The first thing you’ll noticeabout Ashland if you’re drivinginto town on England Street

from Route 1 is that a railroad runsright through the middle of town,actually dividing the village’s mainstreet, which is, appropriately enough,named Railroad Avenue.

But that’s no surprise. This is, afterall, a railroad town that gained promi-nence initially as a mineral springs resortdestination for Richmonders. “This areawas originally known as ‘The Slashes’because it was so swampy,” says 88-year-old lifetime Hanover County residentSumpter Priddy with a chuckle, thoughhe remarks the town was well-known atone time for Clay Springs.

“The Richmond, Fredericksburg andPotomac (RF&P) Railroad moved herein the 1830s,” Priddy continues, “andthey built a hotel, gambling hall, andrace track. In fact, Race Course Streethere in town was part of that track.”

Priddy ought to know. Not only washe born and raised in Hanover County,

is year Cooperative Livingis taking a road trip along thelength of U.S. Route 1 as it

crosses Virginia from the NorthCarolina border to Washington, D.C. In each issue, correspondent

Deborah Huso will relate her experiences along the way.

Ashland Is BackOnline

STORIES FROM THE ROAD

Cooperative Living/May 2013

he was also responsible for initiating thewriting and publication of the county’sfirst comprehensive history. Formerpresident of the Virginia RetailMerchants Association, Priddy is asfeisty as ever, and you can see the energyof the lobbyist in him despite the fact heis now confined to a wheelchair. Eventhough he is officially retired, he hasn’tstopped working. His latest projectinvolves the purchase of 17.5 acres intown that was once home to an old fill-ing station that has been closed since the1950s. Priddy hopes to turn the old sta-tion into a restaurant. He gave 10.5 acresto the town of Ashland to make into arecreational park and bird sanctuary.And Priddy still keeps up with his familyfarm even though he has since moved totown. “It’s still a working farm,” he sayswith a chuckle. “It works me over.”

It’s really not Priddy’s nature to sitstill. “I’ve had more fun than anyone elsein the world,” he remarks.

His wife Robin smiles at this and tellsme, “He was known as the ‘Dean of

is historic railroad town onRoute 1 is in a new heyday.

30

Born and raised in Hanover County, SumpterPriddy is a font of knowledge about the area.Priddy initiated the publication of the county’sfirst comprehensive history. The 88-year-oldspent 34 years representing the state’s mer-chants in the Virginia General Assembly.

by Deborah Huso, Contributing Writer

31May 2013/www.co-opliving.com

Lobbyists.’ ” That’s no surprise either. Priddyrepresented the state’s merchants in theGeneral Assembly for 34 years.

These days, however, he spends most ofhis energy focused on Ashland. “The rail-road has always been a focal point of thetown,” Priddy says. “The first three presi-dents of the RF&P lived here.” Priddy alsoexplains that it was because of the railroadthat Randolph-Macon College moved toAshland. “The railroad offered the collegeland if they came to Ashland,” heexplains, “because the railroad wanted thetraffic the college would bring.”

Now a lot of traffic comes into Ashlandvia Route 1 and I-95. Priddy can remem-ber when Route 1 was first built. “Eachcounty had its own road constructioncompany,” Priddy notes. In neighboringHenrico County, the contractor wasCharles Luck (of Luck Construction).Priddy recalls one time the Virginia StatePolice caught Mr. Luck driving hisLincoln on the unfinished road andstopped him since the highway was notlegally open to vehicle traffic. Priddychuckles, “He told those police, ‘This roadhasn’t been paved yet, so it’s still my road.’ ”

FOLKS STICK AROUNDIt’s not an unusual thing for people like

Priddy, who have grown up in HanoverCounty, to stick around. Hugh Joyce,owner of the newly opened Gallery Fluxon England Street, has lived in HanoverCounty all his life and went to school atthe University of Richmond. While Joyce ishimself an HVAC contractor, he has alwaysloved art, despite his own self-proclaimedlack of talent for it. “My mother was anartist, and my sister is an artist,” he explains.“I didn’t get the gift, however.”

Joyce had always liked the buildingwhere his gallery is now located and decidedit would be the perfect place for an artgallery. “385 gallons of white paint later, Ihad an industrial gallery space,” heremarks. He opened Gallery Flux onlylast year but has already had several artistshows and receptions, often drawing asmany as 150 to 200 people. Most of theartists featured in Joyce’s gallery arefrom Virginia, and one of them is hisformer elementary school art teacherNancy Cozart.

Joyce relies on Nissa Lipowicz, aRichmond native, to run the gallery ona day-to-day basis, and, interestinglyenough, Lipowicz is a photographer

(Right) Randolph-Macon College movedto Ashland because RF&P offered land.The railroad wanted the traffic the college would bring. (Below) The traintracks run down the middle of RailroadAvenue, which is lined on both sideswith quaint shops and restaurants.

The newly opened GalleryFlux is located on England St.,which runs perpendicular toRailroad Ave. and is the othermain thoroughfare in Ashland.Hanover County native HughJoyce (left, right) owns thegallery and relies on Rich -mond native Nissa Lipowicz(left, left) to run it on a day-to-day basis. The gallery hasbeen well received, with showsoften drawing as many as200 visitors.

currently doing a project on old Route 1.Using film photography, she travels theroad looking, as she explains, “for repeti-tion, things that repeat themselves in dif-ferent areas.” For example, she’ll take aseries of photos showing American flagsor trailer parks all along the old highway.

Right now Lipowicz’s photographyisn’t for sale. She’s still finding her wingsbut has decided being a commercial pho-tographer probably isn’t her gig. “Thefirst time I shot a wedding, I stepped onthe bride’s dress,” she chuckles.

As for Gallery Flux, Joyce doesn’texpect to get rich running an art gallery,but that’s not the point either. “We justwant to be connected to the communi-ty,” he says, “and I felt like a gallery was the right kind of restart for a redo of Ashland.” n

32 Cooperative Living/May 2013

The Ashland Visitor Center (112 N. Railroad Ave., 804-752-6766, opendaily 9-5) is located in the heart of townin the old Ashland Train Station. Rightbehind the train station are the most his-toric digs in town at the Henry Clay Inn(114 N. Railroad Ave., 804-798-3100,www.henryclayinn.com), which isnamed after Hanover County native,Sen. Henry Clay, known as “The GreatCompromiser” for his roles in formulating theMissouri Compromise of 1820 and theCompromise of 1850. The inn has 14 comfort-able and homey guest rooms, though if you’dlike to stay here, make your reservations soon.The inn is closing permanently in October.

With the railroad passing right through thecenter of town, Ashland is a nice little week-end spot for Washington metro area residentstaking Amtrak into town. Along Ashland’smain street, Railroad Avenue, are many shopsand restaurants, including the Iron HorseRestaurant (100 S. Railroad Ave., 804-752-6410, www.ironhorserestaurant.com), whichhas sidewalk seating, a full bar, and excellentlunchtime sandwiches, including its PullmanClub Car, which I highly recommend havingwith a cup of the restaurant’s tasty paprika-spiced pumpkin soup. Across the street isCross Brothers Grocery (107 N. RailroadAve., 804-798-8311), an old-time inde-pendent grocer selling everything from hatsand mittens to steaks and charcoal. Moregood eats can be had at Homemades bySuzanne (102 N. Railroad Ave., 804-798-

8331, www.homemadesbysuzanne.com).Sumpter Priddy claims people come fromall over Virginia to eat here and notes thatMitt Romney dined there two or threetimes while campaigning last year.

Ashland is slowly gaining some promi-nence as an arts destination, too. Whileyou’re in town, check out Gallery Flux(307B England St., 804-752-3540,www.galleryflux.com), Cross Mill Gallery(13405 Independence Rd., 804-798-8237,www.crossmillgallery.com, open by appoint-ment only), and the Flippo Gallery (804-752-3018, www.rmc.edu) on the campus ofRandolph-Macon College.

Find some truly unique “reloved” furni-ture at Thrill of the Hunt (315 England St.,804-368-0184, www.thrillofthehuntva.com),a family-owned retail business that “up-cycles” used and antique furniture. And if it’s antiques, you’re after, Ashland hasnearly a dozen shops selling pre-lovedtreasures, such as Hickory Creek Antiques(427 England St., 804-798-0202,www.hickorycreekantiques.com). n

(Top) Ashland Visitor Center is located in theheart of town. (Above, left) The Henry ClayInn, named for the Virginia statesman andHanover County native, is scheduled to closein October of this year. Future plans for thebuilding are yet to be announced. (Above,right) the Iron Horse Restaurant and (below)Homemades by Suzanne are two of severalpopular eateries in town.

IF YOU GO...

33

“If there ever was a bell ringer for theAmerican Revolution, it was Patrick Henry’sspeech at St. John’s,” says Ashland resi-dent Sumpter Priddy, who also likes toclaim the Revolution had its start inHanover County with the Parson’s Cause,the case over the Two Penny Act thatmade Patrick Henry famous in 1763. Youcan visit the historic Hanover Courthousewhere the case was tried just a few milesoff Route 1 east of Ashland. And afterchecking out the courthouse, hop acrossthe street for dinner at the Historic HanoverTavern. (For better service and a cozieratmosphere, dine in the downstairs tavernrather than in the dining room.) After din-ner, you can take in a show at the tavern’sBarksdale Theater.

Just a few miles west of Ashland in therural countryside of Hanover County isScotchtown, the plantation that Henrycalled his home from 1771 to 1778. He

lived here with his firstwife Sarah Shelton,with whom he had sixchildren, and wasresiding in the homewhen elected governorof Virginia.

According toScotchtown site coordi-nator Anna Reid withPreservation Virginia,Henry acquiredScotchtown for a deal,

buying it from owners who needed to settledebt. “Henry really didn’t go for the city life,”Reid explains. But while Henry sawScotchtown as a retreat, his wife (whose fami-ly owned Hanover Tavern) did not. In thebasement of the house is the room whereSarah resided after being diagnosed as men-tally ill. “Her quarters here were a good dealbetter than where she had been previously—chained to a wall in a public hospital,” Reidexplains, adding that mental illness was poor-ly understood in the 18th century. Given thatSarah was the mother of six children, poten-tially suffering from postpartum depression,isolated in a rural area, and married to aman who was committing treason, Reid says,“She had a lot to be stressed about.”

Henry was not particularly easy on hiswives either. Reid remarks that his second wifebore 11 children while married to him. Theconsummate lawyer and politician, however,had a lighter side. He was an accomplishedmusician and songwriter, though he reportedlydestroyed all the music he wrote. “He did not,”Reid explains, “Wish to be known for ‘frivo-lous’ things.”

To fully explore the haunts of Patrick Henryin Richmond and Hanover County, take theRoad to Revolution, a guide that can be foundat www.roadtorevolution.com.

SECRETARIAT’S MEADOWEven if you’re not a horse racing enthusi-

ast, you’ve probably heard of Secretariat.This famous racehorse, who won the TripleCrown in 1973, was born right off Route 1 inDoswell, on a farm that has since beenturned into The Meadow Event Park andhome of the Virginia State Fair. Group toursof The Meadow are available April throughNovember and offer visitors access to thefoaling shed where Secretariat was born, thefarm’s horse cemetery, as well as videos ofSecretariat’s Kentucky Derby, Preakness, andBelmont Stakes wins. As it happens, SumpterPriddy is a racing fan and, in fact, used toannounce at the now-defunct CamptownRaces. For more information on tours, visitwww.SecretariatsMeadow.com, and visitwww.meadoweventpark.com for details onother farm events as well as the State Fair ofVirginia, which runs this year from September27 through October 6. n

If you’re like millions of other formerAmerican school children, there are proba-bly still bits and pieces of Patrick Henry’s

famous address to the Second VirginiaConvention in March 1775 floating around inyour head. I remember having to recite thespeech in Mrs. Davis’ fourth grade Virginia his-tory class. To this day, I still recall the final lines:“Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be pur-chased at the price of chains and slavery?Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not whatcourse others may take; but as for me, give meliberty or give me death!”

If you’re lingering along Route 1, considerfollowing in the footsteps of this great Americanstatesman, starting with a visit to St. John’sChurch on Broad Street before you leave theconfines of downtown Richmond. This is whereHenry delivered his famous speech, andSunday afternoons late May through earlySeptember, you can see living historians re-enact the convention beginning at 1 p.m.

(Top) Scotchtown, Patrick Henry’shome from 1771-1778, is just west ofAshland. (Above) Meadow Farm Park,where Secretariat was born, is off Rt. 1in Doswell. (Left) Historic HanoverTavern, a few miles east of Ashland, ishome to the Barksdale dinner-theatre.

“Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death”

Following Patrick Henry Along Route 1

May 2013/www.co-opliving.com