The View from Jerome

Motorists on Route 42 may pass the sign to Jerome and have no idea that they should check it out. It's a tiny town nestled in the foothills of Great North Mountain, but it has a church on a hill with lovely views!

So if you find yourself on Jerome Road or Alum Springs Road, be sure to drive up to the church to admire the panorama.

From Basye: Take Alum Springs Road until it ends at Jerome Road. Turn left and watch for the church on your left.

Views in Jerome, Virginia

If you drive through western Shenandoah County, you may see signs to Jerome and think it's a big town. Nope. It is a very small town, one where the stores have gone out of business and the school has closed. But a fine church still sits high on a hill, so drive up there to take in the views.

This is St. Paul's Lutheran Church, built in 1891 with an addition in 1935. See my 2017 picture of it at sunset.

The rest of the pictures show the view from the church parking lot. The little gas station has been closed for years.

I found some historical information about Jerome in the Shenandoah County Historic Resources Survey.

The Barn Collective, Shadow Shot Sunday, and InSPIREd Sunday

Mountain View in Jerome

Here we are looking toward Great North Mountain from Jerome. Through the trees on the left you can glimpse the old schoolhouse, now restored as a residence.

See all my pictures of Jerome, VA or

view a photo of the old school on Shenandoah GenWeb

The View from the Church at Jerome

Yesterday I was driving home from errands in Woodstock and Winchester and the afternoon light was pretty and the sky had dramatic clouds. One place with a clear view of the sky is the Lutheran Church on the hill in Jerome (Virginia). I've posted photos of views from Jerome before and even a picture of the church at sunset.

Here are some of yesterday's views. Yes, that's a gas pump in front of the building across from the church entrance.

It's pretty country and it's on the way home from Woodstock if I take the long route, leaving 42 to head west at Columbia Furnace. This may be a better route to take for a while if road construction slows down traffic on route 42. A sign says that construction starts this coming week and to expect 15 minute delays.

Springtime in Jerome, VA

Jerome is a scenic little town at the base of Great North Mountain in Virginia.

You might also like: The View from Jerome.

Winter in Jerome

I spotted this charming farmhouse from the church in Jerome, Virginia. I like the pattern the fence makes on the snow.

I added a Photoshop filter in a duplicated layer to bring out the edges of the branches and the buildings, then softened it a bit by adjusting the transparency of the layer.

Low-Hanging Clouds Viewed from the Ridge

Looking Toward Great North Mountain

Aug. 13 at 8:10 PM

Someone has cleared a lot along Supinlick Ridge Road between Jerome and Crooked Run Road. We paused there on the way home Saturday evening to look at the clouds in the valley.

You might also like: 

• Springtime in Jerome
• Clouds Drifting Away
• Another View of Our View

Cows at Liberty Furnace

We were driving along route 717 in western Shenandoah County a few months ago when we saw cattle grazing at Liberty Furnace. It's a charming location so we stopped the car and took a couple of pictures.

Liberty Furnace, now privately owned, was the site of an iron ore operation in the 19th century. According to a Forest Service article, " there were several essentials for the location of a furnace found in the Valley -- an adequate supply of iron ore and limestone, sufficient waterpower to turn a water wheel that operated a bellows for the fire, and an abundance of timber for charcoal that was the fuel for smelting the iron ore." The article also tells us that Liberty Furnace was burned (but not totally destroyed) during the Civil War. Nearby Columbia Furnace was burned three times by Union forces!

Liberty Furnace is on the side of Great North Mountain between Wolf Gap Road and Jerome. I included it on a Basye area tour map last year.

See also my pictures of Elizabeth Furnace

Looking Back from Great North Mountain

When Frank's brother and sister were here, we took them up to the top of Great North Mountain, driving up Crooked Run Road. As the word "crooked" hints, the road twists and turns on its way up the mountain. At the top you can park near the West Virginia border and walk up (passing the radio towers) to the clearing where the gas pipeline crosses the mountain. There you can see for miles.

Since you can see the radio towers from our driveway, you can look back toward our house. I couldn't see it though; it's among the trees. Maybe if I had a telescope and plenty of patience I could spot our garage.

Note: Location: @38.859700, -78.805040. On the WV side, the road is "Upper Cove Road" Route 20. See location (with towns of Basye, Jerome and Basore) on Google Maps. (And check out the Satellite view and Terrain view.)

Earlier Posts:

• View from Great North Mountain (in Autumn)
• More North Mountain Views

A View from Conicville

For this picture I was standing in a church parking lot which is along Senedo Road (VA 42) in Shenandoah County. In the far distance is Great North Mountain.

Nearby:

• The View from Jerome
• Conicville School House
• Stone House on Senedo Road
• View from Adams Lane

Belated Octoberfest Post

October was such a photogenic month that I didn’t get to share all the highlights. These pictures are from October 11.

Bryce Resort held an Octoberfest. I was there with Deborah and Frank and our dogs. We didn’t stay long, but I did grab a photo of these folks.

There was music indoors, but it was way too loud for me. The scene outside seemed a bit surreal, with dancers and even dogs (!) wearing lederhosen, children playing, people drinking beer, and cyclists speeding down the hill as they reached the end of the mountain bike trail. Oh, and bicycles overhead moving  up the mountain on a ski lift!

One thing I like to do is vary my route by taking a back road. I decided to take Crooked Run Road to Jerome, and found myself next to Deauville Farm. I was explaining to Deborah that Gail Rose used to raise fellow deer there, when I noticed that people were outside and OMG, there’s Gail! I hadn’t seen her in over 10 years, so I pulled into the parking lot and got out. She greeted us warmly, as always. 

There was an independent film made about Gail and her farm, and I remember going to see it some years ago, and at that time, Gail was recovering from cancer treatment. It was good to see her looking well.

Stony Creek in January

Yesterday I drove to Woodstock via the back way through Jerome and Liberty Furnace. I stopped near Wolf Gap Road and took some pictures of Stony Creek. There was enough ice left to look bright and silvery.

Stony Creek runs from Lake Laura in Basye to Edinburg, where it joins the North Fork of the Shenandoah.

Related Posts: Lake Laura in Late Afternoon

Stoney Creek in Winter at Bryce Resort

By Crooked Run Road

Another View of Jerome, Virginia

I was so taken by this scene on the way home Wednesday evening, I stopped the car and took this photo through the windshield.

Basye - the local tour and more

On the first day of a houseguest's stay, we typically take them on a local tour. Here are the local stops that I like to include on the first day:

1. Bryce Resort - Drive through the valley on Resort Drive, always pretty with the golf course surrounded by mountains.


2. Take Route 263 (Orkney Grade) to nearby Orkney Springs, a charming resort town out of the 19th century. Don't miss Shrine Mont's outdoor cathedral... if you can find it!


3. Return to Basye, maybe stopping at the diner for lunch. Then turn on Alum Springs Road and head into the country, noticing the old stone furnace on the left. After a few miles you'll see the Mennonite Church on your left. Turn right onto Crooked Run Road and drive down to see Deauville Deer Farm. Return to Alum Springs Road and continue out to Jerome. Drive up into the church parking lot for a lovely view. As you leave the parking lot and turn left, make an immediate right and follow 717, pausing at Liberty Furnace to admire the scenic little mill. Eventually 717 puts you on Wolf Gap Road which bears right and takes you to Columbia Furnace. Here you can either return on 42 or take the extended tour below.




Map not to scale, Drawn by the author



4. Where Wolf Gap Road ends at Columbia Furnace, you can turn left instead of crossing the bridge to 42. Turn left again at the church onto Back Road (623). Enjoy the ride through the gentle hills and green fields.


5. After passing through the quaint town of Mt. Olive, turn left on Battlefield Road. This takes you to Fisher's Hill, where you can stop at the Civil War site and walk out to the sign or all the way up the hill if you are so inclined. Continue through the town of Fisher's Hill, but slow down as you cross the bridge and look back at the scenic mill and creek. Then bear left and continue to Route 11, the Old Valley Pike.

• We turn right on 11 and make our way back to Orkney Grade Road, passing through several towns and stopping at the old mill in Edinburg for a few minutes. Antique lovers may want to stop at one of the shops on U.S. 11, and there are also various other stores if you want to spend some money. Have fun!

See this post: Northern Shenandoah Activities

See Andi Sutcliffe's Book: Touring the Shenandoah Valley Backroads

Dellinger Acres Road in Autumn

Dellinger is a common name in Shenandoah County and I know of two roads near Jerome with that as part of their names: Dellinger Acres Road and Dellinger Gap Road.

I posted a view from Dellinger Gap Road last month. These pictures of the similarly-named road show that the season has changed. Late October is a great time to drive around western Virginia.

Old Log Cabin

I spotted this old house on Dellinger Gap Road near Jerome in western Shenandoah County, Virginia.

Conicville's Church of Christ

InSpired Sunday: Conicville UCC sits on a hill with a great view of the valley below and Great North Mountain in the distance.

An old sign over the door says Christ Reformed Church. The church dates to the late 1800s.

The town was once called Cabin Hill. It first appears in historic records in the 1850s. It was renamed Conicville when the post office opened there in 1892 because there was another town named Cabin Hill.

The church can be seen from Senedo Road, Route 42.

I took these photos in February a couple of years ago.

Let's look down the hill to the west. You pass this barn on Jerome Road.

Here's another farm, but it was in shadow.

I'm not too pleased with the dim light from that day, which may be why I did not post these after I took them.  It was brighter in the sky, so I'll close with a shot of the sky over the mountains.