Category Archives: America’s Past

This is probably one of the most “photographed” attractions along the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia and NOrth Carolina. Whenever I go past, I MUST stop to capture an image…at least one, usually more. There is a restaurant adjacent to the old mill and it’s adjacent structures and attractions, and during summer weekends there are exhibitions given by artisans who demonstrate how milling and farming tasks were done in times past. Hard to find a place to park then. But in the winter months, the place is essentially deserted, as it was the day I was there for this photo opportunity.

Per my last post, I made lots of photos at the “old house” in Sandy Ridge, NC. I wanted to save this one for a single post…cause I like it. Click to enlarge to see some of the details that caught my eye…especially the logo in the center.

Looking through the open door to a small gift shop in historic Old Salem, North Carolina, I liked the bright colors and shapes I saw…so I made this photo. If I had been standing there in mid-summer, I would have folks yelling at me to get out of the way! Old Salem’s tourist gift shops are located in historic homes, so there’s lots to see besides just the items being sold.

Here’s a “non-tourist” view of a small portion of Old Salem, North Carolina…over the wall…so to speak. While Old Salem is full of visitors in the summer, it’s far different in the winter. Actually, I like it better when leaves are off the trees because I can see more of the co-located houses than I can in the summer.

Salem was originally founded in 1766 by the Moravians – a Protestant group of people that began in what is now known as the Czech Republic. The Moravians were missionaries who established an earlier settlement in Bethlehem, PA before beginning “Wachovia” in the North Carolina backcountry in 1753. In the Wachovia Tract of nearly 100,000 acres, Salem was the central administrative, spiritual, craft, and professional town surrounded by five outlying congregations. Preservation and education have always been essential to the core mission today of Old Salem and its historic homes, museums & gardens all designed to educate as much as they entertain. 

Long ago in early American times, hardy souls from the original colonies decided to “move west” across the Appalachian Mountains. Many walked or road horseback, but most toughed it out riding with all their possessions and family members in rough-wheeled wagons drawn by horses or oxen. Given there were few trails other than those used by Native Americans, and that the mostly north-to-south mountain range (the oldest in the United States) is essentially a series of steep ridges parallel to each other for mile after mile, travelers sought out “gaps” in the ridge lines, where passage over the high elevations was a bit easier. One of the most famous was Tuggle’s Gap. Today this restaurant marks a spot where thousands of early American settlers passed by on their trek west. Every time I pass through Tuggle’s Gap, there are cars parked in front of the restaurant, so this route across the Blue Ridge is as popular as it ever was.

If I could paint oil on canvas, I might have selected this scene as a possible subject. But…I am certainly NOT talented in that area. I can, however, compose a photo scene in my camera lens and let it do all the “painting” necessary. I made this image in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, near where we live.