New Roads (and I just cannot make this stuff up)

I headed out bright & early this Saturday morning to spend a day shooting in the Virginia country-side with my shutter sister sidekick, Suzanne. We had a general plan and direction, but the day was beautiful and cool for June and we also decided to let the day unfold as we cruised the back roads.

Driving down Snickersville Turnpike we spotted an old red truck, every ready to stop for a photo op, Suzanne steered her mini into a gravel drive - realizing we'd entered someone's driveway I said this is someone's home we should probably move on - Suzanne jumped out & asked permission to shoot the truck from the woman we saw tending her chickens at the edge of the property. She said yes, and so begins an adventure.

This is the truck that lured us off the road. It's a 1951 Ford that was last used to deliver milk from Loudoun county dairy farms to Dulles Airport.

The couple, whose home we'd invaded were Paula Catan-Rose and Squirrel Monger (yes that is is his real name, he vowed it was on his driver's license and credit card, and that we could ask anyone in the area and they'd know who he was). The property was named Iron Horse Acres, due to the large number of iron horses (vehicles) that were on the property and waiting for Squirrel's attention. The sign was made by a neighbor's son of car parts and motorcycle chains.

We also met their dog Laptop--a rescue, Paula knew he was "older than dirt" but she wasn't sure exactly how old. Laptop came by his name because he likes to sit on laps. We also met Garfield, a great mouser who had been in more than a few scraps in his life--also a rescue.

Paula is fascinated with area history and she sent us out to find a town called North Fork--nothing of the town left now but she filled us in on the history. North Fork used to have a post office, general store, and a cobbler's shop on a corner--in addition to a few houses. Some of the houses are left but the cobbler's shop is long gone - Paula bought the 400 square foot piece of ground where the cobbler's shop once stood and planted it with tomatoes. She invites anyone in the area to stop and pick tomatoes - and to share with her any history they may know of North Fork and it's former residents. The cobbler's shop is important because it was a business owned by James Hicks. Mr. Hicks was born in 1845 and enslaved in the home of a Methodist minister until emancipation in 1865. James Hicks was a founder of the Loudoun County Emancipation Association and a business man. By 1900 he had clear title to a house, an orchard, and the cobbler's shop in North Fork. You can read more about James Hicks here: http://www.hallowedground.org/African-American-Heritage/Goose-Creek-Rural-Historic-District

This house is one of the buildings left in North Fork. It appears to be abandoned but there are also signs of construction around it so - hopefully - it is being restored.

We actually got lost trying to find North Fork, but thanks to modern technology (thanks Siri!) we found a location for North Forks Cemetery and that was our next stop after North Fork. The cemetery was associated with the North Fork Baptist Church which was established in 1835 (or 1868 depending on sources). By 1937 there was an Old and a New School Baptist churches with the cemetery laying between them. Now there is only the one church, the other was converted to a private residence and the cemetery is also owned by the same person - he allowed us to photograph in the cemetery as long as we didn't vandalize it.





The property owner did tell me to make sure and note the "most unusual grave of all the civil war graves in the state of Virginia." It is the grave site of the Holmes brothers - Charles and John. Both brothers fought in the same civil war battle, survived but were captured and imprisoned in the Point Lookout (Maryland) civil war prison widely known as the largest and worst of all the prison camps. Both brothers died in the camp and at the end of the war their bones were put into the same casket and shipped to their mother for burial.

There are always wonders to discover when setting out with a camera and an open mind.


If you would like to see my work on a daily basis, as well as other projects I undertake, please follow me on Facebook at tART - Photography and Art by Terry Rowe,  https://www.facebook.com/tarrowe. If you'd like to purchase a print of any of my images please contact me or visit my website, http://terry-rowe.artistwebsites.com/.  

The Last Road Trip of 2013

I took advantage of a warm sunny day in December, the last Saturday of 2013, to head out on the road. I had grand plans to do a wide loop through the Virginia back roads, mostly I wanted to get out, to drive down roads that weren’t crowded with people, to be outside where I could see long views.

I got lost, missed a turn off, found myself in places unplanned. My plans, like much of life, shifted and evolved. Instead of worrying about how I was off-track, I decided to focus on the journey, discover what I could instead of trying to stick to a schedule or even a plan.

First stop was Chapman's Mill, a grist mill built in 1742. You can read about the Mill here: http://www.chapmansmill.org/history.

Chapman's Mill, Thoroughfare Gap

Back on down the road, I stopped at the Broad Run Post office to photograph an old house sitting in a hollow, long abandoned I wonder about the people who once lived in it.

Broad Run, Virginia

I drove through the small town of Aldie, stopped at an antique store (or two). Once outside of Aldie I was on the Snickersville Turnpike, the kind of road I was looking for, narrow country roads with low stone fences on both sides, farms and estates, horses and cows, long vistas up and down valleys. I stopped to ponder a statue erected to the Civil War Battle of Aldie. The Battle of Aldie took place on June 17, 1863, as part of the Gettysburg Campaign.

Monument to the Battle of Aldie

My ultimate goal was to find the small town of Unison, Virginia. I passed the Mountville Church, now being used as an office building.

Mountville Church, circa 1852

The road to Unison was unpaved, and still wet from melted snows.

The road to Unison

Along the road to Unison

Unison was a small hamlet, sweetly hidden. I definitely want to go back. From Unison, it was more back roads to Route 50, I made one more stop at the Mount Zion church. 

Mt. Zion Old School Baptist Church, built in 1851, sits at the intersection of the Old Carolina Road and the Little River Turnpike – once a main crossroad in Loudoun County. The church was at the center of much of the area's history, particularly the Civil War. Many churches and other buildings were put into service during the Civil War, but few saw as much action as Mt. Zion.

The church was used as a military rendezvous site, prison, barracks, battleground, and hospital.  Union troops used the church as a field hospital after cavalry engagements of Aldie, Middleburg, and Upperville in June of 1863. July of 1864 saw military action close to the church, when Confederate Colonel John S. Mosby and his men met the Union forces from Massachusetts and New York.

I never visit Mount Zion without feeling a little bit haunted. The trees around the church lean in  to embrace it.

Mount Zion, circa 1851

After stopping at Mount Zion, it was a straight shot through to Route 50 and home. So ends the last road trip of 2013, there will be many more road trips in 2014 - each with it's own flavor and discoveries.