Tag: virginia

The President’s Heads

©2021 Snapping the Globe, L.L.C. All rights reserved.

If you have ever visited Williamsburg, Virginia, you know that there are many historical attractions.

Many years ago, while on a school field trip to Jamestown, I spotted something captivating, just off of the exit ramp from the highway…giant heads depicting our past American Presidents. It was President’s Park, an attraction that was open from 2004 until 2010.

Making a mental note to take my children one day, it was filed away with my lists of groceries, household to-do details and information about far away lands that I wanted to see. It wasn’t until we were struck by a pandemic and I could no longer travel throughout the world, and even to some other states, that I began researching nearby attractions to occupy my time while away from work. President’s Park quickly moved to the top of my must-visit list…right behind Gettysburg. As I perused the internet, however, I could not find any current information about the park.

After a bit of digging, I learned that due to lack of interest, this place closed, leaving the giant heads to succumb to neglect and decay. After selling the property, the owner wanted the heads destroyed, however, Howard Hankins, who had helped to construct the park, had the forty-three heads, which measure between 18 and 20 feet high, moved to his family farm in nearby Croaker, Virginia. They now stand neglected in a field, on the site of his industrial recycling facility, and are not presently open to the public. There are plans, however, to restore these mighty busts and recreate a museum with the assistance of the Smithsonian in the future.

What a disapointment!

A few more clicks on the internet, however, led me to find John Plaschal, a local photographer who plans photographic events (with the permission of the owners) at historic locations that are not ordinarily open to the public. As if fate had led me in this direction, I learned that he was planning a ticketed event at the farm where the presidential heads are located.

I quickly purchased my ticket and made plans, rain or shine, to be there.

That afternoon, with darkened skies and light rain falling, I drove the hour’s distance to Croaker and headed down a long dirt road, where I spotted the family farm. Parking my car, I headed to the tent, presented my ticket and received a map detailing the presentation of the statues.

Thanking my lucky stars that I had had the good sense to wear rain boots, I traipsed down the muddy road, following another photographer, and praying that the light rain would continue to diminish.

Rounding a bend in the road, I took a sudden breath inward as I spotted most of the statues, in five, uneven rounded lines, to my left.

Having three hours to capture these decaying and crumbling monoliths, I decided to make my way to the back line and work my way down to the far end first and then tackle the front lines and the three other statues that stood off to the side near the road.

The first president I encountered was John Adams. Slipping and sliding down a muddy hill, I found myself eyeing his sly grin which was undoubtedly suppressing his laughter at the many tourists who fall right before his eyes on the sodden slope (literally!). Standing in the mud, I glanced ahead at the line of huge heads awaiting my inspection and I plodded on.

George Bush, John Q. Adams, Martin Van Buren, Millard Fillmore…

This is where it began to get interesting…and not just my scrutiny of the statues.

Remember how I said that I was glad I wore rainboots?

Camera pointed high, I was not focused on the ground. Suddenly, I felt water seeping onto my socks. Looking down, I realized that not only the ground was wet, it was flooded and I had stepped in water higher than my short boots. I guess I should have worn my tall ones!

Looking forward, I realized that from James Madison onward, the ground was covered with standing water. I realized that I could skip this section, which is why other visitors were not around, or keep going. Oh well, wet feet are wet feet!

Pulling up each leg of my yoga pants as high as I could, I merged onward, with water edging up to my kneecaps. As I committed each statue digitally and swatted the occasional mosquito and prayed that I would not encounter any snakes.

James Madison, Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe, Bill Clinton, Gerald Ford, William H. Harrison. As I rounded James K. Polk’s statue, I climbed up a hill at the base of his head and took in the rear view from high above.

Before tackling the middle and forward lines, I ventured off to inspect George Washington, Andrew Jackson and Abraham Lincoln. These statues were a bit removed from the others and obviously attracted a great deal more attention. While I admired Andrew Jackson’s smooth façade (the only statue to have been fully restored), I walked around to the rear of Abraham Lincoln. Most of the statues had considerable holes in their heads, as this is how the crane was able to secure the statues and move them, but on old Abe, it was a bit disconcerting, knowing his demise.

Making my way back to the other statues, I encountered Zachary Taylor, John Tyler and Franklin Pierce, then braved the waters that lapped at Rutherford Hayes, James Garfield, Grover Cleveland, William McKinley, Calvin Coolidge, Richard Nixon, Dwight Eisenhower and Warren G. Harding. It was amazing to gaze up at these stunning pieces of artwork and discover the thought and detail that was used by the artist, David Adickes, in their creation.

The front three rows were the easiest to survey and the driest. It was here that I saw some of our most recent Presidents, Ronald Reagan, John Kennedy, Jimmy Carter, and George W. Bush. It was Woodrow Wilson and Theodore Roosevelt who commanded the crowd’s attention in the forefront, however, both in direct contrast of each other. Wilson’s decaying face appeared as one of a man who had lived a hard life, while Roosevelt’s stoic pose was relatively almost untouched.

While it had stopped raining halfway through my tour, the dim skies lent to the occasion of these statues’ dark days, alone in a deserted field. Glancing around at the crowd that had come out to see them, it is a wonder how President’s Park never garnered enough attention to remain afloat during the years that it was open. Maybe it was a lack of advertisement or just that fact that there are so many other attractions in the Williamsburg area. Maybe people today are more infatuated with things that are not so easy to come by. Or maybe there are a lot of photographers like me that find the beauty in the not-so-beautiful.

Today, these abandoned statues have attracted a great deal of attention from visitors worldwide, so much so, that John Plaschal’s monthly and bi-monthly events are often sold out and guests come from many parts far and away. One day, Mr. Hankins may have them restored to their former glory and available to all who want to experience their original artistry, however, for now, put on your rainboots and try to get a ticket!

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John Plaschal Photo

Good Ole’ Glen Allen

©2020 Snapping the Globe, L.L.C. All rights reserved.

For some, it’s hard to envision what life might have been like 100 years ago.

Thankfully, there are some architectural landmarks around the country that have been lovingly preserved, so that we might be able to do so.

Some very good ones are nearby, in my hometown, Glen Allen.

Built in the 1920s, the Courtney Road gas station stands proudly on Mountain Road in Glen Allen, Virginia, a small town on the west end of Richmond. A “canopy style” station, which originated in 1916 by Standard Oil of Ohio for the transportation industry, it was owned by the Barlow family during a time of growth in the United States car manufacturing and road improvements. Sinclair gasoline and oil products were sold in the full-service station and customers could rely on prompt service by gas station attendants who, in addition to filling the tanks, cleaned windshields, checked the tires and “looked” under the hood.

Though the Courtney Road Station is not open to visitors except during special occasions or by appointment, you can park in the adjacent lot, walk under the canopy and inspect the old pumps.

Across Mountain Road, you can find Meadow Farm Museum, Crump Park and RF&P Park.

RF&P Park (within Crump Park) is home to the Glen Allen Athletic Association and the site of countless baseball, softball and football games on pristine, well-manicured fields. Many a weekend is spent here watching our children run the bases and score touchdowns. The real all-stars of the park, however, are actually “parked” near the fields.

Four restored Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac Railroad train cars sit proudly near the fields. At the baseball fields, the cars consists of a caboose, a steel coach and a postal car. A box car can be spotted at the softball fields.

These cars ran from Richmond to Washington D.C. on 113 miles of track (the shortest in the nation) which linked the North and South. You can climb onto the cars, inspect them closely and peer into the windows, however, the interiors are locked. They are the perfect location for photo ops for train lovers and those interested in Virginia’s historic transportation.

Also within Crump Park lies Meadow Farm Museum. Meadow Farm dates back to 1713, when Richard Baker and William Sheppard were granted 400 acres of property in Henrico county. In 1800, Meadow Farm was the site of an unsuccessful slave uprising which became known as Gabriel’s Rebellion and ten years, later, the present farmhouse was constructed by Mosby Sheppard. His son, Dr. John Mosby Sheppard, expanded the farm and passed it down to his grandson Major General Sheppard Crump, a veteran of World War I and Adjutant General of Virginia from 1955 to 1960. His wife, Elizabeth Adam Crump, was one of the first women in Virginia to receive a driver’s license and vote in public elections. In 1975, Elizabeth Adam Crump donated Meadow Farm to Henrico Country in memory of her late husband which was opened to the public in 1981.

Today, Meadow Farm Museum’s grounds are open to the public and consist of the farm house, a blacksmith forge and an orientation center. Costumed tour guides and staff present programs and exhibits on life during the farm’s heyday and on select weekends, demonstrations of the “life on the farm” take place in the farmhouse, barn, doctor’s office, blacksmith forge, kitchen, fields and pastures. Some of these programs include the annual Sheep Shearing event, Sheep to Shawl. It is the perfect place to take children to see many farm animals including chickens, turkeys, hogs, cows, horses and goats.

After visiting Meadow Farm Museum, you can enjoy Crump Park’s walking paths, ponds and playgrounds.

A little further down Mountain Road, there is another historic structure; the remains of Forest Lodge, which was built in the early 1880s by John Cussons. Cussons, an Englishman who served as a scout and lieutenant in the Confederate army and was captured in Gettysburg, returned to Glen Allen after the war and married Susan Sheppard Allen, the sister of Dr. John Sheppard of Meadow Farm and the widow of Benjamin Allen, for whom Glen Allen was named. He built the lodge as a resort along the RF&P Railroad where it intersected with Mountain Road. With 125 rooms and six stories, the luxurious resort was surrounded by a one thousand acre park which included trails, lakes and wild game.

Upon John Cussons death in 1912, the property exchanged hands multiple times until half of it was torn down. Used as office space and apartments, it was demolished in 1992. Today, you can park just off of Mountain Road and visit what is left of the historic lodge. The tower and surrounding columns are original elements from the Forest Lodge that were salvaged during its razing.

I have driven by some of these places often, visited on field trips and even taken my children’s prom and senior pictures at these locations. It is strange how I would probably go out of my way in another locale to seek out these historic structures and remains, yet, I really never took much time to stop and appreciate them.

Today, I finally did…in good ole’ Glen Allen.

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Courtney Road Station

  • Address: 3401 Mountain Road, Henrico, Virginia 23060
  • Hours: 24 hours, daily for outside viewing. By appointment only for interior visits.
  • Admission: free

RF&P Park

  • Address: 3400 Mountain Road, Glen Allen, Virginia 23060
  • Hours: Grounds open daily.
  • Admission: free

Crump Park

  • Address: 3400 Mountain Road, Glen Allen, Virginia 23060
  • Hours: dawn to dusk
  • Admission: free

Meadow Farm Museum

  • Address: 3400 Mountain Road, Glen Allen, Virginia 23060
  • Hours: Grounds are open daily from dawn to dusk. Tours of the farmhouse begin at 1300 and the last tour is held at 1530.
  • Admission: free

Forest Lodge

  • Address: Mountain Road & Old Washington Highway, Glen Allen, VA 23060
  • Hours: Interior not open to the public. Grounds open 24 hours, daily.
  • Admission: free

His Name Was Thomas

©2020 Snapping the Globe, L.L.C. All rights reserved.

I never really thought about his real name.

Studying the Civil War, we learned about both the Confederate and Union generals, however, one in particular, was was always referred to as “Stonewall”.

His full name was Thomas Jonathon Jackson.

While driving back from Gettysburg, my mind was filled with the landmarks I had seen and my thoughts on what had happened during that three day battle in 1863. Many soldiers and commanding officers gave their lives but no focus was ever put upon what happened to those who survived or those who lost their lives in the days leading up to this historic battle.

As I passed near Fredericksburg, a sign pointing to the “Stonewall” Jackson Death Site caught my eye. There was still a few hours of daylight remaining.

Thomas Jonathon “Stonewall” Jackson was born in Clarksburg in West Virginia. He was received training at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and was recognized as a hero in the Mexican War. Continuing his military experience at Virginia Military Institute as an instructor, he was made a brigadier general at the first major battle of the Civil War near Manassas, Virginia. It was during that battle that General Bernard E. Bee proclaimed, “There is Jackson standing like a stone wall”.

Well known for his military feats by both the North and the South, he was mistakenly shot by his own men during the Battle of Chancellorsville on May 2, 1863. Though the bullet only caused his wounding, he was unable to continue his military duties until after recuperating sufficiently. Confederate General Robert E. Lee secured a safe place behind enemy lines in Guinea Station on Thomas C. Chandler’s seven hundred and forty acre plantation, Fairfield.

Though he was welcomed into the family’s home, Jackson’s doctor and staff officers decided to place him in one of the quiet outbuildings which acted as an office of sorts. After sufficient time had passed, Jackson would board a train and travel to Richmond, Virginia for additional medical care.

The general was accompanied during his stay by his doctor’s and staff officers and attempted to overcome his injuries which were amplified by the amputation of his twice wounded left arm. Though his spirits were lifted by the arrival of his wife, Mary Anna, and baby daughter, Julia, he soon succumbed to a bout of pneumonia, crying out in his delirium, “Order A.P. Hill to prepare for action! Pass the infantry to the front rapidly! Tell Major Hanks…”. The last part of this sentence went unfinished but as a smile spread across his face, he said quietly, “Let us cross over the river, and rest under the shade of the trees.” He then passed away.

Driving through the countryside, I soon found the landmark’s location down a long drive, bordered by railroad tracks. The office is the only remaining structure from the Chandler’s plantation as sometime after the Civil War, the main house was burned during a major fire.

The office was established as a historic shrine in the 1920s, it was renovated then and again in the 1960s. The National Park service added some other pieces from the era to the ones used during Jackson’s stay to recreate the scene of his last days.

The site is part of the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park so I expected it to be well maintained like the battlefields there. I found, however, long grasses surrounding the building and felt as if it is a site not well visited. I was able to make my way down a brick path to get closer to the structure and a sign in the window gave an overview of his final days.

Just beyond the office was a marker showing the former location of the Chandler house and near the parking lot is a gravestone. Though Stonewall Jackson’s arm was buried in the Lacy Cemetery in Chancellorsville, Virginia, where is was amputated, his body was buried in his hometown of Lexington, Virginia. This gravestone merely marks the spot where he died.

Though not a widely known landmark, if you are a Civil War buff, make sure to seek this out during your visits to the local battlefields and historical landmarks. Not a lot to see, but definitely part of the overall timeline of the war and the overall experience.

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Stonewall Jackson Deathsite

  • https://www.nps.gov/frsp/learn/historyculture/jds.htm
  • Address: 12019 Stonewall Jackson Road, Woodford, VA 22580
  • Hours: Grounds open from sunrise to sunset. Currently most public buildings in the National Park System are closed due to Covid restrictions.
  • Admission: free
  • Getting There: Take Rte. 2 south from Fredericksburg for approximately ten miles, then turn right onto Va. Rte. 606, Stonewall Jackson Road for about 3 miles. The “Stonewall” Jackson Death Site will be on the right. Additionally, you can take Rte. 1 south from Fredericksburg for approximately six miles, then turn left onto Guinea Station Road for about six miles. Take a left onto Stonewall Jackson Road, and the “Stonewall” Jackson Death Site will be on the left.

Slow Down

© 2019 Snapping the Globe, L.L.C. All rights reserved.

Interstate 64.

I have driven this stretch of roadway many times, heading to the mountains to ski, to my son’s baseball games, to college visits, to pick apples in the fall and to visit friends.

When driving, scenic pull-overs always grab my attention. I love to stop and see why it would warrant someone’s attention.

One such stop, on Interstate 64 eastbound, near Afton Mountain (between mile markers 103 and 104), offers more than just beautiful views of the adjacent Blue Ridge Mountains and Albermarle and Nelson counties.

Constructed in 2004, with $168,000 in donations from VDOT workers and family members, the VDOT (Virginia Department of Transportation) Workers’ Memorial and Scenic Overlook is a place for family members, friends and colleagues to reflect on the loss of their loved ones who have lost their lives while performing their jobs as state highway transportation workers.

The Virginia Department of Transportation was established in 1906 and since its inception, many workers lives have been lost while carrying forth the responsibilities of their jobs, many in . work zone incidents. The names of 134 employees who have died between 1928 and 2012 are engraved on the memorial in random columns.

The thirteen foot high memorial’s design shows three profiles of workers wearing hard hats cut into black, white and gray granite. These layers of granite depict the diversity of VDOT’s employees and the open profile at one end represents a “missing” worker. While looking through this “missing” worker, visitors can see the scenic view, while enjoying the surrounding wildflowers and daylilies.

If you are heading through beautiful Virginia, take a few minutes to pull over, enjoy the view and pay your respects to those who made the highway you are traveling on possible. And if you see workers along the way…

Slow down!

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VDOT Workers’ Memorial and Scenic Overlook