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Other buildings in the settlement included a caretakers cabin, a log schoolhouse, a Methodist church, a store, and four houses. All were within a half-mile of the mill complex. Most of these were abandoned sometime after the Civil War when much of the housing in the area became concentrated in Sperryville. Before then, as many as 150 people lived and worked in Thornton Gap along the old turnpike.
The Thornton Gap Settlement was completely abandoned by the 1920s. When the NPS survey was done 20 years later, none of the buildings were deemed salvageable, a real shame as this site, if restored, might potentially have been a historical gem for Rappahannock County and the Park. So, next time you are barreling up toward the Gap on your Harley, or even your scooter, you might want to pause just before starting through the hairpin turns to consider how different the landscape (and speed limit) might be today had times not changed so drastically.
A nice meal at Atkins, ‘reshoe’ the bike at the blacksmith, take a little cider home for the missus, and maybe even a bottle of the local distillate for yourself. In a way, all of these things are still possible, but with the pace and thrills of today as distractions, somehow one senses that all is just not the same as long ago. But if one has the time and inclination, a few of the footprints of the old settlement might reveal themselves in winter months just beyond the 211 guardrails near the point where the dual lane lets the impatient begin their zoom up the mountain.
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