Gribblenation

All along Interstate 95 in the South, there are interchanges where the services (food, gas, and lodging) haven't kept up with the times.  Some of these old comfort stops dated to before the Interstate or opened when the new highway came through.   The former Emporia Travel Center Long before Buc-ee's, small independent travel centers that mixed a gas station/truck stop, restaurant, and sometimes a motel lined the Interstate.  Just north of Emporia, a long-gone complex consisting of a truck stop, restaurant, and motel greeted travelers as they exited off I-95. In the late 1950s, Virginia built a US 301 bypass west of Emporia that would become Interstate 95.  When the road opened in 1959, a small restaurant sat where the newly opened bypass tied back into Highway 301 - today's Exit 12.  By 1968, a truck stop and motel had been built next to it. By early 2011, the Dixie Motel had long been overrun - its days were numbered.  The old motel was torn down a f...

For most of its length between Petersburg and Emporia, Virginia, a two-lane US 301 runs immediately parallel to the southbound lanes of Interstate 95.  While four lanes of traffic zip by at 70+ miles per hour, US 301 runs just off the shoulder at a slower speed.   Though much of this stretch of highway is through rural farmlands, there are leftover - often abandoned - relics from when a four-lane US 301 carried motorists south to the Atlantic Coast or back to their northeastern homes. The Jarratt Motel circa 1940s.  It was a classic-style motel. ( Digital Commonwealth - Massachusetts Collection Online ) A popular location for lodging was the tiny town of Jarratt, where at a minimum; three old-style motor courts were found along US 301 - the Jarratt, Colonial, and Resté.  Each of these motels had lodging, a pool, and a restaurant.  In the late 1950s, US 301 was widened to four lanes through the sleepy Southside Virginia town.  In the decades to come, al...

As you head north on Interstate 95 at Exit 107 for Kenly and US 301, you'll notice something odd about the overhead sign for the exit.  Peeling off the sign for all that can see is the word 'NORTH' off-center from the US 301.  This old sign (probably close to original from when this section of I-95 opened - more on that in a little bit) gives a hint to a short-lived Business Interstate Route that ran from here to Rocky Mount. The last hint of the Kenly-Wilson-Rocky Mount Business I-95 (Shaun White - August 2020) Interstate 95 in North Carolina has a unique history.  But one of the overlooked and forgotten pieces of Interstate 95 in North Carolina is the 38 mile section between Kenly and Rocky Mount.  When opened to traffic in late 1978, it was the next to last piece of Interstate 95 in North Carolina to open replacing a four lane US 301 from Battleboro through Rocky Mount and Wilson to eventually tying back into the Interstate in Kenly. Though it was not delayed in l...

It is Monday, December 15, 1980.  North Carolina Governor Jim Hunt and many other dignitaries take part in a ribbon cutting ceremony opening a new 17 mile stretch of Interstate 95 in Cumberland County.  The new road bypasses Fayetteville to the east and completes Interstate 95 in North Carolina - closing a significant gap in what many consider the backbone highway of the East Coast.  The new road moved Interstate traffic from an at-grade, four lane US 301 lined with numerous motels and restaurants onto a fully controlled and traffic light-free limited access freeway.  Meanwhile at a Quality Inn along US 301 in Fayetteville, a billboard read "Governor Hunt Cuts Ribbon on Doomsday."(1) The ribbon cutting put an end to over a decade long heated battle over the routing of Interstate 95 around Fayetteville.  One that made it all the way to the steps of the United States Supreme Court. Signs along US 301 at Grove Street in 1976.  Interstate 95 traffic w...

 The Historic Hanover Courthouse Building built in 1735. The small village of Hanover sits as the County Seat of growing Hanover County.  Surrounded by centuries of history, this town of nearly 500 people along US Route 301 has lodged many famous dignitaries at an over two centuries old tavern and has been the birthplace of many notable names in American History.  The historic courthouse that sits off of the main highway was built in 1735.  Patrick Henry would make a name for himself here when he argued the Parson's Case in 1763. The well-known Hanover Tavern Directly across from the historic Courthouse building stands an equally historic location, Hanover Tavern.  Since 1733, a tavern has located its site.  The oldest part of the current building dates to 1791.  Many well-known names in early American history stayed at the Hanover Tavern site.  George Washington, Marquis de LaFayette, and Lord Cornwallis spent time here.  As did Pa...

(Editors Note: This is a first in a series documenting US 301 in North Carolina.  This first installment covers US 301 from the Virginia State Line southwards to Halifax.) When entering North Carolina from Virginia, US 301's past as a major north/south route greets you immediately. What was once Coker's Motor Court sits on both sides of the state line.  The old Stateline Junction Restaurant is closed but the gas station is still open and includes a convenience store where the state line is noted by a painted yellow line. The owners of the convenience store hope to restore a number of the old rooms and allow small local businesses and artists to have store fronts here.  They were kind enough to allow me to have an old linen postcard of Coker's to give an idea what the old motor court looked like in the 1940s and 50s. US 301 southwards to Weldon has a number of old abandoned groceries and gas stations - some with intricate detail that you don't see at the co...

After Saturday's trip into Southside Virginia - and all of the great pre-Interstate businesses we found, active and abandoned - I started to think about the Old US 66 trip I did last spring.  There are plenty of sites (motor courts, restaurants, neon signs, small towns) and situations (bypassed by the interstate, abandoned businesses, empty two and sometimes four lane roads) similar to that of the revered "Mother Road". So I have come up with five routes along with reasons for and against being the East Coast version of Route 66. US 1: The Backbone US Route of the East Coast - Travels through major cities including Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington D.C.  Parallels Interstates 85 and 95 for significant portions of the route.  However, runs as an independent route from Henderson, NC to Jacksonville, FL. US 301: Bypassed and pretty much ignored by long distanced travelers by Interstate 95 from Richmond/Petersburg, VA to south of Florence, SC....

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. 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. Lawrenceville is the Brunswick County Seat, and the courthouse - named after Albertis S. Harrison, Jr. - is rather impressive. 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. The open grocery store in town is something you don't see every day, Red & White. We stay...