The Central Rappahannock Heritage Center is an archives/research facility devoted to preserving grassroots history of Fredericksburg and the Counties of Caroline, King George, Spotsylvania and Stafford. The Center houses a wealth of information on family histories, slavery, businesses and organizations. Court Records including deeds, wills, marriage records, slave registers. Also books, plats, maps and photographs. Open to researchers Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 10 AM to 4 PM, the first Saturday of each month from 9 AM to Noon, and by appointment.

Local women concerned about these unattended plots formed the Spotsylvania Memorial Association. In 1866 they established a Confederate Cemetery on five acres of land a half mile northeast of the Court House. The Association reburied nearly 600 soldiers from 10 states in the new location. Most are identified and organized by state. A few remain unknown. Headstones provided by the federal government mark all of the graves. In the center of the cemetery, a granite shaft crowned by a stone confederate solider silently stands watch over the dead.

The Fredericksburg Area Museum houses seven permanent exhibitions, and three changing galleries, that interpret the history of the region. Exhibits focus on Virginia Indians, the settlement of the region during the Colonial Period, Fredericksburg during the Civil War, Revolutionary War, and WWI and WWII, African American history from slavery to Civil Rights, and perspectives on our community today. Housed in the 1816 historic Town Hall/Market House and the 1927 Planters National Bank building. Enjoy Fredericksburg’s unique character in the adjoining historic Market Square, a public gathering space for centuries.

Retrace some of the history of the Civil War at four battlefields: Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, The Wilderness and Spotsylvania Court House. During the summer walking tours guided by park historians are available in certain locations. The battlefields are open daily until dusk. Two visitor centers at Chancellorsville and Fredericksburg help interpret the four battlefields with audio-visual presentations and museum exhibits. Maps, brochures and assistance from park historians are available. Open daily from 9 am-5 pm, except January 1, Thanksgiving Day and December 25. Hours expand on spring and fall weekends and daily during the summer. Admission is free, but a fee is charged for the 22 minute film: $2 ages 10-61, $1 ages 62 and above. Please allow 50 minutes for your visit. For complete information from the National Park Service, visit www.nps.gov/frsp.

This bronze statue by Edward V. Valentine was erected in 1906 by the U.S. Government. In 1761, on the advice of Washington, Hugh Mercer opened an apothecary shop in Fredericksburg. Mercer was a general in the Revolutionary War and was killed at the Battle of Princeton on January 12, 1777. His grandson was Hugh Weedon Mercer, a Confederate general in the Civil War.