Tag: Virginia

My focus changes now. Picking up where I left off last year, I rescheduled my trip to research my Horton ancestors in the southwesternmost part of Virginia. I met up with brothers Rick and Dave to tour the Hortons’ cemeteries. Our home base was Big Stoner Gap. I mean Big Stone Gap! Sorry 🤣

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The two-day journey to Big Stone Gap took across the mountains just south of Shenandoah National Park. From there, it was a scenic drive southwest to Wytheville.

The campground here was spacious and offered a plethora of activities for children and families. I thoroughly enjoyed taking a dip in the pool.

It was a short drive from there to Big Stone Gap. It was like riding a roller coaster, crossing the hilly terrain. At one point, we passed a huge Hitachi power generation facility next to a coal mine. A billboard proclaimed that the locals did not want any data centers to power our robot overlords (this is a big deal in northeastern Virginia). That was the first of several surprises on this part of the trip. But I digress.

Big Stone Gap has played host to the longest running outdoor theater in the United States: Trail of the Lonesome Pine. I saw it as a child on one of our visits to nearby Gate City where my father’s parents retired. It tells the tail of two feuding families in the area. Of course, one member from both families fall in love. An Appilacian Romeo and Juliet.

Big Stone Gap shares a similar legacy with Mystic, as both have been the setting for a rom-com movie. There are several museums here too. A a Flower Shop with the name Horton on it! More on that in a bit.

We pulled into a beautiful campground on the banks of the Powell River in Big Stone Gap. We parked next to the river and a beautiful grass pasture.

We met Jesse, the daughter of the guy that built this place and current owner. She was born and raised here and takes obvious pride in her beautiful campground. The office features wood carvings her father had done.

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Southwest Virginia Museum Historical State Park

I checked out the museum before my brothers arrived. I was hoping to find some references to the Hortons and learn more about the area. The museum was originally the home of Rufus Ayers, who served as the Attorney General of Virginia in the late 1800s. We came across his grave in one of the cemeteries in Gate City we visited the next day.

The home is in beautiful shape and the woodwork inside is beautiful. I particularly enjoyed the exhibits on coal mining. I learned, among other things, how important the role of the surveyor was. This was a skill my Grandfather Edward Bernard Tubridy had when he lived in this area in the late 1920s when my father was born.

I did come across a reference to John Horton. My G-4 grandfather was John M. Horton III. Could these be the same? There are references to the Gilley family, which does not show up anywhere in our genealogy so far. Another display showed the routes the settlers took.

I also appreciated how the museum portrayed life during the coal boom era. It served as an excellent prelude to the upcoming Dead Horton Tour!

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One of America’s most beloved founding fathers believed in religious freedom – including none at all. The Dude abides.

It was a scenic drive to Charlottesville (known to the locals as C’ville), Virginia, down the Shenandoah Valley. Truck traffic was heavy but much better than the last segment of the journey. It was raining in the early morning but cleared up before we left and was very nice all the way to C’ville.

The campground was hidden away about 10 miles south of town. Our spot wasn’t great but nice enough considering it was the last one available (at least for my size) when I made the reservation a couple of days ago. The pool was nice and there was plenty of place to let Jake roll. He likes the smells here.

One family I talked to was in town to see a C&W performer. When I got set up, I checked my hunch: this was the hometown for Dave Matthews Band. They are one of my all-time favorite bands, with the stellar drummer Carter Beauford (and Dave’s not too shabby!). I expect this place to have a good vibe.

Monticello

The estate of Thomas Jefferson has been on my list for a very long time. Mostly because I know several people who visited and had very positive comments. His legacy certainly speaks to his interesting character as a founding father.

I started by joining a tour and listening to Debbie, a local 4th-grade school teacher, talk about Jefferson, the plantation he inherited from his father, and the enslaved people in his care. He named the plantation Monticello after spending time in France as an American ambassador. In Italian, it means little mountain.

Jefferson was an American Renaissance man like some of his contemporaries, including Ben Franklin. He was a self-taught architect and designed all of the buildings on the grounds. After living in France, he reworked the main building to incorporate sensibilities he picked up there.

He ventured into many different money-making schemes along the way. He manufactured nails early on. He switched crops from tobacco to wheat at one point. Most of the work, of course, was done by the enslaved people (his preferred term) – upwards of 400 of them over time. Most of them were inherited from his father and father-in-law. The museum delves into enslavement very thoroughly.

In addition to fathering 6 children with his wife, Mary (his third cousin and a widow at 23), he also fathered 6 with his enslaved concubine, Sally Hemmings, after Mary passed away. She asked him to never marry again, apparently because of the relationships she had with her two stepmothers. His relationship with Sally was very complicated and still has doubters. What is known is that at age 16 she was given the chance to remain in France as a free woman. She chose to return with Jefferson under the conditions that her children with him would be freed.

And of course, while all this was going on, he spearheaded the writing of the Declaration of Independence, was the 3rd president (two-term), ambassador to France, and designed the University of Virginia (which can be seen from the grounds). He lived to 83 to boot. Quite a man and a beautiful plantation.

After the visit, Jake and I checked out C’Ville. It was jammed with people and traffic but looked very hip. It’s a university town, and it shows. I stopped at my favorite Whole Foods for the first time on the trip. It was jammed on a rainy Sunday afternoon.

Back for a dip in the pool. Tomorrow, we hoist anchor and head for a family reunion at Big Stone Gap. They made a movie about this place too, but with Whoopie Goldberg.

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