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 Old Town Leesburg: 29.1.2006 by b1bobLeave a Comment
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 AmeliaVA Welcome Sign by gipper84
Amelia was raided by British forces in 1781. During the War Between the States, the Amelia County records amazingly survived through the Civil War. Legends has it that they George Custer (who got the point at Little Big Horn) ordered all records be preserved.
The last major battle of the War Between the States was fought at what is now Sailor’s (Sayler’s) Creek Battlefield Historical State Park located on the western edge of Amelia County. The Sailor’s site commemorates the battle which took place on April 6, 1865. In this battle alone, General Lee lost half his army during the three days of conflicts. The Confederate Army suffered a crippling defeat which led to General Robert E. Lee’s surrender at Appomattox 72 hours later. The Hillsman House was used as a federal field hospital during the battle.
I first took a good look at Amelia in July, 2005 when Nat and I were on our way to Clarksville and Virgilina further south. On that hot day, Nat and I parked and walked around old town Amelia and took photos. I was even more impressed than he was at the architecture and how carefully they preserved their rich history. Ten months later, Nat and I stopped here to eat at his favorite restaurant, the 360 Truck Stop. Leave a Comment
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 Muller's Ice Cream Parlour by tpangelinanLeave a Comment
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 Chincoteague Bay marina by tpangelinanLeave a Comment
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 NASA & NOAA by tpangelinanLeave a Comment
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The Farmville area, in the middle of Virginia, has a deep and varied history. It is a small college town, home to Hampden-Sydney College and Longwood University was chartered in 1839 as Farmville Female Seminary, the first state teacher training college in Virginia.
Patrick Henry, Governor of Virginia, also served as the area's representative in the Virginia General Assembly. He debated with John Randolph over the ratifying the U.S. Constitution.
The War Between the States had an effect on Farmville, with its last major battle at nearby Sayler's Creek. General Lee retreated directly through the town, and the Confederates crossed and then attempted to burn the railroad's High Bridge. It was here that General Lee received the dispatch from General Grant on surrender. The bridge and other sites along Lee's Retreat are part of the state's Civil War Trails.
Farmville is also home to some key players in the early fight for civil rights, and drew Martin Luther King, Jr. and other national leaders to visit the area. The R.R. Moton Museum honors the efforts of local students and citizens that paved the way for integrated public education nationwide. The Robert Russa Moton High School, site of the 1951 student strike, is currently a National Landmark designation, and a civil rights museum. The First Baptist church was at the center of the desegregation struggle in Prince Edward County and te county led the massive resistance which closed schools for 5 years rather than complying with the Supreme Court ruling.
Farmville is the gateway from the Richmond area to Southside. Nat and I made Farmville our last stop on the way back from a weekend in Clarksville in July, 2005. It was late in the afternoon on a hot day and I went around town seeing the sights and taking as many photos as possible. I hope to be able to come back and make a small page on this historical college town. Leave a Comment
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Boydton was founded in 1812 by Alexander Boyd who owned the property and designed the town. Many of the town's streets are named for the patriotic heroes of the War of 1812. The town was incorporated in 1834, and it became the center of Mecklenburg County government. The Greek-Revival style courthouse with its pedimented portico of six columns was influenced by the Jeffersonian period of construction. Boydton was an early horse breeding area.
Many of the historical buildings are being used today. The United Boydton Methodist Church, a Jacob Holt designed building, owns the Washington Tavern which was, originally, the office for the stagecoach line to Petersburg. The Boyd Tavern, currently being renovated, was a center for food and lodging for the faculty, students, and families of Randolph-Macon College as well as for the horse-racing crowd.
The Boydton and Petersburg Plank Road, used by horse-drawn wagons carrying tobacco to the market and by stagecoach traffic, was an early means of transportation. This road passed by the Presbyterian Meeting House, the oldest church in Boydton, which was built about 1820.
Boydton is the county seat of Mecklenburg County government because it is in the middle of the county. It is not far from Buggs Island Lake and the town of South Hill. The last Saturday in October is known as Boydton Day.
Boydton became nationally known the year I was born when seven death-row inmates including the Briley Brothers of Richmond escaped from the Mecklenburg Correctional Facility. They were at large for up to nineteen days in June and, as of 2006, all but one was eventually executed.
Nat and I stopped here on the way back from Clarksville on a hot day. He thought the prison had closed down after the big escape of 1984, so he took a picture of the prison. Before long, officials closed in on us. I was afraid Nat’s hot temper would get us both in trouble, but Nat cleverly hoodswankled the guard into thinking he hadn’t taken the photo by switching memory cards in his digital camera. Leave a Comment
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Perhaps the most accessible of VA's covered bridges is in northern VA, in Shenandoah County. Known as the Meem's Bottom Bridge after a family in the area, it is also the longest of the five. In fact it is more than twice as long as the next longest one at 204 feet. Traveling through the state on I-81, take Exit 269 and follow Route 730 about half-a-mile to Route 11. Turn north on Route 11 to Route 720. Follow 720 west to the North Fork of the Shenandoah River. All of this is between New Market and Mount Jackson. It was burned in 1976 by some Halloween pranksters but has been restored using recoverable timbers and new materials.
In southern VA, there are two covered bridges within a couple miles of each other near Woolwine in Patrick County. They were both built around the time of World War I and have been replaced by steel truss bridges but they are still there as landmarks and are accessible to the public. The Bob White Bridge, the longer of these two, may be reached by traveling about 1.5 miles south of Woolwine on Route 8. Turn east on Route 618 for about a mile and then south on Route 869. The Bob White Bridge is a couple hundred yards ahead. The Jack's Creek Bridge is on the other side of Route 8. From Woolwine, go south on Route 8 for about two miles and turn west on Route 615. You can actually see the bridge from that intersection or you can drive down 615 about 1/4 mile and actually visit the bridge.
The oldest, and second longest, surviving covered bridge in VA is the Humpback Bridge, so named because its center is four feet higher than either end. It is the fourth covered bridge on that site and the present one is over 150 years old but I do not recall exactly when it was built. It is located off of I-64 about as far west as you can get in VA. Take Exit 10 to Route 60 and it is about 1/2 mile east on Route 60. The nearest significant town is Covington.
I have not visited the fifth covered bridge on public land in VA but it is Link's Farm Bridge in Giles County off of Route 700, north of Route 460. Leave a Comment Phone: 804-786-2801Website: www.virginiadot.org Other Contact: Virginia Dept. of Transportation
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Lancaster County was first visited by Captain John Smith in 1608. It soon became home to powerful families like the Carters and the Balls (the kinfolk of the first president's mama), who helped shape a new nation. Its location on the Chesapeake Bay and the Rappahannock River made it the centre of the steamboat trade and enriched its citizens. Today, Lancaster County's museums, monuments and mansions prove its significance in American history and make every visit a sign of our common heritage. Lee, Christian, and I stopped here on our Northern Neck tour. While we were there, we saw the Old Clerk's Office (c. 1797), the Old Jail (1820) which displays the living quarters of the 1828 jailer and a criminal cell (c. 1830) complete with pillory (I was lucky the stocks were locked or Lee would have put me there and possibly left me.), the courthouse (1840), and war memorial. Sadly, the Mary Ball Washington museum was closed on Sundays.
en español, em português, en francês Leave a Comment Phone: (804) 462-7280
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On July 09, we traveled to Washington, D.C. for a day and had a touristic bash there. It was a day of tourism for historic resources for us.
We visited Iwo Jima Statue (the most recallable of images in the books), Arlington National Cemetery (covered extensively in an issue of National Geographic last year), Pentagon City Mall (where we had our lunch and a shopping spree), United State Capitol, Botanical Gardens, Supreme Court of the United States, The Washington Monument, World War 2 Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, Jefferson Memorial, Roosevelt Memorial, and took a glimpse of many other sites.
On that day, it was hot like crazy. We were all perspiring profusely. However, we were pleasantly surprised to see so many tourists at all the sites. Washington is definitely a touristic hotspot now with hundreds and thousands of tourists at any given monument.
The total driving distance from Massanutten to Washington D.C. was about 2 hours. From I 81, we took east exit for I 66. I 66 passed through the town of Front Royal, which is located at the northern entrance of Shenandoah National Park. Leave a Comment
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