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9/22/2007 Photos and Travel Log
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West of Baltimore we found open space and farmland.
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Travel Log ~ 9/22/2007 A beautiful drive through Western Virginia
Following the
suggestions of several native Baltimoreans,
today’s route avoided Baltimore and
Washington DC. We headed west to Fredrick,
Virginia then south along the
Shenandoah
Valley. It is a beautiful drive through
rolling hills nestled between the Blue Ridge
Mountains and the Appalachians. We added
this area to our “Come back and spend some
time” list. We noted many hiking and
motorcycle opportunities. Surrounded by Lush
green, primarily deciduous trees, we were
able to see miles in any direction. And, as
if taking their cue from the calendar
(tomorrow is the first day of Fall), we also
noticed the trees begin to turn. Back to Tour Itinerary | Back to previous travel log entry | Next travel log entry Staunton, Virginia Staunton Facts Staunton has one architectural advantage over most of other small towns in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia: it escaped the Civil War unscathed. Many of its 18th and early 19th century homes and buildings still stand and are wonderfully preserved. Scottish-Irish immigrant John Lewis and his family built the area's first homestead in 1732, and most of Staunton's early settlers were Scots-Irish. Staunton's early history reads like a catalog of small town America, from organizing its first volunteer fire department (with one female member) in 1790, to incorporating with a population of 800 in 1801, to the location of the Augusta Female Seminary, now Mary Baldwin College, in 1842. The arrival of the Virginia Central Railroad in 1854 made Staunton a transportation hub for all of western Virginia. Two years later, Woodrow Wilson arrived in Staunton, born to the local Presbyterian minister and his wife. Wilson's homecoming as president-elect in 1912 was the most elaborate celebration in Staunton's history.
Staunton's
fine
collection
of historic
preservation
areas
includes the
Gospel Hill
Historic
District, so
named in the
late 1790s
when
religious
meetings
were held at
its
blacksmith
shop. Its
elegant
homes
include
examples of
Victorian,
Greek
Revival, and
Federal
styles. The
Downtown
Historic
District is
a compact
19th-century
"Main
Street,"
with
buildings
that date
from
Staunton's
boom years
between 1860
and 1920,
and a fine
concentrations
of
Victorian-era
architecture.
Its Wharf
Historic
District
harks to the
days when
the railroad
changed
Staunton
from a rural
village to a
center of
commerce,
with strong
and sturdy
warehouses.
Since 1972
the Wharf
Historic
District has
been on the
National
Register of
Historic
Places, and
its depot
and other
preserved
buildings
house
restaurants,
antique
shops and
specialty
boutiques.
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