Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-12-11
BY HERBERT F. CORN.

With the approach of Winter and
the consequent restriction of motor
touring to the North and West the trip
through historic Virginia, now made
delightful by some of the splendid new
highways in that States ambitious
road building program, beckon TO the
Washington motorist. The compile
ton of the jefferson Davis highway
from Washington TO Rlchmond pro
vides a days diversified journey OF
slightly more than 200 miles 10 nor
folk, via Richmond. where Wl'hh Jus'
q few hours the motorist finds him
self transplanted from the mum Oh
oAiciaI activity in the Nations Cap
ital IN an atmosphere of the old South
En- route from Richmond to New
mort News. whence a ferry IS taken 70
Norfolk one passes through historic
| Johannesburg with William ana Mary
| Collage the second oldest seat OF learn
| ING in the United States, chartered II
| 1904 and the home of the I'M Bela
| Kama. A side trip of Z miles from
Williamsburg, where is under con
| struction a broad highway, brings one
| IN Jamestown, the scene OF lhe edI II
est English settlement in the Chlteu
! states where the ruins OF the oIo
church begun in 1907 still stand neio
| together by a coating of cement APP
piled by the Virginia Society for the
| Preservation of Antiquities.
EVERYWHERE one sees definite signs
of a reawakening to the real Value OF
| the historic treasures in NTBlhla
brought about solely by the Delated
| realization of her extensive ROAD pro
4, t,,r n Norfolk
via Richmond. there is not one foot o.
moor highway and added to this is the
| excellent ferry service across the
James River and Hampton Roads
where service is either semi-hourly OF
| hourly.
In Richmond by Noon.
| Leaving Washington over the High
way Bridge and dropping south to
| Alexandria at $50 or 8 o'clock am,
a perfect 1913 miles of highway
! stretches before the motorist to Rich
mond which can be reached by noon
| with comfortable driving. From Alex
andria the route runs past the cutoff
| to Mount Vernon and Fort HUMPHREYS
| the Army Engineer post, thence to
| Accotink. Soon we are passing the
side road into Quantico, the Marine
/ w
pull into historic Fredericksburg, the
| home of George Washington. Fred
ericksburg alone is worth an entire
days visit but as it is only So miles
from Washington, one can drop down
| there on a less extensive schedule
| than the one before us.
! However, within an hour may be
seen the home of the mother of Wash
| ington, the famous Kenmore estate
and the old Confederate cemetery
| where lie many of the dead killed In
| the famous battle which bears the
name of the little village. At the Der
ry farm a few miles from Fredericks
burg, Washington spent his boyhood
days and it is here that the famous
| cherry tree incident is reputed to have
| occurred.
| But we must be on to Richmond il
| the capital of the confederacy is to be
| reached by noon. AS we leave the
| village we pass wood where Lee
and Stuart witnessed the battle OF
! Fredericksburg. Toward Richmond
! the terrain fiattens out and the Sc
miles on a new concrete road can be
covered in short time. Broad street
is soon reached. With a two-houl
| stop for lunch we gas up and drive out
|
Already the flora is changing, the
pines are higher and signs of the ex
| tensive truck farming of the Virginia
| seaboard country are beginning to ap
pear A 40-mile run brings us into
Williamsburg, where we are greeted
by the splendid new buildings of vii
liam and Mary College. We can push
on to Newport News or drive through
the college grounds and over t.
| jamestown. We chose the latter
course. At the third mile of the sever
| to jamestown Island we passed
through a convict camp. The mer
were employed in widening and re
building the jamestown road.
Virginia's First Capital.
Pulling up at the ruins of the ole
church in jamestown we found q
| caretaker ready to take us through
the old structure and point out the
molderng foundations of Virginia s
first capital. There are only two
homes on jamestown Island. one oc
cupied by the caretaker for half of the
| island, the property of the Society for
the Preservation of Antiquities. the
other the home of the private owner
of the other half of the island. on
the private property is located the
ruins of Gov. WinthrOp's mansion
open to the public only during the
| Summer season.
The old church. which was started
soon after the colony was founded ir
| 1907, and completed about 1880. neg