Fun Fact: Virginia, Georgia, and North Carolina all claim to be the birthplace of Brunswick Stew.

Our pack visited Brunswick County and we rated our impressions below based on diversity and quality of each category.

We awarded five stars to Brunswick County.

• Accommodations ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
• Dog Friendly ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
• History ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
• Recreation ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
• Restaurants ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
• Sightseeing ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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When in Rome, do as the Romans do. When in Brunswick County, eat a lot of Brunswick Stew.

Excerpt from Jimmy Matthews: The Origin of Brunswick Stew by Maggie Colangelo for the Brunswick Byways Visitors Center

“According to local tradition, while Dr. Creed Haskins and several friends were on a hunting trip in Brunswick County in 1828, his camp cook, Jimmy Matthews, hunted squirrels for a stew. Matthews simmered the squirrels with butter, onions, stale bread, and seasoning, thus creating the dish known as Brunswick Stew. Recipes for Brunswick Stew have changed over time as chicken has replaced squirrel and vegetables have been added, but the stew remains thick and rich. Other states have made similar claims but Virginia is the first.”Inscription on Historical Marker, Brunswick County. Located 36° 45.443′ N, 77° 39.391′ W

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Saturday

We leashed up for a big breakfast followed by some dog friendly hiking and history lessons in Lawrenceville, Brunswick’s county seat.

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The Kitchen Table Restaurant

4111 Gasburg Rd., Gasburg, Saturday hours 7 am to 3 pm

The Kitchen Table restaurant in Gasburg includes dog friendly seating which ended our “where to eat breakfast” dilemma. We were so glad we stopped by as everything was outstanding.

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Fort Christanna Historical Site

1000 Fort Hill Rd., Lawrenceville

At this dog friendly spot, we learned the history behind Fort Christanna, Brunswick County’s own pentagonal defense department which predated the iconic Pentagon by over 200 years.

The Brunswick Byways Visitors Center features this model of Fort Christanna.

Britain’s Queen Anne ruled the colony of Virginia from 1702 until her death in 1714. The Christanna portmanteau fused Queen Anne’s name with Christianity, the religion of the British Empire.

Alexander Spotswood, one of colonial Virginia’s most significant figures (oil painting by Charles Bridges, 1736)

In 1714, mindful of the recent Tuscarora War between tribespeople and colonists further south, Virginia Governor Alexander Spotswood ordered the fort’s construction.

The Brunswick Byways Visitors Center features this artist’s rendition of Fort Christanna.

Once completed, the fort included a trading center and a school for children of local tribes including the Meiponsky, Occaneechi, Saponi, Stuckenock, and Tutelo. As part of its defense strategy, the fort held these children as insurance against attack.

The Brunswick Byways Visitors Center features artist John Kincheloe’s work, “On the Warrior’s Path” Ahatkox elutaoe (Saponi-Tutalo).

While the short-lived Fort Christanna became abandoned in 1718 after British funding ceased, its legacy continues. Many local native families are descended from Fort Christanna’s students.

The dogs enjoyed searching for markers spaced 100 yards apart that indicate the fort’s once formidable five corners, each mounted with a cannon.

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LOVEwork

13516 Christanna Hwy., Lawrenceville

We stopped to snap a photo of the LOVEwork at the Brunswick Byways Visitor Center. Here, Amos gazes fondly at the Stew Pot.

The Visitor Center, while not dog friendly, provides a wealth of information about Brunswick County tourism and culture.

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Brunswick County Animal Shelter

595 Planters Rd., Lawrenceville, Saturday hours 8 am to 11 am.

We stopped by the Brunswick County Animal Shelter to say hello to the current residents, including this sweet fellow Jeff.

The shelter fills up regularly, especially with hunting dogs. To help, donations may be made through the shelter’s Amazon wish list.

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Tobacco Heritage Trail

Trail entrance with parking, South Street, Lawrenceville (36.756468, -77.850666)

The dog friendly, horse friendly, and bicycle friendly Tobacco Heritage Trail spans several counties, including Brunswick. This well-maintained trail makes effective use of former railroad corridors.

I like this video tour of the trail by the Bent on Bikes YouTube channel. It shows exactly what to expect throughout the entire trail and provides some historical context too.

During hunting season (generally October through January) a portion of the trail is closed from Monday through Saturday.

As its long-standing primary cash crop, tobacco figures prominently in Brunswick County’s current economy. Tobacco production before the Civil War often involved slave labor on the tobacco plantations which once dotted Brunswick County’s landscape. One of these, the Blick Plantation, became abandoned decades ago and fell into ruin. However, the Blick family located their ancestral property in 2023 and began its restoration.

Photo of Brunswick County’s Historic Blick Plantation House from Facebook. Restoration progress also featured on YouTube.

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Dot’s Country Store

30336 Christanna Hwy., Alberta

For lunch, we recommend Dot’s Country Store which offers a full menu as well as daily specials. They don’t provide dog friendly seating but you can call ahead to place an order for pickup (434) 676-DOTS.

Be sure to pick up a few quarts of Brunswick Stew while you’re there. (Photo from Facebook)

How serendipitous…We were looking for Brunswick Stew but we also found LOVE at the residence across the street from Dot’s Country Store.

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Sunday

Virginia is for Lovers and in this town, every day is Valentines Day.

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Valentines Post Office

23 Manning Dr., Valentines

How could we pass up a photo opportunity at the Valentines Post Office?

Looking for Mr. Wright? Look no further than the town of Valentines. Each year, the Valentines Post Office postmarks tens of thousands of valentines with a heart-shaped stamp developed by Valentines’ former Postmaster Willie Wright.

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Lake Gaston, Pea Hill Boat Ramp

Delbridge Rd., Valentines

Boating on Lake Gaston? How romantic. Launching from Valentines? How absolutely enchanting!

Created in 1963 through construction of a hydroelectric dam on the Roanoke River, Lake Gaston spans two states along its 35-mile length. Its water, clean enough for swimming, teems with fish. With either a Virginia or North Carolina fishing license get ready to hook catfish, striped bass, largemouth bass, walleye, bluegill, or chain pickerel.

No boat? No problem. Boat rentals ranging from kayaks for the sporting dog to pontoons big enough for the entire pack are available in nearby Littleton, North Carolina.

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The Kennon House

7001 Gasburg Road, Valentines

Cupid approves of dining in Valentines while watching the sunset.

We planned to conclude our trip with a serving or 3 of Brunswick Stew at the historic and dog friendly Kennon House restaurant. However, we arrived just a few weeks shy of its grand reopening. We will sample their Brunswick Stew recipe during another trip.

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Know before You Go

• Dog friendly accommodations include the Lake Gaston Resort (but its restaurants are not dog friendly) and Lake Gaston Lodges, which provides a Brunswick Stew recipe to its guests.
• Time your trip for the 2nd Saturday in October to attend the annual Taste of Brunswick Festival where you can sample a variety of batches and meet Brunswick County’s mascot Stewie the stew pot.

• Passing through during the holidays? Be sure to see the Freeman lights display.
• History buff? Brunswick County is part of the driving tour for the Civil War’s Wilson-Kautz raid sites. This tour follows the 1864 route of Union Brigadier Generals James H. Wilson and August Kautz while they endeavored to disrupt Confederate supply lines.
• Find more things to do at Brunswick County’s tourism website and Visit Brunswick County.

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Road Trip Reads

Each of these books highlights a different feature of Brunswick County. Find these on Audible for easy road trip listening. Still Life in Brunswick Stew takes place in Georgia, not in Virginia, but we won’t hold that against the author.

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