NEW PICTURES/INFO ADDED AT THE BOTTOM ON 1/23/18.
From Jim Asher, the world's leading authority on Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson's third cousin, twice removed -- at her request):
Abandoned places hold a strange appeal. There is unexpected beauty in the quietude and mystery of the deserted.
Of course, at some point in the past, the vacant structure was brand spanking new. Who lived or visited there? What circumstances through time brought the property to its state of neglect and disrepair? Is there anything that the abandoned site can teach us about the past? Can the images of the forgotten and crumbling structures stand as works of art?
I visited a number of vacant and neglected properties this past weekend, and the decomposing structures called to mind various lines by Emily Dickinson. Below are photos from the various ruins, and selected stanzas from some of Dickinson’s work.
Abandoned places hold a strange appeal. There is unexpected beauty in the quietude and mystery of the deserted.
Of course, at some point in the past, the vacant structure was brand spanking new. Who lived or visited there? What circumstances through time brought the property to its state of neglect and disrepair? Is there anything that the abandoned site can teach us about the past? Can the images of the forgotten and crumbling structures stand as works of art?
I visited a number of vacant and neglected properties this past weekend, and the decomposing structures called to mind various lines by Emily Dickinson. Below are photos from the various ruins, and selected stanzas from some of Dickinson’s work.
The Skyline Parkway Motor Court
"Welc ome" to the decaying Skyline Parkway Motor Court at the top of Afton Mountain in Nelson County, Virginia, where the Blue Ridge Parkway meets the southern entrance to the Skyline Drive in the Shenandoah National Park.
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| A chilly Peace infests the Grass The Sun respectful lies – Not any Trance of industry These shadows scrutinize – |  |
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The Inn at Afton
When we moved to the area in the 1990s, The Inn at Afton was a Holiday Inn, and it included an Aberdeen Barn restaurant. I'm not sure if it was anything else in its past.
This property is not completely abandoned. The Inn still has electricity -- there were a few lights on around the perimeter -- and there was evidence that a handful of people lived in a few of the rooms..
This property is not completely abandoned. The Inn still has electricity -- there were a few lights on around the perimeter -- and there was evidence that a handful of people lived in a few of the rooms..
 | Up Life's Hill with my little Bundle If I prove it steep – If a Discouragement withhold me – If my newest step Older feel than the Hope that prompted – Spotless be from blame Heart that proposed as Heart that accepted Homelessness, for Home – |
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Swannanoa
Further up Afton Mountain is Swannanoa, an Italian Renaissance Revival villa built in 1912 by millionaire and philanthropist James H. Dooley and his wife Sallie.
The Dooley's main residence was Maymont, in Richmond, Virginia (below on the left). Swannanoa (below on the right) was their summer home.
The Dooley's main residence was Maymont, in Richmond, Virginia (below on the left). Swannanoa (below on the right) was their summer home.
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I Years had been from Home
And now before the Door
I dared not enter, lest a Face
I never saw before
Stare solid into mine
And ask my Business there –
"My Business but a Life I left
Was such remaining there?"
And now before the Door
I dared not enter, lest a Face
I never saw before
Stare solid into mine
And ask my Business there –
"My Business but a Life I left
Was such remaining there?"
ENCHANTED CASTLE
Located in Natural Bridge, Virginia, Mark Cline's "Enchanted Castle and Studio Tours" operated in the 1990s. From RoadsideAmerica.com: "That ended in April 2001, when the Castle was gutted by a mysterious fire. Mark believes -- with some credible evidence to support him -- that it was arson, set by local Christian zealots who were spooked by his fiberglass gargoyles and demons and perhaps none-too-pleased by the "Holy Cow" statue out by the mailbox
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| Crumbling is not an instant's Act A fundamental pause Dilapidation's processes Are organized Decays. 'Tis first a Cobweb on the Soul A Cuticle of Dust A Borer in the Axis An Elemental Rust – Ruin is formal – Devil's work Consecutive and slow – Fail in an instant, no man did Slipping – is Crash's law. |  |
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Mark Cline was also the artist behind "Foamhenge," a full-scale styrofoam replica of Stonehenge. This roadside attraction used to be down the road from Cline's Enchanted Castle; however, it was relocated to Centreville, VA, in 2017
The DeJarnette State Sanitorium
Located near the Frontier Culture Museum in Staunton, Virginia, the abandoned DeJarnette State Sanitorium, founded in 1932, was named after Dr. Joseph DeJarnette, a prominent Virginia psychiatrist and strong supporter of eugenics, particularly the compulsory sterilization of the mentally ill.
 | One need not be a Chamber – to be Haunted – One need not be a House – The Brain has Corridors – surpassing Material Place – In the photograph below on the right, Dr. Joseph DeJarnette is the man seated on the right. |
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