Spring Photos Plus a Look around Culpeper Virginia

Who doesn't love spring...that is if you weren't hammered with the horrid storms that have sadly impacted much of the middle of the USA!  While much of central and western Tennessee suffered from flooding, high winds and tornados, here in East Tennessee all we received was needed spring rains...with some wind mixed in.  We live in the Tennessee River valley, that lies running northeast to the southwest, and we are usually but not always protected  from the worst weather by the Cumberland Plateau at the west and the Smokey Mountains at the east.

This bush always grabs our attention when it blooms!  The flowers look like delicate little bottle brushes.  It is one of the several 'bottle brush' bushes that are popular with landscapers.  This particular bush is called a Mount Airy Fothergilla. 

We love our little Japanese Maple Tree.  It cozies up in a niche in front of Laurie's 'plant room' between our laundry room and the garage.  Love those feathery red leaves when the tree first comes 'back to life' every spring!

My personal spring favorite are the Redbud Trees.  Rarely shaped in an orderly fashion, these pretty little violet colored blooms just adorn the limbs of the trees in early spring.  They are one of the very first trees to bloom every year.  Sadly, we had a white dogwood tree nearby that provided a terrific contrast with the dogwood blossoms...but no longer.

FYI... One of the biggest and best known events in the Greater Knoxville Tennessee area is the Dogwood Festival...with dogwood trails through neighborhoods and plenty of related events.  Learn more at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dogwood_Arts_Festival and https://www.dogwoodarts.com/dogwoodartsfestival.  

No...I'm not done posting photos and talking about things we did during our fall 2024 road trip.  Continuing with the last leg of that trip from Virginia...

One of the first posts from this road trip saga was about a terrific restaurant that Laurie and I dined at in Culpeper Virginia.  I posted our experience at it out of sequence with the trip because we liked it so much.  If you missed that post, just go to https://bigdaddydavesbitsandpieces.blogspot.com/2024/11/its-about-thyme-fine-dining.html.

Now back to Culpeper and a brief look around this bustling small town.  Believe it or not, the original section of the large building shown above was built in 1820 by Revolutionary War General Edward Stevens.  The family of future Confederate States of America General A.P. Hill bought the home in 1832, enlarging it to its current size just prior to the American Civil War.  Timing is everything and the Hill family sold the property in 1962.  The building is referred to today as the A.P. Hill building.  Occupants include a wellness spa and a fashion boutique as well as at least one apartment.

Yes, Laurie did do a bit of shopping in Culpeper... I was more interested in this cat in a basket, even if she wasn't interested in me.  We both love cats, but between Laurie's allergies and the probability that over half of our family, (who have allergies or don't like cats), would never come to visit, deters us from any new feline member for our household.

The two photos above are general views of downtown Culpeper.  It is an attractive and active small town at one corner of 'horse country' in Virginia.  The building at the right side of the photo immediately above, is the Fairfax Masonic Building.  It was completed in 1902 and it currently is home to a real estate company and a gift boutique.

I borrowed this photo from the Internet.  The first Culpeper County Courthouse was built in 1750.  A replacement was built on the same site in 1808.  The second courthouse was torn down in 1871 and it was replace by this Classic Revival structure in 1873.  

There is a reason for all the good restaurants and shopping opportunities.  About 70% of the fast growing population of the county commute out of the county for work.  The town is 55 minutes from Manassas Virginia and just a little over an hour to Dulles International Airport.  How fast is this county growing?  In 1980, the county recorded 22,620 residents.  By 2000 there were over 34,000 and the 2020 census recorded 52,552 residents.

Factoids:  

• By the middle of the 1970s, Culpeper County was the last county in the Commonwealth of Virginia to desegregate its schools.

• Commonwealth Park in the county is the site for many world-class equestrian events.  This is where actor Christopher Reeve suffered the equestrian accident that paralyzed him in 1995.

This is a photo of the cookie display case at Knakal's Bakery at 146 East Davis Street.  This bakery has been a fixture in Culpeper since the 1930s and they offer a wide selection of donuts, cookies, pastries and cakes.  We did buy a couple of very nice cookies to take with us as a treat for later in the day.  This is my kind of shopping experience!

This is the oldest commercial building in Culpeper.  George Washington surveyed and plotted the town back in 1749.  The first indication of any structure being built on this plot of land was a deed of sale in 1790 to Thomas Reade Rootes...a lawyer and a member of Virginia's House of Delegates.  In the 1890s it was known as the Martin Furniture Company but it was originally built (ca ?) to house the post office, the Farmer's and Merchants Bank as well as Clark and Company Grocers.  

This structure has been used by a number of other businesses including a tobacco warehouse, stables, a tin shop, a Civil War jail for soldiers from both sides of the conflict and for much of the 1900s, as the Yarnell Hardware Store.  The structure survived the Civil War, two major fires and an earthquake.  Today it is the home of The Grass Rootes Restaurant, an upscale dining venue.  To learn about this restaurant, go to https://www.grassrootescu.com.

This is the oldest church in Culpeper.  St. Stephen's Episcopal Church was built in 1821 on land donated to the parish by Brigadier General Edward Stevens, a hero who led his militia in several key battles during the Revolutionary War.  Originally, this church was a relatively plain rectangular structure.  The slender steeple and the entrance vestibule were added in 1861.  Other renovations and additions took place ca. 1870 and it 1884.  This was one of the few churches in the area that remained unscathed during the Civil War.

Part of Culpeper's Central Historic District, the old Southern Railway Depot at 109 South Commerce Street was built in 1904.  It replaced another that had been built in 1874, which itself had replaced 2 depots that had been originally built by the Orange and Alexander Railroad.  Threatened with demolition in 1985, the community rallied to save it and then to renovate it.  Part of the structure at 111 South Commerce Street now serves as the Culpeper Visitor's Center.  Located at 113 Commerce Street, the Museum of Culpeper History occupies a larger portion of the structure.  To learn more about the museum, go to https://culpepermuseum.com/.

The best part about this old depot is that it is still served by passenger trains.  Options include: Amtrak's 3 time a week round trip service (the Cardinal line) from New York City to Chicago; the daily round trip service (the Crescent City line) from New York to New Orleans and; the twice daily Amtrak Northeast Service from Washington D.C. to Roanoke Virginia.  The Commonwealth of Virginia provides financial support for the Northeast Service.  In 2023, the Culpeper station served 17,386 passengers.

That's all for now.  Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them...

Thanks for stopping by for a visit! 

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave