Petersburg: Battlefields, Architectural History and Art

If you’re looking for a hotel in Petersburg, you can start by planning your trip around the topics that interest you most: battlefields and outdoor trails, historic buildings, civil rights history or art. Each place has a different focus—from preserved fortifications and historic routes to tours and exhibitions. This can help you decide which stops best match your interests.

Battlefields and Outdoor Trails

The Siege of Petersburg lasted 9.5 months and resulted in 70,000 soldier casualties. In the Eastern Front area, visitors can explore the grounds on foot, along hiking trails or on horseback, and see preserved remains of trenches and other fortifications. Preservation work may alter individual features. Public multi-use trails for horseback riders are available at both the Eastern Front and Five Forks Battlefield; access and trail conditions may change.

The grounds of Petersburg National Battlefield and the tour road are open daily from sunrise to sunset to pedestrians, cyclists and horseback riders. The hours information was last updated on June 25, 2026; check access again before your trip. At the Battle of the Crater site, a trail leads from the parking lot to the tunnel entrance, then along the Union mine shaft to Elliott’s Salient. A driving tour of the battlefields covers 13 sites along a 37-mile route. The Eastern Front Visitor Center offers exhibits and audiovisual programs about the history of the siege.

Historic Buildings and Tours

South Side Depot was built in 1854 and is Virginia’s oldest surviving train station. Today, it serves as Petersburg’s visitor center and as a gallery featuring changing exhibitions by local and regional artists. Confirm visiting arrangements before your trip; exhibition schedules may also change. Battersea offers a different architectural style: the colonial villa, built in 1768, is designed in the Neo-Palladian style and features a Chinese Chippendale-style staircase. The Battle of Petersburg Revolutionary War Re-enactment takes place there every April. Check the current event date before your visit.

Centre Hill Mansion dates to 1823 and is an example of Federal-style architecture. Exhibitions in its basement galleries present Petersburg’s history; exhibition content may change. Farmers Bank of Petersburg was built in 1817 and is considered one of the oldest bank buildings in the United States. A tour includes the original vault and safe, a printing press, teller windows and other artifacts. Tour arrangements may change, so it’s a good idea to check before your visit.

Blandford Church Museum features stained-glass windows designed and installed under the direction of Louis Comfort Tiffany. A tour covers the building’s history as a church, a Civil War field hospital and a restored historic landmark. Check whether tours are available before your visit. First Baptist Church of Petersburg is the oldest continuously operating church of a Black congregation in Virginia. During the civil rights era of the 1950s and 1960s, it served as an organizing center, a venue for large protest gatherings, a starting point for civil rights marches and a hub for voter registration activities.

Art and Historic Old Towne

For an art-focused visit, Petersburg Area Art League offers three galleries with changing exhibitions by local artists. Artists work in oil, watercolor, acrylic and pastel, as well as jewelry, sculpture and mixed media. Historic Old Towne complements these art venues with walkable historic streets, local dining, boutiques and preserved architecture in the heart of Petersburg. It has local restaurants, breweries and coffee shops in restored 18th- and 19th-century buildings.

The different interests are easy to weigh against one another: the battlefields focus on history and outdoor trails, while tours explore buildings and their history of use. Galleries and Historic Old Towne bring art, shops and dining into your trip plans. If you’d like to play golf in addition to exploring these topics, Dogwood Trace Golf Course in Petersburg offers that option; operating details may change.

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