October Roadtrip Day 8-9..Farmville and Home

Day 8 Sunday 10/29/17

     Funny how quickly the entire day’s plan can change.  I checked two sites and both said rain all day, “possibly heavy at times.”  So much for doing ten miles today.  But, I’ll get back to that.

     The Civil War Museum in Appomattox didn’t open until 10A, so I drove back to the battlefield to check out some of the memorials before the rain arrived.  Just inside the park is a pullout and a short trail to the site where the last organized fighting took place.  The marker reads, “At this place the North Carolina Brigade of Brigadier General W.R. Cox of Grimes Division fired the last volley 9 April, 1865.”

     The trail goes further into the woods and loops back along what was Searles Lane, one of the main roads into town.  The trail runs a mile and a half.  It felt good to be walking since I didn’t know what was in store for the rest of the day.

     Across the street is the site of the North Carolina artillery. 

     There is also a small military cemetery.  Nine Confederate soldiers as well as one Union soldier were buried here.

     The museum was worth the visit and they had a great deal of information on the timeline of the battle, the surrender and what happened afterwards. 

      Noon and still no rain.  So, I hopped onto Hwy 460 and made my way towards the town of Farmville.  In 1795, the Upper Appomattox Canal was finished and the area that became Farmville was its western terminus.  Crops were floated down the canal to Petersburg, Virginia. 

     Fifty-five years later the Southside Railroad connected Petersburg with Lynchburg.  To bring the line through Farmville would require building an expensive bridge to cross the Appomattox River.  The town agreed to help subsidize the cost.  The bridge would span 2,400 feet and rise 125 feet.  In addition to the rail line, a second level was built for pedestrians and carriages. 

     C.O. Sanford, the railroad's chief engineer described is as, "There have been higher bridges not so long and longer bridges not so high.  But, taking the height and length together, this is perhaps the largest bridge in the world."  

     Three days before the battle in Appomattox, a Confederate force was tasked with taking control of the bridge so the army and its supplies could get across.  Federal forces were sent to stop them and destroy the bridge.  Confederate Major-General Rosser’s men won the day and captured both the bridge and eight hundred Union prisoners.

     The next day Lt. General Longstreet attempted to burn the bridge to prevent the Union troops from following the Confederates across.  He was partially successful and did manage to damage a few spans of the railroad bridge.  He was stopped before he could destroy the carriage level as well, allowing the Union forces to catch Gen. Lee’s army in Appomattox.

      As for the bridge, Norfolk Southern abandoned the line in 2005 and gave the land to the Virginia State Department of Conservation and Recreation.  The bridge and thirty miles of the old rail bed are now High Bridge State Park.

     The original plan was to ditch the car downtown and walk the four and a half miles of rail trail to the bridge.  Due to the weather, I chose the shorter route.  There’s a parking area just under a mile from the bridge. 
   

    As you might suspect, the views were spectacular.
    

    The supports for the original bridge...

    Fortunately, the rain was fairly light through it all.  The “heavy at times” began on the dive to the Days Inn, my home for the night.  I had definitely made the right decision and not tried to do the ten miles.

     

  

Day 9 Monday 10/30/17

    This was just a drive day to get home.  I was up and out with the sunrise.  The single goal, to either get through Atlanta before the worst of the afternoon traffic, or find something interesting to do along the way and drive through after rush hour.  It was all Hwy 15 south to I-85 around Oxford, NC.
    Passing through Drakes Branch, Virginia I passed the Trinity Gospel Church and had to double back.

   Considering gas is cheapest in South Carolina, I waited to fill up until I had just crossed the border.  I saw this curious castle across from the gas station...

    From what I've found on line, this was a video game casino which opened in the late 90's.  The state of South Carolina sued over the legality of video game gambling and won.  It closed within a year.  You can read all about the case here.
    I did make it to the outskirts of Atlanta around 3P.  The folks on the radio warned of accidents slowing both sides of the perimeter.  No sooner had I committed to going through downtown when they reported another accident up ahead and everything ground to a crawl.  Be it ever so humble, there really is no place like home.

Dave 11/17

PS: Surprisingly, I have nothing booked and no adventures planned in the near future.  I'm sure I'll find some interesting places to go.