Original Historical Road side marker, KG2, from 1932, has been placed near the Stuart Pavilion at the Jeb Stuart Birthplace, Laurel Hill, Ararat, VA. October, 2021.

 

This is the original roadside Virginia Historical marker that stood near the entrance to Laurel Hill for nearly seventy years.  During that time this sign was the only indication of the historical significance of this siste to passing motorists.  Being on private property, the public had no access to the site of JEB Stuart's birthplace.  All that changed in 1990 with the formation of the JEB Stuart Birthplace Preservation Trust, Inc.  The text of the original marker is believed to have been written by Douglas Southall Freeman.  It was installed in November 1932 in recognition of the one hundredth anniversary of JEB Stuart's birth in 1933.  The current marker was erected in 2002 with text written by Thomas D. Perry.  Although somewhat worn and battered, this old marker has found a new home where it will remain part of the history of Laurel Hill, the birthplace of Major General James Ewell Brown Stuart.