FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 12, 2012
Governor and Mrs. McDonnell Launch Year of the Historic Home Website
RICHMOND—Governor McDonnell and Mrs. McDonnell are pleased to announce the launch of the Year of the Historic Home website. In September, Governor and Mrs. McDonnell signed a proclamation recognizing 2013 as the Year of the Historic Home and the new website, www.historicalhomes.virginia.gov, features information on the participating houses around Virginia and tools for citizens to interact with Virginia’s rich cultural history.
The Governor and First Lady are pleased to initiate this new effort to recognize the importance of the many historic homes around the Commonwealth as they commemorate the bicentennial of the Executive Mansion. Virginia has more than 100 historic homes that span from pre-Colonial times through the Modern era, all of which provide an abundance of cultural, historical, and architectural information and promote an understanding of, as well as an interest in, Virginia’s story. Most of these homes are open to the public as museums and historic sites, and have drawn visitors from around the country and even from around the world. Included on the new website is a video PSA graciously donated by PixelDust studios in Washington DC, featuring First Lady Maureen McDonnell and the voice of Salvatore Vecchio, a voice actor of many National Geographic series.
In addition to the interactive features on the new website, the Virginia Time Travelers Program has also been revived for this initiative and students and families are encouraged to participate. In order to achieve the status of Master Traveler, students must download a passport from the website, visit eight participating homes in Virginia, and mail the completed passport to the Executive Mansion. All Master Travelers will be recognized on the website, receive a certificate signed by the Governor, and be entered to win additional prizes.
Both the website and the Time Travelers Program are part of the initiative supported by the Secretary of Natural Resources, the Department of Historic Resources, the Virginia Association of Museums, and the historic homes in Virginia. By highlighting the educational value of these homes and promoting tourism to the sites, the Governor and the First Lady intend to ensure their vitality and enhance their value as Virginia cultural assets.
Managers of historic homes that should be included in this celebration or are currently listed and would like information updated should contact Audrey Trussell at audrey.trussell@governor.virginia.gov.
Check out the Year of the Virginia Historic Home Video!
Belle Grove Plantation ~ Birthplace of James Madison
Made the Video!
Don’t forget to “Like” Us on Facebook!
Belle Grove Plantation Bed and Breakfast 
i enjoyed the video. It was beautiful. wow, those homes!!
Thank you! They are something to behold!
Congratulations, I am happy to see you both get this. 🙂 Some much needed good news, I am sure you know what I mean.
Thank you! It was just wonderful timing! We are so excited!
Congratulations!
Thank you! We can’t believe we were picked to be in the video! We are so excited!
Congratulations!!! What a wonderful opportunity!!!
Thank you! We agree! It is such an honor to be selected and then selected again to be in the video! Wow!
I am celebrating!!!
🙂
Bravo!
Thank you!
What a wonderful video! Bell Grove looks beautiful!
Thank you! We are just pinching ourselves!
M, this is AWESOME!
Thank you! We think so too!
Wahooo, congratulations! This is really fantastic!
Thank you! That is how I feel “Wahooo!” I think I have seen the video a couple hundred times already!
The video was great. I hope they add a great picture of Belle Grove to the interactive map as well. It is nice that you are number 4 on the map. More people will see you that way :-). Congratulations on some great press!
Thank you! I spoke with the representative at the Governor’s Mansion today. She says since we were a late add, they were about to get all but the map completed before the launch of the site. They are going to be adding us in the coming days.
Congratulations an amazing achievement for your business. I hope God will continue to bless you in your home and business. Catharina.
Thank you! We feel so honored to be apart of this wonderful campaign!
Impressive! Well done you 😀
Thank you! We feel so honored!
How exciting! We have relatives in Norfolk. Where is that in relationship to you?
Right now, Norfolk is 15 minutes away since we are still in our Chesapeake home. But once the zoning is approved, we will be 2.5 hours from Norfolk at Belle Grove.
Way cool! So happy for you! Now, if only our constitution can be preserved along with these homes…
Thank you! I hear that!!
Terrific news! Just in time to wish you & Belle Grove a very Merry Christmas!!
Merry Christmas from Belle Grove and Brett, Hurley and myself! We are so excited about the year to come! We hope that we will see you once the plantation opens! Thank you!
Congratulations! This is really such an honor and I know you guys must be so proud of the job you’ve done. Makes me want to hop in my car and visit Virginia! (you first, of course.) 🙂
jeanne
Thank you so much Jeanne! Yes we do feel very honored and proud! We hope you will jump into the car and head to Virginia! We would love to see you! 🙂
How wonderful for Belle Grove, for you, and for everyone in VA and around the nation! This video is a treasure, too.
Thank you! We just loved the video! It was such a surprise to see our beloved plantation on there with the likes of Mount Vernon and Montpelier!
Congratulations on the honor making the list! Thevideo makes us want to drive over and do the whole tour.
Thank you! We are so honored! And we love the video too! It does give you chills just watching it. We have already downloaded the list of homes and are going to make it our mission to see each of them in the year to come! May have to make it a side blog so those that can’t be here can enjoy them too!
I need to visit you.
Oh we would love that!
Congratulations!
Thank you! We are so honored! By the way hows your brief coming?
Congratulations! I want to see all the homes starting with Belle Grove.
Thank you! I have a print out of all the house that are open and we are planning on trying to get to each of them. Of course we are already one ahead being from Belle Grove 😉
Bloody marvelous! Congratulations to you both.
Thank you! We are very excited to be a part of it and the video!
Congratulations! This should be a boost to your “constitution!”
Haha! I love that! Yes, it really did boost our “constitution”!
Wow, you’re famous! Congratulations!
Thank you but I don’t know if you could say we are famous…yet 😉