Skip to main content

A run into Southside Virginia

On a sunny Saturday afternoon, Joe and I took a brief six hour trip into Southside Virginia.

The Route: US 64, I-95, NC/VA 46, US 1, VA 40, US 301, NC 48, I-95, US 64.

Photo set on flickr - right here.

You know it's going to be a good trip when the first photo of the day is of an increasingly rare Interstate 95 North Carolina shield.

I-95 North Carolina

Funny thing is, this was the only photo I took in North Carolina on this trip.

About an hour later, we found ourselves in Lawrenceville, Virginia and decided to take a walk around.

Sledge & Barkley Company - Lawrenceville, VA

Lawrenceville is the Brunswick County Seat, and the courthouse - named after Albertis S. Harrison, Jr. - is rather impressive.

Albertis S. Harrison, Jr. Courthouse

Like many small rural towns, there were more abandoned storefronts than open.  An old Star Value Grocery Store only sees use as a Haunted House in the fall, with the exception of the two newspaper boxes in front of the store.

IMG_2878

The open grocery store in town is something you don't see every day, Red & White.

Red & White in Black & White

We stayed north on VA 46 to Alberta, where we turned onto US 1 North.

In March of 2010, Virginia designated all of US 1 as "Historic Route 1".  This was done to promote travel tourism - similar to Route 66 or some of the designated scenic or historical byways in other states.  New stand alone US 1 trailblazers have recently been erected throughout the state like the one we found in rural Brunswick County.

US 1 through Rural Virginia

Personally, I like this idea.  Though I don't think it will lead to the economic development that legislators desire, there are certainly people, like myself, who do enjoy driving - and plan day trips around - designated historic or scenic byways.

Unfortunately, the idea of US 1 travel tourism wasn't done in time to save the old Wimurt's Motel and Restaurant near McKenney.

Abandoned Wilmurt's Motel and Restaurant

IMG_2915

If you have a chance, stop by this old motel and restaurant.  It's a true roadside museum with relics such as old merchant stickers with names long gone like "Master Charge".

Master Charge - (Black and white)

Other stickers date as recent as 2004-05.  So it wasn't that long ago, that this old place was open.  The motel lobby doesn't appear that dilapidated.  Nor do the old motel rooms that you can pretty much walk right in.

IMG_2909

IMG_2920

IMG_2919

From McKenney, we took VA 40 east to Stony Point where we hit US 301 and headed south.  It was along US 301 where we came across two great finds.

The first - the long abandoned Jarratt Restaurant.  Which I believe also had a motor lodge.

IMG_2927

IMG_2946

The interior of the building is pretty much beyond repair - and has been home to numerous squatters seeking some sort of refuge.

IMG_2939

The old exit or entrance door is still operating and its creaking back and the forth broke an uneasy silence.

IMG_2940

The neon tubing for the motor court office sign is pretty much all gone - with the exception of a still intact 'O' - which I found pretty interesting.

IMG_2951

Further south on US 301 near Emporia, there was a triple abandoned treat.  A closed motel (Dixie Motel), restaurant (Carol's Diner), and gas station (Emporia Travel Plaza).

IMG_2958

IMG_2963

The Dixie Motel has been recently been condemned.  Or at least the most recent (January 2011) posting says so.

IMG_2962

Over at the Emporia Travel Plaza.  There were old analog gas pumps.

IMG_2966

Including one that seemed to register its last sale.  $26.02 for 18.9 gallons of Super Unleaded.

IMG_2969

Inside the old travel plaza, there may have been one hint to when it closed.  An old "We Card" sticker for cigarettes was on the checkout counter.  It read, "1978".

IMG_2971

Which could mean this old gas station has been closed since 1996.

Finally, I came across this interesting blog entry on the old Dixie Motel - it's worth the read, and the photos are great too.

IMG_2977

Well that's it until the next trip.

Comments

Anonymous said…
You've done some nice archaeology here!
Unknown said…
how'd you miss the college that was lawrenceville? a college founded by a former slave. that's the highlight of lawrenceville!!

Popular posts from this blog

Chowchilla Mountain Road to Yosemite National Park

Chowchilla Mountain Road of Mariposa County is one of the oldest roadways servicing Yosemite National Park.  As presently configured this fourteen-mile highway begins at California State Route 49 near Elliot Corner and terminates at the Wawona Road in Yosemite National Park.  Chowchilla Mountain Road was constructed as a franchise toll road over Battalion Pass circa 1869-1870.  The highway was built at behest of Galen Clark to connect the town of Mariposa to his property near the South Fork Merced River at what is now Wawona.   In late 1874 the highway along with Clark’s Station would be purchased by the Washburn Brothers.  The Washburn Brothers would continue to toll Chowchilla Mountain Road as part of their Yosemite Stage Route lines.  The highway would ultimately become a Mariposa County public highway in 1917.  Mariposa would later be more directly linked with Yosemite Valley in 1926 following the completion of the Yosemite All-Year Highwa...

Interstate 40's Tumultuous Ride Through the Pigeon River Gorge

In the nearly 60 years Interstate 40 has been open to traffic through the Pigeon River Gorge in the mountains of Western North Carolina, it has been troubled by frequent rockslides and damaging flooding, which has seen the over 30-mile stretch through North Carolina and Tennessee closed for months at a time. Most recently, excessive rainfall from Hurricane Helene in September 2024 saw sections of Interstate 40 wash away into a raging Pigeon River. While the physical troubles of Interstate 40 are well known, how I-40 came to be through the area is a tale of its own. Interstate 40 West through Haywood County near mile marker 10. I-40's route through the Pigeon River Gorge dates to local political squabbles in the 1940s and a state highway law written in 1921. A small note appeared in the July 28, 1945, Asheville Times. It read that the North Carolina State Highway Commission had authorized a feasibility study of a "...water-level road down [the] Pigeon River to the Tennessee l...

Angus L. Macdonald Bridge

At 1.3 kilometers (or about 0.84 miles) in length, the Angus L. Macdonald Bridge is one of two bridges crossing over the Halifax Harbour between Halifax, Nova Scotia and Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, with the other bridge being the A. Murray Mackay Bridge . Opened in 1955 and named after former Nova Scotia Premier and Canadian Minister of Defense for Naval Services Angus L. Macdonald, the Macdonald Bridge was the first bridge that crossed Halifax Harbour that was opened to traffic. The Macdonald Bridge was also the subject of the Big Lift, which was only the second time in history that the span of a suspension bridge were replaced while the bridge was open to traffic. Planning began in 2010 for the Big Lift, while construction took place between 2015 and 2017. Similar work occurred on the Lion's Gate Bridge in Vancouver, British Columbia before the project took place on the Macdonald Bridge. At this time, much of the bridge infrastructure is new, leaving only the towers, main cables and...