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Post by jrijr on Sept 29, 2014 10:18:43 GMT -5
This coming weekend my mom and sister are going to Schuyler, VA to visit the original Walton's home. They will have a few hours in the area, and will be taking it all in during their time.
For those who have visited the area before, can you give me an idea of what they should definitely do? I have no idea of the layout of the area, so there may be some hidden treasure or shop they should make every effort to visit.
Any other insight is appreciated... thanks!
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Post by Brenda on Sept 29, 2014 10:55:37 GMT -5
Well, I think the most important thing to see is the Hamner house. Just in front of it is a gift shop located in the B&B. I think that's where you pay admission. They will give you the key, and you can go inside for a self-guided tour. At least that's how it was done when I was there. Just below the house is the Schuyler Baptist Church where the Hamner family worshipped. It is a pretty white country church, very picturesque. If the pastor is around close by, he will probably let you go inside and look around. Just up the road from the Hamner house is the Waltons Mountain Museum. It's also worth visiting. They should probably go see the Rockfish River dam, too. To get there, they should continue on past the Baptist church. It's not very far. They also might want to drive out Rockfish River Road, which goes past the museum. It will take them to Rockfish, where there is a little post office/railroad station which is no longer in use but is interesting to any Waltons fan.  Others might want to jump in here and suggest other locations and landmarks, but those are the ones I can think of right now. |
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Post by jrijr on Sept 29, 2014 14:47:46 GMT -5
Thanks for the tips, Brenda! I will pass those along...
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Post by ForeverWaltons on Sept 29, 2014 16:06:25 GMT -5
This coming weekend my mom and sister are going to Schuyler, VA to visit the original Walton's home. They will have a few hours in the area, and will be taking it all in during their time. For those who have visited the area before, can you give me an idea of what they should definitely do? I have no idea of the layout of the area, so there may be some hidden treasure or shop they should make every effort to visit. Any other insight is appreciated... thanks!
They can also go by 92 Riverside Lane. This is right down from the museum. It was the hospital that Earl Hamner was born in, but it is now the private residence of Isis Ringrose. If you are looking at the front of the house, Earl was born in the last room on the left front of the building. As far as I know, Mrs. Ringrose only opens her house for the fans on the reunion weekend, so your mom and sister will just get to look at the outside of it from their car if they are interested.
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Post by cinlou on Sept 29, 2014 19:45:31 GMT -5
I wish the Dew Drop Inn were still open in Scottsville. We used to drive there for lunch after our visit. It closed several years ago.
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debbie
Newspaper Vendor
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Post by debbie on Sept 29, 2014 20:50:33 GMT -5
My husband and I just visited there (we're from California) 2 weeks ago. We both loved it. The museum is housed in the old schoolhouse, where Earl Hamner Jr. went. Now it's a community center. They had history on both Earl and the TV show, as well as a 20 minute film that had interesting interviews with Earl and the cast of the Walton's. They have replicas of John Boy's room, the kitchen and the parlor. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of pictures of the Hamner family and the TV show and cast. They also have a war museum, that's part of the admission fee (I think it was $6). My husband spent 2 hours in there and said it was the best one he had ever been to. We spent a total of 3.5 hours in the museum, so well worth the price.
The original Hamner home is just down the street (not over the hill and through the woods, like on the TV show). The local bed and breakfast people do the tours of the inside for a separate fee. We didn't take it, but did take a lot of photos of the outside of the home.
There's also a soapstone quarry about a mile away. This is where Earl Hamner Sr. worked until it closed during the Depression. It's now running again. I don't know if they do tours, but we drove up to the gate and took photos. Worth the 10 minutes as it's right off of the road.
The original Ike's store burned down years ago, but they have photos in the museum. They have a souvenir store called Ike's now, further down the street. We didn't go in it, but did buy T shirts at the shop museum. Price was reasonable.
The Baptish church down the street has a graveyard in the backyard (as does most of the churches there). One giant marker had the name "Boatwright" family. Sound familiar? Now we know where Earl got the name of his fictional university.
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Post by Brenda on Sept 29, 2014 21:53:42 GMT -5
Hi Debbie, and welcome to the forum. I had forgotten about the Soapstone Factory. My husband picked up some soapstone there and brought it home with him. He uses rocks from various places we visit to put in our landscaping out in the yard. We went to England in 2004, and don't tell anyone, but he actually picked up a rock at Stonehenge, put it in his suitcase, and brought it home on the plane with him.
It sounds like you and your husband had a wonderful trip. Thanks for sharing.
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Post by Kathy Lee on Sept 30, 2014 5:11:41 GMT -5
If you go west from the Hamner house, you will head towards the Blue Ridge Mountains and Skyline Drive/Blue Ridge Parkway. It is a lovely drive going north or south. If you go south it is the Blue Ridge Parkway (free) you will head towards Tennessee. If you go north it is the Skyline Drive (toll). North is also the Shenandoah National Park. Very nice drive especially this time of year. There are places to stay, ranger programs, restaurants, hiking, scenic overlooks, etc. We usually stay at Skyland Resort and love it there.
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Post by Kathy Lee on Sept 30, 2014 5:15:07 GMT -5
Skyline Drive will also take you to Big Meadows which was mentioned in The Boy from the CCC. And, Skyline Drive was the setting for Martha Corrinne and her family when they were forced to give up their homestead.
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Post by JeriJet on Sept 30, 2014 8:27:35 GMT -5
Just one caution about driving the Blue Ridge Highway and Skyline Drive -- Consider the time of day -- the only time I drove it, I was going south starting at about 10am.... sun in my eyes the whole way !! ... It was a really bright day, and the sun was blinding ... I really hope I have the opportunity again, and will start in the south, so I can see something  ... of course, it doesn't matter if it's an overcast day.... |
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Post by Kathy Lee on Oct 1, 2014 17:12:42 GMT -5
Just one caution about driving the Blue Ridge Highway and Skyline Drive -- Consider the time of day -- the only time I drove it, I was going south starting at about 10am.... sun in my eyes the whole way !! ... It was a really bright day, and the sun was blinding ... I really hope I have the opportunity again, and will start in the south, so I can see something ... of course, it doesn't matter if it's an overcast day.... We were just on the Skyline Drive this past week. On Thursday it was so foggy we could only see a few feet! When we walked back from the Skyland dinning room, it was a good thing we knew where our room was or we would have been sleeping under a tree. But, it was so pretty. Almost magical! |
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Post by jrijr on Oct 5, 2014 10:15:19 GMT -5
My mom and sister are on their way today! Looking forward to the pictures and video. Thanks for the tips!!
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Post by jrijr on Oct 8, 2014 12:10:12 GMT -5
My mom and sister had a great time in Schuyler this past weekend. They were able to go into the original home, and surprisingly, it was empty of guests. My mom played on the old piano, and they went through the entire place taking photos. I'm not sure what all else they did (I have not seen them yet - coming home tonight), but I've heard it was quite an experience.
Thanks for all the tips in this thread... I shared them and they were definitely helpful!
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Post by Kathy Lee on Oct 8, 2014 19:42:21 GMT -5
Hi Debbie, and welcome to the forum. I had forgotten about the Soapstone Factory. My husband picked up some soapstone there and brought it home with him. He uses rocks from various places we visit to put in our landscaping out in the yard. We went to England in 2004, and don't tell anyone, but he actually picked up a rock at Stonehenge, put it in his suitcase, and brought it home on the plane with him. It sounds like you and your husband had a wonderful trip. Thanks for sharing. I always wanted to go to the Soapstone factory. Will have to see if we can do it this time. |
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... of course, it doesn't matter if it's an overcast day....