5 Yorktown Weekend Getaways to Satisfy Many Types of Visitors This Season

From foodie excursions and girls’ weekends to art aficionados and history buffs, imagine a destination a short distance away that caters to all sorts of travelers. 

If you haven’t made a trip to explore Yorktown lately, fall is the perfect time to explore. You’ll find world-class amenities and attractions nestled in a place that maintains plenty of small-town charm and hospitality. 

A day spent in Yorktown is always worthwhile, but to truly experience all it has to offer, set aside more time in your schedule to explore. We’ve curated a few trip agendas with suggestions on places to stay, play and eat that will make ideal autumn escapes for all. 

ART AFICIONADOS 

Event: Yorktown Art Stroll, Sept. 25 

Stay: The former residence and gallery of well-known contemporary folk artist Nancy Thomas now serve as private cottages available to rent. Art lovers will appreciate looking for the many tributes to Thomas’ career featured throughout both cozy and eclectic accommodations. 

Play: Hop on the Yorktown Trolley and head up the hill to Main Street to discover treasures at On the Hill Gallery and Gallery at York Hall, featuring the works of more than 300 Yorktown-area artists—paintings, pottery, jewelry, quilts, photographs, holiday ornaments, stained glass and more. 

Eat: Dine al fresco next to the York River at Water Street Grille. Take your time and share seasonal craft cocktails and appetizers of local oysters, crab cakes and scallops casino, particularly on a Thursday night while listening to the sounds of the Rhythms on the Riverwalk Concert Series.

GIRLS’ WEEKEND 

Event: Yorktown Wine Festival, Oct. 1 

Stay: There is plenty of space to laugh, talk and reconnect over breakfast or in the lovely outdoor spaces at Marl Inn Bed & Breakfast. A variety of guest rooms and suites can host several friends. 

Play: Stroll the mile-long pedestrian waterfront walkway and then linger as long as you’d like in Riverwalk Landing shops like Gangsta Dog, Viccellio Goldsmith or Auntie M’s American Cottage. 

Eat: Relax and chat at the casual and welcoming Yorktown Pub. Large plates are perfect for sharing with friends, including the 1/2-pound burger and the steamed seafood sampler. Walk to Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream in Riverwalk Landing for a sweet reward to end your evening. 

FOOD ENTHUSIASTS 

Events: Yorktown Market Days, September and October Saturdays (excluding Oct. 1); Yorktoberfest, Oct. 23 

Stay: Enjoy a breakfast feast served by innkeeper Bill Cole at the York River Inn Bed & Breakfast. He prepares decadent dishes like glazed sausage cakes, spinach and artichoke pie and corn pudding. 

Play: Work off your meals by renting bikes, kayaks or paddleboards from Patriot Tours & Provisions. Rentals are launched from the private beach at the Watermen’s Museum. 

Eat: Journey beyond the Yorktown waterfront to The Edge District for innovative cuisine and gourmet tacos at Casa Pearl, locally roasted coffee flights at Column 15 or a double IPA at The Virginia Beer Co. 

ROMANTIC GETAWAY 

Event: Rhythms on the Riverwalk Concert Series, Thursdays in September and Oct. 6 and 13 

Stay: Relax on your beachfront balcony at Yorktown Beach Hotel with a cup of coffee or glass of wine and enjoy the view as you toast the opportunity for a couple’s escape. 

Play: Romance and sunsets go hand-in-hand, and being on the water aboard a Schooner Alliance sail enhances the allure. 

Eat: Share a beautiful plate of fresh sashimi at Umi Sushi and then indulge in dessert at Carrot Tree Kitchens. Homemade cakes and pastries are impossible to pass up—and you shouldn’t.

 HISTORY BUFFS 

Event: Yorktown Day, Oct. 19; York County Vintage Market, Nov. 5 

Stay: History aficionados will appreciate the story of The Hornsby House Inn. The colonial-style home was built in 1933 by John William “JW” Hornsby and has remained in the family for three generations. 

Play: Immerse yourself in Yorktown’s world-class museums. Experience 18th-century living history at the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown through a Revolution-era farm and Continental Army encampment. Of course, history lovers can’t miss the Colonial National Historical Park, where they can ask questions during a tour of Yorktown Battlefield and watch a film about the Siege of Yorktown at the Visitor Center. 

Eat: Mobjack Coffee Roasters and Petite Café offers coffees, espressos, sandwiches, sweets, beer and wine in the circa 1726 Cole Digges House on Main Street. The eatery also partners with Colonial National Historical Park on Stroll with a Historian history tours. 

For more information about Yorktown weekends and to check out the complete events calendar, check out VisitYorktown.org.

Crossing the Potomac River along I-395, a quintessential D.C. landscape fills the foreground. Drive by landmarks like the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the way to something new in a historic part of our nation’s capital.

Scenically and conveniently located near downtown Washington D.C. and Dupont Circle, the Kimpton Banneker Hotel offers relaxation and sophistication in the historic area. Rounding Scott Circle, the modern hotel that opened late June 2021, is situated along the charming tree-lined streets.

Before the Banneker, the location was the site of the former Kimpton-run Hotel Rouge. After a $20 million renovation, the accommodation was completely transformed into a 10-story boutique property. The Banneker embraces the spirit of D.C. through an appreciation for its history, art and culture.

Contrasting the Banneker’s contemporary, slate-colored exterior is a warm and comfortable vibe in the hotel’s lobby. Showcased on the wooden wall opposite the front desk is an abstract portrait by D.C.-based artist Rob Matthews that is not only a representation of the Banneker’s art collection but is a portrait of the hotel’s namesake.

The Banneker’s name is a nod to one of the country’s major Black innovators, Benjamin Banneker. Banneker made significant contributions to astronomy, mathematics, and civil rights. He also played a key role in surveying the land that would become Washington D.C. in 1791, specifically identifying the meridian line for D.C.—a line that is now 16th Street, where the hotel is located. To honor Banneker, the hotel has several constellation motifs and even provides guests a card that describes which constellations will be visible during their stay.

The Banneker portrait is just one of the many original works of art within the hotel. The Banneker has thoughtfully curated an art collection highlighting D.C. natives and international artists in a variety of mediums. From the lobby mural by D.C.-based Nigerian-American artist Victor Ekpuk to abstract paintings, photographs, and more throughout the hotel, the Banneker could also double as an art gallery.

Complementing the hotel’s collection of art is the refreshed interior design led by Toronto-based firm Mason Studio. Each of the 144 spacious guest rooms presents a blend of warm tones and cool minimalism, designed with lush materials like corduroy and velvet.

Once you settle in and decompress from the inevitable traffic on I-95, mosey back down to the lobby for a complimentary evening wine hour in the adjacent sitting area. The wine hour is a perfect precursor to dinner at the Banneker’s in-house restaurant, Le Sel.

You may forget when you first walk into Le Sel that you’re in Washington D.C. The restaurant’s wall-to-wall windows fill the dining room with light and open up to 16th Street NW, drawing inspiration from Paris bistros. The 750-square-foot outdoor patio attracts pedestrians to dine at the inviting restaurant.

Le Sel, with a name that translates to “the salt,” features a menu that blends contemporary French fare with elevated comfort food. Executive chef Laurent Hollaender, a native of France, conceived an upscale, yet approachable, menu that utilizes locally sourced, seasonal ingredients.

Tomatoes from a farm in Maryland are the star of the restaurant’s Heirloom Tomato Carpaccio, served with crushed pistachio, buttery sweet Castelvetrano olives and balsamic glaze. The mushrooms served with the Roquefort Crusted Filet Mignon are sourced from a farm in Pennsylvania, while the apples used in the Pork Belly entrée’s fennel and apple salad hail from neighboring Virginia.

Hollaender put a spin on French staples by adding a mid-Atlantic twist. Steak Tartare is made with smoked oyster mayo and topped with an oyster to add a briny flavor to the savory appetizer. Seafood entrees include Seared Diver Scallops, served with an “eggplant caviar,” and flounder wrapped in thin slices of prosciutto.

Hollaender explains that after spending years in Orlando, Florida, he was eager to move back north and take advantage of the regional offerings from the water. “There was a bounty of seafood to choose from,” he says.

Additionally, Le Sel indulges diners with classic French dishes—onion soup overflowing with Emmental cheese, escargot in bubbling garlic butter, niçoise salad, Moules Frites and crème brûlée.

The Banneker’s location makes it easy to tour D.C. by foot. Historic hotspots, along with the National Museum of African American History, the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History and the National Gallery of Art, are just a few miles away. The Banneker even offers complimentary bike rentals so you can pedal your way around the nation’s capital.

Follow the stars, much like Benjamin Banneker did more than 200 years ago, for a much-needed getaway.

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Kimpton Banneker Hotel is located in downtown D.C., a three- to five-hour drive depending on your starting point in Central Virginia. Learn more or make a reservation at TheBanneker.com.

Unique boutique hotel opens in Roanoke

As you enter the grand hotel lobby of The Liberty Trust, it’s clear the building was formerly a bank. A vault is open at the end of the long lobby, which was once lined with teller windows. By the end of the summer or early fall, the teller spaces will serve as a bar and restaurant.

The newly renovated boutique hotel opened in mid-March after painstaking efforts to preserve as much of the history of the structure as possible. “We really tried to repurpose everything we possibly could,” said Rebecca Heefner, director of sales for Savara Hospitality, which owns the building.

When the building first opened in December 1910 as the First National Bank, the French Renaissance-Beaux Arts building was called a “Temple of Finance” by a local newspaper, and it remained a bank for nearly 100 years. The building was designed by John Kevan Peebles, considered the “dean of Virginia architects” during the early part of the last century. Peebles served on the architectural committee for the restoration of Virginia’s State Capitol in 1902 and the board of design for the Jamestown Exposition in 1907. He was also chair of the architectural committee for the University of Virginia.

The lobby is graced with soaring ceilings, chandeliers, and Doric marble columns. A giant clock sits above the vault, and though the new owners could not find anyone to repair it, it’s still impressive, as are the giant Roman numerals for 1909, the year the building was complete. The original green marble and granite and much of the flooring was left intact, as required for tax credits for a historic renovation. The copper-clad doors, which now grace several of the 54 hotel rooms, are likely the only ones of their kind in Roanoke.

When the bank was built, electricity was relatively new to the city and made the seven-story skyscraper possible with the installation of elevators. During a tour of the hotel, Heefner said her favorite historical gadget is an on-off light switch composed of two buttons.

The much-anticipated opening of the new hotel received recognition from Forbes magazine, which in December named The Liberty Trust one of eight hotels in the country to consider for travel and business.

Much of the national and international attention to the renovation was thanks to the Salvage Dawgs’ DIY Network show, which was created by Black Dog Salvage, a Roanoke-based salvage and repurposing firm.

In 2019, prior to the renovation of the building, the Salvage Dawgs’ crew filmed an episode at the Liberty Trust for Season 11, their final season. The crew explored the building from roof to basement to find and remove architectural elements such as plumbing, lighting fixtures, and two dangerously heavy safe doors, which weighed nearly 1,000 pounds apiece.

“We harvested some cool stuff,” said Mike Whiteside, CEO and co-founder of Black Dog Salvage, adding they wanted to harvest a lot more items, but tax-credit requirements didn’t allow it. He said the best items were some in-ground urinals, which might be used in period-piece movies. Black Dog Salvage used the decorative parts of one of the safe doors to build a small consult table, and Whiteside said he would like to build a second, slightly large consult table for the front lobby of the hotel.

Two of the original six safes were left in place, though only one is visible to the public. The safe will become a tasting room, and guests can already enjoy an espresso there.

As guests wait for one of two elevators, they can see the original U.S. mailbox mounted in the wall to the right. Letters can still be posted from the seventh floor down via a chute, and according to Heefner, the mail is picked up daily.

The Liberty Trust rooms, which once served as offices, come in six different configurations, Heefner said. They range from Petite Queen rooms, which span 200 square feet, to Deluxe King rooms, which span 500 square feet. Each room features an old-fashioned teller lamp and telephone, as well as a copper mirror on the backs of the doors for a historic feel among the comfortable beds and spacious bathrooms. “A lot of the rooms are oversized and quite luxurious,” Heefner remarked.

From the windows of the 54 rooms different iconic Roanoke structures can be seen, including the Roanoke Star on Mill Mountain, the Hotel Roanoke, and the Taubman Museum of Art. During a recent stay, my husband and I were rewarded with an incredible view from our third-floor window of a full rainbow in the afternoon. We also enjoyed the view of a lovely sunrise that highlighted the mountain-like architecture of the Taubman Museum, where we headed for a morning visit.

Located at the corner of Jefferson Street and Salem Avenue, the hotel could not be more convenient to those visiting downtown Roanoke. The historic Roanoke City Market, one of the oldest continuous markets in the country, is a short walk from the hotel, as is Center in the Square, which houses science, art, and pinball museums, as well as the Mill Mountain Theatre.

Many established restaurants are nearby, including Alexander’s, which is literally next door and offers fine contemporary dining. On our visit, we enjoyed shrimp etouffee and scallops, with a decadent chocolate pudding cake as a perfect dinner finish.

Heefner noted that when The Liberty Trust bar and restaurant open later this year with cocktails and small plates, “We hope to be the before-and-after place where people hang out.”

The original First National Bank opened the day after Christmas in 1910 and was the first financial institution to be founded in Roanoke. The bank facilitated the commercial transactions of the Shenandoah Valley Railroad, forerunner of the Norfolk & Western Railway. Roanoke is still a busy railway hub, and though the tracks are only a block from The Liberty Trust, the well-insulated building kept us from being disturbed by nighttime trains during our overnight stay.

In 1926, the bank merged with National Exchange Bank, becoming First National Exchange Bank. The same year, the Liberty Trust Company bought the building and occupied the first floor. Liberty Trust remained there for 20 years until it merged with The Colonial American National Bank and relocated.

In the years that followed, the Liberty Trust building was home to a number of financial institutions including People’s Federal Savings and Loan, and in the 1980s, it began serving as office space for a number of companies.

Savara acquired the building in 2018 and began construction at the end of 2019. COVID-19 required a pause, but construction restarted in January 2022 with a remarkably quick turnaround.

Most of the key project participants in the renovation are local businesses. The general contractor is R.L. Price Construction, which is based in Salem. Architect Robert Pilkington of Roanoke’s Balzer & Associates worked with the developers on the renovations of the building. Hill Studio was a consultant on historic restoration and preservation. The project was financed locally by Roanoke-based Freedom First Credit Union.

The Liberty Trust Bank Building is on the National Register of Historic Places and is a Virginia Historic Landmark. The Liberty Trust hotel is the only member of Preferred Hotels & Resorts in Virginia’s Blue Ridge—and one of only six in the state of Virginia. Savara also operates the historic Linden Row Inn in Richmond, Virginia, and the Meadowbrook Inn in Blowing Rock, North Carolina.

For more information, visit libertytrusthotel.com, or better yet, visit the hotel in person.

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By Shannon Brennan | Photos courtesy of The Liberty Trust

The local founders of this landmark event share why they keep putting in the work, decades later

Raymond and Martha Stokes, of Lynchburg, along with their daughter Lesley Stokes, have always appreciated antiques. But a simple reverence for old stuff wasn’t enough—they also shared a strong desire to build community within the industry, leading to the creation of an event that has transformed the mid-Atlantic’s antiques scene for the better.

It all started in the early 1980s, when Raymond and Martha, eager to share their hobby with locals, coordinated an antiques show as part of Lynchburg’s two-week fall festival called Kaleidoscope, which met at the old city market in Downtown Lynchburg.

“It was well received by the community, and we built a good following of dealers,” said Raymond, now 80 years old. “It’s amazing how this event evolved and grew in support.”

To their surprise and gratitude, the small Kaleidoscope event slowly developed into one of the largest antiques expositions in the mid-Atlantic, now held in Fishersville, Va., right off Exit 91 on I-64 in the Shenandoah Valley. It has quickly become a hot spot for a wide range of antiques and has gathered hundreds of dealers and thousands of buyers semiannually from across the country.

More than 300 exhibitors and dealers participate on average each May and October. The Fishersville Antiques Expo features a wide range of merchandise of all price points, making it affordable for novices, and competitive for seasoned collectors.

“Loving antiques myself, I am just thrilled that we have been able to do this, and that people enjoy it, and that young people learn from it,” said Martha, also 80 years old. “I’m very proud of it.”

Items may include furniture, old tools, jewelry, craft boxes, old advertisements, travel posters, paintings, sculptures, and movie memorabilia. Shoppers can also expect to find an array of comic books, postcards, stamps, glasses, silver, linens, vintage toys, clothing, cast irons, action figures, and even select cars.

“You can come to Fishersville and spend $5 buying something, or you can spend $10,000 on something,” said Raymond. “The range of merchandise is so broad.”

“We want to have a great show, good dealers, and a great experience,” Lesley added.

The 200+ acre venue includes several buildings, a couple of livestock barns, and rows of outdoor space for dealers to set up tents and displays.

“Antique dealers are one of the most honest groups of people that you will ever meet,” Raymond said. “We have dealt with hundreds and hundreds of dealers. They are really kind and have a good set of values. And that is so refreshing. … Most of these dealers are also wonderful educators. They love to share the information that they have because of the passion for what they’re doing.”

Ron and Susan Derrow, owners of Shumake and Johnson Antiques located near the show’s vicinity, have participated as dealers in the expo since its fourth showing. Their business specializes in country furniture—farm tables, cupboards, food safes, and a touch of reproduction folk art.

“Lesley and her parents have just been great people, and they’re good promoters,” said Ron, who has arranged their display in the same spot in the sheep barn for 64 out of the 68 showings.

“That show, it has something for everybody,” Susan added. “It’s not all country.

It’s not all furniture. Most people who want antiques, they can usually find what they are looking for.”

Originally, the Stokes family partnered with fellow dealers Sam and Mary Ferguson to organize the show, but since the Fergusons’ retirement in 2019, the show has been fully operated by the Stokes family trio.

And the Stokes family considers the Fishersville Antiques Expo a labor of love that’s year-round. When they aren’t organizing the two-day event, they are recruiting antique dealers across the East Coast, answering questions, and selling advertisements.

“We get up every day, and it’s a workday,” Raymond said. “You have to have a purpose in life, and this keeps us connected to the world.”

Despite being one of the largest shows in the mid-Atlantic, its purpose has never been to be the biggest or fanciest. The Stokes’ primary goal is to foster community, educate young collectors, and provide the most enjoyable event for all parties involved.

The family said the biggest challenge facing the industry has been the age demographic, which consists of mostly the older generation.

“I’d like to be able to flip a switch and open the eyes of the younger collector and generation and encourage them to start collecting,” Raymond said. “It’s amazing what’s thrown away every day in this country that has real value, simply because the inheritor is totally unaware of what’s really valuable.”

To accommodate this shift, Lesley has taken a modern approach to the show’s marketing reach, utilizing multiple social media platforms to advertise and promote the event.

“We want to reach the younger age groups and let them know about this event,” Lesley added. “There isn’t anywhere else nearby that they can come, have a great experience, find things to make their houses more their home, and to have a good time doing it at a good price.”

“In buying an antique, you have something that is unique,” Martha said. “Not everyone else has it. It’s very special and one of a kind.”

The next show will be May 20 and 21, 2022.

The entry fee for Friday is $10, and Saturday is $5. For more information, visit Fishersville’s website heritagepromotions.net

SMALL TOWNS ALONG THE RIVER BRING A HAVEN FOR RELAXATION, ADVENTURE AND MORE

Evening has begun to creep in as we pass through the 500-person riverside village of Urbanna. Perusing Virginia Street and other heart-of-town corridors brings charming clusters of beachy cottages interspersed with hedge-lined historical homes and buildings dating to the 18th, 19th and early-20th centuries. Elsewhere are brightly painted shopping boutiques, small but interesting-looking restaurants, a coffee house, an old-time pharmacy, a whitewashed brick courthouse that was built in 1745 and is now a women’s club, and the list goes on.

Like many others, I ‘discovered’ the two-county River Realm by way of the nationally-renown Urbanna Oyster Festival, a two-day event that draws about 50,000 visitors each November. Today, however, the vibe is very different. Gone are the crowds and noise, the raucous air of carnival and festivity. Also, the traffic. Now it’s just … relaxed.

I take a deep breath and, heaving a sigh, feel the workaday stress evaporate.

Reaching our destination, the Town Marina, we’re greeted by the sight of dozens of sailboats, sloops, fishing vessels, small yachts and a couple of houseboats bobbing alongside the docks of Urbanna Creek. Known as Bailey Point, the inlet opens on the smooth-flowing Rappahannock River, here about 2.2 miles wide.

We pursue wooden walkways toward the big, vintage, 50-foot-long M/V Veteran. Built in 1914, the former fisherman’s ‘buy-boat’ received a luxury overhaul around 2007. It is now used for chartered recreational, ecological and maritime history tours on the Rappahannock River and the Chesapeake Bay. Options range from 2-hour sunset and sunrise trips, to custom private outings replete with meals at dockside restaurants 5–15 miles downstream.

Virginia tourism sites hail the Veteran as supplying one of the finest marine tours in the state, and we discover that it sets the stage for a premium experience. Sunset finds us luxuriously reclined, cruising eastward down the Rappahannock. We watch the show from the back deck over glasses of wine—a delightful 2017 viognier courtesy of Kilmarnock’s Good Luck Cellars.

Aside from a few distant fishing boats, we have the river to ourselves, and peacefulness falls like a warm blanket.

The River Realm isn’t all built up and super commercially developed, says Golden Age Charters owner-captain Mike Sheffield. “The river’s clean and the banks are beautiful. And [the people here] are serious about keeping them that way. There are all these little towns on the water, but they’re so old, they feel like they’re a part of the environment.”

As the cruise continues, we find ourselves in agreement.

Nightfall meets us disembarking at the softly lighted docks of Locklies Marina. We bid farewell to kind Captain Sheffield and the M/V Veteran and stroll toward our reserved table for two on the porch of the tiny Merroir tasting room in Topping.

Celebrated by media outlets ranging from People magazine to Saveur, the place is, of course, somewhat famous. It was here the cousin-founders of Rappahannock Oyster Co., Travis and Ryan Croxton, lit the first humble sparks of the Chesapeake Bay oyster revolution in the early-2000s. And it does not disappoint.

“Estuaries offer premium oyster farming, and the Chesapeake Bay is the world’s largest and most [environmentally] varied estuary,” says Ryan Croxton. Rappahannock capitalizes on the terroir by taking a no-limits approach to farming superior bivalves. “Our goal is to be the globe’s best oyster producer, period.”

We follow the shellfish with a sampler of tasting dishes.

These include a grilled romaine heart with anchovies and parmesan; a fresh-caught shad roe pan-fried and sprinkled with bacon and caramelized onions; and baked oysters adorned with thick, crispy pieces of Edwards ham. All are fantastic.

Dinner segues into a car ride across the Rappahannock by way of the Robert O. Norris Jr. Bridge. Turning left in the tiny village of White Stone, we proceed to the Tides Inn Resort in Irvington.

Occupying a small private peninsula on Carter’s Creek in Irvington’s National Historical Register district, the 106-room resort dates to the 1940s and offers the finest lodging in the River Realm. But that’s not all. Additional features include an array of amenities like The Chesapeake Room, a waterfront fine-dinery boasting pre fixe meals prepared by chef Alex Pasco; a private 60-slip marina replete with kayaks, paddle boats, tour ships, and sailing school; the full-service Journey Spa; the Fish Hawk Oyster Bar; and much more.

Our suite is furnished in a manner befitting its four-star rating. There are boutique leather sofas and chairs; antiques abound, including tables, lamps, dressers, chest-of-drawers and a carved fourposter bed; windows, ceilings and a pair of French doors are trimmed with ornate mahogany. Wet-bar and bathroom countertops are marble. The jacuzzi tub is backed by pearlescent tiles and looks brand new.

The bedroom’s French doors open onto a private outdoor patio. Outside, the thrumming song of insects and bullfrogs fills the night. We pass through a small gate in the fence, carefully pick through the landscaping and emerge on a manicured lawn of soft grass surrounded by what, in the darkness, look to be the silhouettes of willow trees. Overhead, the stars burn fierce and bright.

“Boy, we don’t get views like this in the city, do we?” murmurs my partner. With the softest of laughs, she takes a seat on the grass; like a child preparing to make snow angels, she sprawls her arms and legs.

Following her lead, I say, “No, we certainly don’t.”

To plan your visit go to VirginiasRiverRealm.com

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Two Great River Realm Events To Explore This Spring

Spring in Virginia’s River Realm is a magical time. Riverbanks and creek sides erupt with new greenery and buds; historical homes bring a delight of floral eye-candy. Among residents, winter’s recent passing evokes an atmosphere of festivity and general mirth.

Interested in experiencing it for yourself? These awesome local events will make your visit all the more interesting.

The Urbanna Cup
2023 DATE: TBD. Urbanna Town Marina, Urbanna
A fantastically fun and quirky event, the regatta is a nationally sanctioned competition for cocktail class wooden boat racers. Held in waters adjacent to the picturesque Town Marina, the pier and grounds are perfect for family-friendly viewing. Events run throughout the day, with food trucks and beer and wine vendors. urbanna.com/events/

Arts in the Middle Fine Arts Festival
June 3-4, 2023. Hewick Plantation, Urbanna
Held at the edge of town on grounds punctuated by giant mature trees and a regal plantation home that dates to 1678.

The setting is as much a draw as the show itself. In its sixth year, the fest features around 100 artists from throughout the U.S., whose work spans at least seven media categories. Expect tents with regional beer, wine and champagne; two stages with continual lineups of music; and food vendors galore. www.artsinthemiddle.com

 The Inn at Stinson Vineyards in Crozet is an Elegant, Off-the-Beaten Path Getaway for Foodies and Wine Lovers Looking to Unplug and Unwind.

When the winding roads and rolling hills around Crozet, Virginia deposit you on the doorstep of the Inn at Stinson Vineyards, you might not be sure you’ve found the right spot. With its front door painted a cheery turquoise, the modest exterior of this renovated home, once occupied by a member of the Stinson family, belies the real “wow” factor waiting inside.

From the moment you step in, you are drawn through a light-filled foyer and dining room with vaulted ceilings—to a set of glass doors with transom windows that form a cathedral-style panoramic view of grapevines cascading downhill against a backdrop of the Blue Ridge Mountains. In the heart of Virginia wine country, less than 20 miles from Charlottesville, this is a don’t-miss that’s off the beaten path.

That “aaaaaah” feeling is meant to last throughout your stay at this intimate, four-bedroom mountain getaway—opened in 2018 and accommodating up to nine guests—a bespoke experience from breakfast until bedtime for wine-lovers and foodies and anyone who wants to unwind and unplug. That’s all by design, says innkeeper and general manager Stephanie Campbell.

“It’s a place that allows people to come and truly escape and take a deep breath in a way,” Campbell explains. “It’s not fast-paced. There are not a lot of activities. It’s a time to indulge, to sit around on the screened-in porch and enjoy a glass of sauvignon blanc. It’s a getaway, a little slice of paradise for rejuvenation.”

The small-batch, family-owned estate winery’s own 2019 sauvignon blanc, fermented in concrete and stainless steel, boasts tasting notes of “stone fruit and Meyer lemon zest” and “fresh boxwood and a wet stone minerality.” Wine flights are available in the Inn’s cellar and next door at the winery tasting room as are bottles for purchase. Stinson Vineyards is co-owned by Scott Stinson and his daughter Rachel Stinson Vrooman and takes inspiration from the “garagiste” wineries of France.

At the Inn, each morning begins with an elegant, full-service, three-course breakfast—served inside or on the back deck overlooking the seasonal, heated pool and that stunning view—incorporating local ingredients and produce from the Inn’s garden. Their “build-your-own” parfait with house yogurt, homemade granola and fresh fruit is a guest favorite. The main course is a chef’s-choice hot breakfast. One morning it may be a lovely tartine with soft-scrambled Japanese-style eggs, house-cured salmon, pickled red onion and fresh dill. On the next, a petite crustless quiche with fresh veggies a delightfully creamy custard texture.

While breakfast is included with your stay, dinners at the Inn are optional. But if you miss the opportunity to indulge in the culinary craft of Virginia-native, in-house Chef Tyler Teass—who was part of the team that earned D.C.’s Rose Luxury its Michelin Star rating in 2016 and later helped open Brasserie Saison on Charlottesville’s historic downtown mall—you have missed out indeed.

During our visit, we were treated to an exquisite four-course, wine-paired meal designed by Chef Teass, which was preceded by an amuse-bouche—crème fraiche with white peaches and purple basil served with light, crispy cheese wafers—and the most delicate miniature sourdough waffles with local pork fat, sea salt and confectioners’ sugar, a mind-blowing, melt-in-your-mouth sweet-savory combo.

The courses included a celery root velouté with caviar, crispy potatoes and herbs (paired with the 2019 sauvignon blanc); a perfectly portioned twist of spaghetti with crab, basil pistou and breadcrumbs (paired with the 2020 Sugar Hollow White); roasted Roseda Farm beef, mushroom croquette, braised beans and herb jus (paired with the 2017 Meritage); and, for dessert, popcorn pudding with crème fraiche, lime and sorghum (paired with the 2018 petit manseng).

The Wine Cellar dinners run $150 per person—incredibly reasonable for the quality of food and level of service, but the Inn has also started offering a more casual dinner option called Chef’s Suppers, “featuring an array of seasonally driven plates meant to share” and sample alongside a variety of wines.

The rooms and shared spaces at the Inn are the epitome of clean, cozy minimalism accentuated by touches of rustic charm. No detail is left unthought of for guest convenience and comfort. Room rates start at around $200 per night, or you can rent the entire Inn starting at approximately $1,000 per night.

While you’re in and near Crozet, don’t miss small-town must-stops such as Crozet Pizza, Starr Hill Brewery, the Rockfish Gap Country Store and the Claudius Crozet Bridge Tunnel, a historic landmark recently re-opened to hikers and cyclists. And, of course there is a plethora of other wineries to visit nearby including King Family Vineyards, well-known not only for its pastoral landscape but also for its horses and polo matches.

Learn more at InnatStinsonVineyards.com.
Photos: Leona Baker, Lisa Davenport, Audra Jones Photography, Bekah Imagery or Courtesy of Inn at Stinson Vineyards

A Dedicated Fan of Earl Hamner Classic Creates a Unique Nelson County Destination

Forty-nine years ago a television classic was launched when the first episode of The Waltons appeared on CBS. The Depression to WWII-era series harkened to a simpler time, though a harder life.

If one word could describe The Waltons, it’s wholesome. Families could comfortably watch the show without worries about R-rated content.

And if one person could be called the show’s No. 1 fan, it’s Carol Johnson, who opened John & Olivia’s Bed & Breakfast in Nelson County in 2019 and named it after the parents on The Waltons.

The house is a replica of the Hollywood set of The Waltons. “Downstairs looks almost exactly like it,” Johnson says proudly as visitors take a tour. Upstairs, however, she had to reconfigure the set to accommodate the five bedrooms for her bed and breakfast.

Johnson has meticulously decorated the house to match the set. “I’ve gotten things from all over the United States,” she said.

She exudes enthusiasm for everything about The Waltons and has memorized countless facts about both the fictional characters and the real-life ones they were based on.

She said her whole life changed in 2012 while binge-watching The Waltons. A commercial encouraged fans to travel to Los Angeles for the 40th anniversary of the show.

A native of Ukiah, California, Johnson had never lived anywhere else. She spent 30 years working as a bookkeeper for an orthopedic surgeon, while her husband ran a logging company.

She decided to attend the reunion, where she met the cast and became a major groupie, flying around the country to watch various cast members in theater productions, including Michael Learned, who played Olivia, and Richard Thomas, who was John-Boy.

In 2014, she helped support the filming of a documentary on Earl Hamner, the writer and TV producer from Schuyler, Virginia, who based The Waltons on his novel, Spencer’s Mountain, which in turn was fashioned after his own childhood. Hamner also provided voice-over narration for The Waltons.

A prolific writer, Hamner also created Falcon Crest, another long-running TV series. He wrote six novels, three nonfiction works, and a number of episodes for TV shows including The Twilight Zone, Gentle Ben, and Nanny and the Professor.

Johnson struck up a friendship with Hamner and visited him in Los Angeles just a month before his death at age 92 on March 24, 2016.

In 2017, as the 45th anniversary rolled around, Johnson flew to Virginia and volunteered at the Walton’s Mountain Museum, and 15 original cast members showed up at Hamner’s birthplace.

Johnson was among the fans interviewed by The Nelson County Times, and when Hamner’s Schuyler home went up for sale the same year, a reporter gave her a call to ask her about it. She said she would buy it, and she did, beginning what would become her collection of Hamner-related properties.

Visitors can now tour the 1915 Hamner house, which is also full of early 20th-century furnishings including a few original pieces.

Hamner actually had seven siblings, but the TV series combined two of the boys into one character. “Hollywood didn’t want to pay for the eighth child,” Johnson said.

Hamner was the oldest of the real-life siblings. Hamner’s family moved to Schuyler, where the economy was based on soapstone mining by New Alberene Stone.

When the Great Depression hit, the mines closed, and Hamner’s father could only find work as a machinist at the DuPont factory in Waynesboro, about 30 miles away. Because the roads were so bad, Earl Sr. lived at a boarding house in Waynesboro during the week, only traveling home on the weekend.

The commute required a six-mile walk to the bus and his return walk on a snowy Christmas Eve in 1933 provided the inspiration for Hamner’s 1970 novel, The Homecoming, which became a TV Christmas special.

Johnson’s bed and breakfast attracts fans from all over the U.S. to stay in a room that replicates the one TV parents John and Olivia slept in. Or they can choose the grandparents’ bedroom, the girls’ room, the boys’ room, or the “Writer’s Room.” Some guests are moved to tears by the experience. “People come crying in and out,” Johnson said.

One visiting couple offered to donate money for elaborate Christmas decorations, but Johnson told them what she really needed was help decorating. The couple came from Washington, D.C. last year to help and will be bringing five couples with them in November to decorate for this Christmas.

Now 55, Johnson moved to Schuyler full-time in March to attend to her Hamner projects, but she still travels back and forth across the continent to visit her family. She also bought another building just up the road, an old school house built in 1917 that will take major renovations.

She has a handful of folks working with her to keep the operations going. “It takes a village to run this village,” she said.

Giving tours and hosting fans in both houses obviously brings Johnson great joy, but she says she’s not the only one: “It makes people happy.”

Even if you’re not a fan of The Waltons, a visit to Schuyler is a trip back in time, and the history of the small town is told through the life of Hamner and The Waltons at the Walton’s Mountain Museum, right across the road from John & Olivia’s Bed & Breakfast.

The museum, which is the old school building from where Hamner graduated in 1940, is not affiliated with Johnson’s properties, but you can hardly pass up the chance to visit all three.

The museum is owned by the nonprofit Schuyler Community Center on Walton’s Mountain, which also provides a place for residents to hold programs, take their children to play, and create community spirit, said Alison Morgan, a volunteer at the museum.

The museum boasts five replicas of the TV sets of The Waltons as well as a recipe room for the Baldwin sisters’ still. A 30-minute documentary on Hamner loops for visitors, who can also buy items at “Ike Godsey’s Store.”

The Walton’s Mountain Museum is open daily from May to October and weekends only in March, April, and November, and is closed Easter Sunday. Admission is $10 for those 13 and older.

Johnson offers tours of the Hamner House daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. except for Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. Admission is $10 for those 7 and older, and $15 to add John & Olivia’s Bed & Breakfast to the tour.

Virginia’s “Switzerland” Offers Rural Charm

If getting away means finding an idyllic spot with few people, Highland County is hard to beat.

With only 2,200 people, it’s the least-populated county in Virginia, and much of the East Coast. Highland is tucked away in the western corner of the commonwealth between the Allegheny and the Appalachian mountains.

The headwaters of the James and Potomac rivers are located here. The contrast between high, narrow ridges forested in hardwoods and broad, open valleys makes for spectacular scenery, as well as great places for hiking, biking, and fishing.

The county is best known for maple syrup, sheep and cattle farms, and a Barn Quilt Trail. As its name implies, it also boasts one of the highest mean elevations of any county east of the Mississippi River, which also makes it one of the southernmost places that maple syrup can be made.

Just getting to Highland County takes you through gorgeous territory. If you enter via State Route 39, you go through Goshen Pass, a photographic gorge in Little North Mountain formed by the Maury River.

Originally settled by Scotch/Irish highlanders and German immigrants, Highland is now an eclectic mix of native farm families and new residents drawn to the slower pace of life.

There is one time of year when life is a lot more fast paced in Highland County. In March, up to 30,000 people descend on this out-of-the-way destination for the Maple Syrup Festival.

But there is also plenty to do in the fall. The Highland County Fair is held every Labor Day weekend, and draws the second largest crowd. The fair features animal displays, carnival rides, truck pulls, and a demolition derby.

The Hands & Harvest Festival is held the second weekend in October, featuring arts and crafts as well as pumpkins and apple butter. This year it runs Oct. 8-10, and it’s a great time to see the county’s maple trees in fall color. You can also visit sugar maple camps, scenic back roads, and colorful barn quilt paintings.

Beginning in 2011, Highland County was the first county in Virginia to establish a Barn Quilt Trail, with nearly 60 designs on barns and houses throughout the countryside. With names like “Five Reds” and “Jacob’s Ladder,” each barn quilt tells a story, usually with special meaning about the owner, nature, family, business, or design.

When you follow the Highland County Barn Quilt Trail, you’ll wind your way through scenic back roads. There are also brochures with suggested driving routes, but it’s fun just to wander. Blue Grass, a tiny hamlet in the far north part of the county, is a great place for birders to head in the winter. If you’re lucky, you might spy a golden eagle, while bald eagles often gather along the Jackson River.

To further “tap” into what Highland County is most known for, try the Virginia Maple Syrup Trail passport program. It offers visitors the chance to visit eight sugar camps throughout the year, excluding the busy Maple Festival weeks and weekends, scheduled for March 7-20, 2022.

Visitors are invited to call ahead to the sugar camps, schedule a visit for a tour, taste their syrup, and get a stamp on their passport. After all eight camps are visited, you receive a t-shirt and bumper sticker, but the real incentive is to have more one-on-one interaction with the farmers who run the camps.

Doug Puffenbarger, a third-generation maple farmer, is one of them. Doug’s grandfather started their farm more than 100 years ago, and his father kept the tradition going until his passing two years ago. Doug, who also raises cattle and drives a school bus, misses his father and his help.

Now he taps 700 maple trees, and with his wife, Terri, turns maple sugar water into the magic of maple syrup. “It’s a lot of work, but a pretty good product in the end,” Doug said, adding that he puts maple syrup in his coffee, not just on pancakes.

Depending on the sugar content, it usually takes about 50 gallons or more of sugar water to make one gallon of maple syrup. Ideal conditions for syrup production are nighttime temperatures below freezing and daytime temperatures rising between 40 or 50 degrees.

When Doug was a kid, he said they would start tapping their trees in February and sometimes get sugar water through April. Now, with a warming climate, “you open taps at the end of January and are hoping you make it to March,” he said.

Because the Maple Syrup Festival was canceled in 2020 and 2021, some maple sugar camps, including Puffenbarger’s Sugar Orchard, decided to boost online sales. They ship syrup all over the country, from Washington state to Florida, Doug said.

The sugar camps still rely heavily on business during the Maple Syrup Festival, and Doug said that visitors are spread out through the eight or nine camps that participate so it’s not as crowded as you might think.

Chris Swecker, executive director of the Highland County Chamber of Commerce, said that is true for all the festivals. Because the county is 416 square miles, there is plenty of room to spread out. There is not, however, plenty of room to stay, so nearly all visitors make it a day trip.

Lodging is limited in the county, especially now, with the Highland Inn in Monterey undergoing renovation. The historic inn likely won’t reopen until 2023, Swecker said.
Swecker noted the chamber is always trying to attract more people to Highland County and added that the pandemic showed that many people can work remotely. “We have really good broadband for our area,” he said. And you can’t get much more remote than Highland, and part of him would like to keep it that way.

A native of the county, Swecker said he came back home after living in Seattle and was astonished as he was reintroduced to the quiet, the dark skies, and the beauty of the mountains. “It’s like taking a step back in time,” he said.

Learn more by visiting www.highlandcounty.org.

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By Shannon Brennan | Photos Courtesy: The Highland County Chamber Of Commerce

A Lynchburg family spends 2021 on the A.T.

On a whim several years ago, Josh Sutton and his wife, Cassie, decided to hop on a plane and travel to the Mount Everest basecamp.

“We had read a book that encourages people to take mini-retirements throughout their life,” Sutton explained. “Since I work in real estate and that leaves my schedule a little more flexible, we looked at flights and found it wasn’t too expensive to travel during the off-season.”

That adventure planted a seed that kept growing as the Suttons later became a family of three. Now, they are off trying to hike the entirety of the Appalachian Trail by the end of the summer.

Hiking the A.T. is no small feat. Spanning from Georgia to Maine, the approximately 2,000-mile trail takes even the most experienced hikers five to seven months to complete.

But what makes this adventure different is that the Suttons are bringing their 5-year-old son, Harvey, which would make him the youngest hiker to complete the A.T. if they finish.

And the Suttons are planning on it.

“Harvey is entering kindergarten in the fall, and we thought this was the perfect time to do something as a family,” Sutton said.

Hiking the Appalachian Trail has been a family goal for the last four years.

“We spent a lot of weekends training,” Sutton said. “At first, it would start out small by walking on the park trails with Harvey when he was really little and get him used to it. Then as he got older, we would try to go on a big hike every month.”

Alongside their years of training they also saved money. According to Sutton, the average hiker on the trail sets aside at least $1,000 a month. But you also must budget for expenses such as equipment, shoes, and transportation to hostels.

The Suttons started their trek in Georgia in January and were instantly met with snow and ice.

“It was pretty miserable at the beginning,” Sutton said. “I think in the early days we only saw the sun for about three days.”

At first, the trail was a ghost town. But now in the summer months, Sutton says they’ve seen a lot more hikers out and about.

“There’s all kinds of people out here,” he said. “There’s college students, retirees, couples, and people trying to do it solo. We’ve seen some of the same people as we move further up the trail. Most people can’t believe that we’re hiking with a five-year-old.”

But Harvey is taking it in stride.

“Some days I think he’s handling it better than me and my wife,” Sutton jokes. “He’s a champ. We play games with him like the ‘the floor is lava’ or freeze tag with other hikers. It keeps him motivated and focused.”

The family averages 13 miles a day on the trail and starts the day around 6 a.m. with a Cliff bar.

“We carry between [five to eight days] of supplies with us and restock every five days at hostels or in town,” Sutton said. “We carry tents, but on certain parts of the trail there are these three-walled pavilions you can stay in. Some of them have mice running around though and we try to avoid that. Most of the time we find a flat spot on the trail or near water where we set up for the night.”

Over the last several months, they’ve documented their journey through their YouTube channel and Instagram. Because of it, the Suttons have met up with some of their fans. They’ve also met others who simply want to support hikers on the A.T. through “trail magic.”

“It’s been great for Harvey to experience,” Sutton said. “Sometimes, you’ll find a cooler in the river with some extra sodas, or you’ll come off the trail and have people grilling up hot dogs and hamburgers for you.”

Sutton says that’s just what the trail community is all about.

“Everyone is always looking out for each other and paying it forward. It’s a really giving community. We’ve been in towns where people have offered us their cars to get supplies, which is funny because after 10 days without a shower, you’d think people would want to stay away.”

While the community aspect is something the family has enjoyed, another part is being able to unplug from their busy lives.

“When we first started, I was picking up my phone and starting to scroll through apps before I realized I didn’t have service,” Sutton said. “When we crossed through Lynchburg, I had to stop and check in on work and file taxes. It was overwhelming to get plugged in again after living in the woods. It makes you realize that maybe minimal living is the way to go.”

If all goes according to plan, (and so far so good) the Suttons will reach Maine by the end of the summer.

“No, we are not hiking all the way back,” Sutton jokes. “Our family is planning on meeting us at the top so we can celebrate with them and have some time with them to relax. Then we’ll rent a car and drive back to Lynchburg.”

Is this simply the first of many adventures for the family? Sutton says right now, they are simply trying to stay present in the moment.

“We want to finish this one first before we start planning again.”

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FOLLOW ALONG
Find the Sutton family on Instagram
(@LiveSutton) or YouTube (Live Sutton).

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Trail Tips

If you’re feeling inspired to hike the Appalachian Trail, we asked Josh what you may need to get started. Living in Central Virginia, you have a lot of access to great trails. But to become a serious hiker, there’s a lot to consider. Here are his top pieces of advice:

CERTAIN ITEMS ARE HEAVIER THAN YOU THINK—“If you invest in a high-quality sleeping bag, then that’s going to be about a third of your weight [in your backpack],” Sutton says, but added that a good tent and sleeping bag “are where you want to invest your money.”

DO YOUR RESEARCH ABOUT WHAT TO PACK. He suggests a water filter and clothes for all types of weather conditions—“It could start out really cold in the morning and then really hot by the end of the day,” he says. “You have to dress in a lot of layers and plan for rain or snow, depending on the season.”

YOU WILL NEED TO PLAN AHEAD AND TRAIN FOR YOUR HIKE. “When you’re hiking long distances, you’re going to consume more calories, so your diet is very different. You need to eat more dense food with a higher fat complex.”

TRAINING SHOULD INCLUDE CAMPING OFTEN AND IN VARYING LOCATIONS, SO YOU CAN ADJUST TO DIFFERENT TERRAINS AND TEMPERATURES—“That was something we would do very early on with Harvey,” Sutton says. “We’d get him used to sleeping outside and then in the cold or heat.”

GET USED TO SMELLING YOURSELF—“Everything is more enhanced on the trail and there are periods of time where you go without a shower,” Sutton says. “You adjust to more natural smells and then eventually, you can smell people who are just starting out, so you can smell soap before you see people. It’s a weird experience.”

19th Century Engineering Feat on Display

“There’s light at the end of the tunnel” is an apt metaphor as the world slowly emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic, but it’s also literally true for visitors to the Blue Ridge Tunnel between Afton and Waynesboro.

The restored Blue Ridge Tunnel opened to the public Nov. 21, 2020 and has been a popular hiking destination ever since, with more than 35,000 visitors by mid-March.
Visitors can see all the way through the dark tunnel to the other end, but need flashlights or headlamps to make their way through the nearly mile-long tunnel.

There are two trails to the tunnel (see sidebar on page 122), but parking is very limited so it’s best to avoid weekends for now.

Maureen Kelley, director of the Nelson County Visitor’s Center, said they are working on expanding parking on both sides, but when they began planning the $5.4 million restoration 20 years ago, they had no idea what a destination the area would become.

“When this was engineered in the early 2000s, we had only two wineries,” Kelley said. “We knew it was going to be popular, but, wow!”

She added that the opening couldn’t have come at a better time with the pandemic forcing people to spend more time outdoors. Current regulations ask visitors to wear masks if they are closer than six feet to others.

The tunnel itself took eight years to build, from 1850 to 1858, 700 feet beneath Rockfish Gap in the Blue Ridge Mountains, an engineering feat envisioned by Claudius Crozet, a French immigrant who designed the tunnel and was its chief engineer.

While the tunnel is cool—literally an even 50 degrees year-round—the history of the tunnel and the manpower required to create it are the real story. Many say the workers’ toil and loss make the tunnel a sacred place.

The tunnel took about 800 mostly Irish immigrants, who literally left blood and bones inside, eight backbreaking years to build. In an era before dynamite, workers had to pound star drills into solid rock and then fill holes with volatile black powder and fuses. Once the powder detonated, the blast filled the work area with heavy debris.

Cave-ins and unpredictable blasts caused injuries, and at least 14 Irish died in the tunnel. About 190 workers and their family members died from injuries and infectious diseases, such as the 1854 cholera epidemic. Crews on either end toiled to achieve 19 to 20 feet of progress per month.

When the 4,273-foot Blue Ridge Tunnel was completed, it was North America’s longest railroad tunnel and remains the longest constructed with black powder.

Because the tunnel was unable to accommodate larger trains, it was closed in 1944. The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway replaced the 86-year-old Blue Ridge Tunnel with an adjacent tunnel at a slightly lower elevation, which visitors can see is still in daily operation. CSX Transportation donated the Blue Ridge Tunnel to Nelson County in 2007.

That gift launched a regional public-private partnership, the Claudius Crozet Blue Ridge Tunnel Foundation, composed of representatives from Albemarle, Augusta, and Nelson counties and the City of Waynesboro, as well as several local and state agencies.

For nearly 20 years the groups worked to restore the tunnel as a community landmark and recreational and educational resource. One of the biggest hurdles was stopping the flow of water seeping into the tunnel. Visitors are still greeted with a small waterfall flowing down the rock near the eastern entrance.

Crozet had predicted that the Blue Ridge Tunnel would be finished by 1853, but the unexpected hardness of the rock, especially greenstone on the east side, turned out to be an almost unbeatable opponent.

While the Irish workers, many escaping the Irish potato famine, were grateful for their $1-a-day jobs, they stopped work after cave-ins to protest the danger. Crozet hired about 50 local enslaved African Americans, who had laid the track to the tunnel, to help.

Renting out enslaved workers was a common practice at the time, but to protect their investments, the owners made it clear that their workers would not do the blasting. They cleared flooded ditches, repaired grades, helped build culverts, split stone into ballast, spread ballast, and otherwise readied the Blue Ridge Railroad for traffic. Two enslaved men died from a runaway railcar accident on the Blue Ridge Railroad line in April 1854. A third died in a handcar accident the following month, and the enslaved workers were withdrawn from the site.

None of the many hundreds of Irish men and 65 boys employed on the Blue Ridge Railroad could have accomplished their brutal work without the support and labor of wives, daughters, sisters, aunts, and grandmothers. The women gave birth in primitive conditions, swept shanty floors, gathered firewood, drew water from the springs, cooked, and sent their loved ones off every morning, not knowing if they would return.

Meanwhile, local citizens—most from Augusta County—petitioned the Board of Public Works three times in 1857, insisting that the Virginia Central Railroad finish the passage. Upset by criticism of his management, Crozet found employment elsewhere and formally resigned in January 1858.

The Blue Ridge Tunnel opened to traffic three months later on April 13, 1858. Though Crozet was not among the dignitaries who rode the first train through the passage, his professional expertise and visionary leadership were essential to the Blue Ridge Railroad and other lines built across Virginia in the 1840s and 1850s.

After strolling through the tunnel and imagining the death-defying work required to build it, visitors have a variety of nearby options. They can quench their thirst and hunger at numerous local breweries, wineries, distilleries, and restaurants along Routes 151 and 6 in Nelson County or in Waynesboro.

The tunnel is located near the conjunction of the Blue Ridge Parkway and the Shenandoah National Park, with hiking on the nearby Appalachian Trail or at Crabtree Falls.
For a selection of four itineraries with other sights of interest, visit nelsoncounty.com.

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Go Deeper
Check out a new documentary, “The Tunnel,” produced by Ellen Casey Wagner and Paul Wagner, which debuted March 17 on American Focus YouTube.