Starting Point: For a more advanced letterboxing experience, have your chaperon park somewhere in town on Valley Street, pick up a Scottsville on the James map, and walk with you to the Confederate Cemetery at the corner of Moores Road, Hardware St, and Confederate Street up the hill to the North.  (For a beginner's level letterboxing activity, park in town and skip to the next point at Victory Hall.)

Historical Significance: This cemetery was created in memory of the soldiers who died in the Confederate General Hospital in Scottsville between 1862-1863.  The selection of Scottsville as a site for a hospital during the Civil War was influenced by the availability of the James River and Kanawha Canal for transportation of the sick and wounded from Richmond, a plentiful water supply in what was considered a healthy environment, and the fact that several buildings existed which could be converted into hospital use.  So in June of 1862, over a year after the beginning of the war, the General Hospital at Scottsville opened.  (The Civil War was a major war fought in the United States from 1861-1865 in which northern states battled southern states, who were trying to leave the Union.  Abraham Lincoln was president and the issue of slavery was a huge factor in the war.)

Hiding Place: Moores Rd. runs parallel to Hardware St. and is safer to walk up.  Follow Moores Rd. up to Confederate St.  Then walk up the Confederate St. path until you get to the end of the stone wall on your right and are about to reach the gate for the small cemetery in front of you.  Hidden under the last few stones at the end of that stone wall is your first letterbox!  Be sure to stamp your pad with its stamp and stamp its pad with your stamp.

Point Two (or starting point for those who skipped the Confederate Cemetery box): Good work!  One site explored four more to go.  Now, exit the cemetery and go back out onto Valley St. and head SOUTH down this busy Scottsville street.  To figure out which direction you should turn to go south, take a look at the compass rose at the top right hand corner of your map.  (The compass rose is the thing at the top right of your map which tells you which way the cardinal directions North, South, East, and West are in relation to the items on the map.  For example, the compass rose tells you that the Confederate Cemetery is NORTH of the Scottsville Museum.)  You want to turn left onto Moores Rd. again and go back South towards to the town.

Disguise the intentions of your hunt by acting casually and doing a little window shopping along the way.  Don't dawdle too long; you're on an historical mission!  Your next point of business brings you to Victory Hall.

Historical Significance: Victory Hall is Scottsville's current municipal (municipal is a fancy word that basically means government) building.  It was originally designed by a local architect, named D. Wiley Anderson, to ommemorate the end of World War I.  Victory Hall is also known as Victory Theatre because it originally held live performances and "Talking Pictures."  (FUN FACT: Before the movies you know of today, there were silent films.  When technologies advanced so that films could also have sound go along with them, they were originally called "Talking Pictures!")

Hiding Place: Once you reach Victory Hall going SOUTH on Valley St., take a left in the open area just after the building.  Follow along the side of the building until you get to an area with some weeds and a stone plaque.  Take a look at the plaque and then look directly behind it.  The Victory Hall Letterbox is directly behind this plaque.  Be sure to stamp your pad with its stamp and stamp its pad with your stamp.  Then rehide it carefully.

Point Three: Wonderful, you are almost half way done!  If you are getting tired or thirsty, feel free to stop for a break.  Continue SOUTH on Valley St. until you reach the intersection of Valley and West Main St.  Go WEST (take a right hand turn) down West Main St. until you find yourself at the steps of the Bruce Park area.

Historical Significance: The park was named after the Bruce family.  Thomas Ellison Bruce was a very important business man in Scottsville and the owner of Bruce's Drug Store.  His wife, Mary Estes Bruce was a well-known elementary school teacher.  Pay special attention to the inscription pressed into the top step dedicating the park in their honor.

Hiding Place: Go up the steps and to the right.  The Bruce Park letterbox is hidden in the middle cedar tree.  Be sure to stamp your pad with its stamp and stamp its pad with your stamp.  Then rehide it carefully.

Point Four: Now look across the street at the historical marker on the brick platform in front of the animal hospital.  Can you believe the flood waters really got up that high? As beneficial as the James River has been to the Scottsville community, it has also been the bearer of much destruction due to flooding.  Since 1870, Scottsville has experienced 21 floods of twenty feet or more above mean low water level.  During Hurricane Camille in 1969, some residents of Main St. had to be evacuated from their second story window by boat!

From this historical landmark head East down West Main on the right side of the street and cross over Valley Street to where West Main becomes Main Street.  This was at one time, truly the main street of Scottsville.  Today, most would say that Valley Street is the most important, or main, street.  Notice the landmark in front of the police station explaining how Scottsville used to be the county seat of Albemarle.

Hiding Place: Continue EAST until you reach Canal Basin Square.  Look on the back of the welcome sign and you'll see markings from the other floods of Scottsville.  Take your time enjoying this historic section of the town, which covers the historical floods and transportation of Scottsville.  The Batteaux Letterbox is just past the Edward Scott (the big boat you should see directly in front of you.)  The box is hidden just behind some rocks under the boat and next to the wooden supports.  Be sure to stamp your pad with its stamp and its pad with your stamp.

Point Five: Bravo!  You only have one left!  And this one is not far.  Simply look across the street and see the two brick buildings.  The one to your left is the Scottsville Museum.  The one to your right is the Barclay House where the museum workers house a lot of their archives and other materials.  Head directly up those steps and where the path splits, go up the right set of steps.  The Handcar Letterbox is to the right of the town bell (from 1916-1976).  As you stand facing the bell with the street behind you, the box is among the rocks on the other side of the short flight of five steps to your right.  Be sure to stamp your pad with its stamp, and its pad with your stamp. Rehide it carefully.