Lock 33

Harper's Ferry, West Virginia 

This old stone house and store was built in 1840 at the base of Maryland Heights just across the Potomac River from Harper's Ferry. Located at Lock 33 on the C&O Canal, the building is often mistaken for a lock house. A wooden structure attached to the building housed the Salty Dog Tavern, which no longer stands.

During the Civil War, Harper's Ferry was almost impossible to defend, and changed hands 14 times. Confederate artillery commanding the town from Maryland Heights led to the surrender of Union forces there in 1862, but the strategically important town was fought over throughout the war.

Trestle

Harper's Ferry, West Virginia 

Early in December I spent a day in Harper's Ferry and would like to share some of the photographs from that visit this week.

Harper's Ferry was a key center of transportation and industry at the time of the Civil War and the town changed hands several times. On the morning I arrived, the town was occupied by Union reenactors.

The railroad trestle in the picture above is in active use, but all was quiet in the morning except for this lone soldier walking under the tracks. The Shenandoah River is just behind the trestle, and on the other side of the river a high bluff, known as Loudoun Heights rises over the town. The sun was just clearing the top of the bluffs and the light along the river was a beautiful and unusual deep blue.

A CSX coal train rumbles across the trestle later that day.

Frosty morning sunrise

Warren County, Virginia

When I first started Photography In Place in January 2010, I had no idea I would still be doing it six years later.

A while back, Mike Johnston at The Online Photographer reported that of the over 700 million blogs in existence, only about 7 million are updated regularly, and of those only 700,000 are read by more than 15 people a day. As blogs go, Photography In Place has very few readers, but we do manage to average more than 15 readers a day.

It's not about the numbers though. This blog is important to me because it provides an outlet for my photography and an impetus to explore and learn. That's why I continue to do it after all these years. And to those of you who are regular readers, I sincerely thank you.

Photography In Place publishes a new post each weekday morning during the year, with occasional posts on the weekend. I hope you will join me in 2016.

Christmas - 2015

Thanks to everyone who has followed along with Photography In Place this year. We will be taking a short break over the holidays, but will resume posting on January 4th.

Merry Christmas and best wishes for a peaceful and prosperous New Year. See you in 2016!

Fox

Orange, Virginia 

Amtrak northbound

Orange, Virginia 

The northbound Amtrak Cardinal passes in front of the depot in the town of Orange on December 20, 2015, loaded perhaps with folks going home for Christmas.

The Cardinal runs between New York and Chicago three days a week, but does not stop in Orange. The colonial revival train station was completed in 1910. Passenger service to Orange was discontinued in the early 1970s.

Third Sunday - 2015

Front Royal, Virginia 

Asbury Chapel - 1916

"Asbury Chapel (now Asbury United Methodist Church) was build in 1848 and named for Bishop Francis Asbury, who evangelized throughout the Shenandoah Valley from 1783 to 1805. During the Civil War, the congregation met irregularly, and the church was used as a hospital, probably after the Battle of Front Royal.

In 1916, the building was dismantled, revealing bloodstained floorboards. Using original materials when possible and following a similar design, the congregation completed the present structure the next year. The reconstructed church was dedicated on the fourth Sunday in October, 1917." *

*Text from the Wayside marker located at the church.