State Route 231 (SR 231) is a primary

state highway A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either ''numbered'' or ''maintained'' by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered by a ...

in the U.S. state of

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. The state highway runs from SR 22 in Cismont north to U.S. Route 522 (US 522) near Sperryville. SR 231 forms part of the connection between

Charlottesville Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Queen Cha ...

and Gordonsville, where the highway meets

US 15 U.S. Route 15 (US 15) is a -long United States highway, designated along South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New York. The route is signed north–south, from U.S. Route 17 Alternate in Walterboro, South Car ...

and

US 33 U.S. Route 33 (US 33) is a United States Numbered Highway that runs northwest–southeast for from northern Indiana to Richmond, Virginia, passing through Ohio and West Virginia en route. Although most odd-numbered U.S. routes are north–s ...

. The state highway also serves as the main north–south highway of Madison County, connecting the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States Place names * Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...

, where the highway intersects

US 29 U.S. Route 29 (US 29) is a north–south United States highway that runs for from Pensacola, Florida to the western suburbs of Baltimore, Maryland in the Southern United States, connecting the Florida Panhandle to the Baltimore-Washington ...

, with Gordonsville to the south and passing through the foothills of the

Blue Ridge Mountains The Blue Ridge Mountains are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains range. The mountain range is located in the Eastern United States, and extends 550 miles southwest from southern Pennsylvania through Maryland, West Virgin ...

to the north. Almost all of SR 231 is a

Virginia Byway A Virginia Byway is a scenic road designated by the Commonwealth of Virginia as one that can introduce tourists to alternative destinations. According to the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT), there are over of scenic roads in Virgini ...

Route description

SR 231 begins at an acute intersection with SR 22 (Louisa Road) at the southern end of the village of Cismont in northeastern

Albemarle County Albemarle County is a county located in the Piedmont region of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Its county seat is Charlottesville, which is an independent city and enclave entirely surrounded by the county. Albemarle County is part of the Charl ...

. The state highway heads northeast as Gordonsville Road through the village, which contains historic Grace Episcopal Church. SR 231 parallels the eastern flank of the

Southwest Mountains The Southwest Mountains of Virginia are a mountain range centered on Charlottesville, parallel to and geologically associated with the Blue Ridge Mountains, which lie about 30 miles (50 km) to the west. Some of the more prominent peaks inc ...

and passes through Cash Corner, the site of the historic plantation Castle Hill. The state highway becomes Gordon Avenue as it passes through the northwestern corner of Louisa County just south of the Albemarle–Louisa–Orange county

tripoint A tripoint, trijunction, triple point, or tri-border area is a geographical point at which the boundaries of three countries or subnational entities meet. There are 175 international tripoints as of 2020. Nearly half are situated in rivers, l ...

. Shortly after entering

Orange County Orange County most commonly refers to: *Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area Orange County may also refer to: U.S. counties *Orange County, Florida, containing Orlando *Orange County, Indiana *Orange County, New ...

, SR 231 enters the town of Gordonsville, where the highway meets US 15 and US 33 at Gordonsville Circle. Southbound US 15 and eastbound US 33 follow the southeast leg of the

roundabout A roundabout is a type of circular intersection or junction in which road traffic is permitted to flow in one direction around a central island, and priority is typically given to traffic already in the junction.''The New Shorter Oxford En ...

, Main Street, into the center of town. Northbound US 15 follows Gordon Avenue northeast toward

Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...

. SR 231 and US 33 run concurrently northwest on Main Street to the western town limit, where the U.S. Highway heads west on Spotswood Trail and the state highway turns northwest onto Blue Ridge Turnpike. SR 231 has a curvaceous path as it crosses the northern remnants of the Southwest Mountains. The state highway passes the historic plantation

Frascati Frascati () is a city and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Rome Capital in the Lazio region of central Italy. It is located south-east of Rome, on the Alban Hills close to the ancient city of Tusculum. Frascati is closely associated with ...

before passing under

Norfolk Southern Railway The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad in the United States formed in 1982 with the merger of Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. With headquarters in Atlanta, the company operates 19,420 route miles (31 ...

Washington District The Washington District is a Norfolk Southern Railway line in the U.S. state of Virginia that connects Alexandria, Virginia, Alexandria and Lynchburg, Virginia, Lynchburg. Most of the line was originally built from 1850 to 1860 by the Orange and ...

in the village of

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

. SR 231 intersects SR 20 (Constitution Highway) and crosses the

Rapidan River The Rapidan River, flowing U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 through north-central Virginia in the United States, is the largest tributary of the Rappahannock ...

into Madison County. The state highway passes through Uno and Rochelle on its way to Pratts, Virginia. SR 231 joins SR 230 on Orange Road northwest to US 29 (Seminole Trail). There, SR 230 turns south onto the four-lane

divided highway A dual carriageway ( BE) or divided highway ( AE) is a class of highway with carriageways for traffic travelling in opposite directions separated by a central reservation (BrE) or median (AmE). Roads with two or more carriageways which are ...

while SR 231 turns north toward Madison. SR 231 and US 29 run concurrently to the southern end of US 29 Business, which SR 231 joins at a directional intersection. Access from southbound SR 231 to northbound US 29 and from southbound US 29 and northbound SR 231 is provided by SR 687 (Fairground Road). SR 231 and US 29 Business run concurrently on Main Street through the town of Madison. At the northern limit of the town, US 29 Business continues on Main Street to return to US 29 while SR 231 heads north on Blue Ridge Turnpike. SR 231 crosses the Robinson River just south of the village of Banco, where Blue Ridge Turnpike continues northwest on SR 670 to the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains while SR 231 veers north onto F.T. Valley Road. ( N.B., F.T. stands for Francis Thornton, whose name was also applied to

Thornton Gap Thornton Gap is a wind gap located in the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia separating the Shenandoah Valley from the Piedmont region of the state. History Thornton Gap was named for Francis Thornton (1711–April 14, 1749), owner of the land ...

west of Sperryville.) The state highway passes through the namesake valley in the foothills of the Blue Ridge, passing through the hamlet of Etlan directly east of Old Rag Mountain. SR 231 passes through Peola Mills as the highway enters

Rappahannock County Rappahannock County is a county located in the northern Piedmont region of the Commonwealth of Virginia, US, adjacent to Shenandoah National Park. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 7,348. Its county seat is Washington. The name "Rappah ...

just north of its crossing of the Hughes River. The state highway crosses the upper reaches of the

Hazel River The Hazel River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 tributary of the Rappahannock River in northern Virginia in the United States. Via the Rappahannock, i ...

and passes through Ashbys Corner before reaching its northern terminus at a wye junction with US 522 (Sperryville Pike) southeast of Sperryville.

Major intersections

References

External links

Virginia Highways Project: VA 231
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State Route 231 State Route 231 State Route 231 State Route 231 State Route 231