Cherry Grove home snapshot photo, 1930

Containers:
Box 6, Folder 52
Other descriptive data:

Cherry Grove Farm is a prominent agricultural and historic property located on Route 11, North Lee Highway, just south of Fairfield, Virginia, in northern Rockbridge County, Virginia. The farm has long been owned and operated by the Alexander family. The farm has been managed for decades by Tom Alexander, a direct descendant of the early Rockbridge settler John Alexander.

Established as a family estate in the 18th century by James McDowell, it was the birthplace of his son, James McDowell, who served as the Governor of Virginia from 1843 to 1846. A Virginia historical marker stands along Route 11 to commemorate this.

The estate was also the birthplace of Governor McDowell's niece, Jessie Benton Frémont born in 1824. She became a famous 19th-century author, political activist, and the wife of western explorer and politician John C. Frémont.

The farm shares a historical footprint with the story of Archer Alexander, a man who escaped to freedom in Missouri, eventually serving as the model for the famous Emancipation Memorial in Washington, D.C.

Access and use

Location of collection:
Washington and Lee University, Leyburn Library
Special Collections and Archives
James G. Leyburn Library
Washington and Lee University
204 W. Washington Street
Lexington, VA 24450
Contact for questions and access:
POC: SCA Staff
Phone: (540) 458-8649
Phone: (540) 463-8109
Fax: (540) 463-8964
Parent restrictions:
The collection is open for research use.
Parent terms of access:
The materials from Washington and Lee University Special Collections are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to U.S. Copyright law. The user assumes full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used should be fully credited with the source.