Sponsor: The Franklin Garden Club

Tickets: $15; single-site, $8; ages 6-12, half-price

Info: (757) 654-9584; www.VAGardenweek.org

Lunches: $7.50; 11 a.m. 2 p.m.; St. Luke's Episcopal Church, 22430 Main St., Courtland

An "Escape to Historic Courtland" will take visitors to a small rural area with links to the Nottoway Indians, a grist mill, saw mill and historic activities from the 18th century forward. The town of Courtland, originally named Jerusalem, was established in 1791. Its most historic event occurred in 1831 when Nat Turner was tried at the courthouse and hanged for the slave uprising in Southampton County.

Tour highlights:

Southern Sisters Bakery & Eatery, 22076 Main St., Courtland (Leeann Alexander, Peggy Jones and Samantha Jones, owners) was built in the late 1880s and was known as the "Joyner House" as it passed through various families.

Concerned by the landmark's depressed appearance, the owners embarked on a one-year renovation of the historic property with a vision to create a dining establishment for the Courtland community.

Original old plank floors add warmth to an interior that has been decorated with original artwork, family heirlooms and estate antiques.

The Southern Colonial-style residence at 22094 Main St., Courtland (Leeann Alexander, owner) features a wide "sitting" porch with plain white columns. Built in the early 1900s, the house has undergone extensive renovations.

Oak hardwood floors are original to the house, and the grand foyer is furnished with family and estate antiques. The owner is a collector of local art and original pieces are found throughout the interior.

Rochelle-Prince House, Main Street, Courtland (Southampton County Historical Society, owner) dates to the early 1800s. Tax records of 1820 show the two-story wood house being valued at $770, a substantial sum for the day.

The Rochelle family dates from 1668 in Virginia, and this house was listed as property of James Rochelle who served as the clerk of Southampton County Court, and his wife, Martha Hines Gray Rochelle.

Heirs include Mattie Rochelle, who married John Tyler Jr., son of President John Tyler. Their daughter, Mattie Tyler, served for many years as postmistress and is said to have been instrumental in changing the name of the county seat from Jerusalem to Courtland.

St. Luke's Episcopal Church, 22430 Main St., Courtland, traces its roots to the formation of Nottoway Parish in August 1734. The silver communion service and alms basin were made in London in 1746-47 and form one of three intact Virginia communion services from the period. The present St. Luke's Church, with its white wood siding, tall tower and steeple, was completed in 1906 and was consecrated in 1911.

Rawls Museum Arts, 22376 Linden St., Courtland, is an extension of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Completed in 2000, this 5,000-square-foot museum attracts local, regional and nationally known artists. The museum was the vision of Walter Cecil Rawls, a St. Louis businessman who was born in Southampton Country.

Boxwood Creek, 18631 Plank Road, Courtland, (Raymond and Debbie Davis, owners) was designed and built by the owners in 1983 on the Davis family farm. The Southern Colonial-style house features bead-board siding, dentil molding, operable shutters and a cedar shake roof. The house is furnished with local estate antiques and collectibles, Depression glassware and wooden cupboards.

*See a collection of Lazy Hill birdhouses at 18631 Plank Road that are favored by bird enthusiasts.