Caching, Sightseeing & Lunch in Staunton 5/13/2008

We had such a good time and there was so much more to see and so many more great caches to do in Stauton we decided to spend another day in the city caching and sightseeing. So off we went this morning on into Staunton. Our first cache was located at the Frontier Culture Museum and was a multi-cache where we needed to find a historic sign and use some information off it to locate the final cache stage. After we found the cache we wandered around and found out that this was a living history museum. Its focus is on the history of the groups that immigrated to America in the 1600s through 1800s. The museum comprises five farms: the German Farm, the Scotch-Irish farm and blacksmith's shop, the English farm, the American Farm, and the soon-to-open Bowman House, an expansion of the American Farm. The American Farm focuses on the mix of cultures achieved in 1800s America, and is the house of a German immigrant. All the farms are real, historical buildings, painstakingly disassembled, brought on site, and reassembled. As they were moving things around we decided not to pay the admission fee as we wouldn't have been able to see the whole museum.
So we were off to our next cache located on the road into the museum and below The DeJarnette Center (formally the DeJarnette State Sanitorium) was named after Joseph DeJarnette, a prominent Virginia psychiatrist and strong supporter of eugenics, particularly the compulsory sterilization of the mentally ill. DeJarnette is only spoken of in hushed tones here in Staunton because of that. Opened in 1828 as Western Lunatic Asylum, the facility carried that name until 1894. The old asylum was shut down and abandoned by the state in 1996, when the hospital moved to to the Western State Hospital's old location in Staunton. These buildings are in quite a state of disrepair and are quite beautiful and it is a shame they have not found a use for them and said to be one of Virginia's architectural treasures. Both buildings are said to be haunted now by ghosts of past patients.
Then we were off to our next 2 caches one at a restaurant named Rowe's and the next in a light pole near a Sheetz gas station.
Next was a cache that we had started yesterday and it was a multi-cache that involved traveling to 5 different locations in the city where a local foundry and scrap metal plant made "larger than life" objects such as flower pots, watering can, sneaker, milk can, farm plow, globe and a book. We got all the stops yesterday and figured out the final stage coords and today we went to find it. We did find it at the local public library hidden inthe corner of a stone wall inside a rubber spider. Great cache and we had fun doing it.
Our next cache was also another multi-cache located in the Staunton downtown area. We parked the car and started out to the first stop that turned out to be at the Augusta County Courthouse, the next stage at a memorial The Statler Bros who continue to be the most awarded act in the history of country music, next stage was at Blackfriars Playhouse (see yesterdays blog), and the final stage was around the corner located under one of the metal benches along the sidewalk. This also was a great cache and we enjoyed doing it very much.
Then it was off for the rest of our tour of historic Staunton. So so many things to see that we really didn't get a chance to see half of them. Well here is what we did see,First Presbyterian Church Circa 1872, Grace Christian High School, Dixie Theater, City Courthouse, Eakleton Hotel Circa 1894, Lewis Street Market & Bakery, Byers Street Bistro, Second Presbyterian Church, Emmanuel Episcopal Church, Staunton Grace Covenant Church, Amtrak Station Circa 1886, American Hotel Circa 1855, The C & O Train Station Circa 1857, Old Staunton Inn Circa 1910, Gypsy Hill Park, Mill Street Grill, Montclair B & B Circa 1855, White Star Mill Circa 1892, and the Woodrow Wilson Birthplace and Library.
We revisited the Trinity Episcopal Church as we missed the stained glass windows that are in the church. It has a varied collection of stained glass, beginning in the mid-nineteenth century. Thirteen of the windows are made of early 20th century opalescent glass; twelve by Tiffany Studios. The windows differ from the medieval-style English glass and the stenciled, brightly colored American glass. Some of the translucent glass changes color in the manner of an opal, depending on the light conditions, hence the name "opalescent glass". Tiffany windows are famous for a rich palette of what is literally sculpted glass, often arranged in layers.
We also tried to find a cache at the "Jumbo" Antique Fire Engine Museum but we weren't able to find it, but had a nice time going through the museum and the fire engine was beautiful. This museum houses a 1911 Robinson Chemical Fire Engine, the only surviving fire truck of its kind in existence that was the first motorized fire truck of its kind to be used in the State of Virginia. The fire department itself is one of the oldest in the State, organized in 1790, and the museum also contains a collection of fire service items, some from the Civil War era. This engine stayed in working order until 1971 when the motor gave up for the third time.
We also revisited the Wharf District of Staunton. This Wharf Area survives as an unusually picturesque and excellently preserved example of a turn-of-the-century warehouse and commercial district. The area most likely gained its name from its use primarily as a warehousing and trade district. Replacing less substantial wooden stores, which were destroyed by fires and increased prosperity, the current buildings of the Wharf are a visual manifestation of the remarkable growth of Staunton in the second half of the 19th century, as a result of the growth and success brought by the railroad. We walked around and saw a lot of the stores in this area and found a lot of information on the train station and buildings. We decided to have lunch here in The Depot Grill and it was GREAT. Mom had cream of broccoli soup and we split an order of bleu cheese and bacon fries and I had buffalo chicken tenders and everything was yummy.
After lunch we looked for a cache in Gypsy Hill park but couldn't find it and then we drove to Stuarts Draft for a cache in a small park and then it was on back to the RV for an afternoon of rest and relaxation. Mom did our cache logs and I am doing the blog now after dinner. We are leaving tomorrow for West Virginia and Falling Waters Campgrounds a campgrounds we stayed in about 40 years ago when we were camping with our sons in a pop up tent camper. It was a camping trip we will never forget as we had a flat tire, it poured rain for days and we got stuck in the mud. So we will say until tomorrow from WV and we love and miss you all.


Picture List:1-Woodrow Wilson Birthplace Circa 1846, 2,3,4,5,6-The Amtrak Station and Platform Circa 1886, 7,8,9-Farm supplies carried by the hardware store, 10,11,12,13,14,15-1911 Robinson Chemical Fire Engine, 16-Hose Reel, 17-Hose Truck, 18,19-C & O Train Station main passenger terminal Circa 1857, 20-Wharf History, 21,22,23,24,25-The Depot Grill (where we had lunch today), 26,27-Trinity Episcopal Church Circa 1855, and is an example of early Gothic Revival architecture and boasts of 12 Tiffany Studio windows as seen in the next 2 pictures, 28,29-Tiffany windows in Trinity Episcopal, 30,31-Burial sites on the church grounds (#31 had a date of 1799 on it), 32,33-Statler Bros Tribute, 34,35-Dixie (The New) Theater Circa 1912-it hosted live performances and silent films. In 1936, fire gutted the interior, but part of the original Renaissance Revival facade, with its terra cotta decoration is still there (pic 2 top floor), 36,37,38,39,40-"Bigger Than Life" iron work items (note pic 38 the plow has John Deere Syracuse on it), 41,42-Augusta County Courthouse Circa 1901, 43-White Star Mills Circa 1892, is an unusual trapezoidal shape and was one of the Valley's largest flour mills, 44-Staunton Grace Covenant Church, 45-Second Presbyterian Church, 46,47-Emmanuel Episcopal Church Circa 1894, this church is Gothic Revival and features handsome brickwork, pointed arched openings, beautiful woodwork, stained glass windows and painted murals in the sanctuary, 48-Montclair B & B Circa 1860, 49-City Courthouse Circa 1870, 50-Eakleton Hotel Circa 1894, boasts a mansard roof, decorative brickwork and iron balcomies and now house a Center for History & Art, 51-First Presbyterian Church Circa 1872 and is a Romanesque Revival with its tall spire, 52-Virginia Civil War Trails, 53-The Barger House at the Frontier Culture Museum and is a Pre-Civil War farmstead, 54-One of the old farm buildings at the Frontier Culture Museum, 55-Dr William Fleming, 56-Dr Alexander Humphreys, 56-DeJarnette Center, 57-Avenue of Trees, 58-American Hotel Circa 1855, this hotel was built by the railroad and was at the time the last word in luxury. The Stonewall Brigade Band serenaded President & Mrs Ulysses S. Grant from this site in 1874 when their train passed through., 59-1864 Valley Campaigns.