Rediscovering America_ Exploring the Small Towns of Virginia & Maryland - Bill Burnham [29]
Information
Bath County Chamber of Commerce, tel. 800-628-8092, www.bathcountyva.org.
Bath County Historical Society, tel. 540-839-2543.
Lexington
Around Town
Steeped in Civil War history, the home of the esteemed Virginia Military Institute, and the final resting place of Confederate generals Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson, Lexington nonetheless has a sense of fun and humor about itself.
A deceivingly official-looking plaque on a building next to the Stonewall Jackson House reads: “National Un-Historical Marker: On this spot on Feb. 29, 1776, absolutely nothing happened.” Inside the Alexander-Withrow House (circa 1789) is the playfully named “Artists in Cahoots,” a coop for local artists. A whimsical toy store window warns patrons to “Be Prepared to Smile.” A tongue-in-cheek Ghost Tour includes a visit to Stonewall Jackson’s grave.
Lexington has an astounding number of preserved buildings housing restaurants, shops, art galleries and lodging. Pick up a walking tour brochure of the compact historic district at the visitor center and check out the historical displays while you’re there. A blackboard tells the day’s events, and a friendly greeter points out the best routes on the map and will even advise you on a restaurant meeting your epicurean tastes. The walking tour includes the campuses of VMI and Washington and Lee University. A separate brochure highlights the half dozen art galleries within walking distance.
At the Stonewall Jackson House, we found the restored garden most interesting. Markers tell you what you’re looking at growing in season, including things popular in centuries past, but virtually unknown today: for example, “salsify” is a Roman root vegetable brought to the colonies in the 1700s. Inside the house, furnished with many of Jackson’s possessions, guided tours are on the hour and half-hour, Monday-Saturday, 9 am-5 pm, and Sunday 1-5 pm. Admission is $5 (8 E. Washington Street, tel. 540-463-2552, www.stonewalljackson.org).
Jackson and his family are buried in the Stonewall Jackson Memorial Cemetery on South Main Street, along with more than 100 Confederate dead.
TRIVIA: “Stonewall” Jackson’s given name was Thomas Jonathan Jackson. The nickname was earned for his unrelenting stand during the Battle of First Manassas. For 10 years before the Civil War he was a professor of Natural Philosophy at VMI. His home in Lexington is the only one he ever owned.
The Lee Chapel on the Washington and Lee University campus, is imposing in its solemnity – men are asked to remove their hats upon entering. Silence prevails as visitors walk by the white marble sculpture of Recumbent Lee and the family crypt. Lee was president of Washington College and built this chapel. A wall plaque indicates where he sat during services. What we found perplexing were the number of plaques – three at least – memorializing men who drowned in the North River. Open April-October Monday-Saturday, 9 am-5 pm, Sunday 1-5 pm. Closes at 4 pm the rest of the year. Free admission (tel. 540-463-8768, http://leechapel.wlu.edu).
On the VMI campus, there’s the VMI Cadet Museum, open daily, 9 am-5 pm, with free admission (tel. 540-464-7334, www.vmi.edu/museum), and the George C. Marshall Museum, open daily, 9 am-5 pm, also free. (tel. 540-463-7103)
TRIVIA: The dying wish of VMI professor Matthew Fontaine Maury was to be carried after his death through Goshen Pass when the rhododendrons were in bloom. He considered it the loveliest spot in all of Virginia. VMI cadets granted his wish in 1873.
It’s not just military history that’s preserved in Lexington. In 1999 a group of people nostalgic for drive-in theaters got together to save the 1950s Hull’s Drive-In on Route 11, four miles north of Lexington. They formed a non-profit