In Which I Find Myself Thinking Alot About The Civil War.

This town has a of history - I guess like everywhere - but in a mostly unaffected way. There are Civil War history tours on weekends, but other than that? No one is trying that hard; it's just there. You stumble upon it.

The buildings tell you the story of how this place evolved. The oldest house in the city is Abram's Delight, built in 1728. I haven't been there yet but I will go eventually.  I go by George Washington's Office every day on my way to work.

One of the most visible stories of this community is Winchester's role in the Civil War. The city changed hands 70 times during the war - back and forth between Confederate and Union. Our house is in the Potato Hill neighborhood of Historic Winchester, and one of the only structures to survive the conflict, according to J.

Supposedly, underneath all our 1940's siding and the various bumpout additions, our house looks like this:

This one is just down the street from us and was completely restored this summer. That's why it looks so awesome. Some of our neighbors have exposed the original log walls and we've thought about doing that, too, but that's a big job. And we can barely finish painting the kitchen.

I walk to work along the Loudoun Street pedestrian mall whenever I can. I always really enjoy it. It's such a beautiful neighborhood. I love the architecture and the patina of age on these mostly-not-restored homes.

These cut-out wood fences and railings are all over town. I like this one because it has heart shapes.

Nice corbels.

And the remains of an earlier time at the F & M Bank.

On warm summer evenings, people set out and play chess on the pedestrian mall.

There are baked goods and vegetable stands. Nancy's fudge got me through a long day of way, way, way overdue tax prep.

And like Edinburgh, there seems to be a steeple from every vantagepoint.

And remnants of old mews, or stables, that have been converted for modern use.

My office is next to the lovely Handley Library.

What do you see on your way to work?

 

Comments

[Sarah]

What a cute town! And that woman with the blue dress reminds me of my mother. The tense-happy face and tightly-clasped hands are so Carol. Curtis would probably say that's me, too. I am my mother, after all.