43°f/5°C, light showers here and there all day but mostly a nice day.
As usual when traveling Route 2 to Huntington, I am bemused by all the signs of a bygone way of li
fe. This a last trip on Wednesday was no different. This time it was the old barns that caught my eye. This one, for example: a tobacco barn from the days when burley tobacco was one of the most lucrative crops a farmer could grow.
I have mentioned before that we once grew tobacco. The crop actually saved our farm, because we could earn enough from it to pay our annual mortgage payment. But I was conflicted about growing it, but must admit i loved the whole process, hard work as it was, and the plant itself is beautiful . If you are interested in those days, you might be interested
in this post about my experience.
I think this must have been a hay barn; now it mainly serves as an anti-tobacco ad.
More tobacco barns, but no fields of tobacco any more. Both a good and a bad thing.
Here is yet another testament to the past, an old, unused dairy barn. The huge bottomlands along the river were ideal for dairy farms too, but of course the tuberculosis scare and subsequent strict regulation of the dairy industry put an end to most smaller dairy farms.
Another abandoned tobacco barn,
and here, and old general store with the attached feed storage sheds
This home has always intrigued me. It was uncared for for many years, but is recently being renovated. Its proximity to the railroad tracks makes ne wonder if there is some connection between this house and the railroad. A superintendent's home, maybe? The style suggests late 1800's construction, at least. At that time, the railroad would have been king, slowly replacing the river steamboats for transport of crops, people, and goods.
Another remnant of the past, this barn is one of the most photographed in West Virginia but as you xan see, it is beginning to decay, and there are no signs of anyone attempting to restore it.
What stories could this old place tell?
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I wonder who owns all of these properties.
ReplyDeleteThere is something about old barns whether still in use or not.
ReplyDeleteWe are watching some old Agatha Christie videos. Smoking was ubiquitous. In remembering the 50s, it seems to me that the almost the only non-smokers seemed to be deeply religious objectors -- like we were.
..I'm in love!
ReplyDelete