Discover Boyce

Boyce: Local History and Architecture

Boyce offers several distinct starting points for a trip: local history, historic architecture, and outdoor activities. The town was established in 1880 at the intersection of the newly built Shenandoah Valley Railroad and the Winchester-Berry’s Ferry Turnpike. Several architectural styles stand out in the Boyce Historic District; Long Branch Historic House and Farm combines a historic house with outdoor grounds, while the Virginia Ecology Geocaching Adventure is designed as a self-guided loop tour. These differences can help you plan your stay around the themes that matter to you.

The Boyce Historic District

Many properties in the Boyce Historic District are visible from public roads. The district includes buildings in the Queen Anne, Gothic Revival, Classical Revival, and Craftsman styles, as well as regional vernacular forms. This range spans four named styles and locally distinctive building forms. For those interested in architecture, the style names provide a useful framework: they make the variety of the district’s buildings visible without reducing the Historic District to a single appearance. Public views offer a tangible point of reference for appreciating the different forms in the townscape.

Different periods are also represented: Long Branch House was built in 1811, while Boyce was established in 1880. The dates refer to different things—here, the construction year of a house; there, the founding of a town. This distinction helps separate the history of a specific property from Boyce’s development.

Long Branch Historic House and Farm

Long Branch Historic House and Farm offers a different perspective, focusing on a historic house and its grounds. Built in 1811, the house sits on a 400-acre property in Boyce. The two figures refer to different measures: 1811 dates the building, while 400 acres describes the size of the grounds. The grounds are open to the public free of charge every day from dawn to dusk. Visitors can hike or cycle there. The mansion is open daily for public tours. You can focus on the grounds or take a tour of the house; both experiences are part of the same property.

Geocaching in the Arboretum

The Virginia Ecology Geocaching Adventure offers a different focus. It is a self-guided loop tour through the arboretum, about 3 miles long, with ten geocaching stations leading through different areas. The distance and number of stations help put the activity into perspective: the approximate distance describes the length of the loop, while the ten stations mark its structure. Unlike the daily public tours of the mansion at Long Branch, this tour is self-guided. The activities differ both in subject and format: one is an independent route with stations, the other a tour of a historic house.

Different Focuses for Planning Your Trip

If you are interested in architecture, the visible properties in the Historic District offer a starting point. Long Branch combines a historic house with grounds where you can hike or cycle. The Geocaching Adventure, in turn, is a self-guided loop tour with an approximate length and a set number of stations. These specific differences give you three distinct ways to experience Boyce through its local history, buildings, or an activity in the arboretum.

For an overview of the wider area, see: Clarke County.