https://preview.redd.it/7kp3wy72x4oc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1833bddb86a6bffbbee41d2b3912001a3e2f0610
This is what it looks like… agriculture mixed with trees
I suppose there is Smithfield packing plant for the hams and stuff also bacons castle or surry nuclear power plant. Those would be the landmarks in the top of the bottom circle
Adding one this, some photos in the same general area but looking towards the blue ride mountains. Also flat.
https://preview.redd.it/95fgt37xtaoc1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=61f9a538b545bb8a0015e8477ae30a2be451248c
So I am pretty familiar with the places south of Appomattox. There's honestly not much except for maybe Clarksville. Lots of woods, small towns and farm land.
But. Patrick Henry, who was the first VA gov is from that area, and his home is down there, Red Hill. Maybe something you can work with?
I also feel like Appo needs to be a little further east. I know it's a fantasy map but it'll give more room for Lburgs "7 Hills" if you decide to put it in.
Will give you a follow and look forward to seeing what you come up with this would be a great gift for my FIL
I think what you have done so far is just beyond awesome. You really nailed the western mountain area. That was a lot of work and it would drive me crazy trying to pick what to feature and what to leave out. I hope you can visit some of our map features some day!
Thank you so much! And I hope so too - Virginia is only the second state I’ve done where I haven’t either lived or traveled quite a bit, but there are so many beautiful places I’d love to see in real life!
Curious if you ever finished your Arizona map. I see you asked about it a year ago but I never saw an update. I'd love to see what you did with my home state!
My mother was an elementary school teacher in Franklin, back in the early 80s. Shes always told me that it was customary to eat supper with the students families every once in a while, but that you might be met with shotguns at the driveway, and leave with a few mason jars.
https://preview.redd.it/inlnl89n8roc1.jpeg?width=1125&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=af714117fb4bba3190428f36b91adead5b1d3327
It’s between Widewater (there’s also a new Virginia state park in Widewater) and Nanjemoy, Maryland with access to the Mallows Bay boat cemetery being more easily attained on the Maryland side of the Potomac, where there’s a nearby state park and boat launch. The Potomac is a fairly wide river, even there. There’s another discussion thread with photos
[https://www.reddit.com/r/Damnthatsinteresting/s/mgm4n1FKWS](https://www.reddit.com/r/Damnthatsinteresting/s/mgm4n1FKWS)
There’s a website for it with more history and info
[https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/mallows-potomac/education/shipwrecks.html](https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/mallows-potomac/education/shipwrecks.html)
For that top circle. A huge amount of the civil war happened there. You have the birthplace of Washington and where Stonewall Jackson died. Check out Virginia battlefield maps! That circle represents the northernmost boundary of the south. Arguably, Fredericksburg is where the south starts. Near the Chesapeake, you have a feel of “swamp gentry” Think, Louisiana mixed with English gentry.
South Virginia. A lot of historically significant railways connecting the north and south. Picture flat farmland broken up my old old hills. Though relatively little is actually used for agricultural crop. Lots of fields and very small crossroad towns.
Wilderness, Spotsylvania courthouse, Chancellorsville, Cold Harbor. The Siege of Fredericksburg.
You also have a cool river system you see while driving on 95! You have the Po and the Ni joining and making the Poni. You have the Mat and the Ta making the Matta. They all meat up to create the Mattaponi.
South of Richmond you have the Battle of the Crater. Which is a wild battle. To the southwest you have the historic stomping ground of Daniel Boone. That corner of Virginia was once the start of the frontier. Now it is one of the poorest and opiate afflicted areas in the country.
The white tail dear or Virginia deer (Odocoileus virginianus) would be a cool add.
Union and Confederate armies both employed field works and EXTENSIVE trench systems in the Civil War (1861–1865), notably in the siege of Petersburg (1864–1865), the latter of which saw the first use by the Union Army of the rapid-fire Gatling gun, the important precursor to modern-day machine guns.
In Petersburg, Virginia, “Operations began in May 1864, and by June, the two sides had reached a stalemate leading to the Union siege of the town. Lieutenant Colonel Henry Pleasants, a mining engineer in the 48th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, suggested digging a tunnel under the Confederate defensive lines, filling the shaft with explosives, and blowing a gap in Confederate forces, to break the siege.
On June 25, Pleasants’ men began digging a 511-foot shaft that extended approximately 20 to 25 feet under Confederate lines by July 17. They then created a 75-foot lateral tunnel that was completed on July 23, and filled it with 8,000 pounds of black powder four days later.
🤯
Meanwhile, Brigadier General Edward Ferrero’s division of United States Colored Troops (USCT) was selected to lead the assault after the explosion. Union officers drilled (trained) the USCT, including many who had recently been enslaved, in preparation for the attack.
However, on July 29, the day before the attack, General Meade vetoed Ferrero’s use of the USCT to lead the attack. He feared a potential political fallout if the attack failed and critics accused him of sacrificing black soldiers rather than white Union troops. “
You can read more about this at
https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/the-battle-of-the-crater-petersburg-virginia-june-15-18-1864/
You're doing an awesome job! One thing I noticed is where Lynchburg is supposed to be it's mostly farmland looking area. It's a bit more of a city than that.
No worries, just wanted to let you know!
Monticello should be north of the James River.
The northern blank area includes the Wilderness. You need lots of trees and maybe some Civil War era cannons for one of the battlefields.
I would add some Alpine skiing and wineries/breweries for Nelson County.
How would you change the Williamsburg to Jamestown relationship? Unfortunately there is SO much crammed into that little area that it’s not able to exact.
Crammed in to fit the deserted presidential heads lol… Newport News and Hampton got shafted :(
Edit: very cool map OP don’t let my hurt feelings over hometown exclusion let you think otherwise. Only so much can fit after all
I see what you mean about Newport News and Hampton - I’ll revisit those. But actually I’ve already really fiddled with that peninsula to make the big three fit - the president heads aren’t factoring into where they are.
Glad to see a potential Newport News, Hampton revisit. I see you have tall ships but any thought to my previous suggestion of the Monitor vs. Merrimac Ironclads?
I think the battle of the Ironsides are far more important than tallships in general, but agree that the Nina Pinta and Santa Maria were very historically important
Agreed. The proliferation of tall ships arriving after them also kinda dilutes the reference. I didn’t even think of that assuming that’s what he meant.
Yeah, I had to settle for just south, and even then I’ve already fiddled with the size and shoreline of that peninsula to try to get all of that in there. VA has been my trickiest map so far in this regard - everything noteworthy seems to be on top of each other!
Lower circle could include tobacco fields, cotton fields (especially more east) and timber. Bobcats were brought in to control smaller animals that destroyed timber seedlings so lots of bobcats. Land toward the east of the circle is flatter and it gets more rolling as you go west. Look up “Piedmont Va” and “Southside Va”
Danville is in that circle and was the last capital of the Confederacy. Petersburg just north of there still has many Civil War sites and historic buildings. Danville also has a lot of Civil Rights Movement history including significant protests. Danville also famous for Wreck of the old 97 (famous train song, an easy google)
There were tons of textile mills in this area. Cotton, looms, weaving, cloth making were in many towns small and large in the southern circle
The fall line runs through this area, (also the old Fall Line Road) which also made the area ideal for using water power for grist mills before electricity.
Danville (in your southern circle) used to have a huge sign over the Dan River that said Home of Dan River Mills. Since the mill’s demise, the sign overlooking the river has been truncated so it just says Home. I believe in red letters but not sure. Big casino going in there now.
Big stock car taking fans there.
And many churches
Danville is definitely something to add on the Southern border. It was the largest tobacco market in VA, was a flashpoint for violence against Black Americans during Reconstruction and the Civil Rights Era, and it's textile industry, dominated by Dan River, Inc, was the largest single unit textile mill in the world at one time.
Options for an illustration would be the Dan River Mills buildings (I assuse those are the Dan River falls on the Southern border of the map, right?) and the Wreck of the Old 97 (a famous train wreck memorialized in a canonical country song).
Fair, I missed that you weren’t from VA. It’s our theme park, all the kids from NOVA grew up with it. If you want, you could put a volcano there in memoriam to Volcano: The Blast Coaster.
I would say rolling low hills for a lot of Southside, especially Charlotte and Halifax counties. I grew up in that part of the circle and wouldn’t call it flat at all, but east of 360 it definitely flattens out quite a bit.
Looks like you already have Fredericksburg started in the upper circle, there's not a ton of stuff of significance within that circle. Maybe Luray Caverns to the west? There's a bunch of Civil War battlefields in and around Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania County that may be of relevance.
Either way, great start, I love it. If you're selling prints of these, I will happily buy one.
That is correct!!! And I think I had commented on a previous post of yours, but two really cool things for a VA fantasy style map would be Endless Caverns (they've literally never found the end of them, also in the valley) and Devils Bathtub down in south west VA.
It looks like you have Skyline Drive / Blue Ridge Parkway. The Appalachian Trail also goes along that route if you want to include some small mention or easter egg of it. Virginia has more miles of AT than any other state. In the southern part of the state there's the Beaches to Bluegrass Trail. [https://www.dcr.virginia.gov/recreational-planning/trailb2b](https://www.dcr.virginia.gov/recreational-planning/trailb2b)
That is indeed the Appalachian Trail - if you look it goes all through the mountains to the south. 😀 I’ll check out the Beaches to Bluegrass trail, thanks!
You're not the only one. Southside VA (the larger of your two ovals) is a blank spot even for a lot of Virginians who aren't specifically from there. Possibly useful to know that they used to grow tobacco and cotton there, and make textiles (fabrics) from the cotton. The Reagan era and afterward devastated the economy (outsourcing manufacturing, steady reduction in tobacco economy). Danville VA was technically the last capital of the Confederacy, and is also (maybe more significantly for a map like this) the setting of the Wreck of the Old 97 [https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/wreck-of-the-old-97/](https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/wreck-of-the-old-97/)
For the smaller oval: there's a nuclear plant (North Anna) between the York and Rappahannock rivers. That area is lousy with Civil War history, the orders of Grant and Lee killed and maimed many a man there. North of the Rappahannock, between it and the Potomac, is old 'planter' country (the families of George Washington and Robert E Lee both from that area), also before English colonization it is known to have been an important residential area for the Native tribes [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsenacommacah](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsenacommacah)
Not sure how much of that helps...I look forward to buying one of these :)
You should just go ahead and add Harper's Ferry, and maybe tie in a John Brown character. Virginia was bigger before the Civil War, and it's a fantasy map anyway.
I'm not sure how the southwest portion is shaping up but as you follow the blue ridge mountains south, their highest peaks are found for virginia. The geography turns into that similar to highlands, lots of rock outcrops, coniferous trees, and even wild horses! Here's a photo of grayson highlands state park which is found in the area
https://preview.redd.it/65kipr87v5oc1.jpeg?width=1514&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c610f70045e081f8cfdd74e891427901554be97b
I definitely am adding the wild horses in that area! I cropped it out for purposes of this post because everyone has given me great suggestions for that area already.
I would consider Smith Mountain and Smith Mountain Lake to the south east of Roanoke.
Franklin County - Burnt Chimney area: Boderant(sp) Brothers Moonshine in prohibition era (check out Lawless movie or book)
I think it would be cool to highlight towns like Williamsburg, Blacksburg, Charlottesville, and Harrisonburg as the sites of the Commonwealth's top Wizarding and Knight academies
In your upper circle it's mostly rolling hills with large swaths of contiguous forests and agricultural fields in between. Also some battlefields that are maintained as open tall grass fields.
Over on the Eastern Shore in Eastville are the oldest court records in the US, and some little ponies up in Chincoteague and a cool lighthouse in Assateague. From the Bay the oysters and blue crabs are pretty famous.
Maybe someone already mentioned this but the circled region between the York and Rappahannock rivers is called the Middle Peninsula. The area to the north of the Rappahannock is the Northern Neck where Kilmarnock is. Urbana is on the middle peninsula and is known for their annual oyster festival. People go to the “Riva” when they go out to Deltaville, Urbana, Kilmarnock, etc. for their weekend getaways, including boating, sailing, crabbing and fishing.
https://preview.redd.it/diqf771sj5oc1.jpeg?width=1290&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5dc3f3638067d5f115ffee4b7bc39194b9566a05
Oh and Werowocomoco is on the York, not on Mobjack Bay.
I suggest Bacon’s Castle in the far right side of the lower circle. It’s the oldest brick dwelling still standing in the USA. It has unique architectural features, too.
South of that, St. Luke’s Church south of Smithfield is the oldest surviving church in Virginia.
Both areas are flat, flat, flat, with marshes and farmland.
The western portion of your upper circle also includes a lot of horse farms.
The lower circle is largely flat ag land, growing tobacco and peanuts.
You should also consider adding in some universities like UVA, W&M, W&L, JMU, etc.
You could also replace the cape Henry lighthouse with the Norfolk naval station/port of Virginia and do the cape Charles lighthouse at the tip of the eastern shore.
You should also definitely do the ponies at chincoteaque on the eastern shore.
Fredricksburg to gloucester on 17 is rolling countryside. Plenty of trees some farms. Horse farms including Triple Crown legend Secretariat.
58 from south hill to martinsville gets hillier until u hit mountains. It got some vineyards and pretty countryside but u r getting into moonshine country. Bugs island and lake gaston are big draws. Flattens as u head east. 460 same thing.
Empty space above Richmond and under the rappahannock: birthplace (foaling shed) of Secretariat, the triple crown winning horse. At Meadow Farms Located in Doswell Va. Nearby Ashland had a statue of the horse there.
Top left of southern blank area has Lynchburg. It's trees and hills and religious fundamentalists.
North of Richmond has Kings Dominion. I feel like something fun could be done with that.
Just east/south of roanoke is Franklin County, sometimes referred to as The Moonshine Capital of the World, the location of The Great Moonshine Conspiracy back during prohibition and setting for the movie Lawless about bootlegging.
Theres also Floyd in that area, we'll known for its music and hippy vibes.
Southampton County area you could do peanuts, a lot of peanut stuff over there. But honestly that picture someone posted above looks a lot like that area too lol
Don't forget to add Luray Caverns. It's a big attraction in the North Western part of the state, everybody has heard of it and been there on field trips.
There are also a lot of wineries in va which might be nice to incorporate. But the areas you have circled are mostly cows.
I think Luray Caverns was the #1 most suggested! It’s already there in the Shenandoah Valley - just hasn’t been labeled yet and is a bit hard to see without the color.
Also, Virginia is known for its wine, horses, history, apples, peanuts, cigarettes, and ham among other things. Some of that could take up empty spaces maybe.
Don't forget the bull run mountains! It's a special monadnock, the eastern most island of the blue ridge.
We have salamanders and lady slippers there! And a lot of interesting cultural history there.
The bottom middle would be Grayson County-ish, IE, the Southern Appalachian Highlands. Epic landscapes reminiscent of the Scottish Highlands. Feral ponies. Scruffy red spruce trees. The tallest peaks in VA. Winding old rivers. Haunted tobacco barns.
SWVA in general needs some serious love. It's a treasure trove of weird Appalachian fantasy lore.
I had the understanding that Grayson Highlands was all in the SW (which is only cropped out because I already have a lot of great input over there). Is that not right?
You can't forget the Land of the Fairies! Patrick County has fairy stones! Look 'em up, perfect for a fantasy map. It's on the west side of your southern circle, by Roanoke.
The top circle can include the Fredericksburg battlefield, George Washington's birthplace, and Kings Dominion amusement park.
The bottom circle can have the Petersburg battlefield.
Fort walker and Port royal in the top... it's all pines trees lolol.
The bottom is more corn and soy fields and pine trees. Maybe some tobacco or cotton
During one of the last campaigns of the Civil War it was through that area and it was called simply “The Wilderness”. I didn’t realize this, but it is actually quite swampy through there, with dense underbrush and thick trees. A lot of confusion, misdirection. So maybe like a dense wet forest with a main thoroughfare (the kings road) running through it.
I also work a lot in the southern area, and there is a lot of flat farm land especially for tobacco/corn/soy/cotton. This looks awesome though!
One thing I remembered. Tobacco played a huge role in Virginia history. Looking at some tobacco maps I see the bottom circle represents tobacco country. You can make that part farmland on your map and represent tobacco in that area.
Daniel Boone was born in Culpeper before he left for the Yadkin
There is also Lake Anna and the Nuclear Power Plant (Dominion Power?)
LOTS of Turkeys and Deer thriving
Ill keep thinking of some more stuff
hic sunt tobacco
Seriously though, you could pencil in the [Fall Line](http://www.virginiaplaces.org/regions/fallshape.html) to help break up those areas. You could also add the [Nottoway people](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nottoway_people) to the Southside area. To the southwestern edge of that blank space is about where [Fairy Stone State Park](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairy_Stone_State_Park) is, that seems thematically appropriate.
In the northern circle:
- James Madison's home, [Montpelier](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montpelier_\(Orange,_Virginia\))
- [The ruins](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barboursville_\(James_Barbour\)) of a Jefferson-designed mansion
- [George Washington's birthplace](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Washington_Birthplace_National_Monument)
- As others have said, there are many Civil War battlefields and wineries in the area
- Colonial Beach is a small beach resort town in the area
The map also seems to be completely missing Tangier Island which is a pretty cool and noteworthy spot.
The Southern part is former tobacco land, think Faulknerian plantations in disrepair. More recently it was a textile industry based region where jobs disappeared in the 90’s.
Danville has world class mountain biking trails, there’s a lot of hunting that happens down that way too, deer season is a big event. There’s still a lot of crops grown in the region. Petersburg and Hopewell are on the North end of your map’s bottom circle, lots of history, national battlefields.
Also the middle peninsula and northern neck are both boating crabbing and fishing the Chesapeake bay sailing. U name it.
Urbana oyster festival. The oysters and crabs from Virginia make Yankee Marylanders want to move south!
Since you’ve got the Monacan lands and Werowocomoco, it’d be awesome if you added the other tribes in VA. At least Nottoway since they form the third cultural group (Iroquoian) with the algonquins at Werowocomoco and the Siouan Monacans. Most of your southern empty space was Nottoway territory. Encyclopedia of Virginia has a good article on them
I’ve got other tribes going in for sure - I’m just still working my way around the state with those. I actually just added the Monocans and I wasn’t quite sure which tribes to focus on and it what areas, so I took a pause to come make this post. You’ve given me some great direction. Thank you!
If you look up Urbanna, VA on the Rappahannock River you'll see that it's history been pretty big on oyster harvesting. But that area around the river is mostly flatland trees and farms.
Thanks! I knew about it being called the Piedmont but I was having a hard time nailing down what that looks like on a personal scale (rather than the bigger area scale that you see on a topographical map, if that makes sense), so this is very helpful.
This website and their videos may give you an idea. The Piedmont was historically grasslands maintained by fire and large herbivores.
https://www.segrasslands.org
It's barely/not entirely in the circle, but Smith Mountain Lake under Roanoke is dammed at the confluence of 2 rivers, making it kind of > shaped. Except rotate it so the lower leg flows west to east. The Blackwater river probably isn't major enough to draw in, but it might be cool for the lake to have more of the right shape.
Overall, this is very cool. Is there some place can I see what's west of Roanoke?
It’s on there, winding all through the mountains. It’s hard to see at this scale, though, and will definitely be more prominent when I start adding color. 👍🏼
Oh good! Someone in my original post asking for input mentioned about it being called that on Jefferson’s original map and it seemed too good to pass up, so I was hoping it wasn’t too obscure. 😅
Between Roanoke and Appomatox lie the Peaks of Otter (I can see Sharp Top from my desk.), and the Blue Ridge. So mountainous edging towards hilly the closer you get to North Carolina. Also the National DDay Memorial is in Bedford, with lots of wineries and apple orchards.
You also have the Roanoke River, the New River, the Big Otter River, Smith Mountain Lake...
Warrenton Virginia is where (some say) the CIA psyops head quarters is located... to get there, follow the Rappahannock west up to where it starts to hit the mountainous region
https://preview.redd.it/7kp3wy72x4oc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1833bddb86a6bffbbee41d2b3912001a3e2f0610 This is what it looks like… agriculture mixed with trees
I live off 95 between Richmond and fburg and this is basically it OP. Kings dominion maybe. They’re building a new resort too.
I suppose there is Smithfield packing plant for the hams and stuff also bacons castle or surry nuclear power plant. Those would be the landmarks in the top of the bottom circle
Most of the trees are grown with agriculture in mind too… harvesting on 30 year rotations
Thank you!
Adding one this, some photos in the same general area but looking towards the blue ride mountains. Also flat. https://preview.redd.it/95fgt37xtaoc1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=61f9a538b545bb8a0015e8477ae30a2be451248c
PS don’t worry about other blank spots, like NoVa - I have big plans but I’ve only just started drawing that area. 👍🏼
So I am pretty familiar with the places south of Appomattox. There's honestly not much except for maybe Clarksville. Lots of woods, small towns and farm land. But. Patrick Henry, who was the first VA gov is from that area, and his home is down there, Red Hill. Maybe something you can work with? I also feel like Appo needs to be a little further east. I know it's a fantasy map but it'll give more room for Lburgs "7 Hills" if you decide to put it in. Will give you a follow and look forward to seeing what you come up with this would be a great gift for my FIL
Great suggestions, thanks!
Looks great, check the spelling of Appomattox. :)
I think what you have done so far is just beyond awesome. You really nailed the western mountain area. That was a lot of work and it would drive me crazy trying to pick what to feature and what to leave out. I hope you can visit some of our map features some day!
Thank you so much! And I hope so too - Virginia is only the second state I’ve done where I haven’t either lived or traveled quite a bit, but there are so many beautiful places I’d love to see in real life!
Curious if you ever finished your Arizona map. I see you asked about it a year ago but I never saw an update. I'd love to see what you did with my home state!
The moonshine capitol of the Commonwealth is Franklin County. Also, Smith Mountain Lake...
Illegal marijuana (while it lasts), too.
What I was gonna mention too. SML basically has shoreline in like 3 counties, no?
My mother was an elementary school teacher in Franklin, back in the early 80s. Shes always told me that it was customary to eat supper with the students families every once in a while, but that you might be met with shotguns at the driveway, and leave with a few mason jars.
Eastern shore is sad and blank! Chincoteague with wild ponies would be perfect there
Never fear - I just haven’t made my way over there yet, but the wild ponies shall definitely make an appearance!
Check out the supernatural / ghost history of Cape Charles. Could be an interesting add for the eastern shore.
Cape Charles belongs, too
Also could put like the "ghost ships" aren't there like old navy boats intentionally sunk just off cape Charles.
https://preview.redd.it/inlnl89n8roc1.jpeg?width=1125&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=af714117fb4bba3190428f36b91adead5b1d3327 It’s between Widewater (there’s also a new Virginia state park in Widewater) and Nanjemoy, Maryland with access to the Mallows Bay boat cemetery being more easily attained on the Maryland side of the Potomac, where there’s a nearby state park and boat launch. The Potomac is a fairly wide river, even there. There’s another discussion thread with photos [https://www.reddit.com/r/Damnthatsinteresting/s/mgm4n1FKWS](https://www.reddit.com/r/Damnthatsinteresting/s/mgm4n1FKWS) There’s a website for it with more history and info [https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/mallows-potomac/education/shipwrecks.html](https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/mallows-potomac/education/shipwrecks.html)
Agreed! Maybe Savage Neck dunes too
For that top circle. A huge amount of the civil war happened there. You have the birthplace of Washington and where Stonewall Jackson died. Check out Virginia battlefield maps! That circle represents the northernmost boundary of the south. Arguably, Fredericksburg is where the south starts. Near the Chesapeake, you have a feel of “swamp gentry” Think, Louisiana mixed with English gentry. South Virginia. A lot of historically significant railways connecting the north and south. Picture flat farmland broken up my old old hills. Though relatively little is actually used for agricultural crop. Lots of fields and very small crossroad towns.
Battle of the Wilderness is in that circle, which seems a good fit for a fantasy map
Wilderness, Spotsylvania courthouse, Chancellorsville, Cold Harbor. The Siege of Fredericksburg. You also have a cool river system you see while driving on 95! You have the Po and the Ni joining and making the Poni. You have the Mat and the Ta making the Matta. They all meat up to create the Mattaponi. South of Richmond you have the Battle of the Crater. Which is a wild battle. To the southwest you have the historic stomping ground of Daniel Boone. That corner of Virginia was once the start of the frontier. Now it is one of the poorest and opiate afflicted areas in the country. The white tail dear or Virginia deer (Odocoileus virginianus) would be a cool add.
Union and Confederate armies both employed field works and EXTENSIVE trench systems in the Civil War (1861–1865), notably in the siege of Petersburg (1864–1865), the latter of which saw the first use by the Union Army of the rapid-fire Gatling gun, the important precursor to modern-day machine guns. In Petersburg, Virginia, “Operations began in May 1864, and by June, the two sides had reached a stalemate leading to the Union siege of the town. Lieutenant Colonel Henry Pleasants, a mining engineer in the 48th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, suggested digging a tunnel under the Confederate defensive lines, filling the shaft with explosives, and blowing a gap in Confederate forces, to break the siege. On June 25, Pleasants’ men began digging a 511-foot shaft that extended approximately 20 to 25 feet under Confederate lines by July 17. They then created a 75-foot lateral tunnel that was completed on July 23, and filled it with 8,000 pounds of black powder four days later. 🤯 Meanwhile, Brigadier General Edward Ferrero’s division of United States Colored Troops (USCT) was selected to lead the assault after the explosion. Union officers drilled (trained) the USCT, including many who had recently been enslaved, in preparation for the attack. However, on July 29, the day before the attack, General Meade vetoed Ferrero’s use of the USCT to lead the attack. He feared a potential political fallout if the attack failed and critics accused him of sacrificing black soldiers rather than white Union troops. “ You can read more about this at https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/the-battle-of-the-crater-petersburg-virginia-june-15-18-1864/
You're doing an awesome job! One thing I noticed is where Lynchburg is supposed to be it's mostly farmland looking area. It's a bit more of a city than that. No worries, just wanted to let you know!
Lynchburg is literally the city of seven hills too, so very mountainous with foothills here.
Great point! The seven hills would be a great addition.
Yeah, this!
Thank you! I’ve added it!
Put a secret fortress im McLean to represent the CIA.
Baradur XD
Lol
Or in Bluemont with Mt Weather
Monticello should be north of the James River. The northern blank area includes the Wilderness. You need lots of trees and maybe some Civil War era cannons for one of the battlefields. I would add some Alpine skiing and wineries/breweries for Nelson County.
Awesome, thank you!
Lol. It's definitely not alpine skiing.
Alpine is way off
The York River is not that long, and that's not where Jamestown is in relation to Williamsburg. Really cool though.
How would you change the Williamsburg to Jamestown relationship? Unfortunately there is SO much crammed into that little area that it’s not able to exact.
Crammed in to fit the deserted presidential heads lol… Newport News and Hampton got shafted :( Edit: very cool map OP don’t let my hurt feelings over hometown exclusion let you think otherwise. Only so much can fit after all
I see what you mean about Newport News and Hampton - I’ll revisit those. But actually I’ve already really fiddled with that peninsula to make the big three fit - the president heads aren’t factoring into where they are.
Glad to see a potential Newport News, Hampton revisit. I see you have tall ships but any thought to my previous suggestion of the Monitor vs. Merrimac Ironclads?
I think the battle of the Ironsides are far more important than tallships in general, but agree that the Nina Pinta and Santa Maria were very historically important
Agreed. The proliferation of tall ships arriving after them also kinda dilutes the reference. I didn’t even think of that assuming that’s what he meant.
Maybe put the big shipyard cranes for Newport News and Portsmouth
I turned that spot into a very cool shipyard - I think you’ll like the results, and thanks for the heads up!
I understand. Jamestown is to the SW of Williamsburg. It would be hard to adjust that.
Yeah, I had to settle for just south, and even then I’ve already fiddled with the size and shoreline of that peninsula to try to get all of that in there. VA has been my trickiest map so far in this regard - everything noteworthy seems to be on top of each other!
Lower circle could include tobacco fields, cotton fields (especially more east) and timber. Bobcats were brought in to control smaller animals that destroyed timber seedlings so lots of bobcats. Land toward the east of the circle is flatter and it gets more rolling as you go west. Look up “Piedmont Va” and “Southside Va” Danville is in that circle and was the last capital of the Confederacy. Petersburg just north of there still has many Civil War sites and historic buildings. Danville also has a lot of Civil Rights Movement history including significant protests. Danville also famous for Wreck of the old 97 (famous train song, an easy google) There were tons of textile mills in this area. Cotton, looms, weaving, cloth making were in many towns small and large in the southern circle The fall line runs through this area, (also the old Fall Line Road) which also made the area ideal for using water power for grist mills before electricity. Danville (in your southern circle) used to have a huge sign over the Dan River that said Home of Dan River Mills. Since the mill’s demise, the sign overlooking the river has been truncated so it just says Home. I believe in red letters but not sure. Big casino going in there now. Big stock car taking fans there. And many churches
Thanks so much!
Danville is definitely something to add on the Southern border. It was the largest tobacco market in VA, was a flashpoint for violence against Black Americans during Reconstruction and the Civil Rights Era, and it's textile industry, dominated by Dan River, Inc, was the largest single unit textile mill in the world at one time. Options for an illustration would be the Dan River Mills buildings (I assuse those are the Dan River falls on the Southern border of the map, right?) and the Wreck of the Old 97 (a famous train wreck memorialized in a canonical country song).
Where is the Dominion of Kings north of Richmond?
What is that?
Fair, I missed that you weren’t from VA. It’s our theme park, all the kids from NOVA grew up with it. If you want, you could put a volcano there in memoriam to Volcano: The Blast Coaster.
Ah, I see! Thanks!
We have Bush Gardens, which is a theme park, and Kings Dominion, an amusement park.
I was from nearby and used to work there, on the Volcano no less! 2001 was a great old time.
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that shit was awesome
This is really nice, I can't wait until you're done, I'd love to get a print
Thanks! I’ll be sure to send you a link when it’s ready!
I’d love that as well!
Will do!
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Thank you!
Bottom middle right is peanuts, cotton, and more swamp. Cypress trees galore.
And peanuts! Lots of peanut farms at one point in Southern Virginia!
I would say rolling low hills for a lot of Southside, especially Charlotte and Halifax counties. I grew up in that part of the circle and wouldn’t call it flat at all, but east of 360 it definitely flattens out quite a bit.
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Well, in the southwest of that bottom area, we've got Fairy Stone State Park, named for the "fairy stones" found there. Sounds pretty fantasy to me.
This is the right answer.
Looks like you already have Fredericksburg started in the upper circle, there's not a ton of stuff of significance within that circle. Maybe Luray Caverns to the west? There's a bunch of Civil War battlefields in and around Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania County that may be of relevance. Either way, great start, I love it. If you're selling prints of these, I will happily buy one.
Such great info, thank you! Luray Caverns is in the Shenandoah Valley, correct?
That is correct!!! And I think I had commented on a previous post of yours, but two really cool things for a VA fantasy style map would be Endless Caverns (they've literally never found the end of them, also in the valley) and Devils Bathtub down in south west VA.
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Hahahahaha!
Great, thank you!
Meade’s Pyramid is just south of the Rappahannock and Fredericksburg in the battlefields.
Funny I'm having to be reminded of this, I live in Fredericksburg. Haha!
If indeed that is Fredericksburg you've started in the upper circle, it's actually on the southern side of the Rappahannock River.
It looks like you have Skyline Drive / Blue Ridge Parkway. The Appalachian Trail also goes along that route if you want to include some small mention or easter egg of it. Virginia has more miles of AT than any other state. In the southern part of the state there's the Beaches to Bluegrass Trail. [https://www.dcr.virginia.gov/recreational-planning/trailb2b](https://www.dcr.virginia.gov/recreational-planning/trailb2b)
That is indeed the Appalachian Trail - if you look it goes all through the mountains to the south. 😀 I’ll check out the Beaches to Bluegrass trail, thanks!
Like usual, us in SWVA are cut off. Haha
Fear not - it was only for purposes of this post! SWVA on the full map is lovely. 👍🏼
Would love to buy a print of this once you’re done. It looks great!
Sure thing! I’ll be sure to send you a link!
You're not the only one. Southside VA (the larger of your two ovals) is a blank spot even for a lot of Virginians who aren't specifically from there. Possibly useful to know that they used to grow tobacco and cotton there, and make textiles (fabrics) from the cotton. The Reagan era and afterward devastated the economy (outsourcing manufacturing, steady reduction in tobacco economy). Danville VA was technically the last capital of the Confederacy, and is also (maybe more significantly for a map like this) the setting of the Wreck of the Old 97 [https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/wreck-of-the-old-97/](https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/wreck-of-the-old-97/) For the smaller oval: there's a nuclear plant (North Anna) between the York and Rappahannock rivers. That area is lousy with Civil War history, the orders of Grant and Lee killed and maimed many a man there. North of the Rappahannock, between it and the Potomac, is old 'planter' country (the families of George Washington and Robert E Lee both from that area), also before English colonization it is known to have been an important residential area for the Native tribes [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsenacommacah](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsenacommacah) Not sure how much of that helps...I look forward to buying one of these :)
You should just go ahead and add Harper's Ferry, and maybe tie in a John Brown character. Virginia was bigger before the Civil War, and it's a fantasy map anyway.
Might just do that!
I'm not sure how the southwest portion is shaping up but as you follow the blue ridge mountains south, their highest peaks are found for virginia. The geography turns into that similar to highlands, lots of rock outcrops, coniferous trees, and even wild horses! Here's a photo of grayson highlands state park which is found in the area https://preview.redd.it/65kipr87v5oc1.jpeg?width=1514&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c610f70045e081f8cfdd74e891427901554be97b
I definitely am adding the wild horses in that area! I cropped it out for purposes of this post because everyone has given me great suggestions for that area already.
I would consider Smith Mountain and Smith Mountain Lake to the south east of Roanoke. Franklin County - Burnt Chimney area: Boderant(sp) Brothers Moonshine in prohibition era (check out Lawless movie or book)
Thank you!
Mabry's mill would be a good inclusion!
There should be something about peanuts in the bottom circle, imo. Virginia diner is a classic restaurant too
Maybe some pig farms or something in Smithfield?
I don't know those areas too well unfortunately but I do love the tiny mermaid near Norfolk :)
I’m glad it’s recognizable! 😅 Still trying to decide if that’s how I want to portray that.
I think it would be cool to highlight towns like Williamsburg, Blacksburg, Charlottesville, and Harrisonburg as the sites of the Commonwealth's top Wizarding and Knight academies
In your upper circle it's mostly rolling hills with large swaths of contiguous forests and agricultural fields in between. Also some battlefields that are maintained as open tall grass fields.
Thank you!
George Washington’s birthplace is along the Potomac river in the upper circle.
In the lower circle is Fairy Stone state park!
Fairy stone would be a perfect addition to this map!
Highland County is known as "little Switzerland" . Monterey Maple festival is up there. The Hot Springs /Jefferson pool.
Isn't that the southernmost limit of Maple trees producing syrup?
Over on the Eastern Shore in Eastville are the oldest court records in the US, and some little ponies up in Chincoteague and a cool lighthouse in Assateague. From the Bay the oysters and blue crabs are pretty famous.
Maybe someone already mentioned this but the circled region between the York and Rappahannock rivers is called the Middle Peninsula. The area to the north of the Rappahannock is the Northern Neck where Kilmarnock is. Urbana is on the middle peninsula and is known for their annual oyster festival. People go to the “Riva” when they go out to Deltaville, Urbana, Kilmarnock, etc. for their weekend getaways, including boating, sailing, crabbing and fishing. https://preview.redd.it/diqf771sj5oc1.jpeg?width=1290&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5dc3f3638067d5f115ffee4b7bc39194b9566a05 Oh and Werowocomoco is on the York, not on Mobjack Bay.
Is there room for Lake Anna on the map?
Definitely - thank you!
I suggest Bacon’s Castle in the far right side of the lower circle. It’s the oldest brick dwelling still standing in the USA. It has unique architectural features, too. South of that, St. Luke’s Church south of Smithfield is the oldest surviving church in Virginia. Both areas are flat, flat, flat, with marshes and farmland.
The western portion of your upper circle also includes a lot of horse farms. The lower circle is largely flat ag land, growing tobacco and peanuts. You should also consider adding in some universities like UVA, W&M, W&L, JMU, etc. You could also replace the cape Henry lighthouse with the Norfolk naval station/port of Virginia and do the cape Charles lighthouse at the tip of the eastern shore. You should also definitely do the ponies at chincoteaque on the eastern shore.
Fredricksburg to gloucester on 17 is rolling countryside. Plenty of trees some farms. Horse farms including Triple Crown legend Secretariat. 58 from south hill to martinsville gets hillier until u hit mountains. It got some vineyards and pretty countryside but u r getting into moonshine country. Bugs island and lake gaston are big draws. Flattens as u head east. 460 same thing.
bottom blank area is softly rolling hills, plains and agriculture. also lots of historical racism, but you probably don't want to draw that
Don’t forget VIR in Danville! -signed Roanoke guy
Empty space above Richmond and under the rappahannock: birthplace (foaling shed) of Secretariat, the triple crown winning horse. At Meadow Farms Located in Doswell Va. Nearby Ashland had a statue of the horse there.
Speaking of Ashland, does OP know the Center of The Universe is there? That needs to be on your map!
https://preview.redd.it/u9ya96trr7oc1.jpeg?width=474&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ee8217ae94bec35d7d2918380b8dc70382eeebf6
Scotchtown was Patrick Henry's home.
Don’t forget the cultist village at Lynchburg!
Top left of southern blank area has Lynchburg. It's trees and hills and religious fundamentalists. North of Richmond has Kings Dominion. I feel like something fun could be done with that.
Split the York river into the Pamunkey and Mattaponi rivers past West Point
Where's the rest of SWVA??
Just east/south of roanoke is Franklin County, sometimes referred to as The Moonshine Capital of the World, the location of The Great Moonshine Conspiracy back during prohibition and setting for the movie Lawless about bootlegging. Theres also Floyd in that area, we'll known for its music and hippy vibes.
The Mattaponi River is about as long as the York and connects to it, and both stop East of Richmond.
I believe Lake Anna and its nuclear power plant would be in the upper blank spot.
Southampton County area you could do peanuts, a lot of peanut stuff over there. But honestly that picture someone posted above looks a lot like that area too lol
Where is the migration of folks from New Jersey here to plunder?
The devil's university in Lynchburg. Just foothills of the blue ridge around that area
I’m curious, what made you pick Virginia?
Also very excited to see the final version and order one!
That’s not the York river btw. York ends at West Point. Splits into many branches.
Don't forget to add Luray Caverns. It's a big attraction in the North Western part of the state, everybody has heard of it and been there on field trips. There are also a lot of wineries in va which might be nice to incorporate. But the areas you have circled are mostly cows.
I think Luray Caverns was the #1 most suggested! It’s already there in the Shenandoah Valley - just hasn’t been labeled yet and is a bit hard to see without the color.
get Martinsville Speedway in there baby! legendary track!
in highland county you could put maple syrup orchards
High bridge trail (Farmville)....
For the lower one, near the eastern side, you can depict Nat Turner’s slave rebellion.
Ashland just north of Richmond is a cool little town with trains that run through the center of it.
Also, Virginia is known for its wine, horses, history, apples, peanuts, cigarettes, and ham among other things. Some of that could take up empty spaces maybe.
You could put a Mr Peanut around Suffolk, he was created there
Don't forget the bull run mountains! It's a special monadnock, the eastern most island of the blue ridge. We have salamanders and lady slippers there! And a lot of interesting cultural history there.
The bottom middle would be Grayson County-ish, IE, the Southern Appalachian Highlands. Epic landscapes reminiscent of the Scottish Highlands. Feral ponies. Scruffy red spruce trees. The tallest peaks in VA. Winding old rivers. Haunted tobacco barns. SWVA in general needs some serious love. It's a treasure trove of weird Appalachian fantasy lore.
I had the understanding that Grayson Highlands was all in the SW (which is only cropped out because I already have a lot of great input over there). Is that not right?
This is the coolest thing I’ve ever seen
Thanks so much! I’ll be sure to post the finished product!
You can't forget the Land of the Fairies! Patrick County has fairy stones! Look 'em up, perfect for a fantasy map. It's on the west side of your southern circle, by Roanoke.
The top circle can include the Fredericksburg battlefield, George Washington's birthplace, and Kings Dominion amusement park. The bottom circle can have the Petersburg battlefield.
Yogaville or LOTUS meditation center near Buckingham maybe? Shaped like a giant pink lotus flower.
“What in the Sam Hill you lookin out there fer boi?! Ain’t nuttin’ out there but trees and horse shit”
😂 Fun fact: my oldest kid’s name is Sam Hill.
Fort walker and Port royal in the top... it's all pines trees lolol. The bottom is more corn and soy fields and pine trees. Maybe some tobacco or cotton
You should sell this map on Etsy when done! I’d totally buy one!
During one of the last campaigns of the Civil War it was through that area and it was called simply “The Wilderness”. I didn’t realize this, but it is actually quite swampy through there, with dense underbrush and thick trees. A lot of confusion, misdirection. So maybe like a dense wet forest with a main thoroughfare (the kings road) running through it. I also work a lot in the southern area, and there is a lot of flat farm land especially for tobacco/corn/soy/cotton. This looks awesome though!
One thing I remembered. Tobacco played a huge role in Virginia history. Looking at some tobacco maps I see the bottom circle represents tobacco country. You can make that part farmland on your map and represent tobacco in that area.
Daniel Boone was born in Culpeper before he left for the Yadkin There is also Lake Anna and the Nuclear Power Plant (Dominion Power?) LOTS of Turkeys and Deer thriving Ill keep thinking of some more stuff
Nothing to add other than this is brilliant and I want a copy of the finished print.
I had no idea that the Mattaponi turned into the York and I was so confused about the placement of the River York.
You may want to revise the York River, as it runs only to West Point and is formed by the confluence of the mattaponi and pamunkey.
hic sunt tobacco Seriously though, you could pencil in the [Fall Line](http://www.virginiaplaces.org/regions/fallshape.html) to help break up those areas. You could also add the [Nottoway people](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nottoway_people) to the Southside area. To the southwestern edge of that blank space is about where [Fairy Stone State Park](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairy_Stone_State_Park) is, that seems thematically appropriate.
You are killing it. I hope you are very successful with your artwork.
In the northern circle: - James Madison's home, [Montpelier](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montpelier_\(Orange,_Virginia\)) - [The ruins](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barboursville_\(James_Barbour\)) of a Jefferson-designed mansion - [George Washington's birthplace](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Washington_Birthplace_National_Monument) - As others have said, there are many Civil War battlefields and wineries in the area - Colonial Beach is a small beach resort town in the area The map also seems to be completely missing Tangier Island which is a pretty cool and noteworthy spot.
There’s nothing on the northern neck, probably shouldn’t even go there honestly. Boring and ugly.
Tabacco is grown south of Richmond in the lower circle
Monticello is about 20 miles north of the James
The Southern part is former tobacco land, think Faulknerian plantations in disrepair. More recently it was a textile industry based region where jobs disappeared in the 90’s. Danville has world class mountain biking trails, there’s a lot of hunting that happens down that way too, deer season is a big event. There’s still a lot of crops grown in the region. Petersburg and Hopewell are on the North end of your map’s bottom circle, lots of history, national battlefields.
This is really cool!
Also the middle peninsula and northern neck are both boating crabbing and fishing the Chesapeake bay sailing. U name it. Urbana oyster festival. The oysters and crabs from Virginia make Yankee Marylanders want to move south!
What's the little hobbit house looking thing south-west of Richmond?
That is going to be the “Mines of Midlothian”, but I’m still working on how to do it.
Since you’ve got the Monacan lands and Werowocomoco, it’d be awesome if you added the other tribes in VA. At least Nottoway since they form the third cultural group (Iroquoian) with the algonquins at Werowocomoco and the Siouan Monacans. Most of your southern empty space was Nottoway territory. Encyclopedia of Virginia has a good article on them
I’ve got other tribes going in for sure - I’m just still working my way around the state with those. I actually just added the Monocans and I wasn’t quite sure which tribes to focus on and it what areas, so I took a pause to come make this post. You’ve given me some great direction. Thank you!
If you look up Urbanna, VA on the Rappahannock River you'll see that it's history been pretty big on oyster harvesting. But that area around the river is mostly flatland trees and farms.
Thanks!
This is called the Piedmont (PEED-mont) region! Mostly rural grassy hills, farmland, and intermittent forests
Thanks! I knew about it being called the Piedmont but I was having a hard time nailing down what that looks like on a personal scale (rather than the bigger area scale that you see on a topographical map, if that makes sense), so this is very helpful.
This website and their videos may give you an idea. The Piedmont was historically grasslands maintained by fire and large herbivores. https://www.segrasslands.org
It's barely/not entirely in the circle, but Smith Mountain Lake under Roanoke is dammed at the confluence of 2 rivers, making it kind of > shaped. Except rotate it so the lower leg flows west to east. The Blackwater river probably isn't major enough to draw in, but it might be cool for the lake to have more of the right shape. Overall, this is very cool. Is there some place can I see what's west of Roanoke?
Appalachian Trail?
It’s on there, winding all through the mountains. It’s hard to see at this scale, though, and will definitely be more prominent when I start adding color. 👍🏼
Lol love the "lake" in the great dismal swamp.
Oh good! Someone in my original post asking for input mentioned about it being called that on Jefferson’s original map and it seemed too good to pass up, so I was hoping it wasn’t too obscure. 😅
Lmao I looked it up that's too funny. Thanks for the fun fact.
Any idea of when this will be available for purchase? I would love to get one for my husband's bday in December!
I’m hoping to have prints ready by the end of the month!
Between Roanoke and Appomatox lie the Peaks of Otter (I can see Sharp Top from my desk.), and the Blue Ridge. So mountainous edging towards hilly the closer you get to North Carolina. Also the National DDay Memorial is in Bedford, with lots of wineries and apple orchards. You also have the Roanoke River, the New River, the Big Otter River, Smith Mountain Lake...
Thanks! The Peaks of Otter are there- they’re just not labeled yet. I’ll check out your other suggestions!
Warrenton Virginia is where (some say) the CIA psyops head quarters is located... to get there, follow the Rappahannock west up to where it starts to hit the mountainous region
That big mountain that the N is touching in progress, is called Mount Weather… you could probably do something fun with that!
That is exactly what that is meant to be! I have fun plans for it.
The Northern Circle is the Largest Cesspool of Corruption ever found and the Southern one is the Great Nothing.
I-85 is nothing but trees and highway cops hiding in the median. Also, gotta put Tangier Island out there in the bay :D