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By James P. Gannon
Special to the Rappahannock News
Drive down any Rappahannock County back road and you will see them: the houses that our ancestors built.
There are old log houses that pioneers occupied, white frame Colonials flanked by solid stone chimneys, timber-framed cottages with steep tin roofs and stately Southern Colonial mansions with white-columned verandas.
There is no mistaking these houses for suburban tract homes or modem McMansions clad in vinyl and faux brick. They are homes that look like they belong here, because they do. They are pieces of our history, reminders of our past, one with the land.
Without them, Rappahannock County would still be scenic, but it would not tell the stories of past generations nor project the sense of rootedness that is part of its appeal.
When new people come to the county to build a home, they may not think much about this historic architecture that surrounds them. But it is part of the “look” and the “feel” of Rappahannock County.
Why does one newly built house seem to settle gently into the landscape as if it’s been here for decades, while another looks like it just fell out of the sky from Miami Beach? The answer lies in history.
A nationally recognized authority on the historic architecture of Virginia is coming to Rappahannock County next month to discuss our architectural heritage.
“Farmhouses and other Treasures of Rappahannock County” is the topic of a talk and slide show to be presented on Sunday, April 6, from 2 to 4 p.m. at Trinity Episcopal Church in the Town of Washington.
The speaker is Henry Glassie, professor of folklore at the University of Indiana and author of several books on the origin and development of various architectural styles common to this region.
The program, which is free and open to the public, is sponsored by the Rappahannock League for Environmental Protection (RLEP), the Piedmont Environmental Council and the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
It is the first of a series of programs under the theme “Treasures of Rappahannock County,” which RLEP and co-sponsoring organizations will
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