“I’m bored in the house and I’m in the house bored.” This is one of the most repeated terms currently due to the corona virus holding most individuals hostage in their homes. The artists Curtis Roach and Tyga coined this in their song “Bored in the House” they released this 2020 year fitting perfectly with the stay at home order across the world.
For those of you in Mechanicsville, Virginia “in the house bored,” I have a list of open parks available for you to adventure through. They are very open as well, so a six foot distance would not be difficult to maintain. All are outside so the only thing stopping you is a rainy day. Furthermore, they hold a historical significance so we can both exercise our bodies by walking through the parks and our mind in learning something new or refreshing ourselves with something we learned in high school.
The Google My Map below is interactive so please feel free to click around at the pinned locations!
Below is more information on the pinned locations along with relevant websites for each!
Totopotomoy Creek Battlefield Park
The Shelton Home at the Totopotomoy Park itself is closed due to construction, however, there is so much more to explore on the land it sits on still making this a great place to explore.
Patrick Henry married Sarah Shelton here in the 1700’s and in 1864 another Sarah Shelton and her children were forced into their basements by Union soldiers who made their home their headquarters while Confederate soldiers attempted to cross the Totopotomoy Creek unsuccessfully. Here you can walk through history both enjoying nature and exercising your mind.
Sophia Mayers, a local student at Hanover High School, used the Totopotomoy Park as a means of leaving her home during corona for a change of scenery recently still maintaining social distancing. Mayers says “it’s really cool to see the old things like the cannons, but also just to treat it just like a trail through the woods.”
Here is the site with more information!
Historic Polegreen Church
Mayers says “it’s nice to have [the Polegreen Church] because it’s really close to home, and it’s simple but still really pretty and a nice place to hang out and take pictures at.”
Here lies the memory of Virginia’s fight for religious freedom. Many individuals were involved in establishing the Polegreen Church, which acted as one of the first non-Anglican religious establishments in Virginia. After it was burned down in 1864 during the Totopotomoy Creek Battle, there was no money to rebuild until recently when the U.S National Park Service listed the site in the Register of National Historic Places and a frame of a church was built.
Here is the official site for more information!
Virginia is well known for its many historical locations especially of the Civil War due to most of the battles being fought on southern soul. This post shares some of the open spaces that individuals can tour themselves to learn some of the history of Mechanicsville specifically during the Civil War. The battlefields and major individuals who led armies through the war made a mark on these areas that are being protected for the public to use at their disposal. During quarantine in Virginia and the six-feet distance order by our governor till June 10, these locations are great to follow those rules but still go outside to enjoy the warm weather and sun.
Pine Slash & the Honeymoon Cottage
Here is an established marker for the Pine Slash park and the Honeymoon Cottage of Patrick and Sarah Henry. Their first home as a married couple was here, but later burnt down forcing them to move into the Cottage.
Here lies the home of Patrick and Sarah Henry after they were married at the Shelton Home. Here they maintained three hundred acres and six slaves for a short time before drought and fire took their home from them forcing them and their two children into the Honeymoon Cottage. The public is able to take a look around to enjoy the history of this location concerning Virginia’s first elected governor and one of the most famous orators of the 1800’s.
Here is a site with more information!
Beaver Dam Creek
A part of the battlefield has been taken over by developments, but the lower side of the creek has been preserved for historical purposes. The public is welcome to walk along the creek and take in history.
On June 26, 1862 Robert E. Lee and Union General Fitz John Porter met at Beaver Dam Creek for a Civil War battle. The battle ended with four hundred Union casualties and one thousand and three hundred Confederate casualties making it a Union victory.
Look here for more information!
The Battle of Gaines’ Mill
The Battle of Gaines’ Mill, like many battles and events were illustrated and photographed heavily as journalism started to grow. This illustration was done by Alfred Waud.
Here is another great open space for individuals to walk through trails of another historical battlefield from the Civil War. After the battle at Beaver Dam Creek, Stonewall Jackson and Commander George B. McClellan of the Union army fought in the Battle of Gaines’ Mill on June 27, 1862 marking the first of a series of battles. In the end, this was a Confederate victory, though, that victory cost approximately nine thousand casualties to the Confederates.
Media by Kathryn 
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