Quarterly Thematic Tours 2011

The James Madison Landmark Forest Tour (Big Woods Walk)

• Sunday, 2:00 p.m. | Tour Dates — January 10, April 10, July 10, October 16

Take this guided walking tour of the 200-acre James Madison Landmark Forest, an old-growth forest known as "The Big Woods." Designated a National Natural Landmark by the federal government, it is the best example of an old-growth forest in the Piedmont. Montpelier's Horticulturist conducts the tour which shows how the forest changes throughout the seasons.

Freedman's Farm Tour, and Confederate Winter Camp Site Walking Tour

• Sunday, 2:00 p.m. | Tour Dates — February 13, April 17, May 15, August 21, November 13

This guided walking tour of the 1863-1864 Civil War encampment will show you where the Confederate South Carolina Brigade spent a cold winter while waiting to resume fighting. The tour will end up at the Gilmore Cabin: A Freedman's Farm, the home built in 1872 by George Gilmore, an African-American freedman who was born a slave at Montpelier around 1810. Gilmore lived there with his wife, Polly and their five children.