Continuation of Natural Bridge trip...
Lexington- what a beautiful historical town! My first stop in Lexington was the cemetery that Stonewall Jackson (Thomas Jonathan Jackson) was buried in.
The grave of Stonewall Jackson. Part of his family was buried there too.
I found this small gravestone almost hidden by a big bush. UNKNOWN SOLDIER CSA 1861.
After exploring the cemetery I walked on over to Stonewall Jackson's house, that he owned but only lived in for about 2-1/2 years. This is the front of the house and those 2 front doors used to be at street level. They had to lower the street 8 feet or so to make the road less steep.
I couldn't take pictures inside the house, but I liked this historic scarecrow in the gardens outside Jackson's house. You can read about it in the picture below.
I learned a lot about Stonewall Jackson on the tour. For instance he was quite a religious man and somewhat reserved. He married Elinor Junkin, whose father was the president of the Washington College, which is located in Lexington. Elinor died giving birth to their first child and the child was stillborn. Jackson married Mary Anna Morrison a couple of years after Elinor died. They had 1 daughter who died as a baby and another who lived to adulthood.
Jackson was good friends with his sister. When Jackson joined the civil war for the Confederacy, his sister stopped all communication with him because she was a staunch Unionist. She didn't even attend his funeral.
The side of the Jackson house. The front part is the original part and the back part is an addition to the house that was already in place when Jackson and his wife moved in. Isn't it funny that part of the house that Stonewall Jackson lived in was made of stone?! :) hahaha. So funny! I know.
Washington and Lee University is named after George Washington who put a lot of money into the college and Robert E. Lee who helped get it going and keep it going. I didn't know before I went to Lexington that Robert E. Lee and George Washington had a connection with the university and also Lee married Washington's step-granddaughter. I thought that was pretty cool.
It's a beautiful campus! All of the buildings were this pretty red brick with the large columns.
Lee Chapel. Robert E Lee had this chapel built on campus as an assembly hall. It is not a consecrated church, although there were non-denominational prayer meetings each morning. On the main level is the assembly room and in the basement is a little museum with the history of the university and Robert E. Lee's contribution to the college.
The grave of Robert E. Lee inside Lee Chapel on the main level. Some of Lee's family members are buried in the basement of the chapel.
Robert E. Lee's horse, Traveller, is buried right outside the chapel.
Here's the marker for Traveller's grave.
Standing in front of the chapel this is the view.
Another church on campus!
I ate at Sweet Treats Bakery for lunch and it was pretty dang good!
I, of course, had to get a dessert at the bakery after I finished my lunch. I do not remember what I got but I remember it being delicious!
The man who was helping me in the bakery was very friendly. He had an interesting story. He told me how he used to be a businessman in a large company in the D.C. area and that working there pretty much sucked out his soul. So he moved to Lexington to help out his brother in the bakery and he said that moving there saved his life. He was glad for the change. He likes it in Lexington but said he would like to come back to live in the D.C. area someday.
Virginia Military Institute or VMI is also in Lexington. The campus was pretty deserted, since it's summer time. It was actually a little eerie at first because I saw no one and it was a big open space with some of the windows boarded up in the buildings.
It got better when I eventually saw people. I went to the museum on post which is in the basement of the chapel and in the chapel they were preparing for a wedding.
I liked Lexington. It was a cute little town with lots of history. Stay tuned for more posts about my weekend...
