Its motto: Thus Always to Tyrans.

Its nicknames: Mother of Presidents², Mother of States³, Mother of Statesmen, Old Dominion.

The Gracious Home of America's Forefathers

Virginia's many nicknames — Old Dominion, Mother of Presidents, Mother of States — attest to the state's deep roots in American history. It was in Virginia in 1607 that Jamestown, the first permanent English colony in America, was founded. Eight of America's presidents were born in Virginia, and eight other states, in whole or in part, were carved out of Virginia's original territory. Two great wars ended on Virginia soil — the Revolutionary War at Yorktown and the Civil War at Appomattox.

The flavor of Virginia's past is nowhere more evident than in Williamsburg. Between 1699 and 1780 it was the state capital and the busiest city in the colonies, but it fell into decline after 1780. Not until the 1920's was the town brought back to life. Today with restored and reconstructed buildings, the town is a living time capsule showing life as it was in colonial days.

Williamsburg is set amid the low, sandy plain known as the Tidewater. Roads with names like the "Plantation Route" and "Colonial Parkway" lead to former battlefields, historic towns, and stately plantations along the James River that empties into the Chesapeake Bay.

Just across the bay lies Virginia's Eastern Shore, a section of the long Delmarva Peninsula that the state shares with Delaware and Maryland. It is occupied by salt marshes, truck farms, fishing villages, and windswept dunes.

Northern Virginia is close to the hubbub of greater Washington, D.C. Across the Potomac from the nation's capital, Arlington National Cemetry occupies the land once owned by Robert E. Lee¹.

South of Washington, D.C. lies Mount Vernon, the plantation home of George Washington for 45 years.

In Virginia's midsection a wide, fertile plateau of farms and forests extends from the Tidewater in the east to the Blue Ridge in the west. Interspersed among vineyards, tobacco fields, and peach orchards are thriving cities like Richmond, the lovely capital overlooking the falls of the James River.

To the west of the Blue Ridge Mountains, the beautiful Shenandoah Valley stretches for more than 200 miles. The valley (whose Indian name means "daughter of the stars") presents a broad, colorful patchwork of vineyards, apple orchards, emerald pastures, and fields of grain. The valley was carved by an ancient sea, which left behind spectacular limestone formations, including the famous Natural Bridge. George Washington carved his initials on it. Thomas Jefferson bought it. The Monocan Indians worshipped it. Today Natural Bridge is called one of the seven natural wonders of the world.

In 1788 Virginia entered the Union as the 10th state.

(”The USA Diversity of 50 States”)