The Road to Independence
The famous place names of the American Revolution are engraved on our hearts; Lexington and Concord, Valley Forge, Independence Hall, Boston Harbor, Yorktown.
However, this busy 250th birthday year of independence marks the perfect time to explore some of our regional historical sites that contributed to the unique American story. Away from the crowds, it’s easier to tread the ground the founders trod, to reach out and touch the very walls where history was made.
This list of important revolutionary places in our region can help guide history buffs to a deeper appreciation of our narrative. You may note that the final few on this list range outside our area, but offer important stories to the southern Revolutionary War history.
During 2026 many of these locales will offer special programming, so check online to make the most of the celebrations.
Fincastle Resolutions at Shot Tower State Park
- Austinville, Virginia. Open year round.
- Free admission, parking fees apply.
The Fincastle Resolutions of 1775 weren’t really signed at today’s shot tower; there’s almost nothing to see at the actual signing place, where the one-time mining village Austinville now sits. The notable point is that some important revolutionary events took place in remote country where only the hardiest colonists lived.
In the winter of 1775, 15 otherwise loyal British subjects signed a document—the area was then in Fincastle County—swearing to fight to the death to resist the reviled Intolerable Acts. That bold act set the stage for total independence, predating the immortal Declaration of 1776 by 18 months.
The soaring early 1800s shot tower nearby is worth a visit to see how local lead deposits were processed to supply countrymen with shot.
Abingdon, Virginia
- Walking tour maps available in town, other Washington County sites in driving distance.
An early town on the Wilderness Road, Abingdon has had various names, including Wolf Hills and Black’s Fort, reflecting its rough-and-tumble frontier character.
Despite strong colonial ties to England, when the call to arms sounded, hundreds of patriots mustered to march across high mountains in 1780 and join the pivotal Battle of King’s Mountain, in South Carolina.
Abingdon’s downtown has an antique grace. Notable historic places in town are the Muster Grounds, where the Overmountain Men assembled, the 250-year-old Sinking Springs Cemetery, a 1779 tavern now called The Tavern Restaurant, and a curious hole in the ground, Wolf Cave, where in 1760 Daniel Boone confronted a snarling pack.
The Muster Grounds, a National Park Service unit, has educational displays and a spirited interpretive program.
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The Road to Independence
Living historians bring history to life. These three men are dressed as continental soldiers.
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The Road to Independence
Reenactors at Cowpens teach children the 18th century artillery drill.
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The Road to Independence
The historic Robert Scruggs House at Cowpens National Battlefield.
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The Road to Independence
The 1932 US Monument at Cowpens National Battlefield.
Cowpens National Battlefield
- Gaffney, South Carolina. Open daily.
- Free admission.
The Battle of Cowpens in January 1781, together with the nearby Battle of King’s Mountain three months earlier, was decisive in turning the tide of war toward the American cause and leading to the eventual conclusion at Yorktown.
Thanks to the open, meadow-like setting at Cowpens and excellent ranger-led walking tours—along with historic documentation at the visitors center—it’s easy to understand how American forces were able to thwart their British opponents with homegrown tactics.
Whereas the Battle of King’s Mountain was considered almost a “civil war” between British-led loyalist American militias and local patriot militias, Cowpens was a battle between trained armies.
The park’s 3.8-mile automobile loop is a popular place for bicyclists to stretch their legs. Set amidst gentle hills, the bloody battlefield seems unimaginable today.
George Washington’s Office Museum
- Winchester, Virginia. Open April through October; not ADA accessible.
- Admission.
George Washington had to grow up fast. Bereft of a father from an early age, as a teenager he honed his skills as a surveyor in the Virginia colony and quickly rose in his profession. It was in the frontier village of Winchester—today barely clear of the Washington, D.C. suburbs—that he established his first professional office and where he commanded a Virginia regiment as a British officer, years before he turned against the mother country.
That modest log building in the midst of downtown Winchester is a riveting small museum that even displays a lock of Washington’s hair. Visitors get a feel for the isolation of that frontier settlement and the perils its residents endured. Today the town wears a mantle of gentility.
Wilderness Road Regional Museum
- Newbern, Virginia. Open Wednesdays through Saturdays.
- Free admission.
Imagine a super-highway where traffic traveled at the speed of an ox. That was the Great Wagon Road, which led settlers from Pennsylvania southward during the early 1700s. By 1774 an extension called the Wilderness Road took over south of Roanoke and led westward across the Appalachian Mountains. Thousands of recent immigrants thus began filling the American continent.
As the colonies grew into an independent nation, the rugged Wilderness Road provided local militias a way to traverse great distances in their quest for freedom, taking the battle to the British.
Today’s museum—at a onetime stopover called Newbern—consists of beautifully curated exhibits in a vintage cabin. Elsewhere on the property, farm buildings illustrate the rural way of life. This is also a research facility.
James Madison’s Montpelier
- Montpelier Station, Virginia. Open Thursdays through Mondays.
- Admission varies by program.
Known as the Father of the Constitution, scholar James Madison devised the structure of our Constitution and Bill of Rights, contributed to the Federalist Papers, and served as the nation’s fourth president. He was a first-rate booster, and his intellect was a beacon during turbulent times.
His wife, Dolley Madison, was an important hostess in the nation’s early days, using the social sphere to help forge political cohesion at the highest levels.
The expansive estate called James Madison’s Montpelier today serves as a comprehensive center for Constitutional studies, and offers visitors a stimulating experience based on research, archaeology, decorative arts, restoration, gardening, and more. The range of programs and tours is mind-boggling, all set in rolling countryside; walking trails fan out from the grand mansion.
George Mason’s Gunston Hall
- Lorton, Virginia. Closed Wednesdays.
- Admission.
George Mason’s name may not be as famous as other members of the Constitutional Convention, but his earlier work as a Virginia patriot and legislator helped shape the meaning of individual rights as the nation’s legal framework evolved.
His family home, close to Mount Vernon on the Potomac River, is modest on the outside but the interior was known as one of the most luxurious in colonial America. Visitors today marvel at the bright colors, bold patterns, and intricate woodworking.
Mason’s carefully executed landscape plan included a double allée of cherry trees leading the eye directly to the house; out back, formal gardens reflected an English sensibility. The open vista across the Potomac is breathtaking. Skip the crowds at Mount Vernon and visit Gunston Hall with a picnic lunch instead.