Autumn Arrives in Fort Valley

It's still warm here and we're seeing touches of fall color, but not far away the leaves are turning more. Fort Valley in the Massanutten Range is always pretty, but in autumn it looks spectacular.

There are farms and rural homes surrounded by George Washington National Forest. I recently learned that there was another old iron furnace there and went looking for it yesterday. Unlike Elizabeth Furnace, this one is on private property but you can see it from Mine Mountain Road. I almost missed it because my eye was caught by a national forest sign across the road.

Behind the big stone structure there is a substantial stone wall visible through the trees. If you tour nearby Elizabeth Furnace you will find signs explaining how these furnaces were used for making iron before the Civil War. Since iron was used for making cannons in Richmond, Federal troops came through and destroyed these factories. Later some of them were rebuilt but they never fully recovered. 

Our car's map shows the approximate location. I'll try to remember to photograph this feature when I take photos of places of interest.

Here's a couple more farm photos from the area. I'm sharing these pictures with Tom's "Backroads Traveller" linkups.