Apartment Showcase Blog

Fight club: With several courses in and around town, Fredericksburg provides plenty of opportunities to work out the kinks in your game.

Many communities in Northern Virginia have golf courses, that’s a given, but how many let you play among historic relics of the Civil War? For the apartment hunter who also likes to golf, you can do a lot worse than Fredericksburg.

Lee’s Hill Golf Club is famous not only for its Bill Love-designed course but also for the fact that you can swing an iron on the same plot of land where General Lee’s men spent the winter of 1862 after the Battle of Fredericksburg, complete with historical trenches that served as homes for the soldiers. The course has been featured in The Golf Guide.

[ Related: Fredericksburg: More Than a Century Later, Civil War as Visible as Ever ]

Cannon Ridge Golf Club, featuring the Beman Course designed by Deane Beman (another private course will be built later at Cannon Ridge), has been recognized by Golf Digest as one of America’s best. It also has its share of remnants of cannon revetments, protective barriers behind which Union cannons fired down on Rebel Army troops (there are replica cannons on the course as well).

There are also two other nearby courses worth mentioning. Meadows Farms Golf Course in Locust Grove features the old Willis house, which was used as a Civil War hospital. For golf nuts and fans of the wacky, Meadows Farms sports the longest hole in the United States (an 841-yard par 6) as well as a hole shaped like a baseball field.

[ Related: The Arts Take Center Stage in Fredericksburg ]

The other non-Fredericksburg course alluded to is the Augustine Golf Club in Stafford. Named after George Washington’s dad, Augustine is a highly decorated course featured in the likes of Golf Digest, Golf Magazine and Golfstyles.

Last but not least is The Gauntlet Golf Club, which is located in Fredericksburg and has been featured in a number of golf publications (Golf Digest; Washington Golf Monthly, now Golfstyles). The Gauntlet Golf Club may not have an historic angle, but we decided to throw in it in anyway.

Local color: Brush up on your painting skills with a class at the Center for the Creative Arts.

The Civil War and earlier historical events naturally come to mind when one thinks of Fredericksburg, Va. But after reading this, maybe the city’s artistic tradition will spring to your mind, too.

[ Related: Fredericksburg: More Than a Century Later, Civil War as Visible as Ever ]

The artsy renter in Fredericksburg will have plenty to do and see here, as will people like me, whose artistic mien is somewhat comparable to a talented five-year-old’s drawings – except mine are more primitive. There are more than 10 art galleries and studios showing the work of local artists in Fredericksburg. That’s pretty impressive for a town of just over 19,000 residents (according to the 2000 census).

The spiritual home for the arts in town would have to be the Fredericksburg Center for the Creative Arts (FCCA). Housed in the historic Silversmith House, the FCCA is an all-volunteer nonprofit that regularly holds new art exhibits, and facilitates special programs and events. The area’s oldest art gallery, the FCCA also plans art trips and conducts art classes for people of all ages. You can become a member for a reasonable fee, which goes to help support the program.

The Rappahannock Music Society puts on “Music at Noon,” a half-hour program four times a year at the Central Rappahannock Regional Library. The nonprofit group also holds workshops and awards music scholarships. In addition, the library hosts Music on the Steps, a summer concert series.

Finally, the aspiring thespian or out-and-out drama geek will pleasure in Fredericksburg’s theater offerings, (and, yes, dinner theater is still theater … well, it is!), which include four yearly full-scale productions by the Klein Theatre of the University of Mary Washington.

If you’re considering an apartment in Fredericksburg, you’ll have little choice but to become more knowledgeable about the nation’s darkest period, when brother fought brother and the United States was quite literally ripped apart.

The city of Fredericksburg and the National Park Service (NPS) have done their best to let modern-day Americans relive that history. The NPS maintains the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania County Battlefields Memorial, a multi-site park spread over a wide area that covers four battles and four historic buildings.

To give you a picture of how violent the collected battles were, more than 85,000 were wounded and 15,000 killed in what’s billed as “The Bloodiest Landscape in North America.”

Fredericksburg was the site of the Battle of Fredericksburg, and the Battle of Chancellorsville took place a few miles west of the city, though it too has a Fredericksburg address. Also nearby are the Spotsylvania Court House Battlefield in Spotsylvania, by all accounts some of the fiercest fighting of the entire war; the Wilderness Battlefield in Locust Grove, where Generals Grant and Lee clashed for the first time; and the Aquia Landing Park in Stafford, site of the war’s first significant naval engagement.

There are several museums in Fredericksburg pertaining to the War Between the States, including the Fredericksburg Area Museum and Cultural Center. There’s even George Washington’s Ferry Farm, the boyhood home of a rather famous lad who allegedly cut down a cherry tree.

There really is an abundance of history in this town, and if you make your home here, in a sense, you’ll be living it.

Party on: Fredericksburg hosts a multi-day Oktoberfest in late September, featuring authentic German food, beer and an oompah band.

Fredericksburg, Va., is an independent city perched between Stafford and Spotsylvania counties in Northern Virginia. As of July 1, 2009, Fredericksburg had a population of 23,193.

It’s conveniently located about halfway between Washington, D.C., to the north and Richmond to the south. It takes about an hour or so to get to either. So, if you’ve got wheels and don’t mind driving a little, both cities are commutable.

In addition, those looking for apartments in Fredericksburg should note the Virginia Railway Express, which provides rail service Monday-Friday to Union Station in Washington, D.C.

Fredericksburg has one of the most interesting histories of any city in Virginia, small or large.

It was founded in 1728 and was named after Prince Frederick Louis of Wales, who was the father of England’s King George III. It was incorporated in 1781 and became an independent city in 1879. George Washington grew up near Fredericksburg in Stafford County, and Thomas Jefferson also resided here.

But, it’s the next era of American history that attracts more visitors to Fredericksburg: the Civil War. The renter can immerse themselves in The Battle of Fredericksburg and plenty more Civil War lore.

Today, Fredericksburg is a thriving, small city with quite a bit to do. There are a good many places to shop and dine, including the Spotsylvania Towne Centre, which is anchored by Macy’s, Sears and Costco Wholesale.

There are also three multiplex movie theaters in town. Along with a large and diverse arts scene, there are plenty of other events to keep you busy.

The town also boasts the University of Mary Washington, which Forbes.com ranked 13th on its list of the 100 best public colleges and universities in 2009.

For athletes, golfers and those striving not to be couch potatoes, Fredericksburg has got you covered, too. The town has three golf courses (plus, one miniature one) and a variety of parks.

And, this one goes out to all you goths – or just ordinary denizens with a taste for the macabre: Did you know that Fredericksburg claims to be the nation’s most haunted city per capita? Spooky, but we promise the ghosts won’t get you. We swear!