Germanna Foundation

Preserving the historic heritage of the original settlers of the Fort Germanna Colonies in Virginia

Facebooktwitterlinkedinyoutubeinstagram
  • About
    • About
    • Welcome
    • History
    • Mission
    • People
      • Board of Trustees
      • Germanna Foundation Council of Advisors
      • Germanna Foundation Staff
      • Committees
    • Strategic Plan
    • Jobs and Volunteer Opportunities
  • Events
  • Membership
  • Donate
    • Friends of Germanna
    • Planned Giving
  • Database
  • Store
    • Germanna Records
    • Germanna Zazzle Store
    • Memorial Garden Pavers Order Form
    • Germanna DNA Project
  • Contact
    • Join Mailing List
  • Home
  • Conference
  • Travel
  • Visit
    • Library
    • Germanna Memorial Garden
    • Jobs and Volunteer Opportunities
  • Trails
    • Blue Trail
    • Orange Trail
    • Red Trail
    • Chimney and Witness Trail
    • 1957 Dedication
    • Preserving Our Land
    • Trail Blog
  • Salubria
    • Salubria History
    • Hours/Directions
    • Reserve Salubria for a Special Event or Photo Shoot
    • Salubria Blog
  • Genealogy
    • Database of Germanna Descendants
    • List of Original Germanna Settlers and their Villages
    • Germanna Records
    • Travel to Germany with Germanna
    • Germanna DNA Project
    • Famous Germanna People
    • The Revolutionary War and Germanna
    • Conference and Reunion
    • Articles
    • Links
  • Articles
    • Germanna Blog
    • 5 Min with Germanna Videos
    • Germanna In the News
    • Events
    • History
    • Announcements
    • Siegen Forest Trails
    • Reunion
    • Genealogy
    • Salubria
    • Germany
    • Conservation
    • Books
    • People
      • In Memorium
  • Resources
    • Germanna Records
    • Library Book List
    • Photo Gallery
    • Newsletters
You are here: Home / About / Fort Germanna Visitor Center
Fort Germanna Visitor Center

Fort Germanna Visitor Center

Visit the Fort Germanna Visitor Center, Museum & Library is one of the jewels of Germanna.

It is located on Virginia Route #3 (2062 Germanna Highway, Locust Grove, Virginia 22508, between Fredericksburg and Culpeper) adjacent to the Germanna Community College’s main campus which is built on land donated by the Germanna Foundation to the Commonwealth of Virginia for the purpose of building the college.

We do recommend that out-of-town visitors call us at 540-423-1700 or contact us to confirm that the center will be open at the time of your visit and to make special arrangements for groups.

The Fort Germanna Visitor Center was dedicated in July 2000 and is named in honor of R. Brawdus Martin 1879-1977 who initiated the first meetings of what is now the Germanna Foundation.  The library is named in honor of Brawdus’ wife, Evelyn Martin, as a memorial from their daughter, Mary, and her husband, William Bourland.

The architect of the Visitor Center, Doug Harnsberger, is a Germanna descendant, and he chose the pentagonal shape of the building to call to mind the pentagonal shape of the original Fort Germanna.

The handsome copper ship weather vane on top was a gift from the architect.

The construction of the center came about as a result of the hard work of many Germanna members and grants from the Commonwealth of Virginia, federal ISTEA grants and private donations.

Enjoy a short video of the Visitor Center grounds made with a camera-equipped flying drone by an area drone hobbyist:

Germanna from Pretty Fly Productions on Vimeo.

 

MAP

Share this:

  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)

Comments

  1. Eva Maria Scheunert says

    July 23, 2021 at 4:04 pm

    Greetings from Germany.
    I am born in a little village in the German Siegerland, from where the first settlers had come from.
    Special greetings to the family Otterbach, because this name is in my family tree.

    Reply
    • Mathias Van Aken says

      February 1, 2022 at 4:12 am

      Eva Maria Scheunert, you sent a message to Geschiedenis van Loenhout but forgot to include your e-mail. Please send us a mail so we can reply to you.

      Reply

Your Comments Cancel reply

Join Germanna Mailing list

NEW GERMANNA RECORD!

Broyles Family book

The Broyles Family: The First Four Generations
by Cathi Clore Frost

Next Virtual Lecture:

Tuesday, May 3, 2022 at 7 pm ET

Evening with Germanna presents a virtual lecture by Jerilynn Eby MacGregor on the use of Aquia freestone in Virginia.

REGISTER TO ATTEND

watch on-demand!

Germanna Foundation’s Mission and Stewardship

The Germanna Foundation tells America’s story of liberty through the frontier experience of her settlers and descendants using archaeological, historical, and genealogical research and interpretation. We are stewards over these important properties and initiatives:

  • Fort Germanna Visitor Center campus which includes a Museum, Genealogy Library, the Hitt Archaeology Center, and the Germanna Memorial Garden
  • Siegen Forest – 170-acre Hiking and Nature Trails along the Rapidan river
  • 1714/1717 Fort Germanna Archaeology Site
  • Virginia Lt. Gov. Alexander Spotswood’s home “Enchanted Castle” Archaeology Site
  • 1757 Georgian-style Salubria Manor
  • 1800 Peter Hitt Farm
  • Publishing “The Germanna Record” genealogy/ history books
  • Maintaining a genealogy database with over 130,000 records of descendants of the Germanna colonists

Your donation helps support our mission:

Make a Donation

Become a member or renew your membership in the Germanna Foundation:

Membership

RECENT POSTS

  • Virtual Event: The German Diaspora: Looking at German Emigration Worldwide from the 9th Century to Today
  • Help us meet our matching grant goal!
  • Communications & Programs Manager
  • Honoring Veterans: A Luminary Tribute
  • Salubria After Dark
  • Join Us On June 25th For Our Next Salubria Public Access Day!
  • Join Us On May 21st For Our Next Salubria Public Access Day!

Germanna Patriots

Download Icon for Genealogy Databases

Germanna Descendant

Germanna 101

Watch a video about the history of the Germanna Colonies in America.

germanna-family-1b

Become a member of the Germanna Foundation and get access to Germanna’s exclusive genealogy database, GermannaFamily.org, with thousands of names. Research your Germanna roots!

Become a Member

Make a Donation

Planned Giving

Remember the Germanna Foundation in your estate plans and in your will.

Germanna Foundation

The Germanna Foundation
MAILING: P.O. Box 279
LOCATION: 2062 Germanna Highway
Locust Grove, VA 22508-0279
Phone: 540-423-1700
Fax: 540-423-1747
Contact Us Page

Remember the Germanna Foundation in your Will and Estate Plans.

Fort Germanna Visitor Center, Museum & Library

2062 Germanna Highway (Route 3)
Locust Grove, VA 22508
(Next to the Germanna Community College campus)

Hours of Operation:
Monday-Friday, 10:00 am to 4:00 pm
Saturdays, 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm
Closed on Sundays

Out of town visitors are urged to call us at 540-423-1700 to confirm or to make special arrangements for groups.

Follow Us

Facebooktwitterlinkedinyoutubeinstagram

Hike Siegen Forest!

Behind the Fort Germanna Visitor Center is our 170-acre Siegen Forest nature and hiking trails along the Rapidan river. Trails are OPEN 7 days a week, during daylight hours. When visiting the trails, please practice “Leave no Trace” ethos. If you enjoy the trails, consider donating to the Germanna Foundation to help support their upkeep.

 

About

The Germanna Foundation is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization dedicated to exploring the Colonial Virginia frontier via the historic 1714 Fort Germanna and its German colonists and their descendants.

It conducts archaeological exploration and conservation, genealogical research and publishing, and historic preservation and interpretation.

The Foundation owns and maintains several historic sites and properties, such as Salubria Manor, that were part of or closely connected to the Germanna colonies, the town of Germanna, and the other early colonial Virginia settlements and towns in the Piedmont area of Virginia.

Copyright © 2023 The Memorial Foundation of the Germanna Colonies in Virginia Inc. (The Germanna Foundation) | Website by CJKCREATIVE.COM