Country Vacations & Resorts

Anyone in the Washington, DC, Maryland, and Virginia areas might want a reminder that the Montpelier Hunt Races take place starting November 5, 2011 – first race post time is 12:30pm.

Read more about America’s 4th President, James Madison and his estate, Montpelier.

Hopefully, the mid-Atlantic weather will be better this coming weekend than last. This can be a great time of year to visit this beautiful Virginia countryside!

Watch the movie trailer…

Here is a good example to show the varieties available to prospective vacation home renters.

Our first offering was a 2-bedroom rustic cottage in Charlottesville, Virginia. Today’s home is a large 5-bedroom home on 28 acres of pasture, streams, and mature hardwoods. Adjacent 200 acres undeveloped. 1 mile of walking trails on property…..

Activities:
* Close to many local vineyards (1 within 2 miles).
* Small town shopping within in Gordonsville VA, Orange VA.
* Antiques shopping in Ruckersville VA or Madison VA
* Equine events – Montpelier, Keswick, Foxfield.
* University of Virginia football/sports.
* 30 minutes from Skyline Drive
* 1.5 hours from Washington DC or Richmond VA
* History – Montpelier (home of James Madison) within is 10 miles. Monticello within 30 miles. 2 hours from Williamsburg VA, 3 hours from Jamestown VA.

~Don’t forget the Montpelier Hunt Races held on November 6th, 2010! Visit the home of President James Madison.

If you are lucky enough to spend a long weekend in or near Madison, Virginia, do yourself a big favor and visit Plow & Hearth on Route 29.

Plow & Hearth – The Spirit of Country Living!

Check availability:

5br – Country Home on 28 Private Acres

Time in Office: 1809 to 1817
Terms: Two
Birthday: March 16, 1751
Birth Place: Belle Grove Plantation, Port Conway, King George County, Virginia
Date of Death: June 28, 1836
Place of Death: Montpelier, Virginia
Buried: Madison Family Cemetery, Montpelier, Virginia

Notes:

~ Often called the “Father of the Constitution.”
~ Oldest of 12 children.
~ Graduated from the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University), in 1771.
~ First President to have served in the United States Congress.
~ Madison’s famous wife Dolley was expelled from the “Society of Friends” for marrying James, a non-Quaker.

Often known as a protege of Thomas Jefferson, America’s fourth President, like most of the other “Founding Fathers” of the United States, spent little of his life idle. After spending several years with local tutors, Madison entered the College of New Jersey (Princeton) in 1769. He graduated in 1771 and then spent an additional year there studying Hebrew and political philosophy.

Young James Madison

Returning to his home Montpelier, Madison then made numerous trips to both Fredericksburg and Richmond, Virginia while working with Jefferson on the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, and as a member of the Virginia House of Delegates. 1787 found James at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Madison’s draft of the “Virginia Plan” is known to be the basis of what was to become the American Constitution. His political interest and personal diligence made him an important leader in the First to Fourth Congress, (1787 – 1797), held at Congress Hall in Philadelphia. He was United States Secretary of State from 1801-1809 and was President of the United States from 1809 to 1817.

Today, it is difficult to even imagine travel for Madison in his time frame. Although the majority of his travel was from Montepelier to other locations in Virginia, Pennsylvania, and eventually Washington, DC, think about this travel on horseback. Eight day’s trip by horse from Virginia to Philadelphia with stops at taverns for food, water, lodgings, and care and feeding of the all important horses. This is also “uncovered” travel most of the time.

The Mid-Atlantic States, home to most of the Founding Father’s travels, can have very harsh winters – with snow, hail, high winds, and icy roads. There were no “big city” lights to look for heading into a town down a dark lane. No DOT (Department of Transportation), crews to call if a large tree happens to fall and blocks your one entrance path to the next town.

Madison would have been “on travel” almost constantly from around 1785 to 1817. It is remarkable to think of his political accomplishments in this 32 years when you consider time on the road with no electricity, no automobile, no phone, no email, no fax machine, and no advance internet reservations for hotels with room service!

You have to contrast, looking at all the legislation, bills and important amendments Madison wrote, our current fast-traveling politicians – many who have publicly declared that they often sign what they haven’t even read.

By the time Madison left the Presidency in 1817 and retired to Montpelier, he was 65 years old.

Aerial view (artist’s rendering) – Montpelier

Some 30 miles and a day’s ride away from Jefferson’s Monticello lies James Madison’s Virginia plantation – Montpelier. It is here that Madison spent the majority of the rest of his life outside his position as President of the University of Virginia – a role he took over on the death of Thomas Jefferson, and that he held until his own death in 1836.

Both Madison and his plantation were both in financial trouble at the time of his return there in 1817 – no doubt enhanced by the fact that he had spent so little time there during the preceding years. Having devoted so much of his physical and mental strength to the governing of the country, Madison was actually bedridden and could barely speak for nearly a year in 1831 and 1832.

Montpelier today, in the Piedmont area of Virginia, is a National Historic Landmark of over 2,650 acres which is connected to the James Madison Forest – 200 acres of old growth Piedmont forest – the largest in the eastern United States.

Montpelier provides a beautiful backdrop to many events during the year such as the Montpelier Hunt Races – held this year on November 6, 2010, Montpelier Wine Weekends, or a Candlelight Christmas at Montpelier held December 3-5th.

On travel next with America’s fifth President, James Monroe.

“Traveling with American Presidents” list.