Central and Western Virginia Places

Winchester

The historic town of Winchester is widely known as the birthplace of one of country music's most beloved stars, Patsy Cline. Cline hit it big when she won the Arthur Godfrey talent show, but died tragically in a plane crash at the peak of her career in 1963. She is buried in Winchester's Shenandoah Memorial Park, where a bell tower was erected in her honor.

Winchester served as a headquarters for Colonel George Washington during the French and Indian War. During the Civil War it was an important crossroads near the front line. It changed hands 72 times during the war, and was General Stonewall Jackson's headquarters for nearly two years.

Today the Old Town features a multiblock pedestrian mall filled with boutiques and restaurants, as well as must-see museums including George Washington's Office Museum and the Civil War Museum in the Old Courthouse.