Rediscovering America_ Exploring the Small Towns of Virginia & Maryland - Bill Burnham [19]
Information
The Front Royal/Warren County Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center are at 414 E. Main Street, inside a restored train station. Open daily, 9 am-5 pm, tel. 800-338-2576, www.frontroyalchamber.com.
Events
Main Street is the site of a variety of festivities:
The Virginia Wine & Craft Festival (tel. 540-635-3185), the third Saturday in May, features samplings of Virginia wines and craft vendors; the Warren County Fair (tel. 540-635-5827) happens during the first week in August; Octoberfest (tel. 540-635-3185) is held the fourth Saturday in September, with a chili cookoff and art show.
The Festival of Leaves (tel. 540-636-1446) is the second weekend in October and features a parade and street festival; and the Community Christmas Parade (tel. 540-636-3566) is the first Saturday in December. Summer brings Gazebo Gatherings on Friday evenings, with free, live music ranging from classical to county.
TRIVIA: The Mosby-Sheridan feud originated and reached its climax here in Front Royal with the execution of a half-dozen Mosby’s Rangers who were captured in battle. They were paraded through the streets, then hung atop a hill north of town. A monument to them stands at the entrance to Prospect Hill Cemetery, where 276 Confederate soldiers, representing each of the 13 southern states, are buried.
New Market
Around Town
A single corner in New Market neatly sums up this town’s past. The intersection of Congress Street (Route 11) and Old Cross Road marks where long ago two major Indian trails crossed. As German and Scotch-Irish poured down the Great Wagon Road, the town acquired the name Cross Roads. On the southeast corner, Stonewall Jackson sat on his horse and reviewed 17,000 of his troops as they made the turn onto what was then the east-west Luray Road in 1862. There’s a plaque referencing the event on the side of a building that was built by John Strayer as a store, then later became the Lee Jackson Hotel. In 1864, rebel General Jubal Early used it as his headquarters.
Today, the old building is home to Bedrooms of America Museum and Pottery (tel. 540-740-3512), self-proclaimed alternately as “Virginia’s Most Unusual Attraction” and “America’s Most Unique Museum.” (Having once visited the Museum of Obsolete Medical Devices in St. Paul, Minn., we’re guessing they might have competition for the title.) The street-level floor is a jumble of antiques, baskets, pottery and knick-knacks, as well as an impressive antique doll collection. Upstairs (you’re asked to pay $2 to go up) is Bedrooms of America, a truly unique concept in themed museums. Travel through time via eleven furnished bedrooms representing every period of American décor, from William & Mary (1650) to Art Deco (1930).
Directly across Congress Street is a log cabin (yes, a log cabin in the middle of downtown), housing the John Sevier Gallery (tel. 540-740-3911). John Sevier, the founder of New Market, had a trading post here about 200 years ago. The logs are purportedly from that original building, and were used to reconstruct the current 1920s structure. Maybe New Market got too busy for Sevier. He stayed only five years, then went west to settle in Tennessee and became its first governor, serving six terms.
The current occupant of Sevier’s old post is Judy DeLaughter, who bought it about 12 years ago. She says the local paper was once put together here, and at another time it served as the Greyhound bus station. She’s been in New Market a little over 25 years, but still claims to be a newcomer from Maryland. She’s a painter who came for the peace and quiet. Her gallery sells art, crafts and books by local artists.
Across the street again is the F&M Bank. But don’t let looks deceive: This commercial building is believed to be the oldest structure in town. The limestone and brick house, known by historians-in-the-know as the Abbie Henkel House, pre-dates the Revolution. Abbie