Rediscovering America_ Exploring the Small Towns of Virginia & Maryland - Bill Burnham [76]
Calamity struck the town again in April 2002, when a fire devastated the town’s largest marina. More than 50 boats and most of the docks were lost in a chain reaction explosion. But Colonial Beach Yacht Center, in business for half a century, quickly set about rebuilding “bigger and better” than ever.
Around Town
The Museum at Colonial Beach preserves all the town’s rich history, going back to the first visit of Captain John Smith in 1608. There’s a Victorian parlor, several vintage slot machines, a Watermen’s Room, and lots of memorabilia from the old Colonial Beach Hotel. The museum is located at the corner of Hawthorne Street and Washington Avenue in a building with its own colorful past. Built in 1892 by Mayor William Billingsley, it served as the town’s first private school in 1898 and has at different times housed the town’s first newspaper, a clothing store, drug store, doctor’s office, the town’s telephone switchboard system, a barber shop, grocery store, bakery, a gas company and an antiques shop. In 1993 it was saved from destruction by a group of citizens, and in 1999 the museum opened. It’s open Memorial Day through Labor Day on weekends and holidays, noon to 3 pm. Open Saturdays only the rest of the year. Admission is free (tel. 804-224-5800 or 224-8020).
Outside Colonial Beach are the birthplaces of George Washington and Robert E. Lee. George Washington Birthplace National Monument is eight miles west of Montross on Pope’s Creek Road. Costumed interpreters help portray the 18th-century plantation life George Washington experienced and that helped shape his character. There’s a visitor center, the brick foundation of the house where he was born, and family burial grounds – although George and Martha are buried at Mount Vernon, further up the Potomac. There are nature trails, a picnic area and a Potomac River beach. Open daily, 9 am-5 pm, except Christmas and New Year’s Day; admission is $3 for adults and free for those under age 16. (tel. 804-224-1732, http://www.nps.gov/gewa)
A visit to Stratford Hall Plantation, built in 1738 by Thomas Lee, lays bare the conflicted legacy of the Lee family, whose descendants, Richard Henry Lee and Francis “Lightfoot” Lee, signed the Declaration of Independence. Robert E. Lee was born here in 1807, and he went on to lead the Confederate army against the Union. Seemingly opposing forces – one generation for union, the other in conflict with union – find unity on the principal of self-determination. The 1,670-acre plantation is a working farm to this day and is open for tours. Have lunch in the plantation restaurant (11:30 am-3 pm). The visitor center and grounds are open daily, 9:30 am-5 pm, except on Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Day, and New Year’s Day; house tours are given from 10 am-4 pm. Admission is $8 for adults and $4 for ages six-17. Stratford Hall Road, near Montross. (tel. 804-493-8038, 804-493-8371, www.stratfordhall.org)
Dining
The Dockside Restaurant at the Colonial Beach Yacht Center overlooks the Potomac and offers fresh seafood, a raw bar and steaks. There’s also an authentic British Pub, the Blue Heron, operated by a Brit. Closed on Tuesdays. (1787 Castlewood Drive, tel. 804-224-8726, www.dockside-blueheron.com)
This could arguably be the freshest seafood around. The proprietors of The Happy Clam often catch seafood for their guests right off the restaurant’s dock. There are nightly dinner specials, a seafood buffet every Friday through Sunday, and the homemade pies are locally famous. Open daily for lunch and dinner, year-round. (3700 McKinney Blvd., tel. 804-224-0248, www.thehappyclam.biz)
Colonial Beach’s gambling legacy on the Potomac is carried on at the Riverboat on the Potomac, where there’s off-track betting, Keno, Virginia and Maryland lottery tickets, and an arcade. The food and