What lies beyond the Blue Ridge?

Often while driving west with the magnificent Blue Ridge Mountains looming before me, I ponder the thoughts of travelers from another time, as they, too, wondered what lay on the other side. I dedicate my most recent journey to all those who never had the opportunity to make the trip.

The journey spanning two days, three mountain ranges, three states, a multitude of historic sites and a few memorable characters was absolutely spectacular, economical and very educational.

We chose not to grace the doorway of any chain restaurants, though we opted not to stop at a diner bearing the moniker “Fat Boy’s Pork Palace.” No doubt, the food would have been to our liking but we were headed to Franklin, W.Va., the halfway mark and our destination for breakfast.

After ogling the impressive Seneca Rocks near Elkins, we pressed on for Jackson’s Mill, the childhood home of Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson. Read more about it at wvu.edu/
~exten/depts/jmill/
jmh_area.htm.

A slow drizzle had only enhanced the vibrant colors of the fall leaves, but it created a huge disappointment at the historic site. There were no visitors and the two staff members had closed all the buildings.

We must have looked pretty pathetic, but one historian can spot a kindred soul pretty quickly. “If you don’t mind the weather, I will give you a private tour,” offered the resident blacksmith, and off we went. He was thorough, knowledgeable and entertaining and 90 minutes later I was making sandwiches for a late lunch we would have to gobble on our way to the next adventure, the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum.

I cannot deny that it was a disturbing experience, but sometimes it is necessary to be reminded that not all of the old days were “good” ones.

The tour, conducted by a former employee, included histories on medical science, architecture, the Civil War and the split between Virginia and West Virginia peppered with the recounting of a few paranormal experiences. Note: the massive stone structure, second in size only to the Kremlin, was built in 1858 and closed in 1994. Read more at TALAWV.com

It had been an incredible day and was topped off with a delightful home-cooked meal at a nearby restaurant boasting the best barbeque in all of West Virginia.

We left the next morning, but not before meeting the Rev. Gum, a local Baptist preacher and maker of fine fiddles who tells the story of his mother, Sadie Chew of Blue Grass, Va., who married the handsome Edward Gum. He is surely a treasure to his congregation.

Grafton, W.Va., was next, reachable by Interstate 79 in a mere 45 minutes. But, wait, Clarksburg, the birthplace of Stonewall Jackson was only a stone’s throw away.

Forget the interstate, we chose a scenic parallel route; within the hour we were snapping pictures of the Jackson monument in front of the Harrison County Court House. But was this it?

Where was his birthplace? Tune in next week for the rest of the story.

Until then, be well.

Zann Nelson is a local historian. Her columns run every Thursday.