At this memorial to one of America's great African-American leaders, you can conjure up the setting of Booker T. Washington's childhood in reconstructed buildings and demonstrations of farm life and slavery in Civil War-era Virginia. Although Washington called his boyhood home a plantation, the Burroughs farm was small, at 207 acres and never with more than 11 slaves. His mother was the cook, and the cabin where he was born was also the kitchen. His family left the farm in 1865, when he was 9. He determinedly sought an education and walked most of the 500 miles from his home in West Virginia to Hampton Institute, now Hampton University. He worked his way through school and achieved prominence as an educator, founder of Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, author, and advisor to presidents. This monument was established to honor his life and work in 1956, a century after he was born. Begin at the visitor center, which offers a slide show and a map with a self-guided plantation tour and nature walks that wind through the original Burroughs property. Guided tours lasting between 30 and 45 minutes are given daily at 11am and 2pm.