Explore Alexandria’s Museums: Specialty Tours This November
Make November a month of discovery! Join Historic Alexandria for specialty tours that offer a closer look at fascinating people, stories and moments in history. Explore the friendships and rivalries behind Hamilton, experience the music of the Civil War, and discover the important role women played in medicine. Plus, celebrate the Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary Museum’s 20th anniversary at a special open house!
Specialty Tour: Hamilton's BFF & Frenemies
Gadsby's Tavern Museum, 134 N. Royal Street
Saturday, November 14 | 10:30–11:30 a.m.
$15/person; $12 for Historic Alexandria Members
Purchase Tickets
Inspired by the musical Hamilton, learn how the paths of Washington, Lafayette, Jefferson, Madison, and Burr all intersected with this local tavern. Includes discussion of the issues they faced and how their choices impacted local citizens. Please note tour involves ascending and descending stairs. Arrive no later than 5 minutes prior to tour time to check in.
Specialty Tour: Fort Ward & Civil War Music
Fort Ward Museum & Historic Site, 4301 W. Braddock Road
Saturday, November 14 | 10–11 a.m.
$15/person; $12 for Historic Alexandria Members
Purchase Tickets
Come explore music in the Civil War! This one-hour tour begins inside the museum with the exhibit "Buglers and Brass Bands." Discover how music and musical instruments functioned within the Union Army and the wider culture of the 1860s, complete with sound clips. The tour continues outside to explore life at Fort Ward in the reconstructed Northwest Bastion, the best preserved of the Union forts that comprised the historic defense system.
Specialty Tour: Women in Medicine
Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary Museum, 105-107 S. Fairfax Street
Friday, November 27 | 4–5 p.m.
$15/person; $12 for Historic Alexandria Members
Purchase Tickets
While men often take the spotlight, women have always shaped the practice of medicine. Explore objects in the museum used by women from the late 18th through early 20th centuries, and learn about women's influence on medicine in Alexandria and the wider world during this period. Please arrive 10-15 minutes earlier to check in as the doors will be locked and the museum will be closed to the public when the tour begins. Please note the tour involves ascending and descending stairs.
Celebrate 20 Years of the Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary Museum!
Sunday, November 8 | 1–5 p.m.
Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary Museum, 105-107 S. Fairfax Street
Join us for a special open house with free, stationed tours to celebrate 20 years as a City-owned museum! On view will be Edward Stabler’s 1790s daybook and an account and prescription book from the 1860s. Rarely on view, these materials will be part of the museum’s future conservation efforts of archival materials.
Learn more about the Apothecary Museum
About the Office of Historic Alexandria
The Office of Historic Alexandria preserves and shares the history of the City of Alexandria with eight museums, historic sites, archives, archaeology, tours, exhibits and public programs. Through powerful storytelling and confronting the City’s past, Historic Alexandria enriches the present and inspires the future. We enhance the quality of life for residents and visitors and serve as a partner in the City’s equity and inclusion initiatives. For more information, visit alexandriava.gov/Historic.
For reasonable disability accommodation, contact Nicole Quinn at historicalexandria@alexandriava.gov or call 703.746.4554, Virginia Relay 711.
If you prefer communication in another language, free interpretation and translation services are available to you, please email LanguageAccess@alexandriava.gov or call 703-746-3960.