The town became a major trading hub, with a ferry and a tobacco inspection station situated on a horseshoe bend of the James River.

The property was originally part of an estate owned by Martha Washington’s grandson, George Washington Parke Custis,

Montpelier is the lifelong home of James Madison, the fourth President of the United States, father of the Constitution, architect of the Bill of Rights, Secretary of State, and slave owner.

Winchester was a strategic prize during the Civil War and famously changed it flag about 70 times during the battle. Union one week, Confederate the next.