Hanover Tavern is an experience in Southern elegance

Hanover Tavern is a beautifully restored structure from yesteryear that offers multi-faceted entertainment today. Owned by the Hanover Tavern Foundation, this historic building is the site of history, theatre, and fine Southern dining.

Guests can take a self-guided tour of the 1733 structure using brochures available on the ground floor. Or guided tours can be scheduled if visitors want to hear stories about the tavern’s famous guests along with the building’s remarkable architecture.

Making its home at Hanover Tavern is Barksdale Theatre, a separate entity and partner with the foundation. On stage now through February 6 is Nunsense by Dan Goggin, an award-winning comedy about nuns who conduct a fundraiser for fellow sisters’ funerals when their cook accidentally poisons some of them.

Christmas Eve Dinner

A full service restaurant is open at Hanover Tavern six days a week. Due to its popularity, reservations are recommended. The tavern specializes in classic Southern foods with modern adaptations. Many theatre goers enjoy an evening of dinner and theatre in this gracious setting.

The restaurant will serve a special Christmas Eve dinner from 4:30 until 8:30 p.m. To make reservations, call 804-537-5050. 

The Colonial tavern is located in Hanover’s quaint courthouse town about 20 miles north of Richmond at 13181 Hanover Courthouse Road directly across the street from the courthouse. The restaurant serves lunch (weekdays), brunch (weekends) and dinner Tuesday through Sunday when the historic tavern is open to visitors.

Irvington Virginia is a town for the ages

Irvington was a steamboat town on Virginia’s Northern Neck that fell on hard times after the fire of 1917 as the steamboat era came to a close. You would never know it now - Irvington made a grand comeback, reinventing itself as a waterfront community and the place to go in the Chesapeake Bay area.

The Tides Inn is a resort in Irvington that epitomizes southern graciousness on it Carter’s Creek location overlooking the Rappahannock River. With its own spa, marina, restaurants, cruises on a historic yacht and an18-hole golf course, the Tides Inn is a destination in itself.

Not to be outdone, Irvington’s Hope and Glory Inn is one of the highest rated inns in America with recommendations too numerous to mention. This boutique inn has seven rooms and 13 cottages in a unique and memorable setting.

Irvington has another golf course, the Tartan Club, designed by none other than Sir Guy Cambell of St. Andrews, Scotland in 1959 – the only golf course he designed in America. And the town’s newest golf course, the King Carter, has been recommended by Golf Digest.

History comes alive

On King Carter Drive visitors can relive life in the age of steam – Irvington’s Steamboat Era Museum features the boats themselves, what the landings were like, and the people who rode and worked on them.

Historic Christ Church built by Robert “King” Carter in the 1730s is an awesome architectural experience in Irvington and a National Historic Landmark that visitors should not miss.

The town is also known for its boutique shopping experience. There are a number of interesting shops worth visiting in Irvington.

The town also hosts a farmer’s market the first Saturday of every month from April through December from 8 a.m. until noon at the Irvington Commons Green that is quite an experience.

And the White Fences Vineyard and Winery is just outside Irvington’s town limits.

A lot of holiday events are coming up in Irvington including a number of events at Tide’s Inn.

Upper Mattaponi Indian Tribe persists into the 21st century

The Upper Mattaponi Indian Tribe has been living in the same location for over four centuries – on the upper Mattaponi River in Virginia up river from the Mattaponi Indian Reservation.

This band of Indians did not belong to the reservation and is distinctly identified in 17^th century records in a settlement that later became known as Adamstown, probably named after a British interpreter working with them in the early 18^th century. They own 32 acres there today.

Grouped with the neighboring Pamunkey Indians in the county educational system for years, the Upper Mattaponi got their own Indian school in 1917. It was initially a one-room schoolhouse providing primary instruction and limited secondary education, and the Indian families had to provide the furniture. In 1952, the building was replaced with an eight-room schoolhouse.

Sharon Indian School operated until 1965 when the county’s three separate school systems – for black, white and Indian children -- were integrated. After segregation ended, the Indians were allowed to complete high school close to home.

Historical marker

“The students at Sharon Indian School had to attend other Native American, private, or public institutions, usually outside the Commonwealth, to obtain high school diplomas. Upper Mattaponi students – and students from the Rappahannock Tribe in the 1960s – attended school here until June 1965. It was one of the last Indian schools to operate in Virginia.”

The Sharon Indian School building today remains integral to Upper Mattaponi life in its use as a tribal center. The tribe hosts an annual pow-wow in the spring with native drumming, dancing, food and games that is open to the public. Next door is their church, the Indian View Baptist Church which was built in 1942.

The Upper Mattaponi Tribe officially organized in 1921 and was recognized by the Commonwealth of Virginia in 1983.

The Upper Mattaponi tribal grounds are located on Route 30 south of Route 360 in King William County.

Smithfield hams provide holiday hospitality

Smithfield hams are a holiday tradition in Virginia, and where else to shop for them but in Smithfield, Virginia itself!

Smithfield hams are trademarks of Southern hospitality. These hams are salted and dry cured, slowly smoked with hickory, and aged. They are best sliced paper thin and go great with dainty biscuits. State law in Virginia and USDA regulations both require that the “Smithfield” designation be limited to hams produced there.

Smithfield celebrates its three centuries of ham history at the Isle of Wight County Museum just 73 miles from Richmond. Admission is free.

From there check out Darden’s Country Store where you can tour a real family smokehouse. Plan to have lunch or dinner at one of the many restaurants that feature Smithfield ham. And don’t forget your ham! Darden’s has them or you can go by the Genuine Ham Shoppe in downtown Smithfield.

Come Saturday, November 20, the Olde Town Curb Market’s “Thanksgiving” specialty event will be held from 9 a.m. to noon in Smithfield, and it’s no small event, a shopper’s paradise.

The intense flavor of Smithfield hams comes from the curing and aging process. The mold is harmless. Just scrub the uncooked ham with hot water and a stiff brush. You’ll want to soak it overnight or even 24 hours or longer to remove salt, depending on your taste, changing the water a few times.

To prep the ham, soak it overnight or longer to remove salt, changing the water a few times. Use a stiff brush to scrub off the harmless mold.

For cooking directions, check out my article:

http://www.examiner.com/day-trips-in-richmond/smithfield-hams-provide-holiday-hospitality

Scottsville outdoor park beckons canal lovers

Scottsville, Virginia has an outdoor park called Canal Basin Square that's a fun day trip for people who love canals.

Located on a horseshoe bend in the James River, Scottsville’s outdoor transportation history park is on the site of an old James River and Kanawha Canal turning basin.

There are eight exhibits in the park that tell the story of transportation from the time of the Monacan Indians through the canal era to the railroads. The signage makes for nice self-guided tours from dusk to dark. A pathway leads up the levee where visitors can take a scenic walk along the James River.

Period Boats

The park features a bateau replica – that’s one way people did river travel in the 18^th and 19^th centuries on the James in Virginia -- which participated for a number of years in the annual Bateau Festival held for a week each June with a stop in Scottsville. There is also a canal lock built to scale and a packet boat under construction by volunteers. The park is also a Virginia Civil War Trails site.

The brainchild of none other than George Washington, the James River and Kanawha Canal project was designed to open a water route to the west and facilitate freight and passenger transportation.

Scottsville’s Canal Basin Square  is located at 249 Main Street on Route 6 near the intersection with Route 20 to Charlottesville. The town lies 68 miles west of Richmond in Albemarle County.

For overnighters, there are six quaint inns and historic Bed & Breakfasts in Scottsville.

Ashland Train Day is fun for the family

What started out as a children’s theme day at a local library has turned into an annual event -- Ashland Train Day is held the second Saturday every November.

Festivities will be held on November 13, 2010 at several locations in this town just 15 miles north of Richmond including the Ashland Library where it all started. Children can ride a miniature train around the library and free cookies and cider will be served. The festival runs from 10 a.m. through 4 p.m.

Railroad folk music will provide the background for a day of fun. Visitors can enjoy wooden, lego and electric model trains set up at various locations along with the real deal -- CSX and Amtrak trains – which will be there all day near Ashland’s 1920’s train station in historic downtown. There is a Visitor’s Center there which makes it a good place to start.

Children can jump on a locomotive moon bounce, and adults can enjoy organizational displays with lots of railroad memorabilia. Event mascots, the engineer bears, will mix with visitors, many of whom dress for the occasion. 

Other locations housing the event are the Hanover Arts and Activity Center, Ashland Coffee and Tea, the Henry Clay Inn and the courtyard of the Ashland-Hanover Shopping Center.

There is parking near the library and satellite parking at the shopping center and Ashland Town Center where trolleys will be available to transport people to and from the various locations ($2 teens and adults, children free). The event itself is free.

Ashland Train Day is sponsored by the Town of Ashland, Friends of the Ashland Library, the Ashland Police Department, and Train Town Toy and Hobby.

Gordonville invites visitors with its Main Street charm

Where is this Main Street Community called Gordonsville, Virginia?

A true “small town America” kind of place, Gordonsville makes for a great day trip from anywhere in Central Virginia. The town has so much Southern charm that visitors can’t help but feel a warm hospitality calling out to stop and visit for awhile.

Right on the tree-lined Main Street, visitors can enjoy fine dining in a French restaurant named “Pomme” or at the Toliver House Restaurant, both great choices, plus there are other eateries for people in a hurry.

Gordonsville’s Main Street is home to a number of antique stores, boutiques and other shopping opportunities.
History buffs can visit the old hotel on the railroad tracks shown above which overlooks the town. It served as a hospital for some 70,000 wounded soldiers in the Civil War. The Exchange Hotel and Civil War Museum is located at 400 South Main Street.

Community Events

Community events coming up include the Annual Veteran’s Parade on November 13 and a Christmas tree lighting on December 5. From May through September there is bull riding sponsored by the local fire company (the Gordonville fairgrounds are a block off Main Street), a Cops and Kids Day in September and the Annual Gordonville Street Festival in October.

Truly a “Main Street Community,” Gordonsville is situated in Orange County, Virginia, 54 miles northwest of Richmond, 41 miles west of Fredericksburg, and 18 miles northeast of Charlottesville.