Current Tours - Roots & Vistas Tours

To book a tour, email me at sterling@rootsandvistas.com.

I am continuously adding new opportunities to my list of current tours, so please check back often to see what you’d like to learn about next.

UVA – Thomas Jefferson’s Model for America’s Future

Discover Thomas Jefferson’s final grand project, the University of Virginia. This walking tour of the “Academical Village” and central Grounds, explores Jefferson’s impassioned belief in the power of knowledge, what puts UVA’s architecture on the world map, and reveals the long obscured lives of the enslaved laborers who laid the red bricks and raised the white columns.

This is a 60 minute walking tour.

Why Cville?

Number Zero Court Square - Current Tours — Photo Courtesy of Charlottesville Tomorrow

Why is Charlottesville located where it is? Why is it named Charlottesville? Why is it the location of two presidential homes and the University of Virginia? Why did Charlottesville escape the Civil War without a major battle and why did it attract violence during the summer of 2017?

Join this informative journey through 260 plus years of local history, and discover the answers to these and many other questions.

This walking tour is customizable for 60 or 90 minute experiences.

Hidden Charlottesville

The Paramount Theater in Charlottesville, VA - Current Tours — Photo by Jon Lee on Unsplash

Take a meandering stroll down back alleys, up side streets, and through time. Learn about the hidden history hiding in plain sight in and around Charlottesville’s quaint Downtown Mall.

This is a 60 minute walking tour.

Curious Cases of Color

Misses Cooke's school room, Freedman's Bureau. Richmond, Va. Original Title (transcribed from print): Misses Cooke's school room, Freedman's Bureau. Richmond, Va. Other Titles (transcribed from print): The Misses Cooke's School Room, Freedman's Bureau. Richmond, Va. Additional Caption (transcribed from print): From a sketch by Jas. E. Taylor. Publisher: Frank Leslie Publication Date: 1866-11-17.
Roots & Vistas Tours — Photo by Virginia Commonwealth University Libraries on Unsplash

Take a walk through Charlottesville’s complex past and consider the stories of the enslaved people on auction in Court Square, free Blacks owning businesses on Main Street, and the lingering effects of Jim Crow Segregation. This tour explores how race, racism, and resistance shaped Charlottesville and its culture.

This walking tour is customizable for 60 or 90 minute experiences.

Tales from the Departed: Maplewood Cemetery

Meet some of Charlottesville’s most interesting former residents at their final resting place. In this tour of the oldest municipal cemetery in the city, we will explore what we can learn from the ways distinct lives are remembered through burial markings and practices; and what tales the dead have to tell.

This is a 60 minute walking tour over uneven ground.

For tour availability, pricing or any other information, email sterling@rootsandvistas.com or call 434-218-0518.