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A brick building with a Coca-Cola sign, a 250 sign, and a 30 train station sign. 1
A historic train station with a covered waiting area, a clock, and a sign indicating the station's name. 2
A metal sculpture with a large wheel and letters spelling 'LOVE' against a brick wall. 3
A brick building with a signboard and a tree in front. 4
A narrow alleyway with brick walls, a bench, and a sign indicating a no parking zone. 5
By VoiceMap Audio Tours
Free cancellation available
Price is NZ$16 per adult
See tickets

Features

  • Free cancellation available
  • 2h
  • Mobile voucher
  • Instant confirmation

Overview

  • Orange, Virginia produced two US presidents and once served as Robert E. Lee's Confederate headquarters — remarkable for a small Piedmont courthouse town. This self-guided walking tour traces how that power was built, exercised, and withheld, down to a train depot blueprint that once labelled its waiting rooms by race.

    Confederate cavalry once charged down Main Street with sabers drawn — rare urban combat for the Civil War. The county courthouse served as Lee's nerve centre that winter, when 60,000 troops camped in the surrounding fields. A Caroline Street church built with Jefferson's own craftsmen went from Confederate prayer hall to Union stable. The African American Commemorative Park closes the loop, honouring the Mill Street community that lived one block away — present, but long overlooked.

    Perfect for history lovers who read the fine print as closely as the plaques. Install the VoiceMap app and enter the code from your confirmation email to download and start touring.

Activity location

  • 122 E Main St
    • 122 East Main Street
    • 22960, Orange, Virginia, United States

Meeting/Redemption Point

  • 122 E Main St
    • 122 East Main Street
    • 22960, Orange, Virginia, United States

Check availability

366,000 Square Miles: A Self-Guided Orange, VA Walking Tour in English

  • Activity duration is 2 hours2h
    2h
  • Opening hours: Fri 12:00 am-11:59 pm
  • English
Language options: English
Price details
NZ$16.04 x 1 AdultNZ$16.04
Total
Price is NZ$16.04

What's included, what's not

  • Inclusions
    Directions to the starting point so that when you're in the right place, the tour will start
  • Inclusions
    Lifetime access to this tour in English before your booking date and after it
  • Inclusions
    Offline access to audio, maps, and geodata
  • Inclusions
    Flexibility to explore at your own pace with a self-guided GPS tour
  • Inclusions
    The VoiceMap App for Android and iOS
  • Exclusions
    Smartphone and headphones
  • Exclusions
    Personal expenses for admission fees not included during the tour
  • Exclusions
    Food and drink
  • Exclusions
    Transport
  • Exclusions
    An in-person guide

Know before you book

    • Wheelchair accessible
    • Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
    • Service animals allowed
    • Public transport options are available nearby
    • Suitable for all physical fitness levels
    • The total tour time includes walking the route and passing by the attractions

Activity itinerary

Orange County Visitor Center (Pass by)

Your walk begins and ends at the 1909 Southern Railway Depot, one of the first buildings to rise after the fire of 1908, where history panels tell the storey of the town's train wrecks and wartime rail traffic. At the end of the tour you're invited to step inside to see the building's original segregated floor plan, if the volunteer-run visitor centre is open. Entry is free.

110 N Madison Rd (Pass by)

You'll pass by the 1859 Italian Villa-style courthouse, the reason the town exists, and hear how it became the nerve centre of Lee's Army of Northern Virginia during the winter of 1863–64. On the grounds you'll see the Confederate monument, a Revolutionary War marker and a boulder honouring Zachary Taylor, and you'll climb to the portico to read the county's war honour rolls. The grounds and portico are free to visit.

United States Postal Service (Pass by)

Passing the 1935 New Deal-era Post Office, you'll hear the storey of Arnold Friedman, the postal clerk turned painter whose 1937 mural Upland Pastures hangs in the lobby. If the Post Office is open, you're welcome to step inside to see it for free; if not, an image is provided in the app.

108 Belleview Ave (Pass by)

You'll catch a glimpse of the former Orange Volunteer Fire Company, a Colonial Revival firehouse now home to the Firehouse Theatre and Orange School of Performing Arts, along with the vivid 2021 mural Hatch Me a Dream in the adjacent alley. Entry to the theatre and performances are not included in this tour.

Taylor Park (Pass by)

You'll walk through Taylor Park, named for the great-grandparents of two US presidents, James Madison and Zachary Taylor, and hear how Orange County once stretched all the way to the Mississippi River. The park also features a trompe-l'oeil mural of a vanished bank. Entry to the park is free.

St Thomas Episcopal Church (Pass by)

You'll stop in the courtyard of this 1833 Jeffersonian church, designed by one of Jefferson's master builders from the University of Virginia, where Robert E. Lee and Jefferson Davis worshipped in the winter of 1863–64. At the entrance, you'll see bricks salvaged from the parish's original 1740 church. Entry to the church interior is not included in this tour.

James Madison Museum of Orange County Heritage (Pass by)

You'll pass by the James Madison Museum, housed in a former 1920s car dealership, with exhibits on Madison, the Constitution, Black history, Native American history and local agriculture. Please note that entry to the museum requires separate paid admission and is not included in this tour.

129 Caroline St (Pass by)

You'll walk through this small park where brick pedestals display the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, alongside a boulder carrying the 1924 Indian Citizenship Act and a time capsule to be opened in 2087. Entry is free.

Emmanuel Baptist Church (Pass by)

You'll pass by Emanuel Baptist Church, left below street level when Madison Highway was rerouted, and hear how the congregation built its own dignified staircase down to its front door. Entry to the church is not included in this tour.

African American Commemorative Park (Pass by)

You'll walk through this park, dedicated on Juneteenth 2022, where interpretive panels and a poem by Lulabelle Robinson remember the Mill Street community that thrived here during segregation. Entry is free.

Location

Activity location

  • LOB_ACTIVITIESLOB_ACTIVITIES
    122 E Main St
    • 122 East Main Street
    • 22960, Orange, Virginia, United States

Meeting/Redemption Point

  • PEOPLEPEOPLE
    122 E Main St
    • 122 East Main Street
    • 22960, Orange, Virginia, United States

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