Lexington Inspiration Guide - 14

INSPIRATION GUIDE

the layers of red clay and limestone
gravel, I see Progressive Era sewer
pipes. But I wouldn't expect to see
deeper layers of real history. The early
settlers of Lexington removed about
six feet of street and earth to get down
to this level. The original doors on
the older houses are that far above the
sidewalk.
Go to the cemeteries here for the
buried kind of history-and the
archives of libraries, local historical
societies, the two courthouses and
a dozen or so proud little museums
around Rockbridge County. You
wouldn't believe how many splendid
little museums there are. In one day,
you can drive north to the oncebustling town of Brownsburg for its
modest two-room museum, further
north to the McCormick Farm exhibit
on the county line, back to Lexington
for the Miller's House Museum at

14

LEXINGTON | BUENA VISTA | ROCKBRIDGE

River, Wood's Creek and the old canal
come together) and up the bluff to
VMI for the two polished museums of
George C. Marshall and the Institute.
At Natural Bridge, now a wellmanaged state park 13 miles south of
Lexington, you walk under "the most
sublime of Nature's work," as Thomas
Jefferson wrote in "Notes on the State
of Virginia," about his purchase from
King George III.
Pass underneath the awe-inspiring
limestone arch, and down the path you
come to the Monacan Indian Living
History Exhibit. This native American
tribe is said to have lived here for
hundreds of years. The woodland
Monacan tribe itself may be 10,000
years old, but only recently has it
achieved federal recognition.
There's something that is both rock
and bridge about this area. It was a

STONEWALL JACKSON

House

OPENING IN MARCH 2020 is the
Stonewall Jackson House Museum's
new orientation center at the 1887
Davidson-Tucker House. Immerse
yourself in life during the 1850s in
the new exhibit room. Added to the
exhibits are artifacts owned by the
Jackson family and rarely seen by the
public. Explore the lives of the family
and enslaved persons who lived and
worked in the Jackson's home. The new
space is free to visitors and includes an
expanded museum store.

STONEWALL JACKSON HOUSE: COURTESY OF STONEWALL JACKSON HOUSE / A: BURTON FLOYD

A

Jordan's Point (where the Maury
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