Love, Elkton.

Rockingham County, VA
 

Monday Murals

I found a LOVE mural in Elkton and then found a LOVE sign decorated for St. Patrick's Day.

I don't know if you can see this detail in the first photo but I noticed this dog picture when I had the photo enlarged in Photoshop. 

While I was in Elkton, I located the post office using my car's NAV system (by searching Points of Interest, By Name, P-O-S-T, List). 

I've posted photos of Elkton in the past, including a couple of murals. 

Mosaic Monday

Blog Post 7470

Elkton, Virginia.

The town of Elkton is surrounded by farm country and mountains. It was originally a settlement called Conrad's Store but was later named Elkton for the stream called Elk Run. 

 Inspired Sunday / Shadow Shot Sunday

The Elkton United Methodist Church was built in 1894 as a frame building. In 1921 it was expanded and brick facing was added.

You can find farms on the edge of town, and a view of the Blue Ridge Mountains to the east. To the west is the southern end of the Massanutten Mountains.

I apologize for all the utility wires. I could Photoshop them out but I want to stay somewhat true to current reality. 

You can view more barns on Tom's Backroads blog.

Civil War Event in Elkton, VA

"Confederate Heritage Weekend" is planned for April 18 and 19, 2009 in Elkton, VA. You don't have to be a Confederate to enjoy the music, tours and living history at the Miller-Kite house (Jackson's Headquarters) on East Rockingham Street.

I'll let the historical marker introduce the history of the site:

Less than a month after his defeat at Kernstown, Gen. Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson retired to the Elk Run Valley to rest his troops and plan for the spring campaign. With his men camped all along Elk Run and into Swift Run Gap, Jackson made his headquarters here in Elkton (then Conrad’s Store). Jackson used this house, then the residence of the widow of John Argabright. According to staff member Henry Kyd Douglas, Jackson’s room was empty of furniture except for a thin mattress on the floor.

In the days that followed, the house became a beehive of activity with the arrival and departure of couriers and officers including Gens. Edward “Allegheny” Johnson and Richard S. Ewell as well as mapmaker Jedediah Hotchkiss. A major disagreement developed here between Jackson and Col. Turner Ashby over the lack of discipline in the cavalry following a botched attempt to burn bridges in neighboring Page County.

Read the rest of the text at Historical Marker Database.

In 2007 I toured the house on one of the days when it was open to the public. See more photos from that visit to Elkton here.

Like many historic buildings in the quiet Shenandoah Valley, this one has limited hours. Last year it was open Sunday afternoons in the summer. I believe it is staffed by volunteers.

According to "The Villager" newspaper, details on the Heritage Weekend can be had by calling (540)578-3046 or writing historyed@msn.com.

Blue Ridge Heritage Monument, Elkton.

This new monument in Elkton, VA, honors "Rockingham County Farmers and Landowners Displaced to Form Shenandoah National Park." I've seen a similar one in Sperryville that honors the people in Rappahannock County who were forced to leave when the park was built.

This is beautifully built in the shape of a chimney. A center stone is incised with the form of a tree. Dedicated in 2018, a plaque lists citizens who were displaced. Surnames include Baugher, Beasley, Breeden, Dean, Hensley, Lam, McDaniel, Meadows, Morris, Shifflett, and Williams.

There are also four signs telling about the community that was on the mountains. Here are two of them. The others tell of "Making a Living in the Mountains" and "Family and Community Life."

To visit, park next to the Elkton Community Center on Blue and Gold Drive.

Sharing with Signs, Signs, and Fences Around the World.

A Church and a Caboose

Elkton, VA

Inspired Sunday / Shadow Shot Sunday

This is the former location of the Elkton Church of God. It has now moved to a new building. 

Also in Elkton, a red caboose. 

 

Memorial Park in Elkton, Virginia.

Tuesday Treasures.
 

It's September 11th so I'm sharing a few pictures of the Elkton 9-11 Memorial. I did share a single image of this at the end of August because I had a dramatic shot of it that I wanted to post for a black and white linkup, which they turned out to like enough to show it this past weekend.

  

This day seventeen years ago is etched in the memory of almost everyone who was old enough at that time to understand what was happening. I won't repeat what I wrote about it on the 10th anniversary of that shocking day because you can click through if you are curious.

The Elkton memorial is in Stonewall Memorial Park.

Also in the Memorial Park is this attractive monument honoring the town's veterans.

"In memory of the veterans that gave their lives on the battlefields in all conflicts. In honor of those that served from the Stonewall District."

I love the petunias here, so beautifully cared for, and I'm sharing them with Floral Bliss, a linkup that is ending this week.

I also like the stonework on this memorial. The flagstone looks like Bull Run Mountain stone.

Stonewall's HQ in Elkton

Stonewall Jackson slept here. (And here... and here... and here and here...) General Jackson is still a popular hero in the Shenandoah Valley. Many of the places that he stayed or fought have been preserved for posterity.

This one is the Miller Kite House in Elkton, Virginia. It's open on Sunday afternoons in the summer and on certain special event days otherwise. I think one is coming up but I can't find the article.

I took these photos in September. I also have a picture of the Civil War Trails Marker but won't take up space with it here. You can see J. Prat's picture of the sign with it's text here.

A nice thing about the Civil War Trails organization is that they post directional signs on the main road to make it easy to find the markers. Thus you can find this museum easily from route 340 even though it's on a side street.


The interior contains items from the period and a small museum.

Elkton Presbyterian Church

Elkton, Virginia. A sign says the church was established in 1899.

Inspired Sunday

 

Signs and Riverside Park

Elkton, VA

Signs 2

See how this wall looked before the sign was painted.

Last week I drove through Elkton and decided to look for a park on the river which I had seen listed somewhere. I had forgotten what it was called but I knew where the river is, so I drove around and found it. The name is simply Riverside Park and it is on M Street.

The river is the South Fork of the Shenandoah. In the summer we'd probably see people picnicking and canoeing here, but the weather is still cool so I only saw one family walking around. A boy was throwing pebbles in the water.

After they left, I posed on a swing.

BrewHaha in Elkton

BECAUSE BAD BEER IS NO LAUGHING MATTER!®

These murals surprised me as I was driving between Harrisonburg and Elkton. At first I thought they were on a car wash, but it turned out to be a brewery. The garage must be an annex, with the retail store in a former house closer to Route 33.

Blue Monday / Murals

August Ends On a Nice Day.

Willy Nilly Friday.

1. It was hot today but we had a breeze this evening and sunset was pretty. To accompany this Skywatch scene, allow me to share a quote from Aretha Franklin, whose life and music were celebrated today.

"Music does a lot of things for a lot of people. It’s transporting, for sure. It can take you right back, it’s uplifting, it’s encouraging, it’s strengthening."

2. I found a memorial worthy of today's Black and White Weekend photo. This is in remembrance of the tragic 911 attacks (of Sept. 11, 2001) and also honors first responders. It is in Elkton, Virginia, and was designed by Liz Workman and constructed by Rick Workman in 2011.

3. These flowers with a butterfly are my contribution to Floral Friday, along with the next picture.

4. Zinnias are reliably colorful. (Bloggers, if you have an orange-themed photo, link up with Orange You Glad It's Friday.)

5. My photographer friend Nancy mentioned she would be passing my neighborhood so I invited her to stop by. I showed her and her husband around the community.

Living Near the Blue Ridge Random-osity

Good, Random, Fun.

The Good: I read that there's a new mural in Elkton and I found it. This shows a mama bear and her cubs and it's on the side of an outdoors shop. 

Monday Murals. 

The artists still have supplies there so I'll have to check back to see if they do more to it. 

The Random: I keep an eye out for informal artwork. This piece is on the inside of a shed door and it just happened to be open.

The Fun: I happened to find a small recreation area that opened last year. Riverside Preserve is on Leeds Manor Road not far from Route 211. It is open on weekends and at other times by permit.

When I went by on Saturday, I got the last parking spot and walked down the trail to the Rappahannock River. Families were cooling off in the water, which is shallow but rocky. The banks are steep. I imagine the fishing is good when the place is not full of laughing children.

Mosaic Monday.