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Fredericksburg Area Museum

3.4 (7 reviews)
Closed • 10:00 am - 5:00 pm

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Auction Block trigger warning
Alexander C.

Today I found myself walking around downtown Fredericksburg when I noticed that the famous "slave auction block" was gone from its spot on the corner of William and Charles. A sign told me it was now at the Fredericksburg Area Museum. I entered the museum and found out there is free admission on Mondays. I didn't have any money with me, so this was perfect. The museum has a lot of valuable artifacts and treasures all related to Fredericksburg. I had a lot of fun looking at everything. The highlights of the museum were the Fredericksburg baseball exhibit, the antique clock collection, the Civil War gun collection, and of course the slave auction block. Due to some people not being able to comprehend seeing it, the block is kept hidden behind a wall. Communist protestor graffiti has yet to be cleaned from the piece. I hope that one day the block will be restored and reinstalled in its former location. This museum was very fun and fascinating. I grew up near Fredericksburg and I learned a lot of historical information I'd never heard before. I highly recommend visiting this museum.

A young one soaking up the past! She liked the metal dentures. Ouch!

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1 month ago

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10 months ago

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4 years ago

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7 years ago

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16 years ago

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Gari Melchers Home & Studio

Gari Melchers Home & Studio

4.8
(10 reviews)
1.6 mi

This Mother's Day weekend, we finally decided to tour Gari Melchers Home and Studio at Belmont --…read morethe country retreat of American artist Gari Melchers. This has been on my FXBG bucket list for quite some time, and honestly, I have no idea why we waited so long to visit. What an absolute treat it was. For those unfamiliar with him, Gari Melchers was one of the most respected artists of his generation, known for his portraits, murals, and landscapes. Born in Detroit to German immigrants, he studied art in Düsseldorf and Paris before eventually settling at Belmont Estate in Falmouth, Virginia, near Fredericksburg. Even President Theodore Roosevelt sat for one of his portraits during Melchers' prolific career. I won't go too deep into the history lesson here, but I will say that his "country retreat" was absolutely stunning. My husband and I spent a couple of hours wandering through the gardens, touring the home, and exploring Gari's personal studio. It was such a peaceful and immersive experience. I found myself completely absorbed in his story, his artwork, and the beauty of the property itself. Since I was in a dress, we skipped the walking trails this time, but we definitely plan to go back soon in more appropriate attire to explore them. If you enjoy history, art, architecture, or simply beautiful places, I highly recommend adding Belmont to your list of places to visit.

Excellent tour. Beautiful art studio and museum. There is also a hiking trails inside. Highly…read morerecommended.

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Gari Melchers Home & Studio
Gari Melchers Home & Studio
Gari Melchers Home & Studio

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Rappahannock Railroad Museum

Rappahannock Railroad Museum

4.8
(5 reviews)
1.9 mi

This was a little hard to find, especially if you're not from the area like me. I passed it…read moreinitially because of my GPS. But once you see it, the sign is clear as day lol. It's a pretty small museum but it has a lot of stuff inside. It's two trailers, one has donated artifacts from trains and railroads. The other trailer has motorized trains running, and it was amazing. They have about four train cars that you can look at and some you can walk through. They also have a little yellow train that you can ride, depending on the weather. We couldn't ride it today, because it was raining, so that was unfortunate.

Our visit to the Railroad Museum was incredible - we will, undoubtedly, be back! It is entirely…read morerun by volunteers - who are so helpful and friendly that it's impossible not to have a great experience. Our entire family was actually having a not-so-great day (because of some unrelated events) and left there feeling so uplifted and energized... really, though, I have to say that none of us wanted to leave. I also use a wheelchair and they went out of their way to help in anyway they could with accessibility. There is a gravel parking lot - that they hope to pave one day - and ramps to two trailers. They also have a train that can be entered if one can climb stairs. And, they were willing to help me onto the little yellow maintenance car. There are model trains and equipment to view as well as an area for children to play but I thought the best part was actually chatting with the volunteers. Free, but they accept donations.

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Souvenir t shirts and other items are available for purchase.
Souvenir t shirts and other items are available for purchase.
Rappahannock Railroad Museum
Rappahannock Railroad Museum

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James Monroe Museum & Memorial Library

James Monroe Museum & Memorial Library

4.9
(7 reviews)
0.1 mi

This has to be a stop while in historic Fredericksburg! After learning there was a James Monroe…read moreMuseum and Memorial in Fredericksburg, we planned a day trip to this historic town and made this museum our first stop. We visited on a weekday before lunch time and had the entire museum to ourselves. Masks were required, and the employee let us know that if someone else came in, that we would have to leave if we had been there for awhile. I was just relieved that the museum was even open, as the other historic museums and sites in town were only open during the weekend. But since this is owned by Mary Washington University and the school is open, they've opened this museum. Admission was only $6 and there's a discount for AAA members. Where this museum sits is the location of James Monroe's law office back in the day. You will learn a lot about James Monroe here, as there were many artifacts about him. After we paid admission, the friendly employee showed us to the front room where most information about James Monroe can be found, as the displays talked about his childhood, time in Fredericksburg and beyond and his public service. She gave us a brief introduction and the rest of the tour was self-guided. It's not a huge museum, with three rooms, but we ended up spending an hour here, reading all the displays. If you like U.S. history then do not miss visiting the James Monroe Museum and Memorial. You will learn a lot about our fifth president and the many years of public service in various roles he held. Though I have visited James Monroe's Highland, I still learned more about James Monroe at this museum.

I was in my own era of good feelings visiting this museum of President James Monroe. This museum in…read morethe quaint downtown area of Fredericksburg has plenty of street parking and is a self-guided tour through artifacts from Monroe. This doesn't take too long to go through a few rooms (maybe an hour) but there are a lot of good things to see including clothing, portraits, and sculptures. The gift shop is small. There were a couple of employees who were there to answer questions if needed. It's worth the price to come and see more about one of our Founding Fathers.

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James Monroe Museum & Memorial Library
The garden is available to rent for weddings and other special events.
The garden is available to rent for weddings and other special events.
Engraving of Monroe

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Engraving of Monroe
Central Rappahannock Heritage Center

Central Rappahannock Heritage Center

5.0
(1 review)
0.3 mi

If you aren't familiar with the area, you'll miss it, or you won't even know where this gem is…read more Through a side door, and down a flight of stairs, is where you will find the heritage center. An abundance of history, all climate controlled for preservation purposes, this is where you can trace back family history and ancestry, among other historical items of interest. Being a Record Coordinator by trade, these places fascinate me - if all the pages of these documents could talk, you'd be amazed by the stories they homed. I came in with my mother in law to discuss homing a historic document, for future and current generations to see as it has never been in a public location, and the team were all very pleasant. They were busy assisting a few people who were on the computer stations, printing pages for them (all at a cost) to take with them for their thesis's, and were ensuring they left with all the historical data they required. There is only a small area for you to sit and work, and to browse, and you cannot go past a certain point in the working area. No drinks or food allowed (obviously), or photography - and you cannot really look through everything on your own due to the fact if anyone could, it's preservation would not be as pristine as it is - but once the team have located what you require, you are left to your own to read and look through it all. Do not let that sway you, if you need local records or are looking for American Revolution History, this place can really help and you will not be alone - especially if genealogy isn't your thing, I mean it's not for everyone, right!?

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The Central Rappahannock Heritage Center is located in Suite #111. The door is on the Barton Street side.
The Central Rappahannock Heritage Center is located in Suite #111. The door is on the Barton Street side.
The Central Rappahannock Heritage Center has thousands of photographs archived and preserved.
The Central Rappahannock Heritage Center has thousands of photographs archived and preserved.
The Central Rappahannock Heritage Center has court records available for your genealogical and scholarly research.

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The Central Rappahannock Heritage Center has court records available for your genealogical and scholarly research.

Fredericksburg Area Museum - museums - Updated June 2026

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