Living in a Fredericksburg real estate is like touring America's past on a daily basis. This city in Virginia is promoting the development of the local travel industry by increasing the amount of tourism related business and activities. No wonder it enhances the economic health of the community through the generation of tourism revenues, mostly historical.

Despite recent decades of suburban growth, reminders of the area's past abound. The city has close associations with George Washington, whose family moved to Ferry Farm in Stafford County just off the Rappahannock River opposite Fredericksburg in 1738. Meanwhile, a 40-block national historic district embraces the city's downtown area and contains more than 350 buildings dating to the 18th and 19th centuries.

The George Washington's Ferry Farm is where the boy George Washington grew to manhood and here is the setting of the stories of the cherry tree and of the silver dollar thrown across the Rappahannock River. Here, too, was an important part of the Union lines during the Battle of Fredericksburg. Archaeologists recently recovered the remains of the Washington's house. -- A National Historic Landmark, Ferry Farm includes a visitor center with exhibits and a self-guiding walking tour of the property.

Another attraction, the Chatham house, is the only house in America to be visited by both George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. In the 1700s it was owned by William Fitzhugh, a wealthy planter and politician. Fitzhugh employed 100 slaves some of whom revolted in 1805, when an overseer tried to get them to go back to work after the Christmas holiday. Chatham is best-known for its role in the Civil War when it served the Union army as both a headquarters and hospital.

The Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania County Battlefields are considered as the Bloodiest Landscape in North America where 85,000 wounded, 15,000 killed; freedom sought and contested. One of its famous 18th century buildings, the Ellwood, was used as a Union headquarters and makeshift hospital during the May 5-6, 1864 Battle of the Wilderness. The cemetery includes the grave of Confederate General "Stonewall" Jackson's amputated arm.

The Fredericksburg Area Museum houses seven permanent exhibitions, and three changing galleries, that interpret the history of the region. Exhibits focus on Virginia Indians, the settlement of the region during the Colonial Period, Fredericksburg during the Civil War, Revolutionary War, and WWI and WWII, African American history from slavery to Civil Rights, and perspectives on our community today. It is now housed in the 1816 historic Town Hall/Market House and the 1927 Planters National Bank building. Enjoy Fredericksburg’s unique character in the adjoining historic Market Square, a public gathering space for centuries.

For art enthusiasts, Fredericksburg has the Gari Melchers Home and Studio at Belmont - The richly furnished country house and working studio of American impressionist painter Gari Melchers (1860-1932) can be seen as they appeared in the 1920s. Explore the colorful formal gardens and wooded hiking trails of the artist's 27-acre retreat. Enjoy special exhibitions of the art of Melchers and his contemporaries. The Gari Melchers Home and Studio as the setting for your wedding, reception, bridal luncheon, evening event or business meeting. The stunning Studio Pavilion at Belmont, situated in an elegant woodland setting, is connected to the artist’s original studio building and opens onto the estate’s gardens.