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The Augusta Military Academy Museum
is located in Fort Defiance, Virginia. The
Museum Building sits among stately old
trees and expansive lawns on the grounds
of the now-closed military academy. Fort
Defiance is located eight miles north of
Staunton on U.S. Route 11, the historic
Valley Pike.
Charles S. Roller founded Augusta Male
Academy in 1874. In the Civil War, he
served in Confederate General J. E. B.
Stuart’s cavalry and during Reconstruction,
he was elected to the Virginia General
Assembly, the state’s legislative body.
He introduced military instruction and
discipline to his students by 1879, and
changed the name of the school to Augusta
Military Academy in 1890. The school had
a major educational, social, and economic
impact on this area of the Shenandoah
Valley for over 100 years.
The museum building was built in the
1870s by Roller for his family. The original
house has been completely and carefully
renovated. One of the first floor rooms
of the museum has been decorated and
furnished as a late 1800s Victorian Parlor,
and it contains displays showing the early
days of the military school. Other rooms
on the first floor contain a recreation
34
of a typical cadet barracks room and a
classroom. Another display examines the
athletic programs at AMA. In one area of
the first floor there is a display featuring
AMA graduates who became published
authors. Be sure to visit the Gift Shoppe
too, well-stocked with Virginia items.
Another room in the museum houses
chronologically arranged material
covering activities at the school from 1900
until the institution closed in 1984. This
display features an impressive collection
of uniforms and artifacts. The renovation
of this Augusta County landmark was
accomplished by hundreds of alumni and
friends of the Augusta Military Academy
through the non-profit AMA Alumni
Foundation, Inc. The museum opened to
the public in May, 2000. It is open Tuesday
thru Sunday, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. It is closed
on major holidays. The museum can be
open at other times by appointment. There
is no admission charge, and the facility is
handicapped accessible.
Phone 540-248-3007 more
information, or send an email to
augustamilitaryacademy@verizon.net The Gift Shoppe at the AMA Museum
link
/museum
