We are young
Wandering the face of the earth
Wondering what our dreams might be worth
Learning that we're only immortal
For a limited time - Rush, DreamlineAnd by turning our attention to the physical landscape that sustains and connects us, we can nourish “topophilia,” a sense of attachment and love for place. You’ll never get that from waiting for a satellite to tell you how to find a shortcut. -- M.R. O’Connor, Journalist, Author
The morning wind spreads its fresh smell. We must get up and take that in, that wind that lets us live. Breathe before it's gone. -- Rumi
In 2009, the staff at Washingtonian magazine wrote the cover piece, "26 reasons to love Washington." I rather enjoyed their list — You can see the sky, Library of Congress, the great number of languages spoken, museums, and so on.
But you know when it comes to lists, everyone has one or more to add. For me, I would say -- You can take day trips galore.
Since our arrival here in Alexandria in 1995, the better half and I have been keeping a stick pin map of places we visited in the region. The other day I placed one for Philomont. Stepping back for a moment of admiration, I realized I had not counted the pins in quite a while. Not counting repeat visits, 80 is the current tally, a figure that made me stop and think about that bounty found in the Washington region, as well as the blessings of life. I was also inspired to look in the rear view mirror and write down some thoughts about our experiences and the places we have visited.
We are indeed blessed in the Washington region to have a variety of not only places but landscapes across the sweep of more than 150 miles. The treasures include the mountains, their gaps and foot hills, the rolling Piedmont, the Potomac, Patuxent and other rivers, the river valleys, the big rocks and snaking streams along the Fall Line, necks, creeks, points and peninsulas, the ebb and flow of the tidal waters and their marshes, fossil cliffs, the Chesapeake Bay and its thousands of miles of shoreline, the vast expanse of the Eastern Shore, the coastal plains, and the beaches and Atlantic sea shores. Adding to that bounty is that you can experience all of the above in both Virginia and Maryland.
In addition, the region offers all kind of places, from the small villages to the county seats, coastal towns and cosmopolitan cities. Compiling a list of all their properties on the National Register for Historic Places would require a ream of paper.
With all the places we have visited in the last 25 years, it would be difficult for me to write this in terms of best or favorites. And, of course, what tickles our fancy and satisfies our wanderlust, may not match your needs and desire.
Our main goal is to document some of our experiences. So, this is not a guide, per se, but if the information helps or inspires, that is always a good thing. We will mention favorite and memorable spots when they come to mind.
The obvious caveat with all this is that places close or change, and new places spring up. Some of these places are ones we haven't been to in a while. In that way, this is more of a memoir.
Trying to sketch out an outline for this memory trip found me scratching my head until I realized it would be best to break it down into the four directions. Sounds simplistic, but this method dovetails with the culture and history of the land and its stories. So, let's jump in the tour bus and take a look at some of that bounty in the region.
Note: All these photos are ones we took on our trips. As seen by the stick pin map, we haven't included places closer in.
Go West
Although I do love them all, my favorite direction to head out from Alexandria is westward towards the mountains. This is perhaps ironic, given that every summer of my youth, Mom and Dad took us eastward to Emerald Isle, a white sandy beach on the Crystal Coast in North Carolina. It's not a complaint, but we never stopped anywhere during the three-hour car cruise. It was all about getting there.
I do have fond memories of looking out the car window and seeing new places and countryside landscapes along the way. There were even unforgettable smells, like the awful one when we passed by a fertilizer plant in a place whose name escapes me.
I didn't set foot into an airplane or a train until I was 16 or so. These mid-to-late sixties trips were my first exposure to somewhere hours away. How exciting it was to finally get to the ferry that took us across Bogue Sound to the half-mile wide strip of sandy land.
With Emerald Isle just a couple of miles away, my sister Joan and I would share the moment when we caught that first magical glimpse of the sand dunes and the blue waters of the Atlantic Ocean.
Dad, with a bit of help from his family, pitched the tent in the sand at the campground, one of many patches of land long since replaced by beach homes. Mom cooked the meals on the Coleman stove, supervised the removal of sand from inside the tent, and read books.
For five fun summer days my sister and I played in the sand, watched Dad fish and clean his catch on the pier, explored the dunes, found playmates, read The Raleigh Observer, marveled at out-of-state license plates, and after three days or so talked about how much we missed our cat and taking a hot shower.
There was some civilization eight miles away at Morehead City, and a bit of history at Fort Macon State Park. The distance for us, however, might as well have been to another planet. Nevertheless, the seeds of wanderlust had been planted.
Fast forward three decades later (1995), and Roberta and I were settling in to our suburban house here south of Alexandria. After I retired from the Air Force, I accompanied her to Oman, her final overseas assignment as a Foreign Service Officer. Although we would continue to satisfy our wanderlust with trips to Mexico, Cuba, Hawaii, and Sweden, settling down is the right word. After enlisting in the Air Force in 1978, the longest I had lived anywhere was six years. For Roberta, even less.
Like millions of others in the mid 1990s, we were stepping into the new world of the Internet (the blazing modem speed of 56K). We still had all the old school things for travel planning -- AAA guide books, maps, brochures, magazine and newspaper articles -- but planning a trip and finding inspiration was made a bit easier on the computer.
It's impossible for me to remember our first day trip. I do recall the appeal of driving on I-66. In about thirty minutes from Alexandria, one reaches the point where you see the Blue Ridges in the distance. At that point there’s still work to do to fully escape the rat race, but you have that wonderful horizon in view.
If you have an E-Z Pass and get lucky with the traffic otherwise, you can reach places like Charles Town, West Virginia in about 90 minutes. You can also sometimes come back a different way. Many are the times we bailed off I-66 ("No Go Nutley," if you will) and took the Fairfax County Parkway home. It usually takes more time that way, but at least you are moving and the driving is less stressful. GPS knows what's happening, but we still need the mental break.
When we come back along Route 7 or Route 9 west of Leesburg, GPS usually recommends taking 267 and the Beltway. But we usually take the scenic route, Highway 15 southward from Leesburg (look at the sprawl, now jumped over the road and ever closer to the Bull Run Mountains) to I-66.
If you go this way on a Saturday, don’t miss the Farmer’s Market at Gilberts Corner, the intersection with Highway 50, east of Middleburg. The lines can get long at the Pit Stop Express tent, but there’s a good reason for it. Seriously good ribs with generous portions. Surf and turf lovers will also buy the lobster tails at the nearby tent, never busy when we have gone.
This landmark spot is also great for people watching. Not too long ago, while waiting in line, I struck up a conversation with a professional horse rider. Seeing that she was more interested in checking her mobile phone, I turned my attention to a nearby merchant. He was an older gentleman selling cotton candy who looked like the lonely Maytag repair man. I stepped up and asked him if he had ever been to the Alexandria Farmer's Market.
"No," he said, "I hate the traffic."
"I know what you mean."
The Turnpikes
It’s hard to know the full history of the roads we take today in the region. People like the late Mike Bohn have studied Route 1. In his book, "Landmarks of Old Prince William," Fairfax Harrison gives us a terrific footnoted overview of the region.
In some cases, Native Americans carved out passages for their needs. In the seventeenth century, the lower tidewater planters needed only the rivers and short rolling roads. Later generations used the Potomac Path and longer rolling roads.
We're not sure if the term "gap to port" has ever been used to describe transportation routes, but it certainly is the case with some of the first sets of roads in northern Virginia. With the planter-enslaved humans system fully entrenched in the colonial society, and the native Americans pushed further and further away, new plantations dotted the landscape in counties we now call Stafford, Prince William, and Fairfax County. In the first half of the eighteenth century, the tobacco ports of Dumfries, Colchester and Alexandria were established. The old system of the tall ships landing at each plantation wharf had given way to the requirement of tobacco inspections warehouses along the river. Agricultural products came in from the Piedmont and Shenandoah valley farms.
Draw a line from Ashby's Gap to Dumfries, Snickers Gap to Colchester, and Vestal's Gap to Alexandria, and you have a rough idea of these three first important roads.
Note: On the map we provide, we drew a straight line to indicate we did not mark the modern day equivalents. This is due to our uncertainty. The road to Dumfries is particularly difficult, as it winds its way.
Shenandoah and Piedmont farmers hauled their agricultural products to these three seaports, and in some cases, returned with their orders from the merchants in the Mother Country. What those lower tidewater planters had called the "Back Country," was now in the forefront, and writing the next chapters in the history of the colony. Virginia, once dependent on tobacco, was now benefitting from wheat, cattle and other products. The hauls were long and bumpy, but they paid off for the farmers.
Historians hate "what ifs," but a big one for northern Virginia is -- What if Dumfries and Colchester had been successful like Alexandria?
Well, they weren't. The tobacco silted up their inlet ports and sealed their fates.
Alexandria, founded in 1749 on the shore of the Potomac, did not have such problems. It began a glorious era as an entrepot and a new town. To solve the problem of the bad roads, the money men in Alexandria built turnpikes in the first part of the nineteenth century.
Using a modern day map, we mark the main turnpikes to Alexandria. It should be noted that the modern day road does not follow every part of the old turnpike. Also, older maps show different names for the turnpikes, and some turnpikes had names for segments.
Roughly speaking, the Alexandria-Leesburg Turnpike went along the road from Alexandria to Leesburg, then on to Vestal's Gap (modern day King Street, Route 7, then Route 9 to Vestal's Gap).
The Little River Turnpike ran along modern day Duke Street, the first part of Little River Turnpike, and Highway 50 to Aldie. A turnpike leg was later built eastward to Ashby's Gap along modern day Highway 50.
Aldie had a situation Yogi Berra might have appreciated -- When you come to the fork in the road take it.
That is to say travelers could continue eastward along the Ashby's Gap turnpike or take the Snickersville Turnpike. It ran north and west along the upper segment of old Colchester Road up to Snicker's Gap.
The Potomac Path never did become a turnpike route, although Harrison tells us there were smaller portions with the macadamized process. Once steam technology was established around 1840, travelers from Fredericksburg to Alexandria used the Potomac Path, but then transferred to a steamer to Washington.
A turnpike was also needed between Warrenton and Alexandria. The Fauquier-Alexandria Turnpike ran from Warrenton to modern day Fairfax City, roughly along Highway 29. Travelers then used the Little River Turnpike.
There were other roads, too. South to north ran the old Carolina Road, roughly Highway 15, and today's Highway 11 was once the Great Wagon Road.
Braddock Road is famous for its associations with General Braddock's march in 1755, a young surveyor named George Washington at his service. Its modern day equivalent? We ain't touching that one with a ten-foot pole. What you've been told might not be true.
Georgetown Pike, which kept its name, was built with that town's desire for some of the agricultural action.
These turnpikes, which required a toll payment, helped Alexandria prosper. Harrison tells us the era of the turnpike in Virginia came to end after the Civil War. Towns like Aldie, Middleburg and Upperville fell into decline.
The landscapes along these roads have been forever changed by modern day needs. One glorious exception is Snickersville Turnpike (734) between Aldie and Bluemont. It's a fifteen-mile long magic carpet ride, not to be missed. Do be careful on the winding and hilly spots, as a few drivers of sports car are dreaming about the chase in Rush's song, "Red Barchetta." Be sure and stop at Philomont, which has one of the best General Stores in the region right now. Also consider turning your devices off and taking some of the back roads.
After the turn of the twentieth century, automobiles and paved roads wrote the transportation headlines in our country. Travelers in their cars could now zip along at speeds faster than the railroad cars. Every single person behind the wheel was their own captain.
It's beyond our reach to know how much the roads and cars helped or hurt the communities in our area. What we do know is that in 2015 the Center for Urban and Regional Analysis at VCU prepared the report -- "30 Years of Impact, How the Main Street Program Has Revitalized Virginia Communities."
It tells us that in 1977, the National Trust for Historic Preservation initiated a pilot program to revitalize historic downtowns that had declined in the 1950s, ’60s and ‘70s. Virginia began its Main Street Program in 1985. A key factor was adaptive reuse of historic buildings. During that thirty-year period, about three dozen communities benefitted from the program and their own initiatives. Success was defined not only in dollars, but also “a cohesive identity, a brand.”
When we visit a town, Roberta and I will sometimes take solo diversion walks. Then we rejoin hand in hand for the stroll down Main Street. There is no other landscape that makes me glad we’re there, the old school method of walking and seeing what’s available for shopping or eating, and people watching. When I'm planning a trip, I make sure to not over do it, vis a vis finding out what's there. A good tip to follow is -- Leave room for surprises.
Shop owners in these towns have come up with some creative names for their places, and offer one of a kind gifts and items. Striking up a conversation with them can reveal their local knowledge and stories of giving up the rat race back in Washington and Northern Virginia. Numerous are the times I have told them, "you look more relaxed."
Culpepper
What makes for a rewarding day trip? Once again, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. For us, Culpepper provides a good example of what we like. The backbone is the historic district. I always read the nomination forms (National Register for Historic Places), which provide the best documented research and info.
A train station, and especially an active one, is a real bonus. In this case, it's double the pleasure, as the station is home to their visitors center.
Culpepper has a great story with theirs. About 15 years ago, the train station there was the focal point for the rebirth of the town. In 1985, after Norfolk and Southern sought to demolish the depot, residents organized and successfully blocked the action. Built in 1904 and refurbished in 2003, the wooden structure houses the Visitor’s Center and community meeting spaces. Amtrak’s Cardinal and Crescent lines provide daily service.
Another key element is a Farmer's Market. None in the region are as grand as the one in Old Town Alexandria, but each one has its own personality. I have always enjoyed talking to the merchants and the folks.
Adaptive reuse is an emerging force in real estate. Stephanie Meeks and others have made the case, emphasizing the greenest building is the one already built and it costs less. Many of the towns we have visited have adopted the practice. It is wonderful to see, as a way of keeping their authentic feel and character.
Coffee
I love Starbucks as much as the millions of others waiting in line, but I also love visiting a small town where the best place to go is a Mom and Pop's. These cafes are almost always established in an older fixed-up building and feature some really good local roasts. The place is typically full of character and great for chatting up locals or lending an ear to the table talk. And in some cases, they have the best or only open rest rooms.
Here are ten coffee places that pleased us on our visit. Once again, in some cases we have not been in a while.
Leesburg, King Street Cafe
One of our favs. Some great coffee in a converted older home. Overhearing is good for local scoops, maybe an equestrian story or two.
Berryville, Cordial Coffee
Cordial Coffee is not on the main drag, but, oh doctor, you have to go. Their hand-poured coffees, espressos and waffles are something special.
Fredericksburg, Hyperion Espresso
After fighting the traffic to get to this historic city you will need to sit down and relax with a beverage. Funky corner spot with all the authentic decor you need. People watching might even change whatever stereotypes you have of Fredericksburg.
Frederick, Frederick Coffee and Company
This place has one of the best menus we’ve seen and good location in the historic district.
Annapolis, Bookstore Cafe
Tucked away on a quiet street hugging the Naval Academy. Their shady seating in the backyard is pleasing. Inside, sip their organic Guatemalan while browsing the musty books.
Ellicott City, Bean Hollow
This hillside town has been hit hard by flooding and may see some shops closing down. Bean Hollow is up high enough and should survive. The place drips with local character and good coffee.
Brunswick, Beans in the Belfry
A heavenly experience.
Easton, Rise Up Coffee Roasters
Folks who stop only at Panera or Dunkin in Easton are missing something special here. Seriously good organic house roast. The wooden tables in the back stand between sacks of beans, one of the best such community rooms we’ve seen.
Montross, The Art of Coffee
Maybe the best coffee on the Northern Nick. Terrific breakfast items in a former gas station. Arty decor sets the mood, and you might see a farmer or two.
Petersburg, Demolition Coffee
The city is making a comeback and when we went, Demolition Coffee was an early player.
One of the challenges with a look like this is how to present each of the four areas. As I look at our stick pin map for places westward, my initial thought is to think in terms of geographical -- Piedmont and Mountains. That's good for understanding, but too general.
My second thought is to use the historic turnpikes, roads and railroads, but that takes a whole other level of work, and you lose some readers that way.
Another way of breaking it down are the regions as defined by the Virginia Division of Historic Landmarks in 1985. Once again, too much work.
I-66 is not culturally rich as a former road, but it is visually understandable and is roughly the line drawn in the Historic Landmarks study. Also, north of the interstate is where the two main turnpike roads ran to Alexandria.
So let's do it that way, north and south of I-66. I have to add that while I do understand the need for more lanes on I-66, it is a bit disheartening to see the land on both sides of the highway currently being carved away in such large chunks. The last time we went, I quipped to Roberta, "Where are we?"
North of I-66
Leesburg
There are a number of places in the region that sell themselves. Leesburg is one of them. The town has grown in leaps and bounds in the past decades, but its historic integrity on Main Street hangs on. I think it was also an early spot for us.
We have been more than once to Leesburg, and almost always stop first at King Street Coffee. In 2012 I praised it writing,
I tell you, there’s a book out there waiting to be written about all the wonderful cafes in the region. This one would have to make it. Outdoors seating that include two rocking chairs on a side porch, great Guatemalan coffee and service, and a relaxing room with couches and friendly locals. That’s where we met Paul Haefner, a Sports Psychology Consultant who specializes in the equestrian occupations. Super nice guy.
When we go on a trip, we sometimes enjoy finding a place to eat that offers something different. On that same trip in 2012, we found such a place in Leesburg, a German restaurant called Doner Bistro. The funky German atmosphere was a breathe of fresh air. The Pilsner went down smooth between bites of “The Doner,” a Turkish-German gyro with all kinds of goodness inside.
On one of our most recent visits to Leesburg, we noticed the Silver Line infrastructure being built past Dulles. Quite remarkable how far out it is going and although not on the same location, a deja vu of sorts vis a vis the Leesburg Turnpike.
Middleburg
Lying in the heart of horse and hunt country, the tony town of Middleburg is another place that sells itself. It's a staple for Washingtonian and Northern Virginia magazines. The town has a magnetic pull. Vicky Mason touches on it in her book, "The Middleburg Mystique: A Peek Inside the Gates of Middleburg."
Highway 50 is the main approach, but we once went down I-66 and took Route 626 into the town from the south. Takes a little longer, but this gives you the enjoyment of passing between the stone walls and horse farms, and nary a trashy spot. You also go through The Plains, tiny, but worthy of a stop, and who knows, you might spot Robert Duvall?
In Middleburg, the Red Fox Inn stone building is the landmark anchor, dating back to the first half of the 1700s. President Kennedy held a press conference in one of its rooms. When we went, a handwritten letter from First Lady Jackie was preserved below the glass on the counter as you walk in. Although it may not be true, a sign outside proudly claims the place as the oldest original inn in the country. The food in such long time places may not be all that great, so I always lower my expectations (salads, soups, and sandwiches). I always try and walk around dining areas, where you can see historic photos hanging on the walls. I also like to see what people are eating (burgers and fries).
Aldie
If you take Highway 50 to Middleburg, you will pass through Aldie. This is where the Snickersville Turnpike ran to the northwest and the Aldie-Ashby's Gap Turnpike continued eastward. Aldie is small, but the mill is a must see, and perhaps you will walk over Little River on the little bridge by the volunteer Fire Department. Steps away is The Aldie Peddler. We recently bought a chair from them and were charmed by the long time owner.
A can't miss in Aldie is the former general store. As told by Chelsea Rose Moore of Middleburg Life, Penny and John Gulick have lovingly transformed it into a café and small shop. Some of the best eating experiences we have had take place in places such as this, and parking is good to go.
Aldie does lacks parking (good for keeping the purity of the landscape), so maybe keep the car here. And although it will seem like you are creeping along at the pace of the old days, and you might be leading a convoy, do obey the 25 MPH speed limit. Sheriffs get lonely, too.
Philomont
We mentioned Philomont earlier. It's even smaller than Aldie, so you will want to combine a visit here with another place, maybe Aldie or Bluemont. The country store is one of the best we have ever seen. The couple who run it are both knowledgable of the area and friendly. As we were standing in line for our purchases, the door bell rang and a young lady walked in.
"Hi Janet."
Uniquely, the Post Office is inside. We spoke to the postmaster who said he works there from 9 to 1. Be sure and look at the photos of past postmasters. Philomont might be the only place for miles around where the locals pick up their mail at a country store.
This Place Matters: Gravel Roads
This Place Matters is a growing effort by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Most of the time we think of this in terms of homes and buildings. An emerging target for preservation are gravel roads. In Loudoun County, the topic is grabbing attention. Kasey Clark, a cyclist and organic farmer, rode 300 miles through Loudoun County’s gravel roads. His effort raised over $7,000 and brought attention to the need for preserving this landscape. America’s Routes website has further information.
My introduction to these gravel roads came this past January when I visited Goose Creek Historic District. Its glorious 10,000 acres spread across the heart of Loudoun County, about three miles west of Leesburg.
The Goose Creek Historic District is on the National Register for Historic Places. The highlights were the village of Lincoln, the Quaker buildings and older homes, the farms, the gravel roads, and the Shelburne Glebe. Built c. 1775, it is one of only about nine surviving glebe houses in Virginia.
A marker tells us the stone meeting house served as the place of worship for Goose Creek Friends from 1765 to 1819. It has served as the residence for the caretaker of the meeting's property since that time.
Had high hopes of seeing the glebe house but it stands out of sight from Shelburne Glebe Road. We were thrilled to see the sign along the driveway, although the 1700 date seems wrong.
The prize every time came in the form of a conversation I had with a local resident who was walking her two dogs. I stopped in the middle of the road and had no worries of cars behind me. We talked for about ten minutes this way.
Turns out she lives in the historic Meeting House North Fork Church and knew about the Shelburne Glebe House. She said at one time a landing strip could be seen. Perhaps this is the flat stretch of land parallel to Shelburne Glebe Road.
Goose Creek Historic District is a magical place. Indeed, it and others like it matter.
Waterford
I always get Waterford and Millwood mixed up. They’re both villages and have a mill, and my mind tells me just how much I enjoyed visiting both.
Like Millwood, Hollywood could shoot a movie in Waterford and not have to change much of the landscape. Like some other small places in northern Virginia, much is owed to Quakers and farmers from Pennsylvania.
As the Waterford website notes,
The village has survived from the early 1900's to the present day with very little alteration of its basic pattern and character. It is a life-size history book, providing visitors with a glimpse into the lives of Virginians 100 to 200 years ago.
No need to say “don’t miss this,” because Waterford is small and everything is worth seeing. There is some traffic every early October for the festival, but the early bird gets a parking space and it is well worth it to see their award-winning Waterford Homes Tour and Crafts Exhibit.
Millwood
Like Waterford, Millwood is another place that sounds like it is something special. Oh, yes, special indeed. We’ve been here twice, once for the “Art at the Mill.” Held in Millwood since 1990, the annual event is considered one of the best in the region, with 300 or so artists.
Lovers of mills will head here to see the historic Burwell-Morgan Mill, host of the festival. It is a National Historic Landmark and “one of the oldest, most original operational grist mills in the country.” When we visited, we bought a bag of grits and cooked them.
We also enjoyed our visit to Locke Modern Country Store. Bought some asparagus soup, bacon and egg quiche, a couple of divine little morning pastries, cornbread from the mill, and chowed down at one of their homey tables out front. Local folk flashed smiles and made us feel welcome.
Land of the Villes
We never thought of the following four places this way, but let’s put them together as such here.
Purcellville
When I was 17 years old, I bought a ten-speed bicycle. Although the danger of being hit by a car took away some of the enjoyment, I had great fun spinning around and near my neighborhood in Greensboro. The Oil Crisis of 1973 had created panic buying and long lines at the gas station. I passed by many a car that way.
Out of concerns for my safety, I’ve long since dismounted, but I continue to enjoy seeing cyclists, and the fun they have together. One of the places to find them is Purcellville. When we were there, a circle in the pavement near the historic train station marked the end of the line for the W&OD Trail, which begins in Arlington. As such, this spot is popular with cyclists.
Purcellville also shined with the Market Street Coffee House, Corcoran Brewing Company and “Magnolias on the Mill” restaurant. My hickory-grilled burger was perhaps the best I’ve ever had. Roberta liked her corned beefed hash and sunny-side up eggs.
Upperville
Horses don't get their due in the annals of history, but they sure are appreciated in Upperville. Every summer the town hosts the Upperville Colt & Horse Show, the oldest (1853) in the U.S. We enjoyed the one in 2017, watching the jumps and sipping some good craft brew.
Upperville also gave us a memorable meal at The Blackthorne Inn and Restaurant. It’s at times like these I wish I had the architectural and food vocabulary to do it justice. Oh, well, we’re pleased to put the spotlight on this one, which we see will re-open after renovations in 2021.
Berryville
Berryville is another place that sounds like to would be a great place to visit and we found that to be true. It formed as a classic crossroads town, lying at the junction of the Winchester-Alexandria Road (Route 7) and the Charlestown-Old Chapel Road (340). The town’s historic crown jewel is Soldiers Rest, a Federal-style plantation house. The NRHP tells us Revolutionary War hero General Daniel Morgan (1736-1802), who distinguished himself during the Battle of Cowpens, owned the property briefly in 1800.
The town got in on the Main Street program in 1992. Scores of older buildings were rehabilitated.
Berryville packs quite a punch for its two square miles. Here are the highlights.
Cordial Coffee Shop
Owners Brandon and Kaitlyn Belland gussied up a historic hotel steps from the crossroads intersection, and served hand-poured coffees and a full espresso bar. The waffles, with pumpkin batter as an option, were divine.
Old Book Shop
A "beautiful mess" is my memory of this place. The house cat purred up a storm and the long time owner doubled as the store’s inventory system.
Rosemont
Sitting on top of a knoll and looking out to the mountains, Rosemont is an historic Georgian-style manor. Harry Byrd (Governor and Senator) lived here from the 1930s to the 1960s. Presidents such as FDR, JFK and Nixon escaped Washington to relax here. Evidently, Rosemont is still a paragon of Virginia hospitality, and hosts weddings.
Josephine City Historic District and Museum
When it comes to historical marking for African American history, Virginia has done a great job in the last five or so years with their Highway Sign program. A new one stands as a way saying - this place matters.
For Josephine City, the NPS report points out, “This community exemplifies collective land-buying and community building by freed people.” A story of Reconstruction, its roots go back to 1870 when a group of African Americans acquired 31 one acre lots on the south side of Berryville. The historic district is made up of homes, a church, a parish hall, a community center, and three former school buildings.
The State Highway Marker is located at the end of Josephine Street, one that summarizes the life of Lucy Diggs Slowe (1883-1937). Born in Berryville, she lived a remarkable life. At Howard University, she became a founding member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority and was elected its first President. She also served as president of the National Association of College Women and Howard’s first Dean of Women. Seventeen times she won the women’s title at the American Tennis Association and she served as the principal of the first junior high school for African Americans in Washington.
Lovettsville
Roberta and I visited Lovettsville in 2012 and, well, we loved it. Founded in 1733 by German farm families, this is the northern most town in Loudoun County.
We so often hear about the push of settlement into the northern part of Virginia by those families with British roots who came south to north along the Tidewater. Eugene Scheel tells us about Quaker families who came north to south from Pennsylvania. Also, around 1732, German families began to settle down at a place that became Lovettsville. These were Palantine Germans who had fled unrest and war in the Rhine River Valley in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth century. The town is named after David Lovett, a descendant.
We did worry that Lovettsville would be too small eats-wise, but Andy’s came through in the clutch. Might be the best pizza with a location so close to the mountains and holding a great view. We would come back here since we didn't get to see the Lovettsville Historical Society and Museum, whose opening hour of 1 pm did not work for us early birds.
Bluemont
Because there are so many other places nearby, and they don't reach out, we did not make it to Bluemont until 2019. It’s a small village with just a couple of cash registers, but once again, don’t let that fool you. It holds a lot of stories and was fun to explore.
Bluemont can be broken down into two parts - the village and the scattered spots along and near Blue Ridge Mountain Road. Greeting you at the crossroads is Clayton Hall (1797), the town’s historic jewel. The building has been used as a roadhouse and tavern.
I started at the country store. The Bluemont General Store website tells us the Rice Brothers owned and operated the store in the first part of the 1900s. They catered to both the local farmers and the visitors. In 2006, Broad Run Veterinary Service bought the building and restored it. The store sells all the usual items, as well as "From Snickersville to Bluemont," a nicely done history of the town.
E.E. Lake Store is the former Post Office. One portion holds a small museum, which includes the old post office that was there until the early 1950s.
I got back in the car and headed for the spots along Blue Ridge Mountain Road. The Appalachian Trail runs past here, thus the gravel parking lot. Stand there for a moment and think about all the travelers who went through Snicker’s Gap through the years. George Washington sure did.
Bear’s Den is a “faux medieval lodge.” It was built in 1933 by Dr. Huron Lawson, a professor at George Washington University, and his wife, Francesca Kaspari, a soprano singer, as their summer home. After the Lawson's passed away, the property fell silent. In 1984, the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club and the National Park Service relocated the Appalachian Trail into the forest, where it passes by the lodge. Previously the trail had run along roads and private land. The lodge is available for accommodations.
Paris
Neal Warva may not be a household name inside the Beltway, but wine sommeliers and foodies in northern Virginia know him to be a wine-food pairing force. From 2011 to 2014, he teamed up with acclaimed chef Tarver King to put the Ashby Inn and the hamlet of Paris on the map. We heard about them and zipped up there in 2012. I enjoyed the buttermilk fried chicken, cabbage slaw and grits. Next door, Trinity United Methodist Church paired up nicely with the gorgeous backdrop of the mountains.
Paris is certainly small, a “Hee Haw” salute of just 51, but once again, don’t let the cornfield jokes fool you. As the NRHP form points out, it is a well-preserved early-nineteenth-century village located at the foot of Ashby Gap in the Blue Ridge Mountains. The setting at the junction of what was the Dumfries Road (Highway 17) and the Ashby’s Gap road (Route 50) gave it some business as a service center for the wagons. Nevertheless, it got lost in the shuffle when the Manassas Gap Railroad went further south. Having said that, that loss translated to the community keeping its full on historic character.
With Paris being small, maybe combine it with a visit to Sky Meadows Park. It's known for its astronomy nights and bird watching. I didn’t realize it, but one can also view the Mount Bleak Federal-style stone mansion that Abner Settle built around 1843.
Hillsboro
Hillsboro's roots don’t dip into the 18th century, but it certainly holds on to its cohesiveness. Local field stone was used prominently and gives it a nice look.
As the HABS notes,
Unlike most Virginia trustees today, civic leaders in 1802 did not lay off land parcels according to a gridiron plan. Lots on the north side of Main Street (now Route 9) were laid off with a uniform length, yet with irregular widths. The resulting lot sizes tend to be narrow. Lots on the south side of Route 9 are wider, though not as deep. These irregular lot sizes continue today.
I’m a beer lover but have been know to pick up a stem or two. We enjoyed the spiffy new digs and offerings at North Gate Winery. My notes tell me I enjoyed a glass of their Viognier.
Back in town, we came across a sigh to behold, a large black and silver historical marker. This one is rather unique. From a distance, it looks like a State Highway Marker, but it’s an older style erected in the 1930s by a garden club in Charlottesville. My grandmother named my Dad after the Wright Brothers, a heart warming connection (although he passionately preferred Bill, WW, or Mr. Roberts).
The marker also touches on Katherine Wright Haskell, sister of the Wright Brothers. She was a force in her right. In addition to her “sisterly devotion,” Katherine gave time and talents to the suffrage movement and gave leadership to Oberlin College.
If you take Route 9 to Hillsboro, you will be following along what was once old Vestal’s Gap Road. It is a pleasant drive and leads to Charles Town. Maybe take Hillsboro back to Route 7 or vice versa.
The website ReThink9 provides information on the effort to calm traffic, reduce congestion and improve pedestrian safety on Route 9 through Hillsboro. Maybe wait until that work is finished.
Winchester
Note: This sign is located in Old Town Alexandria (Commerce and West), one of only three remaining from what was once about two dozen.
Winchester not only has a cathedral of sorts (photo below), it also can brag on a number of other delights. Tucked into the northwest corner of Virginia and lying in the northernmost part of the Shenandoah Valley, Winchester became the first English town west of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Its population of about 27,000 ranks close to Fredericksburg and Petersburg.
James Wood, who did more than anyone else to get the town started, would be proud of that figure. In his book, "The Backcountry Towns of Colonial Virginia," Christopher E. Hendricks tells us Winchester (originally known as Frederick Town) was one of the first two county towns established in the northern part of the Shenandoah Valley. When Thomas, Sixth Lord Fairfax left Belvoir in 1752 , he established his country home and estate near by. Fairfax worked with Wood to help the town grow. Farmers fearful of native Americans, settled down in the town, which boomed in the 1760s.
The downtown mall walk is a must do, as well as a visit to Handley Regional Library. Built in the Beaux-Arts style in 1913, it stands like a temple. Inside, the juxtaposition of circular architecture and the books will take your breath away.
Like other Virginia towns, Winchester can brag on its connections to George Washington. In this case, those bragging rights are extensive. In his book, “George Washington and Winchester, Virginia, 1748-1758,” Garland R. Quarles notes:
"Washington came to Winchester as a boy in 1748; he left Winchester in 1758 as a seasoned leader of men…”
We spoke earlier about downtown revitalization and the “Virginia Main Street Community” program. Winchester was one of the first five in the Commonwealth to obtain this designation and funding.
Other spots we enjoyed include, Abram’s Delight/Historical Society/Visitor’s Center (made of stone and the oldest home in Winchester), the Patsy Cline Home (privately owned), where the country music legend grew up (laid to rest at the Shenandoah Memorial Park in Winchester), the George Washington Museum, Winchester Books (the lady behind the counter said they have been in business for 40 years and they sold the Quarles book), Tropical Island Cafe, where the smell of Caribbean spices and posters of Bob Marley on the wall signaled something good, and Simple Charming Boutique, which was exactly that.
Washington Family Homes
George Washington had no children of his own. Nevertheless, he was a father figure to Jacky and Patsy Parke Custis, and had the extended family of his brothers and sister, including his grand nephews and cousins. Starting in the 1770s, some family members began to settle down on the knolls and the mountainous lands of Virginia and what would become West Virginia.
John Wayland's book, “The Washingtons and Their Homes” provides terrific information on this topic. Below are the homes in his book. In June 2018, Roberta and I visited Charles Town to see Cedar Lawn and Claymont (photos).
Wakefield (Northern Neck, Father and Mother)
Epping Forest (Northern Neck, Mother)
Ferry Farm (Fredericksburg, Family)
Mother’s Home (Fredericksburg)
Kenmore (Fredericksburg, sister Betty)
Mount Vernon (Lawrence Jr. and GW)
Bushfield (Northern Neck, brother, John Augustine)
Harewood (Charles Town, brother Samuel)
Happy Retreat (Charles Town, brother Charles)
Claymont (Charles Town, Bushrod Corbin, grandnephew, John Augustine’s grandson)
Blakeley (Charles Town, John A. Washington II, grandnephew, John Augustine’s grandson)
Cedar Lawn (Charles Town, John Thornton Augustine, grandnephew, Samuel’s grandson)
Fairfield (Berryville, Warner Washington, first cousin, Grandson of John Washington, GW’s Uncle)
Clifton (Berryville, Warner Washington II, second cousin, son of Warner Washington)
Audley (Berryville, Warner Washington II, second cousin, son of Warner Washington)
Llewellyn (Berryville, Warner Washington II, second cousin, son of Warner Washington)
Bellair (Halltown, WVA, Lewis William Washington, great great grandnephew, great great grandson of Augustine)
Waverly (Winchester, George Fayette Washington, grand nephew, grandson of Charles)
Ridgedale (Romney, WVA, George William Washington, assumed cousin)
Ferndale (Romney, WVA, Edward Washington, son of George William)
Waveland (Marshall, John Augustine Washington III, great, great nephew, great, great grandson of John Augustine)
Middletown and Belle Grove
Whenever I am trying to figure out where to go next, I always look for points of distinction. Belle Grove came through that way as a rare case of an eighteenth-century plantation home in Virginia open to the public, and one that is still farmed with both agriculture and cattle.
Getting there was a breeze, as the location is just a mile from the terminus of I-66 at I-81. This immaculately preserved limestone manor house is not only a National Trust for Historic Preservation site and the crown jewel of the Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park, it is also a National Historic Landmark.
I have to say we were disappointed with the film. It acknowledges the work of the enslaved humans, but while cheery music playes, one sees an image of slaves singing. The narrator says something like -- they were allowed to sing songs. Hopefully, this aspect of the tour has been addressed.
Belle Grove tells the story of Major Issac Hite (1758-1836) and his wife Nelly Madison Hite, who completed their mansion in 1797. Nelly was born at Montpelier. Her brother James became the fourth US President. Issac's grandfather, Baron Jost brought 16 German and Scots-Irish families to Virginia around 1732 and helped found Winchester.
Belle Grove’s dancing partner is Middletown, lying off historic Highway 11. Middletown began along the Great Wagon Road in 1794. As the National Register for Historic Places form points out, Middletown has kept its historic appearance while other towns along Highway 11 have not.
The Wayside Inn offered chicken pot pie worthy of a blue ribbon, and the absence of music and noise was golden for our dining experience. Their list of guests through the years includes John Pershing, John D. Rockerfeller Jr., Henry Ford, Paul Newman, Dorothy Hamill, and Robert Duvall.
South of I-66
Front Royal
Earlier I talked about how the west is my favorite direction to head from Alexandria. Part of the reason is the escape on I-66. We’ve been to Front Royal a number of times and I guess we’ve been lucky, in that we arrive in less than 75 minutes. In fact, I just checked and the current read is 73 miles in 73 minutes.
Anyway, Front Royal is always a fun visit. Where else can you visit an historic town, then take in the exquisite wonders of a cavern, followed by a Skyline Drive? We always enjoy eating lunch somewhere along their Main Street. Although it is no longer open, we hold fond memories of Apt 2G restaurant. Tom Sietsma’s glowing review in the Post in 2005 put us in the car. David and Stacy Gedney now run Element, which we hope to get to on our next visit.
People watching in Front Royal is fun. I would imagine Subarus sell well here, as some of the residents love hiking, cycling and canoeing.
Sperryville and Washington
Another thing I enjoy about road trips is coming back a different way. We recently took what might be called the Mountain Loop. Zipped up to Front Royal for coffee, then took the entrance to Skyline Drive. Took in the breathtaking views and the visitors center before exiting at Thornton Gap. The winding road down the mountain leads to to Sperryville and Washington, two small, but delightful places in the foothills. On the ride home on Highway 211, we stopped at Warrenton for a bite to eat. They were winding up their Farmer's Market, another fun aspect of visiting places in the region.
Sperryville is small, but enchanting in its own way. They recently opened a river walk - short, but creative, fun and shady. The Sperryville Hotel (Hopkins Ordinary) draws in the eye with its wrap-around appearance. Hopkins Ordinary, Bed & Breakfast and Ale Works has given the two hundred year old structure new life. Their website tells us its original use was a tavern and an ordinary. In 2001, the current owners purchased the building and returned it to its original use as a overnight lodging.
A State Marker tells us the Smoot family of Alexandria built a nearby tannery that opened in 1867 and closed in 1911. By that time the town "boasted four churches, five general stores, one hotel, six mills, numerous shops, a masonic hall, and a population of 350."
Just four miles up the road from Sperryville lies the little town of Washington. Its star attraction is the Inn at Little Washington, a fine dining mecca that has managed to draw diners year after year, despite the jaw-dropping prices and distance from the DMV.
With my stubborn pride, I turned off the GPS as we approached on Highway 522. The landscape being so rural, I figured we would see a sign for the turnoff.
As it turns out, the northern most road in has all the indicators including a stop light. The southernmost road was a classic blink your eyes and you miss it. At the last minute, Roberta yelled, "here!"
With this approach in, there is nothing south of Washington until you finally arrive. I was beginning to wonder if we had missed another turnoff, and I have to say I am now inclined to start using GPS all the time.
A few minutes later we arrived. Once again, we tell you about a place that is small, but a jewel. As the French say, "Ca vaut le pleine" - it's worth it.
George Washington, that man who seemed to be everywhere, laid out the town in 1749. He was just 17 years old. In 1796, the Virginia General Assembly voted aye and the town was named for the surveyor turned President. Its population is only about 136, but it has served as the county seat (Rappahannock) since 1833.
The National Register for Historic Places form tells us the architecturally significant buildings are the courthouse, the Trinity Episcopal Church and the Presbyterian church, now the library.
Historical marking is excellent. Across the street from the Inn/Restaurant is The Old Tavern. It dates to 1735 and serves as a shop for guilt gifts, books and the like.
Other markers include the Craig Claibourne House, named for the late cookbook author, New York Times journalist, and frequent quest.
Another marker for Inn/Restaurant tells us prior uses include a carriage house and a gas station. In 1978, Patrick O'Connell and Reinhardt Lynch turned the garage into a place that has earned the highest honors in the business.
Michelen says:
Set 90 minutes from DC in a town whose very existence seems tied to the restaurant, The Inn at Little Washington is a destination in every sense of the word. Embellished to the last inch, the dining room resembles a jewelry box lined with patterned carpets, lush wallpaper, heavy drapes and bejeweled upholstery. Servers are knowledgeable and warm; the room is conducive to conversations. This is a civilized affair for sophisticated patrons celebrating a special occasion.
Be sure and walk around the restaurant. The landscape will put you back in the colonial era of great gardens. Also, when we were there, a nearby building was being prepped to serve as a cafe for the staff. And what a fine staff it must be.
Skyline Caverns and Skyline Drive
Most of the time our trips involve seeing some form of history. Every once in a while we go for the wonders of the natural world, or a combination with historic places. We've yet to visit Luray, which has the largest caverns in eastern US.
A good and closer to Washington option is the Skyline Caverns in Front Royal. The tour takes about an hour and features anthodites, described as "Orchids of the Mineral Kingdom." If they don’t take your breath away, nothing will.
Another good thing about Skyline Caverns, which the other caverns may not have, is an adjacent town. In this case, Front Royal. We've been about four times. Mom and Pop restaurants and unique craft shops pepper Main Street. The historical marking is heavy on the Civil War, so perhaps they will up their game that way.
Going to Skyline Drive requires a tough decision. If you go during peak or near leaf days, expect slow going and backups. We went this October before the peak started and barely got parking at the Visitors Center. And if you go, please be vigilante with the cyclists. They can get lost in the shade, a scary combo with the downhill driving speeds. And if you go to the caverns, do note the cave dive is a cool 55 degrees, thus the abundance of outwear for sale at the gift shop.
Warrenton
County seats are an interesting topic. There is talk in Prince George's County of the desire to move it from outlying Upper Marlboro to somewhere closer to Washington (ain’t happening). No such talk in Fauquier County, where Warrenton has held court for many years.
Warrenton charmed us with their courthouse close to the action on Main Street. Even better, the Fauquier History Museum at the Old Jail, is co-located with the courthouse. Once again, a local docent was very helpful and generous with their time. We even learned about an “aebleskiver?” (pan used to make sweet, round Danish pancake balls).
Claire’s at the Depot, located just three blocks from Main Street in an old train station, is where Claire Lambourne’s award-winning restaurant dazzles both the palate and the eye. The owner spent $500,000 on the rehab and addition.
I had the fried oysters in cornmeal. Some kind of delicious, and it took me back to my Dad, who loved oysters. He grew up in Brunswick County, North Carolina, which has hosted an annual oyster festival since 1980.
Great Harvest Bread Company is a must stop, where they bake on site. Maybe you’ll get lucky like we did, and will be given a generous portion of a warm freebie. The raspberry cobbler bread was memorable.
Historic Garden Week
Historic Garden Week is a tradition like no other in Virginia. Since 1929, the annual state-wide spring time event has turned into what is believed to be the nation’s largest and oldest such event. Every year more than 250 home owners across the state swing open their doors and garden gates to the public.
Roberta and I always go to the one in Old Town. We made an exception in 2017, going to the one in Warrenton. What a memorable time we had. The gorgeous place that is Airlie House made us feel like royals. Home and estate owners typically gussy up their place this way, but this one raised the bar to a level we had never seen.
We also visited Loretta (photo), a brick beauty with a hipped roof and columns, and Hopefield, handsome as a brick Federal while a darling inside with Chinese portraits and figurines, French doors, a cross-hall, and paneled drawing room.
Buckland
Like Millwood and Waterford, Buckland gives us a remarkable contrast of past and present. The big difference is this time capsule lies on both sides of Highway 29. Cars scream by, perilous to those crossing the road.
Some sources say Buckland was the first inland town in Prince William County. The village was situated on the old Warrenton Turnpike (also known as the Fauquier and Alexandria Turnpike). Concerned about losing its historic assets to developers, a group of citizens organized and formed the Buckland Preservation Society in 2003.
With a stone quarry and mill, Buckland prospered in the 1800s, drawing in weary wagon hands and travelers along the turnpike. In the 1820s, the road was laid with crushed stone, a new process invented by John Loudon McAdam. 135 whites and 50 free blacks with skilled labor owned land and homes.
The travel writer Anne Royall details her travels to Buckland from Washington in a coach. She described it as “a romantic, lively, business-doing village, situated on a rapid, rolling stream, which rushes through uneven ground, broken into charming complex swells.”
Buckland’s uniqueness lies in the fact it is a “substantially intact late eighteen and nineteenth century entrepreneurial turnpike town.” The NHRP points out “it survives as one of the best preserved such places in Virginia.”
The Railroads
Except for some excellent historical marking, the visitor to and the wanderer around Alexandria has few clues to what was once a hey day of railroads. Even the Wilkes Street Tunnel, a fun passage today for cyclists and foot traffic, seems too small. But as seen by this map, the seaport was once a beehive of rail activity.
Nevertheless, it was Baltimore and the B&O that shined the brightest. Their line and steam engines reached Harper’s Ferry in the 1840s. Much of the western trade that would have gone to Alexandria went instead to Baltimore.
Alexandria magnates such as George H. Smoot and Lewis McKenzie wanted to build a competing line (Alexandria & Harper’s Ferry), but as Harrison tells us, "the B&O retorted by acquiring control of the voting stock of the Winchester & Potomac."
In the late 1840s, Smoot and Henry Daingerfield looked to the piedmont farms southward and helped finance the Orange & Alexandria, which used the Wilkes Street Tunnel to pass under Lee and Fairfax streets. The line ran from the wharves and warehouses on Union and the waterfront to Manassas, Culpepper, Orange County Courthouse and then to Gordonsville by 1854. The Wilkes Street track finally gave up the ghost in 1975. Although no longer used, the O&A's roundhouse near Duke and S. Henry lasted until the 1980s. Although few realize it, Hoof's Run Bridge along Jamieson Street is, like the Wilkes Street Tunnel, a rare remnant of the O&A.
As Charles Seigel points out,
As a result of being the northern terminus of the railroad, Alexandria became a thriving seaport and manufacturing center. In addition to faster and cheaper delivery of freight, by 1860 passengers could go from Washington to Lynchburg in eight hours instead of the three-day travel before the railroad’s completion.
In 1853, Smoot resigned from the O&A and turned his attention back to the farms west of Alexandria and south of the Potomac River. The Alexandria money men established the Alexandria, Loudoun & Hampshire RR (later named the Washington & Old Dominion). Their hope was to reach Harper’s Ferry and the coal fields in Hampshire and compete with the B&O.
The line reached Leesburg in 1860, but overall it was too little, too late. The line did haul some freight, passengers and mail. Its stops included Arlington, Falls Church, Vienna, Hunter’s Mill, Herndon and Leesburg.
The attractive brick train station in Alexandria at Princess and Fairfax line was demolished in the 1950s and the line closed down in 1968. The roadbed was re-adapted for bike and trail use, the popular W&OD trail that runs from Shirlington to Purcellville.
Casanova
The motivation behind some of our visits comes when we are looking into the history of the area. One of the most pleasant surprises this way was Casanova and Weston. Several years ago I got interested in the story of Dumbarton, one of Georgetown’s finest mansions. Joseph Nourse, who served as the Register of the Treasury for the first five Presidents, moved from Dumbarton to a commanding spot whose site is now the Washington National Cathedral.
In 1858, his oldest son Charles acquired a tract of land south of Warrenton. A small rural community was developing where the Warrenton Branch Railroad, a spur of the Orange and Alexandria, met up with the main line. Casanova became its name. The nomination form for the NRHP points out "there has been very little modern construction and the district retains remarkable visual cohesiveness.
The family built a home and farm there and called it Weston. The Warrenton Antiquarian Society lovingly keeps, preserves and tells the story. Our prize every time was Betsy, who gave us the full story and allowed us to see the Casanova Hunt hounds.
Syria
It may sound silly to some, but Roberta and I take some measure of pride in knowing we have been to the country of Syria, and Syria, Virginia. We went in the fall of 2018 to take in the Graves Mountain Apple Festival. Had never heard of the community nor the festival. Syria lies in Madison County, about 15 miles west of Culpepper, and along the Old Blue Ridge Turnpike (State Route 670).
This trip centered around what we were feeling. As I wrote:
After arriving late to the party this year, crisp and sunny autumn weather has finally taken a firm grip on our region. Needing to fully immerse ourselves in the feeling, we headed to the mountains today to take in the Graves Mountain Apple Festival in Syria, Virginia.
We had a fun time here. I remember seeing a teenager girl wearing a Black Sabbath t-shirt, in complete contrast to what everyone else was wearing. Watching the kids have fun brought joy and The Graves Mountain Lodge, whose center structure is a log house built in the late eighteenth century, is a can’t miss. They were serving locally famous fried chicken, which sold out before we got a spot in line.
West Virginia
I remember when I was growing up, someone said, "By God, West Virginia." Maybe it meant, By God, West Virginia is awesome. With four trips to its northeastern corner, we have found that to be true. And, if you pay the tolls, places like Charles Town and Harpers Ferry are closer than you might think.
Harpers Ferry
Is it possible that Harpers Ferry, population less than 300, and a remarkable can’t miss place, is too small? We say that because some lists of Best Small Towns exclude it.
It certainly is small. In fact, its sister town of Bolivar is on the map, while Harpers Ferry isn’t.
But no matter, get thee to this special place that lies at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers and steps away from Maryland and Virginia. Thomas Jefferson was so taken by the view he penned a glorious tribute:
“The passage of the Patowmac through the Blue Ridge is perhaps one of the most stupendous scenes in Nature. This scene is worth a voyage across the Atlantic."
We've been here four times. The first time we visited was for the 150th anniversary of John Brown’s raid. The uprising was an abject failure, but as Civil War historian Bruce Catton wrote - "And then came John Brown."
The last time we went we took in the Black Voices Museum, very well done.
Although there is a shuttle bus from the Parking Lot, Harpers Ferry's main drag is a steep uphill climb. The sidewalks and stores can fill up on good weather weekends, so plan accordingly. It's all worth it, though. Do not miss Harper's Ferry.
Charles Town
Here’s a great trivia question. Everyone knows the nation’s capital and other towns are named after George Washington, but which of his brothers also has a town named after him?
That would be Charles, George’s youngest brother.
Of their relationship, the Mount Vernon website tells us:
Charles and George Washington corresponded throughout their lives, and Charles frequently visited his older brother at Mount Vernon in the years prior to the American Revolution.
Charles moved from Fredericksburg around 1780 and built his new home he called, “Happy Retreat.” A half dozen years later he laid out the town (80 acres on ½ acre lots), and paid tribute to his family members by naming streets such as George, Washington, Lawrence, Samuel, and Mildred (his wife). Virginia awarded the town official status in 1787.
We were not able to visit Happy Retreat nor Harewood, but took in these spots.
Town Square (George Street and Washington Street)
If you’re photographing remarkable intersections, don’t miss this one. All four corners have a story.
Jefferson County Courthouse, NE corner
Ah, the County Courthouse, you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all. Maybe, but in Charles Town, the Jefferson County Courthouse holds a big story or two. In 1859, John Brown was tried here and convicted of treason. Four years later, the building was destroyed by Confederate artillery. After eight years of being located exile in Shepherdstown, the government returned in 1871 with a new structure.
Market House/Charles Washington Hall, NW
Circa 1806 a structure was built at the southwest corner. The first floor was used as a market space and its second floor had an auditorium as well as meeting rooms. Like many places in Charlestown, the market house was completely destroyed during the Civil War.
It was initially replaced by a number of frame buildings. Town fathers decided to construct a more permanent building and in 1874 Charles Washington Hall was built. Since then the Hall has been home to the United States Post Office and to a number of restaurants and businesses. We saw a sign for a Chinese restaurant, closed until March.
Jefferson County Jail, SW corner
The U.S. Post Office is here now, but in 1861 the county jail occupied this corner. Brown and the six co-defendants spent time in it before and during their trial, and until they left to meet the hangman.
During the Civil War, the jail was destroyed and was rebuilt in 1873 after the county seat returned to Charlestown. That building was torn down in 1919 and the jail was moved to the southeast corner of George and Liberty Streets. In 1920 the United States Post Office was constructed on the former jail site and has been there ever since.
City Hall, SE corner
In 1908 the building here was demolished and replaced by the Farmers and Merchants Deposit Bank. The Bank of Charles Town purchased the property and moved there in the 1930's. Today the building houses the offices of the City of Charles Town.
Jumpin Java, 109 W. Washington
We are on a serious winning streak when it comes to great coffee places on our road trip destinations. Jumpin Java kept that streak intact with their Black Dog Coffee. I had the Organic Bali Blue Moon. Harmony for the body and soul. The digs for this place needed some tlc, but very friendly folk and cozy in its own way.
Visitor’s Center
Just steps from the Courthouse on N. George Street lies the Visitors Center. Its located in an old firehouse, thus the winding steel staircase. We walked in and were greeted by a helpful and friendly faced man who answered all our questions. When the better half inquired about nearby Shepherdstown, he recommended The Press Room for brunch. We're years late, but thanks, you were right!
Berkeley Springs
Another noteworthy intersection in West Virginia can be found in Berkeley Springs. The streets signs -- Washington and Fairfax -- at the center of this lovely town pay homage to two of Northern Virginia's most famous families. A young George Washington surveyed the town for part of his work for his neighbor and mentor, Thomas, Sixth Lord Fairfax of Belvoir.
Washington likely had mixed feelings about Berkeley Springs, which was then part of the colony of Virginia. In 1749, he accompanied his half-brother Lawrence, who was suffering from tuberculosis. Washington returned in 1761, himself “violently sick.” Eight years later, he brought his step daughter, Patsy, who was ill with epilepsy. Both would succumb from their illnesses.
Note: According to the town's website: "In 1801, the post office was established at Bath and it was called Berkeley Springs since there already was a Bath further south along the Blue Ridge. Up until the Civil War both names were used. Since then, the world has come to know the town around the warm springs as Berkeley Springs although Bath remains the official municipal name."
The sick and weary came from all over to take in the warm mineral waters, constant at 74 degrees. The town became a popular summer resort. The spas are still a draw, as well as the arts scene and mountain beauty.
Local historians note Berkeley Springs is “possibly the only American town set up specifically to be a spa.” More than 150 structures are included in the Historic District. Their website lists 27 different attractions. We visited the following.
Berkeley Springs State Park
A four-acre spot, in use since 1750, the park operates the only spa run by a state. On the grounds are Washington’s bath site, the main bathhouse, the Roman Bath House and the swimming pool.
Museum of the Berkeley Springs
Panels and artifacts did a delightful job of documenting the town’s history and growth.
Berkeley Springs Bookstore
Always does my heart good to see places like this still going strong. Good selection, including local history books, such as the recently published Images of America for Berkeley Springs.
Fairfax Coffee House
Coffee always seems to taste better at these small town places. The Berkeley Blend here combines Costa Rican Tarrazu, Guatemalan Antigua SHB and Mexican Altura SHG. I have no clue what that means, but it tasted wonderful.
Farmer’s Market at Fairfax and Washington
The better half shopped for homemade baked goods and fruits, while I admired the impressive war memorial marker. Two interpretive markers document the town’s challenges during the Battle for Bath, when Major General Stonewall Jackson’s men launched an attack during a snowstorm.
Tari's Cafe
We were impressed with Tari’s Café's exposed brick, art work and good service and food.
Shopping
First block of Fairfax and Washington is heaven for shoppers, all independents lined up with one of a kind products. On the corner we found Mountain Laurel Gallery, with regional and national contemporary crafts and wearable art. Friendly lady behind the counter who moved here and found the sense of calm and healing.
Shepherdstown
Shepherdstown is a bit off the radar, but has one of the most fascinating beginnings as a town in the Washington region. In his book, "The Backcountry Towns of Colonial Virginia," Christopher Hendricks, tells us Thomas, Sixth Lord Fairfax granted 457 acre tract to Thomas Shepherd in 1751. Three years later, he completed a stone house above the river crossing known as Pack Horse Ford. During the French and Indian War, settlers flocked to Shepherd’s fort for protection. That was not unique, but the town developed around his house. He built three mills, further boosting the community's economic well-being. The town was made official in 1762 as Mecklenburg, and then named Shepherdstown in 1798. Eight years earlier, it was among the places George Washington was considering as the site of the new US capital.
Overall, I haven't felt any strong regrets regarding the trips we have taken. With Shepherdstown, I am feeling a bit rueful. We did have a great time at The Press Room restaurant. We tipped our hat to owners Mike & Deb Luksa, who restored what was once a harness-making shop. In the short hallway to the restroom, you can find two framed front pages of The Independent, which ran its printing press and operations here. Next door lies The Opera House. The two make a lovely pair.
I know now that we should have stayed longer. The Historic Shepherdstown Museum, located in the Entler Hotel, sounds fabulous.
Head East
Having noted how much I enjoy heading west, I must say I'm also pleased when we head east. Ten minutes from our house and we are crossing the Potomac into Maryland. Having the two states to choose from is indeed part of the bounty of living here, and the new Wilson spans, completed in 2012, have improved what used to be one of the worse bottlenecks in the region.
Heading out in this direction does initially involve the occasional Beltway backup (Maryland recently approved HOT Lanes to match those in Virginia), but once you escape, the getting away is better. Highway 50 has always been swift-going for us. Routes 4 and 5 are slower with lights, but spotting old barns and rusty relics along the way can be fun.
There is a lot to see east of Washington, with a special bounty of coastal towns. Let's break it down by the Western Shore and the Eastern Shore.
Western Shore of Maryland
"On the western shore of the Chesapeake, the rhythm of the tides, call of the gulls, and the hum of the engines from watermen’s boats create a symphony of sounds amid the miles of shoreline and open water. Nestled between the Potomac and Patuxent rivers and the Chesapeake Bay, the rolling hills of these Southern Maryland peninsulas are an easy peaceful escape from the hustle and bustle of nearby metropolitan areas." - Maryland Office of Tourism
In her (2001) book, "Maryland's Western Shore, The Guidebook," Katie Moose tells us this part of the state is two diverse regions. The Northern Western Shore is more developed and industrialized while the Southern Western Shore is mainly agricultural and genteel. Of course, she wrote that twenty years ago.
We'll start in the middle with Annapolis. It's one of our favorite places and I know we're not alone. There is the caveat of the capital city being a funnel for traffic, so allow for that in the warmer months.
Annapolis traces its village beginnings to 1649, a century before Alexandria was founded. The best book about any city in the region might well be, “Annapolis, City on the Severn: A History Illustrated Edition” by Jane W. McWilliams.
Some state capital cities are not always appealing for visitors. Annapolis has endless charms. We’ve been here at least six times and enjoyed it every time. Our "Gotta Get There" list includes visiting the inside of the capitol.
Bookstore Cafe charmed us with its leafy backyard garden and good array of books. If you visit the Naval Academy, try and do so for their annual tradition of the plebes slippery "Climb to the Top" of the Herndon monument.
The Georgian Beauts
I love all historic and older homes, but I have to say my favorite are the Georgians, especially brick. Annapolis is blessed this way. One of my favorites is the Chase-Lloyd House. Completed around 1774, it is a National Historic Landmark. The nomination form tells us it is one of the earliest extant three-story brick Georgian town houses erected in the British colonies and “its every detail evidences an effort to achieve the ultimate in magnificence.” When I was visiting on my hunt for Francis Scott Key, the Chase-Lloyd House emerged as where Key met married Mary Lloyd, youngest daughter of Edward and Elizabeth Lloyd.
Eastport offered a good time with their oyster museum. I left thinking about my Dad who loved oysters and once brought home a bushel. He was a master carver with his knife and could make a meal out of them.
The War of 1812
The bicentennial of the War of 1812 brought a bonanza of attention to the Washington and the Chesapeake Bay region. Books, articles, historical markers and lectures provided updated information on the history of the war. Maryland, in particular, capitalized, with everything from specialized license plates to you name it.
Encapsulating all those efforts is well beyond our pale. We would, however, like to bring attention to a “Remembering the War of 1812” lecture at the Alexandria Lyceum. Dr. Lisa Kraus, Archaeologist with the Maryland Highway Administration's Cultural Resources Division gave an illustrated talk titled, "Archaeology of the War of 1812."
The war impacted the mid-Atlantic in several ways. As Ralph Eshelman (“A Travel Guide to The War of 1812 in the Chesapeake”) points out, the Chesapeake region “suffered more enemy raids, and sustained more property damage and other losses than any other theater of operations in the war.” Places like Tappahannock in Virginia felt the impacts too, but Maryland saw more military actions than any other state.
The fighting heated up in August 1814 when the British army and navy moved up the Patuxent River on its way to Washington. Seasoned with veteran soldiers and proven leadership, they torched the White House and the Capitol. Two weeks later, Admiral Cockburn's men attacked Fort McHenry outside Baltimore where a young Georgetown lawyer named Francis Scott Key wrote a poem about the bombing in the dawn’s early light.
On August 19, the Redcoats, angry that the States had burned York (Toronto), began their assault. Marching up Southern Maryland, their encampments included Benedict, Nottingham and Upper Marlboro. As one can imagine, these places are treasure troves for archaeologists. Dr. Krauss detailed their findings at Benedict, as well as Bladensburg. Suburban growth at the latter made their work challenging.
The team also conducted underwater archaeology with dives at the sunken site of Barney’s Flotilla near Upper Marlboro.
Benedict (August 19)
Nervous residents, who like others in the region had felt the effects of the British Blockade and their raids of terror, fled this small town on August 19. With 50 vessels and almost 4,400 troops, General Robert Ross landed in Benedict on August 19. They bivouacked there and headed north to Nottingham the next morning.
Dr. Kraus noted the challenges with this site. The British stayed just the one night, and one on their return. In 2012, Charles County and Maryland State Highway Administration archaeologists found .69 caliber musket balls, but erosion swept other items away. They did find evidence of a camp for African Americans during the Civil War and plan to return to the site.
Nottingham (August 21)
Like Colchester, Virginia, this small village had a bright future as a seaport. The merchants eventually went elsewhere, however, reducing the once proud town to a small collection of 20th century homes in a census-designated place.
The town did experience glory days, including the time during the War of 1812 when it served as the homeport of Commodore Joshua Barney’s famed Chesapeake Flotilla. Able to maneuver more easily than the British war ships, Barney’s 17 gunboats, while ultimately reduced to a retreat, served as a rare source of military pride.
The blog that Dr. Kraus edits, “The War of 1812 Archaeology,” provides information on the digs the team is conducting. A post on Nottingham notes they have found over 23,000 artifacts. Items found include a bayonet tip, British half pennies, flint pads, buttons, a buckle, horseshoes, and unfired musket balls.
Barney and the Chesapeake Flotilla (August 21)
With the British armada thundering onward, Barney sailed his fleet up the river to a place called Pig Point near Upper Marlboro. On orders from higher command, he scuttled his boats. Dr. Kraus showed some of the salvaged items, which included medical scissors and boat parts. They are fairly certain this boat is the U.S.S. Scorpion, the flagship of the fleet.
The Battle of Caulk’s Island (August 30)
In addition to her lecture, Dr. Kraus provided a display of artifacts, an illustrated board and several brochures. One of them covers the Battle of Caulk’s Island, a diversionary tactic when the British were headed to Baltimore after sacking Washington. This battle was fought about a half dozen miles west of Chestertown, on the northern Eastern Shore. The battlefield is one of the best-preserved. Using patterns of dropped musket shot, the team put together a map of the battlefield.
More than a dozen British soldiers were mortally wounded by the Kent Count Militia, including their commander, Sir Peter Parker. In September 2012, members of the British Royal Marines and U.S. National Guard participated in a wreath-laying ceremony Caulk’s Field memorial site.
Bladensburg (August 24)
The Battle of Bladensburg exposed the weakness of the States’ military. Inept leadership and undersupplied troops contributed to a sorry outcome - a rout by the veteran British army. The sole source of pride was Barney. He and his men showed valor by not retreating when the others did.
All in all, a terrific presentation by Dr. Kraus. Citizens on both sides of the bay came together during the War of 1812, and did so for the bicentennial commemorations and events.
Downs Park
North of Annapolis lies Downs Park, which offers toe-dipping in the Chesapeake Bay, a visitor’s center, pier, dog beach, shady bird sanctuary, and trails. During the era of summer escapes via the train or a steamboat, these beaches on the Western Shore of Maryland packed ‘em in.
Nearby Kinder Farm Park is another touch-of-the-past place that takes a “Friends of” approach. The Kinder family had a farm here beginning in 1898. Highlights included the restored Farm House (built 1925), Blacksmith shop, and farming artifacts.
If you pass through Severna Park, check out what has be the best selection of fast foods in the entire region.
South of Annapolis lies an important slice of area history. Before the Bay Bridge opened in the early 50s, the beaches north and south of Annapolis drew in the crowds. Segregation meant African Americans had to form their own places and communities.
In her book, "Historically African American Leisure Destinations around Washington DC," author Patsy Mose Fletcher touches on these forgotten stories. Of the 28 locations she covers, eleven were on the western shore of the Chesapeake.
Now, thanks to the extraordinary efforts of a preservation class team lead by Paula Jarrett Nasta (University of Maryland, 2019), there is a study of the African American communities of Aquasco (Woodsville), Eagle Harbor, and Cedar Haven. These three are also on our "Gotta Get To" list.
In 2013, we visited Highland Beach. I don't know if it was called "heritage tourism" back then, but the term is emerging. At the time, I had a great interest in Frederick Douglass.
The standout property of Highland Beach is "Twin Oaks" at 3200 Wayman Avenue. Also known as the Douglass Summer Home, it was built in the Queen Anne style by the son of Douglass and Civil War veteran, Major Charles Douglass. After Bay Ridge resort discriminated against him in 1890, he bought the tucked away land south of the resort. Douglass surveyed the land and set out 104 lots.
Son built the home for father, but the “Sage of Anacostia” passed away before its completion in 1895. Twin Oaks is the oldest house in Highland Beach, but does not look like it. A handsome renovation took place in 1987.
In its heyday, prominent African-Americans living in Washington, such as Paul Roberson, Langston Hughes and Booker T. Washington, escaped the city for privacy and relaxation at the secluded vacation spot along the Chesapeake. D.C. residents Paul Dunbar and Robert and Mary Terrell had homes here, as well as celebrities such as Bill Cosby and Arthur Ashe.
The beach community was one of the first for blacks. As The Washington Post noted in an article in August 7, 2003:
That Highland Beach has changed so little is, in many ways, what makes this community distinctive. Elsewhere around the bay, neighborhoods that started as summer resort communities have succumbed to the pressures of development and individuals' desires to own a slice of the beach for themselves. As a result, most the waterfront on the Chesapeake has disappeared from the public realm, piece by piece. Our beachfront is public land for the benefit of the entire community.
Coastal Towns
The coastal towns in Virginia and Maryland don’t have the rugged beauty of the ones on the West Coast and New England, nor the seasonal warm temps down south. Nevertheless, they are wonderful places in their own right and we are fortunate to have a good number of them. For their July 2016 issue, Washingtonian magazine gave its readers "11 Charming Small Towns You Need to Explore On Your Next Chesapeake Bay Vacation" (Cambridge, Cape Charles, Chesapeake City, Chestertown, Easton, Irvington, Onancock, Oxford, Rock Hall, St.Michaels, and Urbanna).
Can’t argue with that list, but we asked ourselves -- what one would we add to make it a dozen?
That’s a tough one, but a good case can be made for Solomon’s Island. We’ve been there a number of times and always enjoyed it. A big plus is the distance from Washington, about 90 minutes from Alexandria.
Solomon's holds a number of festivals and events. Not to be missed is the Calvert Marine Museum. It features one of three surviving screw-pile lighthouses (moved from Drum Point). Equally a must see is the J.C. Lore Oyster House, which is a National Historic Landmark.
Since you've come to this tip of the peninsula, don't miss walking the southernmost part, where you will see the Marine University and views of the mouth of the Patuxent.
Eats-wise, we have enjoyed Stoney's Kingfishers and The Pier. These places can get crowded so plan ahead.
Solomon's also has a loop option, with taking Highway 4 and Highway 5 from the Beltway. The latter option takes you on the tall bridge over the mouth of the Patuxent River (horizon!).
A third option takes you along Prince Frederick Road (Highway 231), which crosses the river along an old small bridge. This was the way folks took before the current tall span was built in 1977. War of 1812 buffs will want to stop at Benedict, where the British armada of ships passed by in August 1814, and where their seasoned foot soldiers landed. As Ralph Eshelman points out, this was the only time in our history that a foreign army invaded the United States and captured our capital.
The drive along Route 231 is the kind where some will say, I'm never coming back this way, while "Abandoned Landscapes" seekers will have a field day. It isn't unique in our region, but quite remarkable nevertheless.
Galesville and Shady Side
You can bet that as I was writing this memoir, I realized shortcomings and short shrifts in some of my original blog posts. One such was our 2018 visit to Galesville and Shady Side. Let's give both the treatment they deserve.
Galesville
Where to build and where not to build is an on-going question in the world. Working quietly behind the scenes in our region is Maryland’s Rural Legacy Areas, a program designed to “save the best of what’s left by creating greenbelts around Maryland’s communities and saving our remaining countryside.”
One area they are shepherding is west of Galesville, located about seven eagle miles south of Annapolis. Until I looked at my stick pin map, we had never heard of it. This one turned out to be a really special visit.
In terms of landscape, the standout feature for Galesville is the mouth of the West River and the great number of coves and peninsula tips. It all adds up to a boater’s delight, with an array of slips between Galesville and Shady Side, its sister community across the mouth of the river.
Before cars replaced the horses, the steamers took people to places like Annapolis, Baltimore, Norfolk and up the Potomac to Alexandria, Washington, and points in between. During that era, the steamship Emma Giles, a familiar sight for nearly a half century, made a port of call thrice weekly in Galesville.
In “Bay Life, Boat Rides on the Bay,” by M.L. Faunce, Laurence Hartge remembered the 185-foot steamboat:
"She looked like the Titanic when she came into the West River. It was the highlight of our lives. We'd hitch a ride to Chalk Point and swim back - about a 100 yards."
The merchants of Galesville must have beamed, too. The Emma Giles brought in grocery supplies and household items. The farmers were grateful, too, as they shipped out canned tomatoes. The fishermen watched the stevedores load their hauls of oysters.
Highlights
Cedar Park
Like many historic homes, Cedar Park has a lovely setting overlooking the water. In this case, the West River.
The National Register for Historic Places states President Monroe and his cabinet were entertained here. Other uses included a boarding school for girls. At the time of the form’s writing, it boasted one of the largest Southern Red Horse Chestnut and American Beech trees in the United States.
Galesville Heritage Society
We were disappointed to see the museum not open except on Sunday, but it’s understandable. We did learn the village here has never had more than about 500 residents, but has had a lot of stores and boat activity.
African American Baseball Field
The sacks and old dusty diamonds are fast disappearing across the nation. One that seems safe of not disappearing is Wilson Park. According to an article in the Capital Gazette, the Galesville Hot Sox formed in 1815. This black team played the great barnstormers such as the Baltimore Black Sox and the Newark Eagles.
Sail magazine writer Andy Schell discovered the delights of sailing into Galesville, as well as seeing Thomas Point, the oldest screw pile lighthouse still in operation on the Chesapeake and a National Historic Landmark. What he writes should be required reading for every politician, developer and planner.
Galesville offers the perfect compromise. There is a choice of restaurants ashore, but the anchorage is isolated and picturesque enough to warrant cooking out as well. The eight of us climbed ashore at Pirate’s Cove Restaurant, but on seeing the white tablecloths we headed farther south to Thursday’s Steak & Crabhouse, where they sat us outside at a picnic table where we could get boisterous.
Shady Side
Standing on the Galesville wharf, Sunny Side lies just 1200 feet to the east. If you don’t have a boat, it’s an eight-mile heart-shaped drive, one we took with pleasure. Our destination was McKinley point, which put us back on the bank of West River. Perhaps some skippers through the years have pointed to it and said, my house is over there on the east side. But the land lovers know this as West Shady Side on the north side of the peninsula.
It’s interesting that Shady Side is on the map, but Galesville is not. Map makers, of course, count people not village places. Shady Side is a census-designated place of about 5,000. It once had less people than Galesville, but caught up when the masses could become their own captains behind the wheel of a car.
Columbia Beach, you sure are foxy in the way you remain hidden (can’t say I blame you). But I finally found you in Patsy’s book, "Historically African American Leisure Destinations around Washington, D.C." Street names such as Terrell, Ellington and Robinson speak to the pride residents must feel living here. The bayside community sprung up in the 1940s, when African Americans escaped the heat and Jim Crow. Some surely read Travelguide magazine (1952), which tagged the line, “Vacation and recreation without humiliation.” (Fletcher)
Talk about a miss is as good as a mile. Roberta and I drove along Shady Side Road, oblivious to this community. But we were thrilled to visit McKinley Point. The Captain Avery Museum, constructed c. 1860, is some kind of special. Using grant money, they preserved the home built by Captain Avery in 1860, and added a boat shed. This outdoor museum with markers allows visitors to learn about the history without the worry of the being closed.
Chesapeake Beach
From time to time, readers of the blog Greater Greater Washington discuss the issue of the lack of public transit to the beaches. One writer made a great point, saying:
After all, part of going on a vacation is not having to worry about traffic, right?
Indeed.
In addition to taking a steamer to a vacation spot, there was also a time when one could also take a train. We learned about it on our visit to Chesapeake Beach. The train station museum was closed, but markers tell some of the story.
Otto Mears, a Denver businessman, designed the layout for a resort on the Chesapeake, pretty much due east of Washington. Construction of the Chesapeake Beach Railway Company started around the same time. The first train arrived in the summer of 1900. Passengers in Washington hopped on the train at the station in present day Deanwood. Stops included Pleasant Seat, Upper Marlboro and Owing. The trip on the "Honeysuckle Route” took about an hour. The hey day of the resort lasted until after the Great Depression. The last train ran in 1935. A marker summarizes what the park offered:
... restaurants, arcade games, a scenic railway, a carousel, music at the band shell, and dancing pavilion. Most of these activities were located on the boardwalk over the water, which was 300 to 400 feet from the shore. The usual water-related pastimes, such as swimming, boating, fishing, and crabbing, were also available. On the adjacent shore there were pleasant picnic grounds, walking paths through shady groves, scenic overlooks over the Chesapeake Bay, sumptuous restaurants, and hotels for overnight accommodation. The grand roller coaster located over the water and known as the Great Derby, opened for operations in 1916 and survived for a decade. A Later roller coaster, called The Comet, was situated on land during the 1930’s and early 1940’s.
St. Mary's County
A basic tenant for my wanderlust is -- the older, the better. Thus, St. Mary's, founded in 1634 and the fourth permanent settlement in British North America, was a no-brainer for a visit. Extensive archaeological investigations have taken place, there are a good number of markers, several reconstructed buildings, a recreation of the tall-ship Dove, the college and that all important item -- a gift shop. And don't miss the marker for Mathias de Sousa.
A companion to St. Mary's is the St. Clement's Island/Potomac River Museum on Coltons Point. The museum is one of those small budget/hidden jewels. It tells the story of the first days of the first Maryland colonists who arrived from England. 300 strong and weary after the long voyage, they landed on the island on March 25, 1634. Led by Leonard Calvert, first Governor of the state, the colonists erected a wooden cross on the island and conducted the first Roman Catholic mass in English America. A few days later, they permanently settled on another peninsula tip twenty miles to the south and east, a place they would call St. Mary’s.
As I said earlier, one of my favorite things to see on trips is a train station. Also right up there in terms of fascination and enjoyment are lighthouses. There are not a lot of them left in the Mid-Atlantic region and some are just a visual experience.
One we enjoyed the most is at Piney Point, a spit of land jutting into the mighty mouth of the Potomac. Highlights included walking to the top of the lighthouse (talk about horizon), a tour of the light keeper’s house, and a small museum. Be sure and read about the German sub whose watery grave is nearby.
Mechanicsville
Through these past 25 years, I have benefited from a number of sources that inspired our road trips, including The Washington Post and Washingtonian magazine. One of the best and most reliable sources for us has been Bob Tagert. He writes for and publishes the free monthly Old Town Crier, and is a man next to my heart. The July 2014 issue featured, "Blue Crabs and Brave Colonists in Southern Maryland."
“Honey, guess where we’re going Saturday.”
Actually, credit goes to Roberta on this one for talking it up. Seems like we are on the proverbial lifelong hunt for the perfect crab cake sandwich. So far Jerry's in Prince George's County gets our blue ribbon, but its suburban digs were rather hum drum. What Southern Maryland delivered was something described by Tagert. Speaking of Captain Leonard’s in Mechanicsville, he wrote it's “one of those down home restaurants where furniture and table settings take a back seat to good food.” Points are also gained in our book for a waterside setting.
Charlotte Hall
When it comes to the landscapes of where we live, villages are an interesting topic. Apparently and paradoxically, Virginia does not recognize villages. Definitions vary and tend to emphasis municipal and legal distinctions. For example, in Maryland:
... a locality designated "Village of ..." may be either an incorporated town or a special tax district. An example of the latter is the Village of Friendship Heights.
Anyway, these places are always fun to visit. One in Maryland is Charlotte Hall, which lies in Southern Maryland, about ten miles east and south of Waldorf (right on our one hour line). Once known as Coole Spring, Charlotte Hall is not necessarily a must-see. It does, however, hold the apparent distinction of being "the largest surviving eighteenth century village in lower Southern Maryland."
A marker there says:
Waters of exceptional purity and reputed healing quality led to the establishment near here of one of the earliest hospitals in the North American Colonies, authorized by the General Assembly, October 20, 1698.
The National Register for Historic Places nomination form points out residents around that time visited Coole Springs in hopes of dealing with pestilence. The hospital became one of the first sanitariums in the English speaking colonies.
The standout properties here the Charlotte Hall School (photo) and the Dent Memorial Chapel (ca. 1883).
Sotterly
When it comes to Virginia's colonial past, Washingtonians have to fill up the tank and invest some time to see the oldest parts. Maryland comes through in the clutch this way with places like St. Mary's and Sotterly that are reachable in about 90 minutes. Sotterly's oldest part dates to 1707. It is a must see, with 90 acres overlooking the Patuxent River and excellent historical marking.
The researchers at Sotterly have done a great job of facing the awful truths and addressing some of the stories of the enslaved humans there. When we went, Jeanne Pirtle provided a thorough look at Sotterly's history. We were fortunate. She is the author of “Sotterely Plantation” (Images of America), and also serves as the chief docent and museum director.
Her work and others have paid off. As told by David M. Higgins, publisher and editor of the Southern Maryland Chronicle, Historic Sotterly received the prestigious "Excellence in Public Programming Award" given by The Maryland Historical Trust. One of their objectives was to focus on programming that emphasized “learning and healing, critical research and a holistic approach to reconciling the wounds of history.” It was also designated a UNESCO Slave Route Site of Memory. (Memo to self: Start New List -- Gotta Get Back To).
Local Historians
Books and articles by local historians rarely get national attention, but they can be invaluable and definitive sources of information. We depend on a number of such devoted individuals, including Donald Shomette and Eugene Scheel.
Shomette, a maritime historian, has authored almost a dozen books, including “Maritime Alexandria: The Rise and Fall of an American Entrepôt,” “Lost Towns of Tiderwater Maryland,” and “Ghost Fleet of Mallows Bay.” We were pleased to learn the Maryland Historical Society awarded his “Anaconda’s Tail: The Civil War on the Potomac Frontier, 1861-1865” for its 2020 Brewington Book Prize.
Eugene Scheel is not only a prolific author covering northern Virginia, but is also a map maker. I cherish my copy of “Crossroads and Corners,” which includes his hand drawn map of Prince William County. Robert Nelson of Virginia Living magazine profiled Scheel, who has lived in Waterford since 1995. In addition to his nine books, Scheel also authored a history column for The Washington Post (1999 to 2010). His latest work is a map depicting the territories of American Indian tribes in Loudoun County and the routes followed by the earliest European explorers in the region.
London Town
As mentioned, Donald Shomette is the author of "Lost Tidewater Towns." In 2014, I reached for my copy and read the chapter on London Town. It was prep work for a visit to this lost place near Edgewater, just a few miles south of Annapolis and overlooking the South River.
The 23-acre site interprets the history of an early Chesapeake town and overlooks the South River. The hammerhead-shaped peninsula sits about four miles south of the capital city. No modern noises spoiled the serenity.
Like Colchester, Port Tobacco and others, London Town is a case of what might have been. Founded in 1683, the colonial seaport rivaled Annapolis and was in the running for state capital. Not being selected as a tobacco inspection station and other factors led to its decline.
The site offers reconstructed buildings, woodland gardens, the museum, archaeological lab and digs, interpretive signage, and its crown jewel, the William Brown House. Built circa 1760, it is historically known as the London Town Publik House.
What got me in the car was a talk by Jean Russo, who had co-written "Planting an Empire, The Early Chesapeake in British North America."
She gave a terrific presentation. Using maps, Russo explained the geographical differences between Virginia and Maryland. The lay of the land favored Virginia with proximity to the mouth of the bay and a longer growing season. Maryland was less suited to growing tobacco. At the same time, Eastern Shore residents did not suffer from the extremes of wealth seen in Virginia.
Charles County
As you can see on our stick pin map (Rand McNally Atlas, c. 2014), the southwest corner of Charles County is without any place markings. Rural indeed, but it has a crown jewel at Mallows Bay. Last year it earned the high distinction as a National Marine Sanctuary, one of only 14 in the US. The definitive book on the topic is "Ghost Fleet of Mallows Bay and Other Tales of the Lost Chesapeake" by Donald Shomette. He is a true friend and expert of marine history in the region.
Sunken at Mallows Bay are the remains of about 90 wooden transport ships never used during World War I. The shipwrecks, believed to be the largest in the Western Hemisphere, have sat in their watery grave along the Potomac since the 1920s. The drive down there is scenic and hilly, with parts of the final leg canopied with forest. If you go, be sure and check the tide tables, as the best viewing is low tide. High tide might mean no sight of them. Also, there is no sign for the turnoff from Riverside Road. If you reach Liverpool Road, you’ve gone about a half mile too far.
Port Tobacco
As you can tell, I have made some judgement calls vis a vis the placing of the pins on the map. Roughly speaking, it’s those that take an hour or more from our house just south of Alexandria. Port Tobacco, about an hour, is close enough. Plus, you won’t believe me when I tell you the population is just 15.
Once again, don’t let that fool you. This village packs quite a punch in terms of its history. Several 18th-century buildings there still stand. The story of Port Tobacco is detailed by Shomette in his book, “Lost Towns of Tidewater, Maryland.” Once Maryland’s main port on the Potomac River, and holding a future as bright as a shining star, Port Tobacco is now the smallest populated place in the Old Line State. Still, it stakes a strong claim as the oldest continuously inhabited community in Maryland and perhaps the region, as well as one other case of “longest continuously.”
Highlights include the village green historic area, St. Ignatius Church and Manor House, breathtaking views of the setting sun, Stagg Hall and the Chimney House.
Eastern Shore of Maryland
In the DMV, Maryland is synonymous with the Eastern Shore. But, geography buffs know there is also the Eastern Shore of Virginia, described by Monica Hesse ("American Fire") as "a hangnail, a hinky peninsula separated from the rest of the state by the Chesapeake Bay and a few hundred years of cultural isolation." Since we haven't been to the Eastern Shore of Virginia yet (save a quick trip to see the Snowy Owl), we will not cover it here.
Traveling to the Eastern Shore involves going over the Bay Bridge. I’m not crazy about bridges so the older and taller one makes me nervous every time. And the obvious caveat for travelers is the backups, especially in the summer. But once you're on the span, there is no greater feeling than seeing that most wonderfully wide horizon, the blue waters of the Chesapeake and the edge of the Eastern Shore.
Islands are not usually thought of as gateways to a mass of land, but Kent Island is certainly that for the Eastern Shore. If you're a passenger not paying attention, it may not even seem like an island. If you are like us, you will, at first, stop at Kent Island only for that first drain, second cup of joe or filling up the tank.
You also might not realize Kent Island is the state's largest island, and like St. Mary's, dates to the 1630s. William Claiborne (1600-1677), an Englishman who had been living in the colony of Virginia (Hampton) since 1621, brought a group of settlers from Jamestown to this island in 1631.
If and when you decide to stay a while, there’s some good places to visit here. We have not been to the southern tip to see if there are any historical markers for the site of the settlement. Nevertheless, it's pretty cool to be able to visit the site of an almost 400-year-old history that is only about an hour drive from Washington.
As I wrote in my write up (June 2018), Kent Island has two places to visit. On the north side lies Stevensville, which has a historic district. That was our first stop. Founded in 1850 as a steamboat terminal, Stevensville is small, but packs a punch with Christ Church, the Cray House, and the Stevensville Bank. The Stevensville Arts and Entertainment website points out the town’s hey day was in the mid 1800s, when it benefited from the steam boat trade system.
Smaller towns seem to be where one finds the more quirky architecture, and Christ Church (1880) in Stevensville fits the bill. The accompanying historical marker tells us the chimney is of the “lancent” style, which goes back to the thirteenth century. The steep roof seems to taunt the knowledge that hurricanes visit the bay from time to time.
The Cray House (1809) stands out as a rare surviving example of post-and-plank construction.
I thought I had done my homework on Stevensville, but apparently not. A nice lady at the pie shop gave us a brochure that I did not see on the web. Turns out the “the town comes alive on the first Saturday of the month.”
Next up was the Chesapeake Heritage & Visitor’s Center, further down 50 and located at the eastern edge of the island. It’s only there where one sees a bridge and says, ok, yea, it is an island and not a peninsula.
As I have said, I just love the smaller Visitor’s Centers. Unlike their urban counterparts, it seems there is always a friendly sentinel standing by, willing to chat and in some cases, very knowledgable of the history.
And so it was once again here. A conversation with the volunteer led to talking about the fascinating geography of Maryland. I asked her what the locals called the western shore of Maryland. With a knowing gleam in her eye, she replied -- "Over the bridge."
The Atlantic beaches are another two hours away but you can put your toes in the sand. A trail at the Visitors Center leads to a spot with great views of the boats on the water.
We had lunch at Stevensville Crab Shack, which affords shady picnic tables and close views of the pipers taking off at the local airport (The noise may not be for everyone). On a more recent visit we enjoyed the crab cake eating at Kenmorr Restaurant and Crab House.
To the uninitiated, the Eastern Shore of Maryland doesn't sound like a large expanse of land. Although its population is only about eight percent of Maryland's total, the Eastern Shore makes up a third of the stat's land area.
There's so much we have not seen. So far, we have enjoyed the Big Three of St. Michaels (photo), Easton, and Cambridge.
St. Michaels is one of Maryland's charming coastal towns and another place that sells itself. A boater I am not, but I pretend to be one when I wear a hat we bought in St. Michaels (My Dad, echoing a long-held sentiment once said, "The day you get a boat is the day you want to sell it).
We had a great time in St. Michaels. Here were our highlights.
Historical Markers
Cherry Street runs from Talbot Street, the town’s main street and only thoroughfare, down to the water. A lovely pedestrian bridge then takes you to the north side of the marina. This waterfront walk features eight historical markers.
War of 1812
Folks who come to these parts hear about how the town “fooled the British” by using lanterns to draw their fire too high. Ralph Eshelman (“A Travel Guide to The War of 1812 Chesapeake”) and others have concluded this is more than likely a myth. Give credit to the marker that notes it is “local lore,” but some other sources still perpetuate the apocryphal story.
Having said that, you’ll forgive the town folk of St. Michaels if they brag about the town’s role in the War of 1812. Washington burned, Alexandria surrendered, and other towns suffered. St. Michaels successfully defended itself twice. Eshelman notes only two places did so – St Michaels and Elkton.
Waterfront
St. Michaels is about a mile long but its five small peninsulas provide almost double that in waterfront. Their marina is one of the most attractive we’ve seen.
Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum
$13 admission was a barrier we did not cross, but this museum and its associated buildings looked fabulous. Some reading up found that almost a dozen boats in St. Michaels are listed on the National Register for Historic Places. Bugeyes, skipjacks and log canoes are all a part of the history here.
We did see a replica of Captain John Smith’s shallop and its associated marker. A half-dozen years ago a crew of 12 replicated his voyages in 1608. They traveled 121 days using oars and sails.
Historic District
St. Michaels possesses some fascinating and unique historical geography. Walking around town, it seemed to us the center of gravity is along Talbot between Railroad/Cherry and Canton streets, a four-block stretch with a concentration of shops and activity, shouldered by the above-mentioned places. A few blocks northward, Railroad/Cherry is the north and south designator for Talbot Street.
But the original layout shows the town started further south. Speculator James Braddock laid out the streets around a town green square. I can’t think of another tidewater town that tried this.
St. Michaels Museum
Much to their credit, the town kept the town green. I’m sure their decision to put the museum at its center was controversial, but it doesn’t seem forced or shoehorned.
The museum is comprised of three small buildings. A scattering of trees gives them shade and camouflage. All three were brought in from other locations and live in harmony with the historic residential homes.
One of the museum’s houses is The Chaney House. Here is the website’s primer.
The Chaney House originally stood at 101 S Fremont St. It was built in 1850 by three free African-American brothers – Charles, Samuel, and George Chaney. George was listed as an oysterman and the other two brothers were farm laborers. The house stayed in the Chaney family until 1907, later became a commercial building in an area primarily catering to the black community, and then reverted back to a dwelling. The building is significant because it is one of the few surviving dwellings built for and by laborers from antebellum St Michaels.
Frederick Douglass
In “Frederick Douglass American Hero: And International Icon of the Nineteenth,” author Connie Miller notes that his overseer in St Michaels, Edward Covey repeatedly beat Douglass. At one point, the enslaved teenager fought back, and was never harassed again by Covey. His next overseer showed more kindness. Douglass was sent to Baltimore where he soon escaped to Havre de Grace, and made his way further north.
The town museum offers a guide walking tour for Douglass, but unfortunately we did not have time to take it.
Easton
In Easton, our first trip there involved their annual Waterfowl Festival. Roberta enjoyed seeing the artists and their work. Troika Gallery had a Best of Eastern Shore gallery show. We see that Easton is gearing up for the 50th anniversary in 2021. If we go, we will be sure and stop at Rise Up Coffee, hopefully still there.
Heritage tourism is bringing and has brought visitors to Easton, which tells some of the stories of two of America’s most heroic and greatest citizens — Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman. When we went, the Talbot County Historical Society featured items on Douglas. One can also now take the Tubman Trail, which is on our To Do list for next year.
In February 2018, I drove to Easton to see the Frederick Douglass Honor Society's Bicentennial Wreath Laying Ceremony. Descendants of Douglass had the honors, which took place at the Talbot County Court House. The county erected a statue of Douglass there in 2011.
Cambridge
Inspiration for our road trips come from a number of sources. For our trip to Cambridge, the story of Harriet Tubman got us in the car in 2013. President Obama had inked a Presidential Proclamation that began with the words — "Harriet Tubman is an American hero." The document also established the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Monument.
The drive down to Cambridge culminated with a rewarding approach over the wide waters of the Choptank River. The highlights of our visit include:
Harriet Tubman Museum
NOTE: As their website points out, this museum is different from the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Center, which opened in 2017 in Church Creek, Maryland, about a 20-minute drive from downtown Cambridge.
I knew the very basics of Tubman’s life, but it wasn’t until I read Catherine Clinton’s biography (“Harriet Tubman, The Road to Freedom”) that I came to know just how extraordinary her life was. The Tubman Museum does a great job of documenting her life.
Dorchester County Courthouse
Thank goodness my photo of the courthouse includes the sign. Otherwise, folks would be wondering if I had made a mistake. This lovely courthouse did not follow the architectural style norm. Tubman’s niece escaped here from the auction block.
Goldsborough
Time slows down to a crawl along High Street as it approaches the waterfront. The oldest homes are here along the 100 and 200 block. Goldsborough, built in 1790, stands out. Its Ionic-columned front porch and five bays announce the prestige of the original owner.
The Lighthouse
That prize every time took place here. The docent told us the old lighthouse was dismantled by the Coast Guard. A new one in the screw pile style was erected and opened earlier that year (2012). If you go to Cambridge, do not miss this one. It includes a museum, and if nothing else, you will escape the heat and have great views.
High Point Restaurant
Patrick Fanning was whipping up some delicious plates here, daring to push the envelope with offerings such as BBQ Shepherd’s Pie. Yum, yum.
Shopping
The better half enjoyed shopping at "Just Yesterday." The owner told us she was born and raised in DC, and lived in Adams-Morgan before falling in love with Cambridge.
Roberta also enjoyed Joie de Vivre, Sunny Side Shop and the Dorchester Art Center.
Why Go to Wye?
On our pin map, I can point out what we call "fill in" spots. Once we reached about 50 or so pins, we began to pick places, typically smaller, we had not been to. An example is Wye Mills and Wye Island.
Highlights include the Wye Mill, the site of the Wye Tree, historic churches, and the unspoiled beauty of Wye Island. We also learned the Wye River Summit took place there in 1998. The places are still there, but we didn't see any historical markers.
Note: The Wye House is not on the island but is nearby. Frederick Douglass wrote poignantly (“blood bought luxuries”) of his 18 enslaved months here. The historic planation home is privately owned. As part of his research for his biography of Douglass, the owners gave David Blight a three-hour tour.
Upper Eastern Shore
On the upper Eastern Shore, We enjoyed visits to Chestertown and Chesapeake City. The drive on Route 213 is scenic and thin in traffic. In a stretch of 20 miles, you will cross over four bodies of water -- the Chester, Sassafras, Bohemian rivers, and Back Creek.
(Statue: Bill "Swish" Nicholson.)
A must stop and see along the way is Fredericktown and Georgetown. When we went there in 2017, we saw the Nellie Crockett, an oyster-buy boat. At first long glance, it's just another boat. Built in 1926, this one is crowned with National Historic Landmark status. (Note: Boats like this sometimes get moved around).
Chesapeake City tells the story of Augustine Hermann and the 14-mile-long Chesapeake & Delaware Canal. Hermann (1621-1686) is credited with seeing the need for the canal. One historian called him “Maryland's Forgotten Bohemian.” He drew up a map for Cecil Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore (1605-1675), the proprietor for what became Maryland. In return, Calvert gave Hermann a large spread of land that he named Bohemian Manor in 1661. Hermann died and was laid to rest in modern day Chesapeake City, which gained its name in 1839. Before the canal, ships had to go around the peninsula, a 285 mile trip around Maryland and Delaware.
Unfortunately, the C&D Canal Museum, housed in the original canal pump house with a waterwheel and pumping engines was closed. We headed back to the historic district, the tall bridge looming close by. The historic district is small but charming. Retail teams up nicely with history at “My Jewelry Place,” located in the old National Bank Building. The exterior is port deposit granite.
Berlin and Assateague Island
When old man winter comes, Roberta and I certainly have curtailed our wanderlust. At the same time, we like to head out when the traffic is thinner. A rare snowy owl sighting at Assateague Island got us excited in January 2014. We had always wanted to go, but with a six hour round trip, we felt the need to tack on another destination. Berlin, located on Highway 50 and near Assateague State Park, fit the bill perfectly. One of our favorite actors - Julie Roberts, starred with Richard Gere in the 1998 film, "Runaway Bride." Berlin became the fictional town of Hale, Maryland.
Hollywood got a quiet place and one with a commercial district. The NRHP form tells us
All of the early buildings combine to form significant visual streetscapes exhibiting unity in scale, use, construction materials, fenestration, and degree of ornamentation. These buildings, situated on narrow streets and particularly on a central "Main Street" commercial avenue, illustrate the nature of the business area of a rural turn-of-the-20th-century town. They represent typical small-scaled commercial architecture; however, their distinguishing feature is the articulation of the corbeled cornice.
We didn’t see the snowy owl, but we enjoyed having light traffic and walking on the beach. Assateague Island offered up pristine beaches and a few wild horses.
New Jersey
Cape May
We end our tour of the East in Cape May. Birders know this one as a mecca. Roberta and I enjoyed birding back then and Cape May keep calling us. We went in 2014. Took the Lewes-Cape May ferry. Always desiring to return a different way, we drove home through southern New Jersey and picked up I-95. We stopped at Havre de Grace for lunch. Lovely place but when the train came passing by, what a racket of sound it gave of.
My Cape May memory dance includes a comfy stay in an Inn, Victorian architecture, the birding and beach walks. There is nothing like walking half-naked and barefooted on the white sands as the foamy waters of the Atlantic ebb and flow over your toes. Face the ocean and you have literally turned your back on all your worries.
Thinking about all this, I am reminded of those deep childhood memories that never fade away. I recall walking along the beach at Emerald Isle, wondering how far I could walk away from the vacationers lying in the sun and the kids playing in the shallow waters. Walk too far and you get scared. Walk not far enough, and you return with regrets.
Southbound
In terms of an outline for this part of the region, I think what will work best is three sections -- the two cities Richmond and Fredericksburg, then east of I-95 and west of I-95. The distinction is not just simplistic, as the interstate follows, more or less, the Fall Line. The web site Virginia Places dot org, gives a terrific explanation, partly quoted here.
The English immigrants to Virginia initially settled east of the Fall Line. They cleared the forest and started plantations in the flat Coastal Plain, close to the Chesapeake Bay and with easy access by ship to Europe and the islands in the Caribbean. Because the Fall Line blocked ships from sailing further west, the English colonists chose to occupy the lands on the Coastal Plain for over 125 years before they moved west up the James, York, Rappahannock, and Potomac rivers into the Piedmont. As a result, the English disrupted and displaced the Algonquian-speaking tribes that lived in Tidewater long before seizing the lands of Native Americans that spoke Siouan or Iroquoian languages.
Heading south from Washington always brings traffic concerns into play. Hardworking VDOT continues to build the HOT lanes towards Fredericksburg, so maybe one day it will be less of a pain. For now, it remains what you might call "The Big Funnel."
When Jerry on WAMU used to give the morning misery report, he sometimes said consider taking Route 1. Locals scoffed at that one. Having said that, we have bailed when the highway becomes a parking lot. Of course, that was before GPS and the not knowing of what was up ahead.
I remember one time we went to Fredericksburg on a weekday in the winter. Going down in the morning, our plan worked out fine. Coming back we left at 2 in the afternoon, thinking, ah, no traffic worries once again. Knot.
Fredericksburg
Nevertheless, we have been to Fredericksburg a number of times and always enjoyed the visit. It's kind of a sister city to Alexandria. Both lie on the bank of a river and near the Fall Line. Founded in 1728, Fredericksburg is the eldest. Both have strong connections to George Washington. Both have a historic tavern and apothecary.
Ferry Farm, George's home from age six to 18, is a draw. In 2012, Paul Nasca lectured at Alexandria Archaeology. He had supervised a large-scale excavation at the site. Previous historians thought the house was simply a rustic cottage. The new evidence shows an eight-room, clapboard house with two stone fireplaces, cellars and one and a half stories.
The one thing about Ferry Farm is its location on the north side of the river, opposite the town. We have always started at Hyperion Espresso, featuring great coffee and people watching. When we last went, Read All Over Book Store and Bistro Bethem (yum, yum BLT) were pleasing nearby. We always explore historic districts and this one is worthy of wandering.
We also enjoyed the James Monroe’s Museum and Memorial Library, learning that he was severely wounded while leading a charge during the Battle of Trenton. The victory was a major turning point during the Revolutionary War.
Not to be missed is the Mary Washington Home. We were too early to get in, but enjoyed seeing the house with a back yard and garden. Washington bought this house for his mother. She lived here from 1772 to 1789.
Virginia was one long river of blood during the Civil War. Of the costliest ones, Fredericksburg came first in 1862. Fortified by Marye's Heights and a stone wall, rebel guns cut down the brave approaching Union troops. When the smoke cleared, the Union casualty count was more than 1,200 dead and almost 1,000 wounded. If the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania Military National Park visitors center is not open, a good number of historical markers tell the sad stories.
Back on the north side of the river lies Belmont, home to the artist Gari Melchers (1860-1932). He and his wife Corrine lived there from 1916 to his death. The historic home earned the coveted status of National Historic Landmark in 1965.
Also in that vicinity is Chatham Manor. We have not yet been, a shortcoming we hope to end.
Richmond
Like Baltimore, Richmond is a treasure trove. But once again, try and go when traffic is less and watch out for those swarming State Troopers as the speed limit drops when you approach the city limits. (We keep saying we're going to take the train).
The capital city has way too many spots to list. One thing you might do is to keep an eye on events at the Virginia Museum of History & Culture. In recent years they have really up their game vis a vis African American history. We went in 2019 and appreciated an exhibit on civil rights.
In February (February is for Fredericksburg?) 2019 we visited Shockhoe Bottom (better luck that time with the traffic). If you are a fan of adaptive re-use, Shockoe Bottom is a must see. When we went in 2017, the neighborhood looked like an incubator for that cause, as old brick buildings are being saved. Brunch lovers were swarming to LuLu’s near the Farmer’s Market. The short walk over the Train Station is an absolute must see.
Although I don’t recommend it, I did once get a wild hair and drove from Alexandria to Richmond all on Route One. It follows some of the old Potomac Path but it never feels like it. The first half of the trip is the price you pay -- murderously slow, and a landscape of eyesore strip malls and cruddy road architecture. The reward is getting past Fredericksburg. The road opens up and with window down, you feel like you are king of the world.
Petersburg
Try and also get to Petersburg. We saw the beginnings of great adaptive reuse and potential for a comeback there. Panel markers terrific and coffee at Demolition Cafe was delightful.
Civil War Battlegrounds
Milestone anniversaries of historical events bring a central focus to the stories of the past. Residents of the Washington region benefitted from this during the sesquicentennial of the Civil War in 2011. During that time frame, Roberta and I visited the major battlefields in Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania. A helpful guide was Jeff Shaara’s terrific one-volume.
Manassas
First and Second Battle of Bull Run (1861 and 1862)
At the Visitor’s Center we saw a 20-minute film on the two battles of Bull Run. The film emphasized the “Loss of Innocence.”
Sharpsburg
Battle of Antietam (1862)
The film looked at President Lincoln’s visit after the battle and his strained relationship with General McClellan. We then took the car tour, stopping at the Bloody Lane and the National Cemetery. Over 4,000 Union soldiers are buried there along with fallen soldiers from WW II and other wars.
Fredericksburg
Battle of Fredericksburg (1862)
The film, narrated by the deep voice of James Earl Jones, echoed what the NPS website says about this area — “A city bombarded, bloodied, and looted. Farms large and small ruined.
Refugees by the thousands forced to the countryside. More than 85,000 men wounded; 15,000 killed.”
Near Fredericksburg
Battle of Chancellorsville (1863)
The National Park Service gave a fantastic tour, a good hike through the woods from the Visitor's Center to the site of the Chancellorsville Inn. This was early Day 3 action with the Confederates pushing the Union backwards towards their headquarters.
Gettysburg (1863)
The statues and monuments are the highlights, as well as the Diaspora. The older Visitors Center was replaced around 2008.
Richmond
So much to see here — the Visitor’s Center (Site of Tredegar Iron Works), the Chimborazo Medical Museum, the Museum of the Confederate, Cold Harbor, and battlefield touring. The Visitor's Center is located downtown on the banks of the James River.
Petersburg (1864)
The key to understanding what took place here is to understand “The Siege,” and how Grant forced Lee’s men to stretch out their lines south of the city. The Visitor’s Center zeroed in on this.
Government Island
Quarries are not usually destinations for strolling and walking the dog, but this one near Stafford (less than an hour so we gave it a waiver) is. We thoroughly enjoyed the leafy trail, wetlands, interpretive signs and the star of the show, the remaining stone. Stafford resident Jane Hollenbeck Conner helped preserve the island and wrote the book, “Birthstone of the White House and Capitol." On the way down or back, be sure and visit the Aquia Church in Stafford, a Georgian brick beauty built in the 1750s and a National Historic Landmark. Homework includes reading about "quoins" and watch out for the hell-bents as you are pulling out.
East of I-95/Western Shore of Virginia
As we noted earlier, Maryland is synonymous with both the Eastern Shore and the Western Shore. But, there is also the Western Shore of Virginia, and as previously noted, the Eastern Shore of Virginia (bottom part of the Delmarva Peninsula).
Paradoxically, new arrivals in Washington will probably first hear about the Eastern Shore of Virginia before they do the Western Shore of Virginia. The former is further away and is smaller than the latter. The google computers bring up Eastern Shore of Virginia even when you type in Western Shore of Virginia.
In the roughest term, this part of the state is the Tidewater, but technically that includes all the way up to Arlington. Some sources use "Eastern Virginia," but that designation includes the Eastern Shore.
Shorelines are a plenty in this oldest part of the colony (haven't forgotten about you John Custis II of Arlington). In fact, it may indeed be easier to think of this part of the state in terms of the three peninsulas - the Northern Neck, the Middle peninsula and the Virginia peninsula. Of course, we learned that one does not call the Northern Neck a peninsula.
Also muddying the waters is the historical nomenclature. The Northern Neck grant included "all land between the Rappahannock and Potomac rivers, including far upstream of King George County" — some 5 million acres and essentially Northern Virginia.
To satisfy geography buffs, we should also mention the Rappahannock, York and James rivers. In fact, the website, "River Realm," might be the best stop for the seeker of information.
We rather like the terms Upper and Lower Tidewater so let's go with that.
For all these talk about this part of the state, the populations are small. The combined population of the counties of Westmoreland, Northumberland, Richmond, Lancaster, Essex, Middlesex, King William, Gloucester, Mathews and King & Queen is about 140,000. By way of comparison, Alexandria has about 160,000.
But don't let that sparseness fool you. The stories here are rich, ones that can tell us about not only the colonial times, but a way of life the locals are proud of -- the fishermen, the watermen, the Virginia sailors who knew the Potomac, the steamboats and their captains, the small wharfs, the river stores, the canning plants and other work landscapes. The golden era is gone, but these places retain their feel and in some cases, the boats are still active. The museums here are small with limited hours, but are treasure troves. They are typically manned by knowledgable volunteers. A conversation with them might go interrupted.
To get to the Northern Neck, George Washington had two options and used them both. One followed the Potomac Path while the other took him across the Potomac twice. The modern day options are basically the same. We much prefer taking Highway 210 and the back roads that skirt Waldorf, then 301. This is a much better deal than I-95. The drive over the Potomac on the 301 bridge is both scary and exhilarating (Give me that horizon!) Safe on the other side, you must stop at the Sheetz, a fun snap shot of humanity in Dalhgren.
Highway 3, part of which runs along the historic colonial Potomac Path, serves as the spine of the neck. I remember the first time we drove along it, I thought to myself -- this might be one of the few places in the region with a broken yellow line down the middle of the road. It brought back memories of when Dad used to pass a strings of cars on the way to and from the beach. Mom did not like the close calls. My sister Joan and I were frightened when Mom would yell - "Bill, look out!"
There are two biggies on the Northern Neck. I have to say it took us a while to finally go to both. George's place of birth in Westmoreland County is a must-see, but know that the house is a replica. Stratford Hall, while not for everyone, does tell some of the Lee family story. I bought Paul Nagel's book on the Lee's there, perhaps the best one volume on the family. The Lee patriots alone is a course of study for these parts. The spark for one of our visits was Menokin, the historic home of Francis “Lightfoot” Lee. We learned The Menokin Speaker Series would be giving a talk to be held there.
Book it.
Montross
Our first stop after the Sheetz was Montross. That little place is some kind of wonderful. Highlights include The Art of Coffee, adaptively reused from a gas station. Throw away what your mind's eye is telling you. This place is a delight. We also enjoyed the Westmoreland County Museum. Once again, the local docent (Darlene Tallent) knew the local stories like the back of her hand.
As I wrote:
She showed us a copy of the Leeds Town Resolves and then their anchor piece, Charles Willson Peale's 1768 portrait of William Pitt, Earl of Chatham. A Maryland son, Peale was 27 at the time and would go on to fame as a portraitist of George Washington and other historic figures. There’s so much allegory in this full length work that the staff put together a 12 point handout. In his essay, Charles Coleman Sellers wrote that this was Peale’s first commission of public importance as well as the only painting that directly links colonial Virginia with the American Revolution. At Liberty’s feet is a petition against the Stamp Act.
Back in the car, we headed for Richmond County. Warsaw is the place to be there. The population is just 1,500, but once again, don't let that fool you. Of the nine places listed on the National Register of Historic Places for the county, five are found around here.
Next up was the Rappahannock River Valley National Wildlife Refuge. Spread out over 8,000 acres, the small staff was celebrating its 20th anniversary as a place managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to protect the wetland and uplands. Bald eagles and other birds find protection here. An article at The Wilderness Society points out an overlooked aspect of such protection measures. The national system protects flora and fauna but also historical structures, archaeological sites and artifacts. There are several starting points for trails. We chose the Wilna Unit that held their headquarters.
Like a tour manager wanting the band to play every day, I had added Sabine Hall to our itinerary. Located a short distance south of Warsaw, the mansion and large spread of land sits quietly near the Rappahannock River. It was built in 1739 in the Georgian Manor style by Landon Carter, son of Robert "King" Carter. We were sorely disappointed when we had to stop at the driveway, the sign clearly communicating the Don't Even Think About it message. The house was too far away for a decent photo. I respect that, and we owe a lot to the family that has maintained what I am certain is a jewel inside and out.
One can find consolation by reading “Landon Carter's Uneasy Kingdom: Rebellion and Revolution on a Virginia Plantation,” by Rhys Issac.
Menokin
Our final stop on this trip (2016) was Menokin. One of the most fascinating preservation projects ever undertaken in our region is unfolding here. The Menokin Foundation, in conjunction with the Rappahannock River Valley Wildlife Refuge, is putting the historic plantation home of Francis Lightfoot Lee back together. It had partially collapsed. As Michael J. Lewis put it, the effort is "a hybrid that is neither ruin nor replica but something in between." 2023 is now the target date.
Calder Loth gave a riveting presentation titled "Historic Reconstructions." He lectured about places across the globe that were rebuilt, and then showed us how structural glass will rise up to replace crumbling brick walls at Menokin. When finished, the refurbished structure will host events and became a center of learning. Seeing the work in progress made for a memorable photograph. Preservationists there have benefitted from a couple of rare occurrences. For one, the original plans for the home were found. Secondly, only one minor change – the addition of a portico – was made to Menokin.
Kinsale
The late Neil Peart, God rest his soul, wrote a handful of books on his travels. I devoured each one and even drew inspiration. Neil's fifth book was titled "Far and Away: A Prize Every Time." I ended up using that phrase in some of my write ups, and the title of this piece. I think about it a lot.
Typically, the prize is a thing. On our trip to Kinsale, the prize was Lynn Norris, Director of the Kinsale Museum. Once again, small, but wonderful. With 60 trips under our belt, memories can blur. But I remember Lynn Norris. With passion and precision, she answered our questions, gave us some handouts, and regaled us with stories and lore.
During the centennial of the War of 1812, Maryland erected scores of historical markers. Although in lesser numbers, Virginia did too. The war proved to be a tough time for Kinsale. During their reign of terror, the British torched the town.
One marker in Kinsale tells us:
“The Buccaneer spared nothing at Kinsale but the hovel of a poor old negro woman—the houses (about 20 or 30) were burnt—every article was taken off which they could carry, the rest was destroyed…” - Richmond Enquirer, August 10, 1814
A visit to the town should also include the Bailey Cemetery, to see a monument to James Sigourney, the commander of the Asp killed by the British in 1813.
(Note: We highly recommend "A Travel Guide to the War of 1812 in the Chesapeake: Eighteen Tours in Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia" by Ralph E. Eshelman).
We also learned about recent research by Edward J. White (“Kinsale, The Middle Period”). Kinsale played a role in the Civil War. Confederate naval forces tried to blockade the Potomac. In response, the Union formed the “Potomac Flotilla,” which conducted raids at Kinsale. Some sources say the Union Army damaged or destroyed buildings in Kinsale. White’s research found this not to be the case.
Smaller museums like this one sometimes carry books on local history. We purchased “The Life of P.” Lee Rice tells the story of his mother, Julia Pennington Rice. Affectionally called "P by her grandchildren and some friends, Julia Rice's life reflects the principles of hard work and enduring tough times. As a nurse and public health worker, she made a difference in the communities of Kinsale, Kilmarnock and Fredericksburg.
Lee Rice's mother also provides us with a quote, insight into a lost era. She loved to watch the big steamers arrive in Kinsale, with “smoke belching from the giant stacks” and “loud blasts from their large brass whistles.” These sights and sounds inspired her to “dream of taking journeys around the world to exotic destinations.”
In the first half of the 20th-century, the Northern Neck became its own version of “cannery row.” Kinsale became the largest tomato cannery and pulpwood center on the Potomac. Processing the tomatoes was hard and sweaty work, and even dangerous with the boilers and their steaming hot waters.
A research paper at the museum points out Kinsale had five canneries. They served as social halls for oyster roasts and crab feasts.
By 1940, Kinsale was in decline. As White told me, the Hurricane of 1933, the Great Depression, and the end of the steamboat era combined to draw the curtain. Tilp writes river pilots and sailing captains lived there, more than even in Alexandria and Washington.
The canneries held on, but closed down in the 50s. The town became a residential community, as it is today. The small stock of white-painted homes makes up most of the historic district. When we went the only cash registers are found in the marina restaurant and the museum. The town, however, retains a mariner’s feel.
Colonial Beach
If generations from the 19th century came back for a boat ride down the Potomac, they would likely ask, why are the waters so quiet?
Summer spots were found not only on the Chesapeake, but also along the Potomac. In 1897, The Washington Post wrote, Colonial Beach is the Atlantic City of the Potomac.” Hard working residents in Washington and Alexandria boarded the steamers for their annual escape.
Those hey days of packed steamers are long gone, but the town (pop. 3500) retains the pier and a bit of the charm. Colonial Beach’s crown jewel is the Bell House. The nomination form says it is a rare and one of the most important examples of Stick-style residential architecture in Virginia.
Lower Tidewater
The Historic Triangle
When we were listening to Calder Loth talk about Virginia's rich history of architecture and places, I made a renewed commitment to get down to where the colony was founded and the surrounding area. I also have a friend who lives in Williamsburg. He is fond of pointing out that this part of the state is the "real Virginia."
It certainly does take pride in being the "Historic Triangle." Roberta and I finally got there in 2018. Once again, we should have stayed more than one day. But we packed in a lot, enjoying both Yorktown and Williamsburg.
Williamsburg, of course, tells many stories. Beyond the ones that first come to mind is John Custis IV. His son, Daniel Parke Custis, married Martha Dandridge. Archaeology is being done on the site of the "six chimney" home of Custis IV. It's located steps beyond the strolling masses along the town's. There are a number of can't misses in Colonial Williamsburg, including the Bruton Church, and William & Mary, the second oldest college in the U.S. Nearby Yorktown offers a small beach and the museum.
By the way, we went here via Route 3 and came back on 64-95. We came back on the Fourth, so traffic was not bad at all and quicker, in that we did not have bad traffic north of Richmond. Otherwise, it can get pretty bad in the summer.
West of I-95
If there is a distinct collective identity in the part of Virginia between Charlottesville, Richmond, Fredericksburg and Culpepper, I am not sure what it is. Central and Piedmont are the starting thoughts, but they are both large regions. Central Piedmont seems solely a geographical distinction. Agriculture and transportation loom large in its word cloud, but it does so everywhere else. Highway 15 is an historical route as the road to Carolina, and the railroads helped the farmers before and after the Civil War.
The Virginia Places website does offer this What If:
If the Fall Line had been a high range of mountains, and access to international shipping had been too expensive for immigrants that crossed the mountains, perhaps colonial Virginia might have created a diversified farm economy. Colonists might have grown a range of crops that could be processed and used locally - closer to how New England developed in colonial times.
Instead, Virginia colonists on the Piedmont as well as the Coastal Plain emphasized staple production of just one crop, in quantities that could not be consumed locally and had to be sold for export. The colonists created a legal system to support the use of very cheap labor to grow that tobacco. Instead of developing a diversified economy based on small farms, Virginia farmers aspired to grow into plantation owners and supported the system of slavery.
One of those planters in this part of the state was James Madison. Montpelier, his plantation home, is what got us in the car for one of our first road trips. I can't remember much about the house tour, but my guess is the guides, like most others back then and some still today, downplayed slavery. They probably referred to the slaves as servants.
Fortunately, things are changing. From what one reads, Montpelier is doing a much better job vis a vis documenting and presenting the stories of the enslaved humans. They have a permanent exhibit titled, "The Mere Distinction of Colour." One report said it:
offers visitors the unique opportunity to hear the stories of those enslaved at Montpelier told by their living descendants, and explore how the legacy of slavery impacts today’s conversations about race, identity, and human rights.
We really need to get back to Montpelier, as well as the towns of Orange and Gordonsville. We also have our eye on Green Springs National Historic Landmark District, about six miles south of Gordonsville. In the entire country, there are only six National Historic Landmark District.
A dean of architecture observed:
“I don’t know of another similar area in the country where there is a laboratory of styles from 1775 to the 1880s, beautifully maintained, kept in a real relationship to the sites as they were.”
Charlottesville
Charlottesville, of course, needs no introduction. Despite the fact it takes three hours to get there, we've been there about a half dozen times.
There's a lot to explore here. Perhaps you will start with a stroll along the downtown mall, brimming with restaurants and shops.
One time we went with friends visiting from California. When we arrived at Monticello, we were informed that the house was closed for the visit of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
I also remember one time Roberta and I were coming back from a trip to see my folks in North Carolina. Instead of continuing on I-81 to I-66, we took I-64 (great pull off viewing) and stopped in Charlottesville for lunch (Historic Michie Tavern) and walking. I think that was the first time I said to myself, there is no need to get back home in a certain amount of time.
On the trips I have taken to North Carolina, I used Highway 29 on the way down. Despite the traffic slowing you down as you approach the city, I always enjoy seeing the mountains and stopping at the Chick-Fil-A, conveniently located on the right hand side. I do recall a good eating experience with the Lundin's at the Bavarian Chef, about halfway between Culpepper and Charlottesville (What's the German word for stuffed?). They were beaming with pride. Their son Eric had just graduated from UVA.
It's also always amazing and even a bit surreal how empty the road gets once you get past Charlottesville southbound. Then comes Lynchburg, which we keep saying we need to visit.
Our Golf Memories
In addition to our birding years, Roberta and I also had a long stretch where we looked for birdies and eagles on the golf course. We’ve teed it up in Dubai, Hawaii, San Francisco, Myrtle Beach, The Homestead, and a number of other places. Locally, we enjoyed the county courses especially Pinecrest, and Henson Creek in Prince George's County.
Several courses we played are now something else. South of Alexandria off Telegraph, Wegman’s and new homes book end the site of Hilltop Golf Course. How unique those nine holes were, a former trash dump turned British links.
The Fort Belvoir hospital covers most of the site of the nine-hole track that stood for many years just south of Route 1. Forgettable, yet memorable was a flat, non-descript nine squeezed in between admin buildings at Dahlgren Naval Air Station. We see now it has turned into a disc golf course around 2009.
The most memorable round we had in the region came at Meadows Farm Golf Course. Its three sets of nine holes are located just off Highway 3 west of Fredericksburg. It’s a fun play, but will also challenge low handicappers.
One hole in particular stands out in my memory, a par three fronted with a waterfall. Another hole has a baseball theme, complete with outfield signs and a diamond. The course even has a par 6, the longest in the US at 841 yards long.
As spectators, we’ve hit the road to see a number of LPGA events. Our first trip was in 2004 to Williamsburg. Part of the appeal was the riverside course at Kingsmill Resort. For years the tournament was synonymous with its sponsors, Anheuser-Busch beer. After the men ended a run from 1968 to 2002, the ladies arrived. The tournament rebranded as the Michelob Ultra Open drew top fields.
All that got our attention, but what got us in the car for a three-hour drive was the teenage phenom Michelle Wie. Folks, she was just fourteen years old and was the talk of the golf world. The year before, she became the youngest player to qualify for an LPGA event. We followed Wie for a while, then chased marquee players such as Lorena Ochoa, Cristie Kerr, Se Ri Pak (winner), Annika Sorenstam and Beth Daniel.
We also attended the LPGA Championship at Bulle Rock Golf Course in Havre de Grace, Maryland. I don’t remember the year, but it might have been 2009.
We best remember going to The International Crown. This unique tourney made its debut in 2014 at Caves Valley Golf Club in Owings Mills, Maryland, a suburb northwest of Baltimore. The eight qualifying teams were from Australia, Chinese Taipei, Japan, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, and the United States.
At the time I penned these random thoughts:
Northward
I have fond memories of this part of Maryland, and was reminded of it on a recent road trip to the George Washington National Monument north of Boonsboro. Initially, I thought, well, we'll do as we have done before and take I-270 to 40 alternate. GPS showed going through Myersville as the quickest way. I almost chose the former, but we had not been to Myersville. And in this case, the quickest way was also the scenic way. The drive on Monument Road from Myersville to the park turned out to be an utter delight, that prize every time.
Anyway, when it comes to understanding the history of Maryland, I have made an effort to do so. As I was looking at our stick pin map of the places we have been to so far in this part of the state - Baltimore, Ellicott City, Frederick, Boonsboro, Hagerstown - I did not realize there was a reason they form a string. Now I see their stories are tied to the National Road.
The building of the National Road can be seen in two main parts. Beginning in 1811 and financed federally, the National Road proper, if you will, was laid out from Cumberland, Maryland to the west.
The other part ran from Baltimore to Cumberland. An historical marker tells us the Baltimore and Frederick-Town Turnpike began with a tollgate in Baltimore in 1807. You will recall similar efforts in northern Virginia that connected the farms in the Piedmont with the port city of Alexandria.
The improved road ran through Ellicott City. A marker in Oella tells us the Ellicott brothers, industrial pioneers who tapped the water power of the Patapsco River, cut a road through the forests in 1787 to get from their mill in the river valley to Baltimore. This became the first leg of Baltimore-Frederick-Town Turnpike.
By 1822, the turnpike road from Baltimore to Cumberland was completed, with the exception of the ten miles between Boonsboro and Hagerstown. Banks in both towns financed this final part.
As a unifying theme, let's talk about this part of Maryland through the lens of the National Road. We start in Baltimore and work our westward.
Baltimore
Brimming with places, Baltimore makes for a terrific twin to Washington. We've motored up almost a dozen times. Like Richmond, Fredericksburg and Alexandria, Baltimore owes something to the Fall Line and seaport beginnings.
The local sports writers try to play up the Nats-Orioles rivalry, but it is tempered by the fact there are a lot of us in the DC region who remember how Baltimore served us before baseball returned to the nation's capital in 2005.
Others have tried to pit Baltimore and Washington as place rivals. For me, I think of Baltimore as a sister city. Its wonders are many. Despite going there about a dozen times, I feel like there is much exploration to be done.
Anyway, I'm pretty sure our first trip to Baltimore was to Inner Harbor, and we branched out from there. The city's two pen men, Poe and Key, can fill at least a day each. Fell's Point draws in a lot of folks, but we wanted to explore the neighborhoods and other places such as Druid Hill Park. Some of our trips to Baltimore were seeded after reading an article in the Post about a museum or event. Roberta enjoyed a Matisse exhibit at the Museum of Art.
I will never forget our trip to the Poe House and Museum in 2014. That part of Baltimore, a downtown adjacent neighborhood, was going through a period of change. Urban decay had left it looking lifeless. The Poe House stood out as a survivor. Anyway, the guided tour was excellent. Can't say I have read his writings, but his name and work, of course, are legendary and synonymous with the football team....
Crab cake hunting is a theme, but whether or not the ones you eat came from the Chesapeake Bay is not a certainty. Where we found (2017) some great fresh food eating was the R. House, a former auto body shop in the Remington neighborhood.
When I was a member of SABR, the regional chapter led a tour of baseball spots. My memory flickers on that one, but we, of course, visited sites associated with the Babe and John McGraw. We got a special tour of Camden Yards, which was the retro ball park that sparked the replacement of the cookie cutters.
Baltimore is rich in African American history. We went there in 2018 to see the Frederick Douglass-Isaac Myers Maritime Park, as well as the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African-American History and Culture.
Baltimore really does shine with its museums. Rail buffs head to the B&O Railroad and the Star Spangled Banner Flag House is a draw.
Ellicott City
Be sure and find time for Ellicott City. Its winding steep main street is one of the coolest around and the train station museum for the B&O is also one of the best. As their website notes:
"This station is the oldest surviving railroad station in America and the site of the original terminus of the first 13 miles of commercial track ever constructed in America. The first thirteen miles of the B&O Railroad ran from Baltimore’s Mount Clare Station through the Patapsco River Valley to Ellicott’s Mills."
Floods have crippled the town through the years, including the great flood of 1868 that swept away bridges and homes and took a toll of more than 40 souls. But the town folk are strong. When we went, we enjoyed Bean Hollow. They served their mud in green, handcrafted mugs. In my visit write up, I pointed out:
This is one of the nicest visitor's centers we have ever seen, maybe the best. Inside an old post office, they’ve put together a great experience with interpretive panels, oil paintings, books and a friendly atmosphere. The old post office boxes are great for reminiscing – “air mail.”
Elkridge/Patapsco River Valley
Ellicott City is a place you might visit more than once, but try and take some walks in the Patapsco River Valley itself. Through his books, Henry K. Sharp has brought back to life its rich but forgotten history, and gives the Ellicott Brothers the full treatment they deserve. Even if those stories do not tickle your fancy, the sheer beauty of this part of Maryland and its extended steep terrain is worthy of praise. And don’t miss seeing the massive Thomas Viaduct Bridge.
We have got to get back up there, especially to see more the valley and Elkridge. So far, we’ve only been to see the bridge and Belmont Manor, which sets on a shelf about a half mile to the south of the river. I went solo on that one and was able to speak with Mary Ellen Baker, General Manager of the Belmont Manor and Historic Park (“a prize every time”), for showing me the final resting place of Alexander Contee Hanson (1786-1819). The founder and published of the Federal Republican in Baltimore, where a savage mob beat him to within an inch of his life.
Sykesville was not on the National Road, but it is just two miles away and can fit in here. The Queen Anne style train station is part of the southern gateway to the town of 4,400, and overlooks the Patapsco River. The Sykesville stop was on the Old Main Line, one of the oldest in the United States and once part of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. Sykesville has lovely Victorian homes perched high on the hill, looking down to the small business district.
Frederick
Frederick does a lot of visitor outreach and sells itself. If there is ever a "Best Horizon" contest, Frederick would be a top candidate. Zipping up I-270 brings you to that point when you reach the top of one of the hills to find the dramatic view of the mountains and the Piedmont valley.
I recall the better half wanting to go to Frederick early on and hubby saying, let's do it. We started at the new Visitor's Center located in old spoke factory. Loved the exposed brick approach.
While Roberta did some shopping along Market Street, I checked out historical markers and the Court House. Then we walked along part of the waterway near Market Street. What a lovely job with everything.
After a delicious and hearty lunch at Gladchuk Bros. Restaurant (killer Yankee Stew), we took in the Art Center and walked to the Carroll Street Bridge, another must see. Artist William M. Cochran and the public “co-created” the themes. He used silicate paint from Germany to create the “trompe l’oeil” effect. The bridge has several names, Community Bridge, the painted bridge, the mural bridge.
I once went solo to Frederick as part of my Francis Scott Key places hunt and enjoyed the city that way. We are now scrutinizing Key more and more, and that is a good thing. Nevertheless, he did give us what became our National Anthem.
Boonsboro
To the west of Frederick lies the magic of the mountains. Just like the turnpikes in northern Virginia, the ones here improved travel times in the first part of the nineteenth century. The villages along the way catered to the travelers.
Boonsboro and Middletown shine, located on Alt Highway 40, a leg of the National Road. Boonsboro is working on a National Road Museum.
When the leaves change, Skyline Drive (entrance fee) can get too crowded. A nice alternative is Highway 67.
If you go to Boonsboro, you might be a Nora Roberts fan. Fun to watch the flocks gather when she is there to sign her books. Rooms in the Boonsboro Inn, which Roberts and her husband lovingly brought back to life after a fire, features rooms with names such as Elizabeth & Darcy, and Eve & Rourke.
The George Washington Monument
About a mile to the east of Boonsboro is a can't miss. In 1837, a number of the town's citizens got together and erected a 40-foot stone tower, the first monument to George Washington.
As the marker points out, the Union army used the high points during the Civil War as a signal station. The stone tower is a National Historical Monument.
Keep going along the road find the parking lot, about 1,000 feet from the monument. The Appalachian Trail also passes by here and public restrooms are available. Your breathe will be taken away hopefully not by the climb up, but count on it for that first glimpse of the tower and then the views.
Hagerstown
I have to say the three or so times I have been to Hagerstown, it was not via the old National Road, nor was it to see the historic spots and such. Another form of travel, however, is sports-related. Baseball fans in particular love to see as many ballparks as they can, and their memoirs of such can be fun to read.
Here in the Washington region, there are a number of minor league parks. I've seen Giants prospects a number of times at Bowie and once at Richmond. The worse ballpark I have even been to is right down the road south of Occoquan where the Potomac Nationals played. Recall seeing Stephen Strasburg there.
In 2011 (where does the time go?), my buddy Don and I drove up to the venerable Hagerstown ballpark to see Bryce Harper and the Suns take on the Asheville Tourists. The hot shot rookie, who had been feasting on the Sally League’s low “A” ball pitching, drew a sold-put crowd of 4,482.
About sixty summers earlier, another upstart National League outfielder made his minor league debut at Memorial Stadium. Willie Mays (Trenton) endured N-word epithets as he took his first steps as a Giant and future star. A historical marker in Hagerstown points out he spent that first nervous night at the Harmon Hotel, a sanctuary for African Americans.
Fort Frederick
Back when I had more spring in my step, I used to give historical tours of Old Town. Roberta kept urging me to dress the part. So in April 2014, we drove up to Fort Frederick, a State Park overlooking the Potomac River about a dozen miles west of Hagerstown. The drive up on I-70 included a stop at the South Mountain Rest Area past Frederick. Several impressive markers are there including one that talks about how the mountain range was once the edge of the wilderness, crossed only by Native Americans.
A dozen more quick miles and we were turning off at Big Pool. Hee Haw salutes its population of less than three digits, some who know that things were once big here. Markers tell the reader about its hey day.
Our excitement built as we parked and walked to the Friends of Fort Frederick Market Fair. The preserved stone fort, campfire smoke, re-enactors, and the tents for the four score vendors.
Surveying the spread of sutlers, we figured our search would involve some time. There’s still nothing like local knowledge so we asked a gentleman we met as we walked into the park.
“Cobb Creek,” he said, “they do it right.”
Turns out he was spot on. Kathy Ring of Lebanon, Missouri and her friendly associate hooked us right up. We walked out with a bit of a dent in the budget, but the linen breeches, colonial shirt and weskit will do the job quite nicely. Another vendor sold us a Tricorne Hat.
The site is a National Historic Landmark with exhibits, trails and camping. It’s a trip we will never forget.
Ladies and gentleman, our tour of the National Road ends here, but we offer a helicopter flight to Brunswick for our remaining four places in this corner of Maryland. Those of you who have visited Harper's Ferry surely remember the wondrous landscape of mountains and rivers there. It's a special place where tips of Virginia, West Virginia and Maryland meet, as well as being a river gap. It's hard to appreciate all this when you're on the ground, so get those cameras ready.
Brunswick and Point of Rocks
Baltimore takes great pride in its transportation history of ships, roads and rail. When the age of the iron horses began, Baltimore took off with the establishment of the B&O. Unlike the National Road, there are less along the way places where the B&O stopped, but two wonderful ones, Brunswick and Point of Rocks, remain.
These two towns can also filed under - jewels on the Potomac. For some road trippers, they might come up to this part of Maryland on I-270, then go back along Highway 67. It may not be quicker, but as you can see on the Rand-McNally map, this stretch is classified as a scenic drive. This past fall we took in the peak leaves here and the experience was wonderful. What Highway 67, you have the crossing the Potomac at Brunswick or Point of Rocks.
Brunswick
Earlier we discussed the National Road. One can imagine how travelers appreciated the improvement, but it was the coming of iron horses in the 1830s that whipped up excitement and forever changed the region and the nation. Brunswick is a superb place that can tell some of this story through their train stations, museums and historical markers. Like other towns in the region, it has revitalized its Main Street. The times we have been there, Beans in the Belfry shined bright.
The other star attraction is a two-fer -- the Brunswick Railroad Museum and the C&O Canal Visitor Center. The former has three floors including an extraordinary model of the train, track and route all the way from Washington. The Canal Museum is also impressive.
When we went in 2012, we were greeted by a friendly and knowledgable lady behind the desk who turned out to be the Mayor, Karin Tome. Walt Stull, Council Member was equally kind and courteous.
As one of the markers in Brunswick points out,
After discovering that a canal connection from Baltimore to the Potomac River (eventually leading to the Ohio River Valley) was financially impractical, they decided to build a road on rails. Ground was broken for both the C&O Canal and the Baltimore and Ohio (B&O) Railroad on the same day, July 4, 1828. This officially began the larger competition, between Baltimore and Washington, D.C., and race to the west. The railroad arrived in 1834, but its major impact on the town of Berlin (as it was then known) occurred fifty years later when the Baltimore & Ohio (B&O) Railroad moved its major rail yard operation here from Martinsburg, WV. Today Brunswick is a leading commuter station on the MARC (Maryland Area Regional Commuter) line into Washington, DC.
Point of Rocks is smaller, but equally charming and a must see for railroad history. Like Brunswick, it is also a passenger stop on the MARC Brunswick Line which serves commuters to Washington. But it’s the inactive train station that draws photographers. Built in the 1870s in the Victorian style, the station was originally called, “Washington Junction.”
Poolesville and Boyd
Before we get to our final two stops, we need to make a side trip to Montgomery County. The folks there have done a wonderful job with protecting rural landscapes and farmland. One of the more special places within this Agricultural Reserve realm is Poplar Spring Animal Sanctuary in Poolesville. It’s worth providing their mission statement.
Our mission is to offer care, rehabilitation, and permanent sanctuary for neglected, abused or abandoned farm animals, as well as providing a protected habitat for wildlife. We promote compassion and the humane treatment of all animals by educating the public on farm animal and wildlife issues.
We went in 2015 for their 26th Annual Farm Tour. Owners Teresa Cummings and Dave Hoerauf, and a bunch of volunteers run the sanctuary for horses, cows, sheep, goats, chickens, hogs and turkeys. They said the oldest part of the house dates to 1736, the other parts to 1830s and 1850s.
Afterward we made it a farm twofer, visiting the King Barn Dairy MOOSeum in Boyd’s. As I wrote in my write up, “Don’t think we could have done better, both places delightful.”
The Quiet Corner of Maryland
In trying to figure out a unifying theme for our remaining three spots, I initially thought of geography and location on and near South Mountain. But if you are like me, you can't really place that one in your mind. Instead, we found our answer from a cyclist for BikeWashington, who used the term "the quiet corner of Maryland." We like that and will use it to introduce our final three stops.
National War Correspondents Memorial
We had never heard of this memorial until I was scouting out places near Boonsboro. Built in 1896, it is one of the few memorials dedicated to journalists who died in war and has an extraordinary hillside setting.
Perhaps you will pair it up with a visit to Burkittsville, a village which is on our get to list, and synonymous with The Blair Witch Project.
Much more pleasant thoughts can be found at Distillery Lane Ciderworks, with a lovely and quiet piedmont setting. Be sure and check with them for events.
Sharpsburg
In 2006, Roberta and I visited Sharpsburg. We ate lunch at the Antietam Café and Bar, located in a refurbished house next to a tavern on Highway 34 (about 1/3 mile west of the turnoff to the battlefield). I barely remember that experience and our walk through the town. What I do recall vividly is the battlefield.
About our visit, I made note that:
The peaceful feeling you get looking at the rolling countryside lies in stark contrast to the carnage that took place here on September 17, 1862. The 22,700 casualties (3,650 deaths) came early in the war and are the worse in a single day in our nation’s history.
There are many battlefields seared into our collective consciousness. Gettysburg, a turning point, may be the most thought of. But there is something unforgettably chilling about Antietam. It’s a scar on humanity that will never go away.
We started with the film, which emphasized President Lincoln’s visit here after the battle and his strained relationship with General McClellan, and his delivery of The Emancipation Proclamation.
We then took the car tour, stopping at the Bloody Lane and the National Cemetery. Of the 4,776 Union remains (1,836 or 38% are unknown).
I went solo up here on September 15, 2012, for the 150 anniversary events. Took in the Living History Village and the re-created “Battle for Dunker Church.” Talked to a couple of re-enactors. One lady from Leesburg was a “camp follower.” With their man away at war, women had to keep things going back home. They would find work at the camps. She said a good book on the subject is “Winchester Divided.”
Jeff Shaara, the best-selling author who needs no introduction, signed books, including his latest, “A Blaze of Glory.” I told him I enjoyed reading his book, “Civil War Battlegrounds.” I doubt anyone has written a better one volume since then.
Crossing the Potomac
When Roberta and I have been in this part of Maryland, we usually chose to not return via I-270. It takes more time, but at that point I don't feel like returning to that tense driving landscape.
In addition to crossing over the Potomac either Harper's Ferry, Brunswick and Point of Rocks, there is another option. You may not have heard of it, and it's certainly not for everyone, but we enjoyed using White's Ferry. There were once a good number of ferry's across the Potomac. Now, this is the only one. That will put you north of Leesburg, where you have the option of 267 or taking Highway 15.
Note: Last month, news reports told some sad news. White's Ferry has stopped service and is going out of business.
One time we stopped to see Ball's Bluff National Cemetery (National Historic Landmark), overlooking the Potomac near Leesburg. The battle was not a major one, but the Union loss had major ramifications. More than a dozen markers there tell the sad stories of losses. One writes that Ball’s Bluff is the only battlefield on which a US Senator (Edward Dickinson Baker, Oregon, Colonel) was killed in combat.
Another marker tells us:
They fired down on the Federals on the floodplain, those swimming the river, and in the four retreating boats. All four Federal boats were either sunk or were damaged and drifted away down river. Many Federals drowned or were shot in the water as they tried to escape, and hundreds were stranded on the Virginia shore.
Gettysburg
Roberta and I have visited Philly a number of times and Pittsburgh once. But those are places off our map. Gettysburg is.too, but it is closer than you might think.
When we visited the Civil War battlefields and sites (see separate write up), Gettysburg might have been the highlight.
We also had fun going with friends in 2013. We took in the new Visitors Center and Museum, a great improvement over the old one. The star of the show is "The Battle of Gettysburg Cyclorama," which depicts Pickett’s Charge. Paul Philippoteaux, a French artist first sketched and photographed the scene while visiting the Gettysburg battleground. The oil-on-canvas painting was restored in 2005, a price tag of $12M. It was then moved to the new Gettysburg National Park Museum and Visitor Center. The public got its first look in 2008.
Concluding Thoughts
Several months ago, a friend of mine asked me to recommend places to go in the area. We talk sometimes about it, and I also recommended he look at my Facebook and blog.
I also told him half the fun is the joy of discovery. Here’s hoping you discover places and enjoy your day trips in the Washington region. Coming up with your own map and your own memories, is, of course, optional.
In the heart of Parker Gray, Alexandria's historically black neighborhood, and on the site of the school of the same name, lies the Charles Houston Rec Center. The organization provides a number of activities and programs, including the Alexandria Boxing Club. Since the early 1980’s, the club has impacted the lives of thousands of the City’s youth through boxing. Notably, they have produced a number of decorated amateur and professional boxers such as Middleweight Troy Isley and Bantamweight Shakur Stevenson. Isley, a 22-year-old native of Alexandria, recently signed a multi-year professional contract. He made his debut on February 13th, a decision win in Las Vegas.
Photo Credit: Alexandria Boxing Club.
Boxing is not a topic you will find in histories of Alexandria. Nevertheless, there is a lost heyday of matches that took place during the Great Depression. From 1931 to 1934, the former bottling plant at N. St. Asaph and Pendleton, held about 100 boxing nights. The three-story brick building had been owned and used by Robert Portner (1837-1906). From 1883 to 1916, the Prussian-born immigrant's massive brewery plant stood as a landmark five blocks from the waterfront. Before Prohibition pulled the plug in 1916, Portner's brewing company sold more beer than anyone else from Virginia to Florida.
All but two buildings of the operation are gone. One is the former bottling plant at N. St. Asaph and Pendleton (across from Trader Joe's), which was adaptively reused for residential units starting in 1999. The other building is one block south at 515 N. Washington Street. From 1902 to 1916, Portner's company used the large building as a second bottling plant. Users of this five-story building have included the Mount Vernon Cotton Company. Like its counterpart, adaptive re-use turned this one into residential several years ago.
The subject of boxing is not an easy one to talk about. For many, pugilism, especially without helmets, is repugnant and even barbaric. The sport is regulated and many a champ and contender have done it the right way.
Nevertheless, boxing has not always been a paragon of virtue and integrity. Perhaps you watched the recent airing of "Assault in the Ring," the 2008 documentary that covers the story of a controversial boxing match held at Madison Square Garden in 1983. For their misconduct of glove tampering, Luis Resto and trainer Panama Lewis were sentenced to jail. Billy Collins, Jr, was nearly blinded and later committed suicide. In some ways, Resto was a victim himself.
Just a short walk down Pendleton Street from where the boxers train at the Rec Center lies the former bottling plant at 611 N. St. Asaph Street (across from the Trader's Joe). Tivoli Passage (a nod to Portner who sold and marketed a "I Love It" beer) runs along its back side. Affixed to the brick building one can find a bronze historical marker that tells us:
This building, originally built as a bottling plant for the Robert Portner Brewing Company in 1912, was purchased along with the land surrounding it by the American National Red Cross in the spring of 1941. It served as the organization's Eastern Operations Headquarters until 1992.
Timothy J. Dennee (“Robert Portner and his Brewing Company”) tells us the bottling plant had a number of post-brewery uses including a warehouse, used car showroom, boxing matches and a skating rink. In 1999, a developer, keeping the brick shell and tall arched windows, converted the building into residential units. The once industrial character of this part of Old Town now reflects the modern-day landscape of mixed-use development, a bike share stand, as well as two grocery stores.
After Portner's plant fell silent in 1916, it didn't take long for the three-story building to see a new use. An Out of the Attic article (Alexandria Times, September 10, 2009) informs the reader that, in October 1917, the Briggs Aeroplane Company landed a contract with the U.S. Navy to build a number of hydroplanes. Photo Credit: Library of Congress.
The war was still raging on in Europe. The company, owned by A. W. Briggs, a former British Royal Flying Corps aviator, used the former bottling plant to assemble the planes. The first one rolled down to Jones Point for testing in March 1918. The sight of the planes landing on the Potomac river surely excited those watching. The Navy, however, inked a deal with another model from a different company.
Boxing certainly has fallen out of favor in some parts of society. Nevertheless, the sport demands dedication to purpose and intense training of the fighters and is a significant part of sports history. During a golden age of sports in the 1920s, the newspapers spilled barrels of ink on boxing matches.
Jack Dempsey became a heroic figure. Author Bert Randolph Sugar wrote Dempsey "was the greatest fistic box office attraction of all-time." In 1927, 104,943 fannies entered Soldier Field in Chicago for a showdown between Dempsey and Gene Tunney. The green folds of cash from the gates added up to over $2M, an eye-popping first. In Washington alone, 5,000 listened to Graham McNamee's blow-by-blow account on the radio broadcast in front of and near The Washington Post building.
African Americans cheered on Joe "The Brown Bomber" Louis, who rose to the top in the mid-to-late 1930s. One does not even have to be a fan of pugilism to have enjoyed Rocky, the 1976 film that won the Academy Award for Best Picture. A rags-to-riches story was also poignantly told in the tear-jerker, Million Dollar Baby. Civil rights icons include champs such as Joe Johnson and Mohammed Ali. Julio Cesar Chavez, Oscar de la Hoya and Roberta Duran are legendary names and boxers from across the globe have earned fame and glory in the ring.
Photo: Joe Louis, Date Created/Published: c1937 September 11.
In the early 1930s, Alexandria was a city of about 24,000, up a third from 1920. The population gain was the largest since 1860 and hinted at further leaps that would take place during FDR's administration and as a result of World War II and the post-war years. Woven into the fabric of Alexandria were about a dozen African American neighborhoods. Surrounding Portner's Arena were "Colored Rosemont," "The Hump," "The Berg" and "Cross Canal." An historical marker one block north of the Rec Center tells us many African Americans were employed at Portner’s Brewery.
As far as the mood in Alexandria, the Depression certainly affected folks, but the city got a big morale boost with the bicentennial of George Washington's birthday. In 1932, thousands poured into the city for the opening of the Washington National Masonic Memorial. A new day dawned that year with the opening of the George Washington Memorial Parkway (then named Mount Vernon Memorial Highway). Five years earlier, motorists had been pleased to see the completion Washington-Richmond Highway, later named U.S. Route 1. Both thoroughfares ran by close to Portner's Arena.
Sports-wise, Americans found heroes in baseball, which, thanks in part to the beloved slugger Babe Ruth, had moved beyond the scandal of the 1919 "Black Sox" World Series. Of the first four Associated Press's "Male Athletes of the Year " (1931-1934), three — Pepper Martin, Carl Hubbell and Dizzy Dean — starred in America’s past time.
It wasn't just baseball, however that drew crowds and admiration. The legendary golfer Bobby Jones earned glory and fame on the links while Americans listened to college football games and boxing matches on their new radios.
Alexandrians reading the papers could follow the news of the local teams. The St. Mary’s Celtics, the semi-pro teams, grabbed the baseball and football trophies in 1931. The basketball team went all the way to the State finals that year.
The Washington Post and the Washington Evening Star gave good coverage of the boxing action in Washington, Alexandria, and the region. The researcher owes a debt to seasoned beat writers for the Star such as Francis E. Stan and Lewis Hutchinson, who covered the sport and then pecked out many a nostalgic piece in the years after the hey day of bootleg boxing.
How this three-year run of boxing matches in Alexandria came about involves a pair of strange bedfellows. The full and fully researched story of how the Alexandria Day Nursery and Children’s Home came about is beyond our reach. Nevertheless, we know much is owed to the caring citizens of the city and members of the Rotary Club of Alexandria. Their website includes a primer on how the day nursery got started in 1928. Ralph H. Bogle, Sr., Chairman Community Service Committee, and member of the Board of Directors of the Alexandria Day Nursery and Children’s Home penned it in January 1938. The newspapers also give us glimpses into the story.
In a nutshell, the situation with needy children produced what we today call an "all-hands-on-deck" effort. A number of women in the city raised their concerns about the need for what we today call a day care center. In 1924, Mrs. Roe Fulkerson had spoken to the Kiwanis Club where she advocated for better care for children. Fulkerson told the audience she had helped start a day nursery in 1909. A voice ahead of her time, Fulkerson said it was better to "step in and train children properly, making better citizens of them then, than to fill the jails, almshouses and other institutions a few years later."
In 1928, civic leaders and benevolent organizations sprung into action. Realizing there was a great need for a home, the Alexandria Rotary Club established the Alexandria Day Nursery and Children’s Home. The first location, which they rented, was a house at 316 Prince Street (demolished, currently a residential building built in 1986). The Fire Department stood across the street and the Elks Club next door. The home opened in January, 1929.
With more and more requests for care pouring in, the Alexandria Day Nursery saw an increasing need for monies. Groups and individuals held fund raising events. They included variety shows such as an entertainment performance by the Fox Players of Washington at the Elks Hall, baseball games, an all-day picnic at Mount Auburn, the suburban residence of Mrs. Helen Calvert, and other such events.
Those contributions helped, but a major funding source was needed. At a meeting, Jack Tulloch, sports editor for the Alexandria Gazette took the floor. As Bogle writes, he:
"astounded his fellow members by assuring a very handsome fund if the club would permit him to put on a boxing card in the old Armory, although to do this legally it would be necessary to make a benefit exhibition.”
Despite some concerns of optics, the ayes had it. Tulloch and Martin got approval from the city. Boxing was illegal in Alexandria, but knowing assistance would go to the needy, the council members gave the official nod.
Note: I am being somewhat vague here with how the Day Nursery got started. My concern is that, as can happen, the full story has not been told, and that there are others who deserve credit, but have not received it.
Tulloch, Abe Martin and perhaps others went to work and secured the former bottling plant. Eventually, monies earned from the boxing matches would not only help pay operating costs for the day nursery, they allowed the Rotary Club to acquire the larger home at 411 Prince in June 1931. This attractive house, built in 1870, is part of the hidden history of this story, in that there is not an historical marker there. Previous owners included George H. Harlow, an Irish-American grocer, and Walter Lee O'Neil, a 30-year veteran engineer with Southern Railway.
On November 4, 1931, the Evening Star reported on the conversion of the bottling plant, which had shut down in 1916. Prohibition had brought an end to Portner's operations, a dynasty in the making. Across the river in Maryland, officials in Fort Washington loaned bleachers seats.
A week later, the work was done. Martin, working for the Alexandria Day Nursery Athletic Association, had supervised the conversion, which put in 400 ringside seats and room for 2,600 on the bleacher benches.
Before the idea to use Portner’s Arena for boxing, a number of boxing matches had been held in the city. After moving into their new digs at the foot of King Street in 1923, the Old Dominion Boat Club held an annual "smoker" event there, which featured boxing matches.
Armory Hall (site is 208 S. Royal, "Armory Tot Lot") also held matches for fundraising. Smith and Miller (“A Seaport Saga”) tell us the front of the building was made of castellated brick with a size of 40 by 90 feet. Capacity was 700. Through the years (1880 to 1953), the building hosted a number of events including expositions and served as home to a recreation center and USO Center.
The Post article of September 15, 1930, said:
"the largest crowd ever to pack Armory Hall was expected when the new Alexandria Athletic Club presents its first boxing exhibition under the auspices of the Alexandria Rotary Club.”
Tickets went on sale in Washington at Vic’s Sports Shop and Cornell’s Lunchroom. The Post (September 20) reported the event was a marked success, with 1,200 filling the venue (note: reported attendance figures were sometimes inflated). The paper gave the event a banner headline across the entirety of page 12 --- Schwartz Wins Decision in Alexandria Feature -- and gave a summary of each fight.
Opening Night at the Former Bottling Plant
Portner’s Arena made its debut on Monday, November 16, 1931. For the next three years, these matches put Alexandria on the Washington area boxing map. Almost all were held on a Tuesday night and the majority came in the winter months. The venue joined a circuit that included small places in the District, Fort Washington, Rockville and Baltimore. Those were the bootleg days, a run that drew reported crowds of two to three thousand and got good press coverage.
A boxing night was a good bang for the buck, with five or six bouts and a variety of weight classes. Although we frown upon it today, a promoter can arrange fights that tap into feelings about ethnic rivalries. Promoters also knew the rivalries between Virginia, the District and Maryland added appeal.
The card for the lid lifter at Portner’s Arena featured a half dozen fights, a typical amount in those days. The main event was supposed to be a light-heavyweight match up between Sam Weiss and Alexandria native Billy “Baker Boy” Schwartz. The Washington Post called the event the “inaugural Alexandria Day Nursery benefit at Portner’s Arena.”
Weiss, who was a rising star, was injured in a car accident and could not fight. Bob Godwin filled in to face Schwartz.
To get to that point, Schwartz had fought a number of bouts. His career had tipped off on March 21, 1929 at the Jewish Community Center in Washington, a win against Martin Lunsford.
His next recorded match took place in Rockville on February 22, 1930. The Star covered the promotion of the fight. The Maryland Athletic Commission approved the Rockville Volunteer Fire Department’s request to hold boxing events in conjunction with its annual “smoker.” These events were also called a “he-man night.” Washington promoter Frankie Mann arranged the matches.
Schwartz got top billing, a bout with Billy Strickler of Washington. The other fights pitted a Washington boxer against one from the suburbs or Baltimore.
Schwartz next bout took place on June 14, 1930. It is not listed on the BoxRec website, but the Star gave it coverage. The Old Dominion Boat Club installed 300 seats beside their boathouse at the foot of King Street. Committee members T. Brooke, John Reed and Carl Muller did the leg work. Mann arranged the matches.
The event was a “smoker” for the boat club, which had been founded in 1888 on the Alexandria waterfront between the foots of Prince and Duke. After a fire destroyed its club house there, the members moved into a new home at the foot of King in 1924. Several years ago, the club built its new home at the foot of Prince Street, a return of sorts to near the original site.
Fight fans in Alexandria must have been excited about the boxing match. Their man was 2 and 0 and this marked his first appearance in the city. His opponent was Walter McFeely, former Georgetown boxer.
Leading up to that first appearance at Portner’s Arena (November 11, 1931), Schwartz fought seven more times. One of them was at the Armory in Alexandria (September 19, 1930), a win over Joe Finazzo. Schwartz brought an 8-2-1 record into the ring and no doubt received a hardy set of cheers when introduced at Portner’s Arena.
Alexandrians had high hopes the local kid could christen the opening of the arena with a win. Instead, referee Charlie Short stopped the fight and sent Schwartz to the showers as the TKO loser. Jack Espey of The Post covered the bouts. He wrote:
Fistiana’s contribution to the maintenance of the Alexandria Day Nursery went over with a bang last night. 1,200 attended.
In one of the preliminary fights, Willie Eschinger knocked out Sailor Odeon in the third round. The other four matches were decided on points.
The loss signaled the end for Schwartz. He took the L on three of his next four fights, all held at Portner’s Arena, to finish with a 9-6-1 record.
A summary of the 96 fights at Portner’s Arena is well beyond the scope of this look. We offer a brief look at some of the cast of characters.
Francis E. Stan, Reporter and Writer
Washington Evening Star
Column: “Win, Lose or Draw”
In his column titled, “Win, Lose or Draw,” Stan covered boxing for the Washington Evening Star. In 1940 he tapped out a four-part series about local boxing. In one of them he observed:
“Under the current setup boxing has reached a crisis. During the more happier and more prosperous years before the sport’s legalization in Washington, boxing strangely enjoyed more success.”
He added:
“In the pre-legal days, the promoters had to tread softly lest the law crack down. At Portner’s Arena professional fights were promoted for several years. Boxing was no more legal in Alexandria than in the District. But the promoters got away with it because a chunk of the receipts were turned over to charity.”
Stan once described Portner’s Arena as a “musty abandoned brewery.”
Lewis Atchison, Reporter and Writer
Washington Evening Star
Column: “Atchison’s Angle”
Boxing fans who remembered the old bootleg days at Portner’s Arena must have also enjoyed Lewis Atchison’s boxing column. From time to time he waxed nostalgic about that period. In one of his articles, Atchison wrote about how that era flourished and praised Frankie Mann as the matchmaker.
“While the clubs were small, the programs produced more blood and thunder than a month of TV fights."
His obituary mentioned that Atchison passed away in Alexandria and was a member of St. Mary's Catholic Church.
Frankie Mann, Promoter
Stan called Mann “a little round man,” but would have agreed he was a giant when it came to promoting boxing matches in Washington and the area. After a short and dismal career in the ring, Mann put together scores of fights at places like the old Ardmore Club, the Washington barracks, Fort Washington and Portner’s Arena. Mann assembled a make shift gym behind his house in DC (3942 Ames Street NE).
Stan wrote:
Mann is the kind of guy the fight business can use. For one thing, his fighters are honest. They are in there punching. He had a reputation of never making a bad match.
Hutchison sat down with Mann in 1939. The talk turned to the matches at Portner's Arena. Mann said:
"We had some great fights there. George King and Denny Hughes judged every bout for nothing and Jimmy Lake gave his services for free."
Having Lake at the arena gave the matches some cachet and sassy flavor. He was a beloved boxing announcer and "mayor of 9th Street" in Washington.
Marty Gallagher, Heavyweight Boxer
Irish-American boxer Martin William Gallagher (1907-1994) became known as the "Pride of Foggy Bottom." The heavyweight's life is chronicled in "The Irish Warrior," by his daughter, Margaret Gallagher Colbert. She tells us the family lived on H Street. "Marty" had four brothers and sister.
Gallagher's 15-year career in the ring started in 1925, a fight against Sailor Beam at the Aloysius Club in Washington. His meteoric rise then took him to venues such as Arcadia Hall in Washington, the Armory in Silver Spring, and Carlin's Park in Baltimore. His career leveled off in 1931 with losses in New York, Boston and Chicago.
Gallagher, described by one writer as “the cocky Irishman” and “a devoted son, husband and father,” then returned to the circuit in Washington in 1932. He made his first appearance at Portner’s Arena on January 31, followed by four more bouts there. One of them was attended by The Washington Post's Shirley Povich, who pointed out Gallagher scored best with his right.
Gallagher won three in a row at Portner’s Arena. This comeback of sorts put him on the bill a number of times at Griffith Stadium. His last win took place there on September 4, 1934 over Tony Galento, a TKO win. Gallagher rallied after two knockdowns in front of 25,000 fans.
After retiring with a 72 and 11 record, Gallagher stepped over to Georgetown University, where he coached the boxers there and served in leadership roles for more than 30 years.
James Clarence (“Red Burman"), Heavyweight, Ring name K.O. Burns, Kayo Burns
Career: 1936-1942
It’s hard to say who was the most best or most famous boxer to fight at Portner’s Arena. Burman, who hailed from Baltimore, is in the conversation because he challenged Joe Louis for the heavyweight title in 1941.
Burman made his debut at the Armory in Crab Cake City in 1930. Nine fights later, he came to Portner’s Arena in Alexandria where he beat Roddy Davis. His next two bouts were also at Portner’s Arena, a win and a loss.
On January 31, 1941, Burman stepped into the ring at Madison Square Garden. His record was 73-17-1 while Louis was the champ at 44-1. Associated Press writer Sid Feder wrote that "the Baltimore Battler gave as much as he received for four rounds." Louis dropped him in the fifth with a pounding body blow. The challenger was still down after the ten second count.
Pete Sarron
Sarron (1906-1994), an inductee into the International Boxing Hall of Fame, rose to the top of the featherweight class, defeating Freddie Miller at Griffith Stadium on May 11, 1936. Leading up to taking the title, the hairy-chested Syrian-American fought ten times at Portner's, mostly in 1933. His record there was 6-2-2. The final was a ten-round points loss to Frankie Covelli. The "Birmingham Bomber" got his revenge two years later, and became the champ in 1936 at Griffith Stadium.
Jack Tulloch, Sports Editor and Promoter
When it came to boosting sports in Alexandria, Jack Tulloch, (1900-1951) was a giant. He was managing editor for the Gazette from 1918-1951 and served on the city council (1944-1948). If there was a leadership role needed, Tulloch filled it. His benevolent work included the Shrine Club of Alexandria, the International Order of Odd Fellows, and Knights Templar.
As noted earlier, it was Tulloch and a group of businessmen who formed the Alexandria Day Athletic Association. Eventually, $7,500 was raised from the bouts.
A native of Washington, Tulloch served as president of the Alexandria Commercial League (baseball). Games were played at Baggett's Field (site 1700 and 1800 block of King Street). Tulloch even served as starting pitcher for the Gazette in games against the Alexandria Police.
His obituary in the Washington Evening Star (January 9, 1951), noted he was a “widely known sports figure and editor whose unexpected death shocked thousands of friends in Northern Virginia and Washington area.” Two years before his passing, the city held a "Jack Tulloch Night."
The Post wrote,” Jack’s special pride and joy were the George Washington High teams. It was said he would follow them everywhere."
Shirley Povich
The legendary writer for the Post discussed Portner's Arena in his column on February 13, 1933.
Alexandria's remodeled brewery, that is now called Portner's Arena, is awaiting the legalization of of the 3.2 amber fluid before evicting its fistic tenants, but in the meanwhile there is a growing colony of fighters that inhabits the old brewery not only on fight nights, but every day under the wing of Jimmy Erwin, himself a reformed middleweight.
Povich told his readers that Erwin used the arena to train hopefuls. He had taken Sarron under his wing. Two nights later, Sarron TKO'd Washington's Frankie De Angelo in the seventh. Schwartz warmed up the crowd with a TKO of his own, stopping Soldier Bennett of Fort Washington in the first round. The Post article also reported that the crowd of 1,200 stood in silence for a minute before the main fight to honor the late Ernie Schaaf, a Boston fighter who died the day before.
Memorable Matches
Once again, it's beyond our scope to find and rate the most memorable matches. The Post did not usually provide photographs of the matches at Portner's Arena, but they did so for a fight on April 18, 1933. The headlines read:
Van Floored for 8-Count in Sixth, Goes Down From Left and Right But Shows Courage in Rising, Irving Wins 6 Rounds
Dave Herman wrote that a noisy crowd of 1,700 yelled and cheered until they were pop-eyed and hoarse when Irving slammed Van "with a terrific left and then a right."
He also wrote that "the fight card, as a whole, measured up to some of the best staged at the arena this season." The Post's article two weeks before pointed out Van would draw in his fans from Southwest DC, while Irving's would come from the Northwest DC.
Final Bout
The end for Portner’s Arena as a boxing host came on June 13, 1934. The Star reported a sparse crowd of 300 watched Wolgast defeat Seaman. The figure was the lowest in its short history. The biggest gate had been 2,800 in 1932. Patrons had typically shelled out a dollar for admission.
In December, The Washington Post (Bill McCormick) reported on efforts to reopen Portner’s Arena. A group of Virginia citizens sought to bring back boxing to Alexandria. Jack Tulloch and Abe Martin were not interested, but Robert L. May, owner of a bus company in Alexandria expressed a desire. Mann was certainly in the mix as the matchmaker, but nothing ever came of it.
After the boxing run ended, Portner’s Arena stayed in the news time to time with dancing events. Listeners of WOL, 830 AM, could tune in from time to time to hear about the “hillbilly fun down at Portner’s Arena.”
In 1940 the Evening Star reported that Mal Hallett and his orchestra were set to “inaugurate a series of dances at Portner’s Arena.” An ad in the paper said:
Amusements, Dance to Mal Hallett’s Orchestra, Friday October 4 from 9 to 1, Admission $1
In 1941, the Capital Dance Barn, Inc, ran the arena as a skating rink. The American Red Cross acquired the building that same year and established their headquarters for the Eastern Division.
Except for the bottling plant, the brewery and buildings were demolished. Woodward & Lothrop settled in for a long run on the west side of St. Asaph that finally ended in 1968. The W. J. Sloane company stepped in, followed by Mastercraft Interiors. In 1999-2000, the parcel was redeveloped into the office/commercial project seen today that includes Trader Joe's. The interior of the bottling plant was gutted and remade into the current residential space.
Both boxing and fund raising for children continue in Alexandria. The Rotary Club continues to provide money for child care through grants and the like. The Alexandria Boxing Club continues to train boxers and turn lives around. The two subjects are not usually mentioned in the same breath, but there are common threads.
“We have seen the gods. Now we can die.”
The date was May 31,1977. It was just past midnight.
Along with about 17,000 other hard rock fans with ringing ears, Robert and Tim Miller and I were walking out of the Greensboro Coliseum. We had just seen a three-hour long concert by Led Zeppelin.
I love listening to rock music and hearing it live. Picking my second most memorable or greatest concert would be difficult. I’ve been lucky to have seen dozens of shows across the span of my sixty-four years, including Zep, The Who, Black Sabbath, Queen, Van Halen, Deep Purple, Rush, Blue Oyster Cult, Judas Priest, Def Leppard, AC/DC, Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Scorpions, Uriah Heep, ZZ Top, Motley Crue, Eric Clapton, Kiss, Bad Company, Kansas and Boston.
People who know me and know how much I love Rush, who I saw about two dozens times over the course of about 40 years, will raise their eyebrows when I say that the greatest concert I have ever seen was that Zeppelin show in my hometown in 1977. On the other hand, most of those people will also show some understanding. We’re talking one of the greatest rock and roll bands of all-time, and arguably the greatest hard rock band ever.
Every generation has arguments about which artists are the greatest. In the fifties, Elvis ruled. In the sixties, Jimi Hendrix not only lit his guitar on fire, he lit the world on fire on his way to becoming the greatest guitarist who ever stood on a stage. Nevertheless, it was The Beatles that shook and conquered the world.
The British Invasion was on. After the Beatles disbanded in 1970, the Rolling Stones moved up to the top spot, helped by being introduced as “greatest rock and roll band in the world.” I remember hearing that in mid-70s, and thinking something like — we Zep fans beg to differ.
Part of our argument centered on our belief that Page was the greatest guitarist, Bonham the best drummer, Plant the best singer, and Jones the best bassist. That is certainly subjective, but Google — greatest rock and roll guitarist/drummer/singer/bassist — and see what you get.
On a trip in the early 1970s, Mom and Dad took me and my younger sister to Washington to see her aunt and uncle and family. With a gleam in his eye, my cousin took me to his room, closed the door, and began playing Sabbath's "Master of Reality."
In the mid to late 60's, when feel good, three-minute songs ruled the AM airwaves, my brother had corrupted me by playing the Doors and the Stones on his reel to reel. Listening to Black Sabbath for the first time was something more. My whole mind and body felt something very powerful. Although the words were not in our vocabulary yet, I was entering the realm of hard rock and heavy metal.
The crazy thing about Led Zeppelin (or maybe not) is that the band’s management decided to not release singles. Nevertheless, fans bought and played their vinyl albums, and some FM radio DJ's began playing what became known as “Album Oriented Rock.” By the mid-70s, Zep was filling up venues in numbers like no other act before.
In our world of mega large venues, bands and acts, including the Stones, have set single performance attendance records with six digits, whopping figures that blew past Zeppelin’s high watermark. Ultimately, however, we should judge performance by what was done in its time. A month before the Greensboro show in 1977, 76,229 fans had filled the Silverdome in Detroit to see Zeppelin, a jaw-dropping figure that stood as a record for a number of years.
Robert, Tim and I, were part of a sold-out crowd at the Greensboro show. It’s hard to know if Coliseum Manager James Oshust (1970 – 1985) kept his own list of top acts he had brought to the arena. He certainly had a lot to choose from. In the 1970s and into the 80s, the Greensboro Coliseum was the main stop for touring bands, perfectly situated halfway between Atlanta and Washington. As a big fan of live music, I took full advantage of that golden era. We lived just two miles from the Coliseum.
Concert-wise, the stars aligned for me in ’77. Before turning my sagging life around by joining the Air Force in February 1978, I had money in my pocket from working odd jobs and was living at home. In the summer of 1975, I had seen my first concert. On the strength of their Number One hit, "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet," as well as FM staples, "Let it Ride" and "Taking Care of Business," Bachman Turner Overdrive headlined at the Coliseum. I can still feel the excitement of stepping into that wonderful new world of sight, sound and spectacle, all the hands clapping, and as the BTO song says, "candles in the air" (and what was that sweet smell drifting around?)
In a span of just four months in ‘77 (February to May), Robert, Tim and I saw, at the Greensboro Coliseum, ZZ Top, Boston, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Led Zeppelin. Boston was hotter than the firecrackers fans lit during concerts back then. Their eponymous debut album would eventually sell 17M copies. We saw them right when they were breaking out from back-up to headliners filling the biggest arenas.
“More than a Feeling” was their smash hit, but every song on the album could have been a hit. Those are the kind of shows you remember. The band members are making a lot of eye contact, all that joy before the grind of touring does its damage.
Back in the day, concert promoters employed the standard practice of “festival seating.” Sounds like a picnic in the park. Oh, no. Things could get ugly and fans got injured. With some exceptions, the widespread practice eventually ended. Ever so sadly, it took a terrible tragedy in 1979, the loss of 11 lives at The Who concert in Cincinnati, to show the world just how crazy the practice was.
Anyway, we were oblivious to what happened outside the Coliseum ’77 show, but news reports I have now read tell of broken fences and rowdy behavior. We must have held back and waited until the crush ended. That meant we didn’t get up close to the stage, but being about 15 rows back and on the floor wasn’t too shabby. And we didn’t get crushed like we did for the Boston show, where I was lifted off the ground.
Almost all rock concerts in those days had one or more support acts. That’s how up and coming bands got noticed. I remember seeing five young lads from Britain in 1980 at the Coliseum, a band named Def Leppard that would go on to sell a few albums themselves. The kids warmed up for the up and coming Scorpions and wild man Ted Nugent. No one ever blew Nugent off the stage, but Robert and I saw Van Halen blow the doors off Boston in Raleigh in 1978 (remember the flying empty beer cups?)
Zep’s 1977 tour, billed as “An Evening with Zeppelin, was them and only them. The term itself spoke to the band’s lofty status. They had started the practice of “no support” around 1972, when their concerts had turned into three-hour affairs. Of all the shows I saw back then, only Zep was a solo affair.
Rock musicians are not known for their compliance with rules and norms. But when it comes to concerts, they know that show time is a sacred time. Almost every rock concert I have ever seen has started on time. That night, show time (8 pm) came. Zep had only played Greensboro one other time (1975), a show I did not see. The crowd was primed and ready for the magical moment when the lights go down.
Only this time, they didn’t.
As the first few minutes went by, I’m sure we were thinking, ok, no biggie, the band is just a little late. Twenty long minutes later, we were all dying from the worry the show would be cancelled. And after that, who knew? Maybe no return appearance (as things turned out, this was their final tour of North America).
Thirty minutes turned to forty, an eternity. We might have been thinking — So this is what purgatory feels like.
It’s my thought that had it been any other band, the crowd would have reigned down a chorus of boos. We certainly had every right to. But as best as I can remember, we didn’t boo, because you don’t boo the gods.
Finally, the lights went down. 17,000 delirious fans started breathing again and roared in approval. The band tore into “The Song Remains the Same.”
My memories of the show have faded, but one can now fill in the gaps at the Zep website with reviews and comments, and newspaper reports. I do recall Plant greeted us after the first song, and apologized for being late. He said they would make up for it by playing a lot of songs. These days you can’t get away with something like that because everyone knows the set lists and length of shows. Having said, that, their three-hour show was without intermission. I don't remember any other band playing that way. From 1997 to 2016, Rush played about three hours, but always took a 20-minute break.
I can’t remember Zep’s setlist, but one can now look it up on the web. They had put out seven albums so we benefitted from that. The band would release just one more studio album, 1978’s “In Through the Out Door.”
My favorite Zep songs are Kashmir, Whole Lotta Love, and one you might have heard of — Stairway to Heaven. They played all of them and a total of 19.
With Led Zeppelin, their concert was more than just a collection of songs. They were maestros. As one writer has said, Robert Plant had "the whole package as a frontman -- a tremendous vocal range, flowing rock star locks, and magnetism for miles." Page held court with a mesmerizing extended solo with his bow string during "Dazed and Confused." Only a fool took a bath room break during John Bonham's drum solo, and John Paul Jones and his keyboards had the stage during “No Quarter.”
I wish I did have more memories. I do remember at one point Plant took a break by sitting down on one of the stacks of speakers. Every other musician I ever saw who took a break went backstage. In my book, Plant earned some serious respect that way.
The late Jerry Kenion reviewed the show in the Greensboro Daily News. We offer the following snippets of her write up.
Jimmy Page, his thin frame covered in white satin... John Bonham’s drums help put the heavy into the heavy metal sound... laser beams crossed the stage creating a hazy green screen for the rising smoke... the fog machines cranked up to give the appearance that John Paul Jones was floating on a cloud.
What constitutes a great concert means different things to different people. Neil Peart has written that each Rush tour would bring just a handful of magical shows. For most fans, just seeing the band play is magical. I’ve read nit-picks of a show I had just attended, a critique that made me wonder if we were at the same show.
Nevertheless, we all find shortcomings. I can point out some with shows I have seen. I saw Deep Purple with the Fab Five lineup headline the 1985 Knebworth concert. Great show at a storied outdoor venue, but it rained so much the concert was dubbed "Mudworth." And, get this. There was an insane rumor going around Ritchie Blackmore did not want to play “Smoke on the Water” (they did).
I saw Black Sabbath, but it was at the god-awful sounding Fayetteville Coliseum and wasn’t with Ozzy (loved Ronnie James Dio all the same). I saw The Who, but it wasn’t with Keith Moon (still a great concert). I saw Lynyrd Skynyrd, but the memories are bittersweet. Just five months later, tragedy struck when Van Zant, Gaines and a backup singer were killed in the crash of their chartered plane. I saw Kiss in 1976, a killer show, but we sat in the nose bleed seats. By the way, don’t get me wrong. All those were awesome shows.
With the Zeppelin show we saw, there was the painful long delay. But everything else was so right about it. We sang happy birthday to “Bonzo,” and felt something very powerful when Page picked the first notes of Stairway to Heaven.
In 2014, music journalist Lisa Robinson wrote, “There Goes Gravity: A Life in Rock and Roll.” Robinson had full access to Led Zeppelin for a number of years and spends more than two dozen pages on what she saw. In 2014, the author promoted her book at Politics and Prose here in Washington, DC. I told her about seeing them and the unheard of forty minute wait.
Echoing what many others have said, Robinson said by that time, the band was going downhill. Many a journalist has written about “the monster that was Led Zeppelin.” Page and Bonham drank heavily. John Paul Jones would later say he was sick of life on the road. Manager Peter Grant was a bully. Zep weren’t the first band to become a train wreck, but all this made them easy targets for their critics.
But for Robert, Tim and I, ignorance was bliss. All we knew was the mighty Zep was coming to our home town and we scored tickets.
The previous September, the band had released, "The Song Remains the Same," a double live album from the best of three shows at Madison Square Garden during their 1973 tour. I read now that, "a number of critics consider it to be over-produced and lumbering." You'll have to excuse me, for I can only chuckle on that one. From our perspective, it was all good.
Three months later, Zep released “The Song Remains the Same,” the movie of the same name. Robert and I went and saw the flick at the Janus Theatre in Greensboro. Once again, reviews aren’t flattering. For us, however, just being able to see a hard rock band on the big screen was an utter and rare delight.
You have to understand that in the 1970s, before MTV came along, there was very little hard rock music on TV. I remember staying up past midnight to watch Don Kirshner's Rock Concert (Zeppelin never appeared). As a form of mental torture, I had to keep the volume down low as to not wake up my Mom and sister.
As seen by this ad in the Greensboro Daily News (July 1985), TV programmers continued to push aside hard rock music.
With some bands, the fans get to see them a long time. The Stones are quite amazing that way, and Rush kept things top-notch for almost 40 years. Blue Oyster Cult has played over, wait for it, 3,000 shows.
But for many bands, the fire burns out too soon. Just a few weeks after the Greensboro show, Robert Plant’s five-year old son died. Bonham slipped away three summers later.
When things like that take place, bands face the tough decision of replacing an original member. Some make the change and keep going.
Led Zeppelin did not. They were the gods, and we saw them.
In the spring of 1791, George Washington was 59 years old. Two years earlier, the man who had led the Continental Army for eight long years in war, had been elected president of the United States. In addition to all his obligations, duties and responsibilities as the leader of the states, Washington found the will and energy to take an 1,800 miles, 62 stops tour of the southern states.
Although it is not a foot-noted book, Warren Bingham pours his lifelong passion and knowledge on this topic and gives us the terrific (2016) book, “George Washington’s 1791 Southern Tour.” No one knows the lay of the land and the topic better.
Bingham’s father immersed his son in historic places, including Mount Vernon, Alexandria and Washington.
The author grew up in the piedmont of North Carolina, where Washington made nine stops, including Greensboro my hometown. (Note: As Bingham points out, Washington visited the village of Martinsville, apparently named after Governor Alexander Martin. In 1808, the village was named Greensboro, after General Greene).
I enjoyed the chapter where Bingham tells us about previous looks and commemorations of Washington’s epic journey. He also provides a good number of his own photographs and lists the 62 places where Washington slept, including pointing out the 7 buildings that have survived. In addition to all the research, Bingham visited each place on Washington’s tour.
Some readers might want more info on each stop, but newspaper coverage was sparse and Washington was sometimes sparing in his diary. And as the author points out, one has to be careful vis a vis apocryphal stories.
Having said that, our founding father was an amazing person, who always wanted to know what was on the other side of the hill. As this book shows, George Washington crossed many in his extraordinary lifetime, including those in the Southern States.
Note:
Bingham shared with me the following about the 1791 tour. He does touch on this aspect in the book.
After learning he had been elected the first president, among several things he wrote to John Adams, the incoming vice-president, was that he hoped to pay a visit to all of the states during his "term" (he assumed he would serve 4 years) to learn from the people and to see the country.
Beyond that basic fact we glean from his writing to Adams, I infer from his diary entries during his travel through the states and through his correspondence that GW desired to promote the new Constitution and the federal government — so I feel that in addition to "being among the people" in "their" communities and through his presence help unite the country.
In essence, GW hoped to gain public favor in support of the Constitution, but he did not make point blank speeches or write point blank statements; it was more of a soft sell. He knew he was a big hero due to his role in the Revolution; he was self-aware that he carried influence--and, I think, he felt his presence and clear support of the new government would bring others along in support.
When he traveled from Mount Vernon to NYC in April 1789 to become president, he couldn't help but notice adoring crowds gathered to hail him. So, though he had the idea of visiting the states perhaps weeks earlier, I suspect these warm greetings along his way to become president, confirmed for him that visiting all the states would be a good thing.
GW felt the travels and the Southern Tour were successful, because it better connected him with the land and the people he governed--and he felt no significant pushback about the new federal government (which included news of the first federal tax, the tax on domestically distilled spirits).
Of course, it was hard to look the 6'3 hero of the American Revolution in the eye and complain. Eventually, journalists would do it in newspapers--but, generally, on these tours, including the Southern Tour, the people he met seemed to be content with the idea and ideal of the federal government.
It seemed to take forever, but the re-make of the King Street Metro Station “Kiss and Ride” parking lot is approaching completion. The one-acre, triangle shaped parcel will provide a landscaped pedestrian plaza with improved bus and pedestrian flow, new bus bays and bike parking.
As riders anticipate the opening, let's take a look back at the history of this small patch of land.
Like much of the land in our area, the first footprints here were made by the native Americans. Then came the colonials, who cut down the woodlands to make way for their tobacco fields. In 1749, the year of the founding of Alexandria, this one-acre parcel a mile and a half west of the Potomac River was little more than a swale between what would be called Shuter’s Hill and a small ridge of land that would eventually mark the end point of Prince Street.
Prior to this time, the land belonged to Charles Alexander, a descendant of John Alexander, who had purchased the “Howson Tract” in 1669. The Alexanders were planters so perhaps tobacco was grown here. On the other hand, rainwaters likely collected here.
Beth Mitchell’s Map of 1760 gives us our first look at the possible use of this land. Burr Harrison owned a plot whose modern day footprint is roughly King Street to the north, Hooff’s Run to the east, the Beltway to the south and the Metro tracks to the west. Owning adjacent tracts were John West, Jr, John Carlyle, and John Alexander, notable as founding fathers and supporters of Alexandria. Harrison might have been a descendant of the Harrison family whose family tree shows Founding Father Benjamin Harrison V, and Presidents Benjamin Harrison and William Henry Harrison.
The expansion of Alexandria in the second half of the eighteenth century brought the seaport’s homes and businesses closer to Shuter’s Hill. The growth consisted of a couple of leaps westward from the original layout of Water, Fairfax, Royal. A map (Plan of the Town of Alexandria in the District of Columbia,” 1798) shows West Street as the edge of the town. Nothing is located at the future site of the parking lot, but nearby two homes are seen on the map. One was Cameron Mills, whose site is near the Hoffman 22 Theaters.
The other home was labeled, “Mr. Lee’s House.” Known historically as the Mills/Lee/Dulany house, its site is just north of the George Washington National Masonic Memorial. Alexandria archaeologists tell us a laundry building was here, too. Nine enslaved African Americans toiled with the work. Around 1790, Colonel Ludwell Lee (1760-1836) bought the home and farmland. Annotations from George Washington’s diary (Founders Online) tell us Washington may have visited Lee and his wife in late October 1793.
Looking again at the 1798 map, we see the District Line crossing through what would become this parking lot. As told by Boundary Stones dot org, in April 1791, Major Andrew Ellicott and his team began the formal survey by clearing twenty feet on both sides of each boundary line.
After placing the new District’s original stone at Jones Point, they placed southwest stone number three along the turnpike to Leesburg (King Street). (Note: The stone was stolen. A new one was placed along King near Cedar Street, near the original spot).
After the turn of the century, this part of Alexandria began to see more activity. The parcel stood on the northern edge of the West End, a dusty place right out of a Western movie. As noted by an historical marker on Duke Street, the West End became a thriving community. By 1815, its collection of buildings on either side of the turnpike was home to butchers, tanners, millers, carriage makers, tavern keepers, blacksmiths and carriage makers. Catt's Tavern was a landmark for many years. The future site of the lot was not part of the West End, but as an adjacent parcel, it might have been used in some way. It seems likely horses transversed the property, a linking space between the turnpike to Leesburg and the Little Rive Turnpike.
Tobacco planting in Virginia kept the gentry families at the top of the social order, but misery to those who were enslaved to work the fields. It also depleted the soils. In the first half of the nineteenth century, some Virginians left for greener pastures and new starts. Alexandria continued to grow, but at a slow pace during the antebellum period. Therefore, this part of the town remained isolated, except for the horses and coaches entering town on the turnpikes. A map of Alexandria in 1845 (“Plan of the town of Alexandria, D.C. with the environs” by Maskell C. Ewing and Thomas T. Sinclair) shows what is today Diagonal Road. Nothing built is on the parcel but the Drover's Tavern is close by.
The first photography of this part of the city came during the Civil War. Matthew Brady gave us the gift of a lifetime, a view of the seaport and the camp of the 44th New York Infantry east of Shuter's Hill. In this photo, the parcel is vacant.
Source: National Archives and Wikipedia
Speaking of gifts of a lifetime, we also catch a glimpse of this parcel during the war in Charles Magnus “Birds Eye View of Alexandria." A small grove of trees stands at what currently is the entrance to the Duke Street pedestrian tunnel. A couple of buildings are situated along the northern end of modern day Diagonal. The 1864 photograph shows these properties, as well as a wooden fence along their edge.
The game of "base ball" grew during and after the Civil War. All the players needed was an empty field and some rags for the bases. Alexandria archaeologist Benjamin Skolnik conducted research on base ball fields in the city. He found a scattering of diamond-shaped imprints across the oldest part of the city, the tell-tale signature of a base ball field. The future site of one of them is in front of the King Street Station.
Technological wonders helped shape the coming years in Alexandria. Anyone standing on this parcel on September 18, 1892, would have felt the thrill of a lifetime. Excited Alexandrians lined King Street that day to witness, as The Washington Post put it, “the running of electric cars.” The streetcars foretold of the days when the number of horses would be reduced, giving way to the railroads and then the cars.
Alexandria's seaport and river activity were still taking place, and would always be a magnet, but the glory days of tall ships sailing in from far away ports was slipping away. On upper King Street, the turn of the century brought a major turning point when the Washington Southern Railroad (1903-1904) and Alexandria Union Station (1905) were built. Prior to this, the furthest west one could find rail activity in the heart of the city had taken place about five blocks to the east along Fayette and Henry Street.
As noted by the nomination form for the National Register of Historic Places, the train station was built during the City Beautiful Movement in Washington. Utilitarian rails stations gave way to bigger and permanent ones with impressive space and architecture. Union Station became Alexandria’s newest landmark. Smith and Miller tell us it became:
a popular spot for rail enthusiasts to bring children to watch the giant locomotives, wave to engineers and conductors, and to dream of far away places such as Atlanta, Memphis and New Orleans.
Seventeen years after the Gazette splashed ink on its coverage of the streetcar arrival, they poured it on again. On the afternoon of July 30, 1909, Orville Wright and Lt. Benjamin D. Foulois flew into history when their flying machine touched down at Fort Myer. Perhaps their most nervous moment came above Shuter’s Hill, where they made their challenging turnaround. Perhaps some observers watched from the one acre lot.
In 1913, upper King Street got anther landmark when Baggett’s Field rose up where the Alexandria Hilton stands today. Baseball games were the primary draw. Crowds as big as 5,000 watched high school football games, including Alexandria High and Parker Gray School. Perhaps the parcel was used for parking. In the late 1930s the stadium was demolished for a car dealership. A few doors down, the Reed Theater opened in 1937. Alexandrians enjoyed motion pictures there until the late 1970s. The landmark was demolished. That part of King Street, the 1700 block, was the last to be redeveloped (late 1980s, early 1990s) around the Kiss and Ride Lot.
A Sanborn Insurance map of 1921 picks up the story of the parcel. Prince Street had reached to its modern day end at Reinekers Lane. The Emerson Pump & Valve Company was located on Diagonal Road. At the northwest corner of King and Diagonal stood a grocery and a “gasoline service station.”
Also on the Sanborn map one sees the railroad tracks, as well as a spur and the RF&P Freight Depot. Part of the depot is marked “Stock Pen.” The modern day equivalent is just south of the Metro Station.
This parcel of land was no doubt used in some fashion during the grand opening of the George Washington Masonic National Memorial in 1932. Tens of thousands poured into this part of the city for both the groundbreaking and the Grand Opening.
Smith and Miller also provide a circa 1930 photo, showing the bridge over King Street and the train station. The view of the parking lot site is partially blocked, but its northern portion looks empty.
We get our first aerial view of this parcel in 1949 (purchased from Historic Aerials). With the beginning of the Baby Boom and more and more suburban homes, Alexandria's growth had lept over the railroad tracks and spread to the hills to the west. The one acre lot remained empty save the railroad storage shed and the small building facing King Street. Ten years later, more than half of the space was filled with a number of small buildings including a small restaurant at the northwest corner of Duke and Diagonal. These were likely one or two stories tall.
A few gray beards in Alexandria might remember the car dealerships that were located on the 1800 block of King, as well as along Daingerfield and Diagonal. One of them was the Manhattan Auto Inc. Their ad in The Washington Post (April 22, 1954), said:
Branch Sales Room for Austin of England and Austin Healey, 1810 King Street.
More affordable were the Buicks at Temple Motor Company at 1912 Diagonal Road. A gas station and a car repair shop were part of the scene, too.
In the late 1970s, all of these buildings were removed. Another new era was at hand. Reminding some of the days of the electric streetcars, Metro began laying tracks and building stations. The first leg reached National Airport. Then came Braddock Road and King Street. The cleared out parcel was used as a staging site for the construction equipment and crews. By 1982, the Kiss and Ride parking lot was paved and ready.
The new Metro station kicked off a transformation of this part of Old Town. In her article (March 15, 1979) Katherine Conger Kane wrote that upper King had been known as “the wrong end of Old Town.” In the coming years, such thoughts faded as new development took place. Hotels and office space sprung up, as well as Joe Theismann's, a popular watering hole.
Michael Martinez (Washington Post, November 21, 1983) picked up on the story ("King Street Station Bringing New Life to the Old Town"). Mayor Beatley was quoted as saying, “Public transportation is the key to making things work.”
The Kiss and Ride lot was almost taken away in the late 1990s. As reported in 1998 by Sylvia Moreno of the Post, an Alexandria developer (A&A) wanted to put up two nine-story luxury apartments buildings on the parcel. A City Planning director called it “one of the hottest land use issues of the year in Alexandria.” Ultimately, City Council nixed the idea. One possible reason was the desire to keep the space open visually as a gateway.
That decision worked out quite well for lovers of public art. In October 1997, King Street Gardens opened across the street at King and Daingerfield. The small park included one of Alexandria's first pieces of public art. Using stainless steel pipe and wire, a team from Seattle created a piece made to look like a tricorn Topiary Hat, as well as a sunken garden. The artist's website points out:
Prior to the establishment of Alexandria, Hooff's Run flowed through the center of the site which is now the park. The history of that stream and its adjacent wetland, from floodplain to drainage creek to storm sewer, reflects the way in which our culture has looked at and developed low lying areas. The re-creation of the sunken marsh, as a visible reminder of Hooff's Run, tells part of the hidden story of the site. It also reintroduces a small amount of native habitat as a green contrast to the developed property on all sides of the site.
Historic aerials from the 1980s up to a few years ago show the configuration of the parking lot was basically the same from its inception. Taxis lined up along the curb, while buses and cars passed by. Pedestrians had to be aware of all this, even in the crosswalk area.
The Kiss and Ride waiting parking slots were certainly convenient, but this observer noticed blatant abuses of the fifteen minute waiting time.
In December 2018, work began to clear the lot for the new footprint. Alexandria Archaeology did not recommend investigation due to prior disturbances. Temporary wooden bus shelters were put up.
In February 2019, I took this photo of the lot from the hotel (Many thanks to the kind host who allowed me to do so). In September 2020, Alexandria Magazine reported on delays:
The project, which focused on Metro accessibility, parking and pedestrian improvements, started in November 2018, but has “experienced some delays,” to put it gently. The global coronavirus pandemic has squeezed supply chains and put many construction projects locally and globally on a longer schedule, but this project was running late before the pandemic arrived.
As we write, the work is nearing completion. For the ones waiting for the next bus, the trolley or their ride, reading an historic marker or two might make the time go by faster. It may seem like this little acre has not seen a lot of activity, but there are certainly some stories. We hope we have told them well.
A book can inspire many things. These past few weeks I’ve been inspired by “Bound Away, Virginia and the Westward Movement” by David Hackett Fischer and James C. Kelly. The authors do a terrific job covering migration to, within and from the state. I was most captivated by the latter. Little did I realize the totality of the Virginia story, those who migrated not only westward, but southward and even northward. And the story goes way beyond sheer numbers.
I prepared this map of select individuals and compiled the accompanying list. It could be broken down into the “Fathers of” such as Stephen Austin (Father of Texas), the “Founders of,” such as John Donelson (Nashville), the “portable planters” like David Meade, the frontiersmen (Simon Kenton), the mountain men (Jim Bridger), the courageous enslaved African Americans such as Clara Brown (known as the “Angel of the Rockies”), and the family members who also had it tough.
And, of course, there were those who did not go willingly. The forever scar is the Virginia migrants who took a lot of enslaved humans with them. Dred Scott and his family were taken from Virginia. Their saga tells us something very important about the growth of the United States.
Lewis and Clark were not migrants, per se, but they knew a thing or two about blazing a trail. Our list doesn’t have a particular order, but it does begin George Washington, who promoted and invested in the west, and Thomas Jefferson, who purchased a large chunk of it.
The authors touch on many aspects of migration from Virginia. Another category could be the cultural contributors. George Caleb Bingham left Augusta County and headed to Missouri. He fought for the Union and held political office before becoming a noted portraitist and historical painter (over 500 recorded works).
Mark Twain was not born or raised in Virginia but his father was, and as his biographers have pointed out, Twain used the “old-fashioned Virginian” in his thoughts and writings.
We’d be remiss, of course, for not mentioning Virginia City. The authors do mention the story that a drunken James Fennimore gave the boom town its name, and add that the name caught on “perhaps because Wells Fargo only set up offices in cities.”
Perhaps that one is apocryphal. The rest are solidly researched and told. It all adds up to something quite remarkable. We hope our encapsulation is worthy of this fine book, and perhaps even inspires you.
Note: We wondered if the great migration from Virginia is reflected in the number of historical markers in the U.S. The method is flawed, but Virginia does rank second highest with currently more than 9,000 markers and has a nation-wide spread.
Introductory Note
Well, folks, it’s time to exhale. Been down the proverbial rabbit hole for the last six months or so, taking a look at the history of the Custis family. In some ways, the hardest part was trying to figure out how to distill it all down in a way that is pleasing to the reader. Decided on a People and Places approach, as well as creating a Select Genealogy Family Tree, a map of Custis Places and Sites in the area, and two word clouds.
Initially, my main objective with the map was to just document the places as a guide for the reader. Then I realized the map provides a succinct way of showing the impact the Custis family had in the area. Of these 18 places (plus ten sites), one is a memorial, five are a National Historic Landmark, and nine are on the NRHP. I could be wrong, but I’m not sure any other family made their mark on the DMV landscape this way.
I came to greatly admire the Custis family, especially the achievements of the generations after Martha’s four grandchildren. Nevertheless, along with that admiration comes the reminders of the whole story. We must remember that the wealth they gained, the period from 1650 to 1860, came greatly from their ownership of enslaved African Americans. Their dower slaves were passed along like so much property and some were sold off for large amounts of money. At the sale, the owner sometimes tried to keep families together, but not always.
The writer Philip Roth gave us a great observation to ponder, what he called “the ecstasy of sanctimony.” As we continue to criticize past generations, we must keep that sentiment in mind. Nevertheless, the landscape of the former Custis properties and sites does remind us of the sad, wrong and hurtful aspects of our past. Where the balance lies between the good, the bad, and the ugly is up to each of us to decide.
The final thing we did to tell some of this story was to create two word clouds. In the first, we used a black background to pay homage to the untold stories of the enslaved humans the Custis family owned. Realizing that was not enough, we used four names found on the Custis estate Inventory List (1759) and incorporated them into a second word cloud.
Introduction
In the seventeenth century, a good number of sons of English families took the long and sometimes perilous voyage to the colony of Virginia. Inked on the manifests were names such as Carter, Lee, Fitzhugh, Randolph and Washington. Coming from scattered counties and village across England, these immigrants became part of the planter hegemony that held great influence in the tidewater lands for many years.
In his book, "A Topping People, The Rise and Decline of Virginia's Old Political Elite," Emory G. Evans identified 21 "Elite Virginia families." While almost all of them and the early English immigrants stepped off the tall ships near what is now Williamsburg, John Custis II (1630-1696) broke the soil on the Eastern Shore of Virginia.
The year was 1651. The hard and fatal first decades of life in the colony had given way to a somewhat more stable way of life.
Although he was proceeded by a family member, John Custis I, John Custis II was the progenitor of the Custis family in the New World. John Custis II, his son John Custis III and his grandson John Custis IV laid the foundation for the family. The male line would die out with the sixth generation, but the descendants would make headlines with their own stories.
For the most part, there was one way to the top of the political ladder in the colony of Virginia, and John Custis II took it. He first established himself as a planter, then became a Burgess (Lower House), followed by a seat on the Governor's Council (Upper House), the highest position in the colony other than the Governor. Typically, there were only about a dozen Councillors each year who held a lifetime appointment and had the Governor's ear.
Following in the footsteps of John Custis II as a family scion were his son John Custis III, and his grandfather John Custis IV. With the marriage of John Custis IV to Frances Parke, the daughter of planter/burgess/councillor Daniel Parke II, their son Daniel Parke Custis began the Parke Custis part of the family story.
In 1749, the Custis story moved north of Williamsburg to New Kent County where Daniel Parke Custis married Martha Dandridge. Their only son to live past childhood was John "Jacky" Parke Custis. In 1759, the Custis saga took a turn when George Washington married the widowed Martha. There would be no children from this union, but Washington performed all the duties and gave the loving care of a father to Martha's two children and also helped raise two of her grandchildren.
With his wife Eleanor Calvert, a young aristocrat from Maryland whose forebears were the six Lords Baltimore, Jacky Parke Custis had four children. They kept the family story going in a number of marquee ways. Each one married and moved into a new mansion home near Alexandria and the new Federal city across the river. Three of them -- Woodlawn, Arlington House and Tudor Place -- are treasures we cherish today as must-see historic house museums.
As the new capital city of Washington began to slowly rise and the story of new Republic unfolded, the Custis family tree sprung the four branches. The four grandchildren of Martha Washington - Elizabeth, Martha, Eleanor and George Washington Parke Custis - each became parents and lived full lives. The George Washington connection always remained, but new names, such as Robert E. Lee, found a spot on the family tree. The aristocratic nature of the Custis family would end, but their stories kept going in a number of ways.
Even though the story of the Custis family stretches across many generations, it is without a doubt inextricably and vividly tied to George Washington. The ties can be seen in seemingly every newspaper report on a family member. Their "step" relationship to Washington is almost always reported. On the other hand, Martha was sometimes left out. Some readers may have even gotten the impression George Washington was blood kin.
Despite not being a father, Washington certainly was a caring and dutiful guardian/step father/step grandfather/father figure to the Parke Custis children. His guiding hand and watchful eye was fatherly in every way. Custis fathers were not always on their best behavior. George Washington was.
In colonial days and beyond, families had to deal with the early death of an infant or child in numbers that could crush the spirit. Martha Washington felt this pain seemingly more times than others. The 1750s alone tested her very soul. She and Daniel Parke Custis had four children. Sadly, only two, John ("Jacky") Parke Custis (1754-1781) and Martha ("Patsy) Parke Custis (1756-1773), survived to childhood. Then Daniel, seemingly healthy, passed away suddenly in 1757.
The pain returned to Martha in 1773. Sadness gripped Mount Vernon when Patsy could not overcome a persistent case of epilepsy. She took her final breath there at the tender age of 17.
A year later joy washed away some of the sorrow when Jacky married Eleanor Calvert at Mount Airy in Prince George's County, Maryland.
Martha's reprieve from sadness lasted just seven years. The dark veil of death covered her once again in 1781 when Jackie died of "camp fever" at age 27.
Jacky and Eleanor had four children -- Elizabeth Parke Custis, Martha Parke Custis, Eleanor Parke Custis and George Washington Parke Custis. All four led full lives that can tell us something significant about life in and around northern Virginia and Washington, and the early years of the republic.
Of course, any good feelings that surround their stories and those of their forebears comes with the ever so sad reminder that they all profited from owning significant numbers of enslaved humans. This went on for two hundred years.
(Source for list: Founders On Line).
In the first few years of the colony, some of the back-breaking and intensive labor required to grow and harvest tobacco was done in part by white indentured Englishmen. But by the 1620s, more and more African Americans were enslaved to the planters. The heart of darkness in this story is their enslavement and the value of the accumulated Custis estate. It was a staggering sum whose tallies were listed on inventory sheets as "Negroes." The planter/legislators such as John Custis IV voted to enact law after law to keep the institution of slavery going and to maximize their profits.
In the case of dower slaves, the owner by law, could not free the slave. Therefore, it is entirely possible that descendants of one or more enslaved humans of John Custis II became the property of Martha's grandchildren, and onward to their children.
There's no substitute for the written word and images. There's also no substitute for walking where history was made. For those wanting a touchable look at the four Parke Custis kids, the DMV is your oyster. To honor his step grandfather who cared for him deeply and when he could, took great care of him at Mount Vernon along with Martha, George Washington Parke ("Wash") Custis (1781-1857) built and lived in his Greek Revival home he named Arlington. The only child of Custis and his wife Mary married Robert E. Lee. The Lee family grew to seven at Arlington, and Mrs. Robert E. Lee inherited her father's property. Arlington House today invites us to try and understand our complicated past.
As a wedding gift from Washington, Eleanor “Nelly” Parke Custis Lawrence (1779-1852) and her husband Lawrence Washington built and lived in Woodlawn. A National Historic Landmark, it was the first acquisition of the National Trust. Quakers, who opposed slavery, lived there for a period of time.
Also financed in part by Washington, Martha “Patty” Parke Custis Peter (1777-1854) and her aristocratic husband Thomas Peter built and lived in Tudor Place in Georgetown. It is through this National Historic Landmark that we learn how some of the seventh, eight, ninth and tenth generations of this line of the Custis family made their marks.
And although it is smaller than the other three and is obscured by additions and changes, “Mount Washington,” was for a short time the home of Elizabeth “Eliza or Betsy” Parke Custis (1776-1831). The structure is now part of the Alexandria Episcopal School.
In southwest DC stands the Thomas Law House, aka, the "Honeymoon House" where Elizabeth Parke Custis Law and her husband Thomas Law spent their first few months together. Like her three siblings, Elizabeth was part of the Cave Dweller set, wealthy aristocrats who turned heads in the early days of Washington.
The Custis story in the Washington area also includes a number of other places and sites. The most unique is the site of Abingdon at National Airport. In 1778, Jacky Parke Custis acquired the plantation home that was built in the 1740s, even before the founding of Alexandria. Members of the Alexander family, long time owners of the property, probably built the home and lived there before Custis acquired it from them. A state highway marker in Old Town tells us the seaport was named after the Alexander family. Through the years, a number of families lived at Abingdon, but none were as famous as Jackie, Eleanor and the four Parke Custis kids.
The intrepid Custis family history buff will also want to visit Oak Hill Cemetery, Hope Park, Montevideo, Audley, and a few others as seen on the map provided.
All searchers of information on the Custis family owe a great debt to the late James B. Lynch. In a pair of volumes exhaustively researched, Lynch wrote what still stands as the definitive and only account of the first six generations ("The Custis Chronicles"). Lynch spent part of his life in the Washington region and signed the Introductions for his two books with a dateline of Alexandria.
Also a true gift for the ages, Lynch donated his collection of Custis family papers to the Alexandria Library. His late wife Anna was a treasured friend to those who knew her, and was a fixture as a volunteer at the Alexandria Archaeology Museum. Her research on enslaved humans adds significantly to our understanding on the topic. Although oblivious to knowing her husband was James Lynch, I have fond memories of sitting down with Anna at the Museum and sharing our thoughts on Alexandria happenings and history.
Filling a critical need in the telling of some of the Parke family story is Helen Hill Miller. Her book, "Colonel Parke of Virginia, fills a void on that aspect of the Parke family. Daniel Parke II, (1664-1711) was the grandfather of Daniel Parke Custis. Parke II bequeathed a large number of enslaved humans to his daughter Frances, the mother of Daniel Parke Custis. Like Lynch, Miller called the Washington area home for a while. As far as I can tell, hers is the only book on the Parke family.
Before it landed in the Washington region, the Parke Custis story unfolded from the Eastern Shore of Virginia and went up the Virginia Peninsula to where the Pamunkey River winds like a snake. Sadly, all their homes at Arlington, Queen's Creek, Williamsburg and in Kent County, are gone.
Fortunately, trowels have been turning the soil at Colonial Williamsburg. Led by Dr. Mark Kostro, a team of archaeologists there are investigating “Custis Square,” the site of the home of John Custis IV (Martha's father-in-law). The green plot lies within footsteps of where tourists amble along the main spine of the once capital city. The Williamsburg website tells us:
Among sites still to be explored in Colonial Williamsburg, Custis Square ranks near the top, with potential to add significantly to our understanding of early American gardening, enslavement, colonial consumerism, and 18th century scientific thought.
With all these sources as well as many others, let’s take a brief look at the story of this line of the Custis family. In some ways, the hardest part was trying to figure out how to distill it all down in a way that is pleasing to the reader. We decided on a People and Places approach, as well as creating a Select Genealogy Family Tree and a Map of Custis Places and Sites in the area.
Regarding the map, my main objective with it initially was to just document the places as a guide for the reader. Then I realized the map provides a way to see the full impact of the Custis family in the DMV. Of these 18 places (plus ten sites), one is a memorial, five are a National Historic Landmark, and nine are on the NRHP. I could be wrong, but I’m not sure any other family made their mark on the DMV landscape this way.
Either way, the Custis family story is compelling and insightful. Our great regret is not being able to go the extra mile and tell some of the stories of their enslaved humans. Our sincere hope is that someone will. Without them, the story of the Custis family is quite diminished.
Family Tree
The searcher of a family tree for the Custis family will find small ones, but not a comprehensive one. The creator of a Select Genealogy for the family will find the challenge of who to put in and who to leave out.
With the knowledge ours is not a complete one, we came up with these two. The second is very important. Without a doubt, the most forgotten part of their story is the seven sons and daughters of Dr. David Stuart and Eleanor Calvert Custis Stuart, the half-siblings of Martha's four famous grandchildren.
The People
The Custis family made their mark from the time they landed in the colony of Virginia in the middle of the seventeenth century to the tenth generation at the end of the twentieth. They were planters, politicians, leaders, officers and soldiers, farmers, land owners, mansion builders and mistresses, caretakers and preservationists, men of the cloth and businessmen, diarists, historians, talented in music and more. They married into the Washington, Calvert, Lee, Fitzhugh, and Peter families and raised scores of children.
We offer these bios:
The Places
The seeker of Custis places and sites can pick and choose from a bounty, which stretch from the Eastern Shore to the Washington region and beyond. Here are a score and some we selected.
Custis Places and Sites in the DMV
If visiting mansion home museums is your favorite hobby, the Washington region is the place to be. The Custis family certainly made their mark this way. As noted earlier, George and Martha built and lived their lives at Mount Vernon. Eleanor Parke Custis and Lawrence Lewis built and lived their middle years at Woodlawn. In their adult and final years, George Washington Parke Custis and Mary built and lived in Arlington, and Martha Parke Custis and Thomas Peter built and lived in Tudor Place. However briefly, Elizabeth Parke Custis and Thomas Law made the Honeymoon House in Washington famous. The tour does not end there. Below are more than two dozen places and sites associated with the Custis family.
Word Cloud
Using "Word It Out," we created two word clouds. We used a black background to pay homage to the untold stories of the enslaved humans the Custis family owned. We also used four names found on the Custis estate Inventory List (1759) and incorporated them into a second word cloud.
Parting Thoughts
As we step away from the Custis family, we're left with a couple of thoughts. We're reminded of something Mary Thompson said in her recent book, “The Only Avoidable Subject of Regret.”
While I can understand the disgust many people in our society feel about slavery and their inability to fathom how anyone could own another person, judging a person from another time and culture by the standards of one’s own time is quite naive. Not only does it take a person, in this case Washington, out of the context of the time in which he lived, but on the question of slavery, takes him out of human history as a whole.
Echoing these sentiments is Peter R. Henriques in his new book, "First and Always, A New Portrait of George Washington."
In the present day, people seem particularly prone to the joys of what Philip Roth called the "ecstasy of sanctimony." How, we are asked, can one admire any man willing to claim ownership of other persons?
While we nod our head in agreement, at the same time, we must also remember that the Custis family, from John Custis II to Martha's grandchildren, a span of time of more than two hundred years, owned a staggering number of enslaved humans. In the case of dower slaves, they could not be freed upon the owner's death.
Our second thought is to share the great news that a long gap is going to be filled. Other than biographies of George and Martha, and a few others, no one has published a book on the Custis family since Lynch. We now know Dr. Cassandra Good is currently working on one, titled, "First Family: George Washington’s Heirs and the Making of America." Her previous work tells us this will be a terrific book.
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank the following people for their help not only with this research, but as on going sources for insight into area history. Don Dahmann, Dave Cavanaugh, Ted Pulliam, Amy Bertsch, Char Bah, Jim Bish, Patsy Rogers, Garrett Peck, Tammy Mannarino, Hal Hardaway, Dick Hamly, and Mary Thompson. At age 63, my synapses aren't as strong as they once were, so apologies if I forgot anyone.
Others who turned lights on or opened doors on the Custis family stories include Steve Livengood, Kurt Moser, Grant Quertermous, Susan Langley, Judith Grove, Shane MacDonald, Jennifer Stabler, and Beth DeFrancis Sun.
Sources
While there is a dearth of Custis titles, there is a bounty of books where they are part of the story. I benefitted greatly from a good number of them. Below is a select list. In particular, we heap praise on "Tudor Place, America's Story Lives Here" and Lynch's two volumes on the family. Founders Online is equally indispensable.
Armstrong, Erica Dunbar. Never Caught: The Washingtons' Relentless Pursuit of Their Runaway Slave, Ona Judge
Brady, Patricia. George Washington's Beautiful Nelly: The Letters of Eleanor Parke Custis Lewis to Elizabeth Bordley Gibson, 1794-1851.
Callcott, Margaret Law. Mistress of Riversdale.
Clark, Ellen McCallister. Worthy Partner: The Papers of Martha Washington.
Evans, Emory G. A Topping People, The Rise and Fall of Virginia's Old Political Elite.
Fraser, Flora. The Washingtons: George and Martha.
Lynch, James. The Custis Chronicles, The Virginia Generations. The Custis Chronicles. Years of Migration.
Miller, Helen Hill. Colonel Parke of Virginia.
Peck, Garrett. The Smithsonian Castle and the Seneca Quarry.
Plater, David. D. Plater. The Butlers of Iberville Parish, Louisiana: Dunboyne Plantation in the 1800s.
Pryor, Elizabeth Brown. Reading the Man: A Portrait of Robert E. Lee Through His Private Letters.
Thompson, Mary. The Only Unavoidable Subject of Regret: George Washington, Slavery, and the Enslaved Community at Mount Vernon.
Tudor Place, America's Story Lives Here. White House Historical Association.
Wiencek, Henry. "An Imperfect God: George Washington, His Slaves, and the Creation of America.”
Decided to put together a thumb nail look at the growth of neighborhoods in Southeast Fairfax County. Apologies for not getting in all of the neighborhoods and I limited this look to single family homes. In some cases on the map I preparded, I used a catch all label, such as Bucknell for Bucknell Heights and Bucknell Manor. Feedback certainly welcomed, tell us about your neighborhood’s beginnings.
1900
On fields once worked by enslaved humans, Fairfax County remains mostly farmland. In some cases, diary farms are the biggest money makers. There are small communities in the southeast portion of the county, such as Gum Springs and a sprinkling of homes on the hills and along the dirt roads.
New Alexandria would have been a new suburban set of homes in this part of the county, but it never got going after a promising start in 1894. Older landmark homes such as City View, Spring Bank and Mount Eagle dotted the area.
1930s
FDR’s New Deal creates a migration of folks into Washington, those who want to help out with the programs. On the heels of Belle Haven, which got its start in the 1920s, Groveton sees some of is first suburban homes on both sides of US Route One. More and more roads are paved and Route One becomes a major artery with businesses and some new homes on both sides.
1940s
The next driver of growth in Washington is World War II. The city’s population explodes, going from 486,000 in 1930 to 663,00 in 1940, and then to 802,000 in 1950. Groveton, New Alexandria, and Belle Haven gain more homes as the farmers begin to see the writing on the wall. Along the Old Mount Vernon Road, today’s Buckman Road, some homes sprout up. Gum Springs also sees new homes as well as New Alexandria.
1950s
The transformation of this part of Fairfax County hits full steam ahead. Even before the Beltway is built, neighborhoods such as Huntington, Jefferson Manor, Tauxemont, Hollin Hills, Hollin Hall, Bucknell Manor, and subdivisions in the Woodlawn area begin to sprout up.
Most of the house stock is typical -- ramblers, Cape Cod and split-levels -- but Tauxemont and Hollin Hills offer mid-Modern homes.
1960s
For the first time ever, and signaling a trend that won’t stop until half a century later, the District of Columbia’s population drops, going from 802,000 in 1950 to 763,000 in 1960. As a result, the wave of suburbia over the former farm land south of Alexandria is on, with Fairfax County’s population leaping from 98,000 to 275,000 in the same timeframe.
Many of the modern day neighborhoods we know today — Burgandy Village, Belle View, Westgrove, Virginia Hills, Waynewood, Stratford Landing — are built in this time frame.
City View is demolished (1959) and the airport closed down to make way for a new shopping center in Groveton. The Hybla Valley airport was also torn down and also makes way for homes and a shopping center.
1970s
With the completion of the Beltway and the widening of Route One, the rat race has never been faster. The county’s population takes another leap, going from 275,000 in 1960 to 455,000 in 1970. All signs of the past — the two airports, City View, Spring Bank and Mount Eagle — are gone. Much of the single family home landscape seen today has been built.
In the years to come, there will be some infilling. In sharp contrast to the quiet leafy neighborhood living, Richmond Highway’s traffic reaches epically bad proportions.
Elected officials and planners respond. A new era kicks off in 2012 with the opening of Beacon of Groveton, the first mixed-use units on Richmond Highway south of Alexandria and on the highest point for miles around. Other new developments follow in Huntington and Penn Daw, all part of the effort in Southeast Fairfax County that will use Transit Oriented Growth principles and planning.
On the drawing boards now are plans for mixed use in and around the Huntington Metro and funding continues for the Rapid Bus Transit system.
As we speak, folks continue to work from home, part of the response to the Covid 19 virus. At times, Richmond Highway is eerily quiet. If you look hard enough, you might see a farmer…
When the talk of landmark homes built in the eighteenth century in the Washington region arises, there are a number of places that come to mind. Alexandria and Georgetown are heavenly and Northern Virginia and Maryland are in the game, too. In the District, the part that was once called the “City of Washington,” the story is rather sad. A few such as the Octagon House and the Thomas Law House survived, but the oldest ones are long gone and forgotten.
Using Capitol Losses, and Historic Houses and Georgetown and Washington, DC, we came up with this list and map showing a select five and one Honorable Mention.
1. Notley Young’s Mansion
1750-1856
G between 9th and 10th, SW.
There Now: Banneker Circle
Built of brick in the Georgian style by Notley Young, this one was one of the first landmark homes in what would become known as the City of Washington. Large and impressive, it commanded a Position A spot near the Potomac River and Georgetown.
Notley Young was one of the 19 original proprietors. His mansion was described as, “One of the few places fit for a gentleman’s home.” It also served as place of worship for Catholics, who were prohibited from worshiping in public churches.
An historical marker on its site, just south of L’Enfant Plaza), tells us Young owned nearly all of today’s Southwest DC. Ever so sadly, he owned more than 200 enslaved humans.
Note: Probably because there is no image, James Goode did not include this one in his book. There has been digital imaging.
2. Burnes House
1760-1894
West Side of 17th Street, NW, between C and Constitution.
There Now: Organization of American States
Beginning in 1721, the Burnes family owned the land which encompassed most of the future site of the Penn Quarter, Pennsylvania Avenue, the Mall and the White House and grounds. David Burnes (1739-1799), grandson of the Scottish immigrant, built a cottage type dwelling for his family. It’s very likely he visited Alexandria to see the Scots there.
In 1791, in the midst of land negotiations for the new Federal City, George Washington famously referred to him as the “obstinate Mr. Burns.”
The home Burnes built in 1760 was “one of oldest existing buildings in the District” when it was demolished in 1894. Burne's daughter Marcia and her husband John Peter Van Ness married there. In 1813 they built a magnificent mansion near the cottage where they became one of Washington’s first power couples. Marcia was particularly beloved, especially for her work with orphaned children and arranging social events. Some have called her the first leading lady of Washington. She maintained her father's home after he passed away.
3. Duddington
F and 2nd Streets, SE, northwest corner
1793-1886
There Now: Row Houses
The Carroll family looms large in early Washington. Daniel Carroll (1764-1849) of Duddington was one of the wealthiest men in the area and the largest landowner in 1791, including some of Capitol Hill. He served in leadership roles, built early rental properties including Carroll Row, and donated lots to Georgetown.
In 1791, Carroll started building a home south of where the Capitol would rise. Pierre L’Enfant, fuming it blocked New Jersey Avenue SE, had it tore it down. L’Enfant, who had already rubbed important people the wrong way, was fired.
Carroll then completed his second effort in 1793. It spread out with nine bays wide, two and a half stories high, and a central pavilion featured three arched windows/ Described as “First important house erected in Washington after 1791.” and “one of the great Federal mansions of Washington.”
The Capitol Hill Restoration Society tells us:
Archimedes Heckman, a Philadelphia speculator, bought the entire square where Duddington was located and started building rowhouses.
A Washington Post article reported on the 50th anniversary of the Duddington Place block party. The benches on the street help knit the community.
4. Peter Family Home
1795-1960s
2620 Wapping (K) Street, NW
There Now: K Street Interchange
The Peters were an important family in the early history of Georgetown. Robert Peter distinguished himself as a land owner and agent with the Glasgow firm of John Glassford and Company, which also had a store in Alexandria. Robert’s son Thomas married Martha Parke Custis, second oldest of Martha Washington’s famed grandchildren. For a wedding present, he gave the newlyweds the house at 2618 Wapping (K) Street, just outside Georgetown.
The brick stuccoed, three-and-a-half story house was their temporary home before moving into Tudor Place. Family members often dined and stayed, including George Washington, who last stayed here about a month before he passed away. Martha's children might have been born here.
A number of British diplomats lived in the dwelling after the Peters moved out, followed by Count Phalen of Russia. At some point they became apartments.
In their 1950 book, authors Harold Donaldson Eberlien and Cortland Van Dyke Howland pointed out the home was “smugged up by a complete coat of roughcast stucco over the brick.” Nevertheless, they wrote the home deserved preservation and restoration.
The Columbia Historical Society, the predecessor to the Washington Historical Society, thought so, too. In 1959 its members tried to save the home. Their plan was to donate it to the Washington City Museum, which did not have a home. General Ulysses S. Grant III, president of the society, was quoted as saying, it’s the oldest historical house in Washington.
In 1956, real estate investor Leo M. Bernstein had offered the site behind the home for the relocation of the Union Engine Company (built 1837) at 2618 K Street. Bernstein also offered to sponsor the establishment of a museum of the city at the new site. The Association of Oldest Inhabitants had been located in the fire house. Both were demolished for the widening of K Street.
5. Analostan
Mason's Island
1796-1935
There Now: Historical Marking on Theodore Roosevelt Island
Before bridges were built across the Potomac, Mason’s Island was where folks cross the Potomac River, a combination of a causeway and ferry. Going back to 1724, George Mason’s father owned the land before it was bequeathed to General John Mason (1766-1849), a son of George Mason.
It was easy to get lost in the Mason family shuffle, but General John Mason did his upmost to distinguish himself. He spent four years in Bordeaux, France as agent for a firm there, served as a Brigadier General in the DC militia (1802-1811), helped found and served as President of the Bank of Columbia in Georgetown, took the helm for the Potowmack Company, the predecessor to the C&O Canan Company, and acquired the Columbia Foundry in Washington. Mason and his family lived at 3425 Prospect Street in Georgetown. Wealthy residents summered at hilly places away from Washington’s heat bowl. Mason uniquely built his on this island, which he made a “self-contained estate.” His home was Federal with neoclassical designs in the regency style.
His close neighbor was George Washington Parke Custis and his family at Arlington. Guests at his home included Thomas Jefferson and Marquis de Lafayette. Landscaping was “elegant.”
Like a number of early Washington figures, Mason lost his hat financially. He retreated to familiar Virginia soil south of Alexandria and lived at Clermont.
Honorable Mention
6. Van Ness House
C Street, Constitution, 17th Street and 18th Street NW
1813-1907
Designed: Latrobe
There Now: Organization of American States
In some ways, this one was perhaps the greatest loss. Designed by Benjamin Latrobe, two-story hipped roof, three bays wide, with pavilions crowned by parapets, stuccoed brick, Doric carriage porch. “Long regarded as one of the finest homes in the country.”
John Peter Van Ness, Congressman from New York, married Marcia Burnes, sole heir to David Burnes’ fortune. Their house was a social center for members of Congress and Washington upper elite. A storm damaged the home in 1894. Goode said the effort to save it was perhaps the first popular attempt at preservation in the city. In 1910, the Pan-American Union Building rose up on the site (organization changed their name to Organization of American States in 1948).
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