Virginia Trivia & Tidbits

Looking for Virginia trivia? Try our list Virginia little know facts, tidbits and trivia.

Built entirely of foam, Foamhenge near Natural Bridge is a full-scale replica of the ancient ruins of Stonehenge. Sculptor Mark Cline also painted the foam to look like the real Stonehenge in England.

first appeared: 10/18/2009

The oldest continously chartered town in the state is Dumfries (pop. 4,937), chartered on May 11, 1749. The town began as early as 1690 when Richard Gibson erected a gristmill on Quantico Creek.

first appeared: 10/4/2009

The oldest, continuously occupied governor's residence in the United States is the Executive Mansion in Richmond. The mansion has been home to Virginia's governors and their families since 1813.

first appeared: 9/20/2009

Founded in 1869 by Confederate veteran William Barber Goolrick, Goolrick's Pharmacy in Fredericksburg (pop. 19,279) is one of the area's oldest pharmacies. While customers wait for prescriptions, they can refresh with a milkshake, fresh lemonade or other treat at the store's soda fountain, installed in 1912.

first appeared: 9/6/2009

On a clear day, five states can be seen from the 100-foot-tall Big Walker Lookout in the Appalachian Mountains near Wytheville (pop. 7,804). A swinging bridge leads to the observation tower.

first appeared: 8/23/2009

The world's tallest and first floorless "dive" roller coaster is Griffon at Busch Gardens in Williamsburg (pop. 11,998). From 205 feet, Griffon drops riders 90 degrees in a floorless dive at nearly 75 mph.

first appeared: 8/9/2009

Some of the state's most fertile farmland is in a mountain-ringed valley called Burke's Garden in Tazewell County (pop. 44,598). The area is named for James Burke, who surveyed the region in the late 1740s and left potato peelings at his campsite. Afterward, a fine crop of potatoes sprang up.

first appeared: 7/26/2009

—William Becknell, who was born about 1787 in present-day Nelson County (pop. 14,445), is considered the "Father of the Santa Fe Trail." In 1821, he made his first trip on the route, carrying goods from Franklin, Mo., to Santa Fe, N.M.

first appeared: 7/12/2009

—Thomas Jefferson, the nation's third president, was born in 1743 at Shadwell plantation in what today is Albemarle County (pop. 79,236).

first appeared: 6/28/2009

—In 1957, Arthur Frommer published Europe on 5 Dollars a Day, based on his budget travels while he was in the military, and launched his line of travel books. Considered one of the foremost travel authorities, Frommer was born in 1929 in Lynchburg (pop. 65,269).

first appeared: 6/14/2009

—The nation's first collegiate secret society was the Flat Hat Club, founded in 1750 at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg (pop. 11,998).

first appeared: 5/31/2009

—Built in 1928, the Byrd Theatre in Richmond is one of the nation's grand movie palaces, with a 2½-ton Czechoslovakian crystal chandelier, marble walls and murals. The "Mighty Wurlitzer" organ is played on Saturday nights.

first appeared: 5/17/2009

—Urbanna (pop. 543) was one of 20 towns established by a 1680 Act of Assembly as a tobacco and trading port. The "Burgh of Urbanna," or the "City of Anne," on the Rappahannock River was named in honor of England's Queen Anne.

first appeared: 5/3/2009

–The Victorian–era Bell House inn on the Potomac River in Colonial Beach (pop. 3,228) is the former summer home of telephone inventor Alexander Graham Bell.

first appeared: 4/19/2009

—Built about 1750 by Capt. Joseph Kennedy, Wade's Mill in Raphine is a working flour mill powered by a 21-foot water wheel that's fed by a nearby stream. The mill produces a variety of stone-ground flours and mixes.

first appeared: 4/5/2009

—Amazement Square: The Rightmire Children's Museum in Lynchburg (pop. 65,269) boasts Amazement Tower, the nation's tallest indoor climbing structure, extending through the museum's four floors.

first appeared: 3/22/2009

—Skyline Caverns in Front Royal (pop. 13,589) is one of the few places in the world with anthodite formations, which resemble orchids with delicate white spikes that spread in all directions from a spot on the cave ceiling. The rare crystals form at the rate of 1 inch every 7,000 years.

first appeared: 3/8/2009

—The first female four-star general in the U.S. military is Ann E. Dunwoody, 55, who was promoted to the rank last November. Dunwoody, who was born in Fort Belvoir (pop. 7,176), began her Army career in 1975 and first was assigned to Fort Sill, Okla.

first appeared: 2/22/2009

—Former U.S. Marine officers Peggy and Chris Carr, of Lorton (pop. 17,786), started Vacations for Veterans, a nonprofit organization that pairs wounded veterans with homeowners willing to donate a week at their vacation properties.

first appeared: 2/8/2009

—With a victory in 1963 at Speedway Park in Jacksonville, Fla., Wendell Oliver Scott of Danville (pop. 48,411) became the first black driver to win a NASCAR Grand National Series event. Scott died in 1990.

first appeared: 1/11/2009

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