL, TENNESSEE, THAT IS.
THE STATE LINE RAN RIGHT DOWN THE MIDDLE OF MAIN STREET.
IN 1889, A TENNESSEE MAN WAS ARRESTED
FOR TRYING TO PUT A WATERLINE
IN WHAT VIRGINIA OFFICIALS CLAIMED WAS THEIR LAND.
WITH TEMPERS FLARING,
ARMED MILITIAS HEADED OUT FROM EACH STATE.
BUT THE BATTLE ENDED UP IN THE U.S. SUPREME COURT,
WHICH ORDERED THE BORDER TO BE FINALIZED ONCE AND FOR ALL.
IN A SHOW OF GOOD FAITH,
THE TWO BRISTOLS ERECTED A MASSIVE SIGN
OVER THE APTLY RENAMED STATE STREET:
ONE HALF OF IT IN VIRGINIA, THE OTHER HALF IN TENNESSEE.
BACK IN NORTHERN VIRGINIA,
CIVIL WAR BUFFS CAN VISIT A SPOT THAT REVEALS HISTORY TIMES TWO.
MANASSAS NATIONAL BATTLEFIELD
IS THE SITE OF A PAIR OF DEADLY ENCOUNTERS--
THE FIRST AND SECOND BATTLES OF BULL RUN.
ON JULY 21, 1861, THE CIVIL WAR WAS JUST GETTING UNDERWAY.
WHEN UNION TROOPS ARRIVED HERE, THEY EXPECTED A QUICK VICTORY--
AND A SHORT WAR.
AT FIRST, THE UNION ARMY SEEMED TO HAVE THE UPPER HAND
ON HENRY HILL.
BUT ONE GROUP OF SOLDIERS MANAGED TO HOLD THEIR GROUND
BEHIND GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON.
A FELLOW OFFICER SHOUTED,
"LOOK! THERE IS JACKSON STANDING THERE LIKE A STONE WALL."
AND FROM THAT DAY ON, HE WAS KNOWN AS STONEWALL.
AS THE BATTLE RAGED ON, THE SOUTHERNERS MANAGED
TO PUSH BACK THEIR NORTHERN COUNTERPARTS.
BUT THE TWO SIDES HAD LOST A TOTAL OF 900 MEN.
AND ANY HOPE FOR A FAST END TO THE WAR HAD VANISHED.
HERE ON BATTERY HEIGHTS,
THE TWO ARMIES FACED OFF AGAIN IN AUGUST 1862.
BY THEN, THEY WERE MUCH MORE SEASONED--
AND THE STAKES WERE EVEN HIGHER.
UNION GENERAL JOHN POPE SET UP HEADQUARTERS BEHIND THIS HOUSE,
AND PLOTTED A RETURN STRIKE AGAINST JACKSON.
A SERIES OF UNCOORDINATED ATTACKS
DID LITTLE DAMAGE TO THE CONFEDERATE ARMY.
FINALLY, AFTER THREE DAYS OF FIGHTING,
THE UNION ARMY FLED OVER STONE BRIDGE.
THE RESULT WAS ONE OF THE SOUTH‘S GREAT TRIUMPHS.
THEIR VICTORY WAS SHORT-LIVED.
LESS THAN A MONTH LATER,
ABRAHAM LINCOLN UNVEILED THE EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION--
A DECISIVE MOMENT IN ENDING SLAVERY AND THE CIVIL WAR.
FROM ITS PRE-REVOLUTIONARY ROOTS TO ITS CIVIL WAR BATTLES,
FROM ITS CELEBRATION OF ARCHITECTURE
TO ITS PRESERVATION OF NATURAL SPLENDOR--
VIRGINIA HAS BEEN CRITICAL IN THE SHAPING OF MODERN AMERICA.
BY CELEBRATING THE TRADITIONS OF ITS FOUNDING FATHERS
WITHOUT LOSING ITS SENSE OF FUN--
VIRGINIA REMAINS A PLACE WELL ROOTED IN THE PAST
YET FIRMLY GROUNDED IN THE PRESENT,
AND WELL POSITIONED FOR THE FUTURE.