Mystery Picture of the Week 2017
Try to identify a different piece of Lynchburg-area history every week. If you have any mystery pictures of your own (or any old photos of Lynchburg and the surrounding area) please contact Nancy Marion at Nancy@LynchburgHistory.com or at 847-0939. For more old photos visit www.LynchburgHistory.com.
Mystery Picture of the Week Archives: 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015
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Dec. 25, 2017: 70 Years of Sales
Answer: Millner’s departent store opened in 1890 on this block at 802–804 Main Street. The store pictured here replaced the original one that burned in 1922. It merged with Miller and Rhoads in 1957 and stayed at this location at the corner of 8th and Main until 1982, when Miller and Rhoads moved to River Ridge Mall.
Image courtesy of Kyle Baldwin
Dec. 18, 2017: Downtown Living
Answer: The building now known as the Courtland Building was built in 1909 as an apartment house at the north corner of Court and Seventh Streets. It was later bought by the Lynchburg Foundry and converted to office use.
Image courtesy of Kyle Baldwin
Dec. 11, 2017: Spelling Lesson Needed
Hint: The Beaumont Juvenile Correctional Center in Powhatan County may have been the subject of these pranksters. Perhaps if they had gone there they would have learned to spell it. The Center was scheduled to close in June of 2017. The water tower still stands in Madison Heights near Lowes.
Photo from the archives of Jimmie Ray
If you have any mystery pictures of your own (or any old photos of Lynchburg and the surrounding area) please contact Nancy Marion at Nancy@LynchburgHistory.com or at 847-0939. For more old photos visit www.LynchburgHistory.com.
Dec. 4, 2017: Waiting for Some Bricks
Hint: The site in the foreground had been cleared to build the United States Court House and Post Office at the south corner of Church and Ninth Streets in 1885. That building has since been replaced by the building that stands today. But this photo is useful for showing the steps that preceded Monument Terrace and all the buildings on Court Street that are no longer there.
Photo courtesy of Jones Memorial Library
If you have any mystery pictures of your own (or any old photos of Lynchburg and the surrounding area) please contact Nancy Marion at Nancy@LynchburgHistory.com or at 847-0939. For more old photos visit www.LynchburgHistory.com.
Nov. 27, 2017: Ready, Set, Wait
Hint: These men are at the finish line of a soap-box derby held on Bedford Avenue in 1958. Back then there were two gas stations on the right—a Gulf and a Texaco—and two on the left—a Shell and a Richfield. Behind the men were two more gas stations! Now there are none on the street.
Photo from the archives of The News
If you have any mystery pictures of your own (or any old photos of Lynchburg and the surrounding area) please contact Nancy Marion at Nancy@LynchburgHistory.com or at 847-0939. For more old photos visit www.LynchburgHistory.com.
- News & Advance
Nov. 20, 2017: Nothing Stays the Same
About the only store that is still there in this photo of Boonsboro Shopping Center, is on the far left: the ABC store. All the rest have changed: Western Auto, Fidelity Bank, Winn-Dixie, Boonsboro Drug, Boonsboro Theatre, Smartwear-Irving Saks, Shop of John Simmons, Rule Bookshop, and Emil’s Gourmet.
Photo from the archives of The News
If you have any mystery pictures of your own (or any old photos of Lynchburg and the surrounding area) please contact Nancy Marion at Nancy@LynchburgHistory.com or at 847-0939. For more old photos visit www.LynchburgHistory.com.
- News & Advance
Nov. 13, 2017: Excitement & Trepidation
Hint: This 1939 photo shows a group of boys heading off to summer camp from the Elks Club in downtown Lynchburg. The club stood between Main and Church Streets behind the Academy of Music theater.
Photo from the archives of The News
If you have any mystery pictures of your own (or any old photos of Lynchburg and the surrounding area) please contact Nancy Marion at Nancy@LynchburgHistory.com or at 847-0939. For more old photos visit www.LynchburgHistory.com.
Nov. 6, 2017: A Cozy Room to Wait
Hint: This quonset hut at Preston Glenn Airport (now Lynchburg Airport) was used by the Navy for their flight operations. A pilot waiting area appears in the background.
Photo by S. O. Fisher from the archives of Blackwell Press
If you have any mystery pictures of your own (or any old photos of Lynchburg and the surrounding area) please contact Nancy Marion at Nancy@LynchburgHistory.com or at 847-0939. For more old photos visit www.LynchburgHistory.com.
Oct. 30, 2017: Rock of Ages
Hint: Not many American cities have a stone quarry, and no other city had one like this. This quarry was the source of stone for many of Lynchburg’s buildings, including the Allied Arts Building, the Armory, and even all of the Virginia ABC stores.
Photo by S. O. Fisher from the archives of Blackwell Press
Oct. 30, 2017: Rock of Ages
Hint: The Virginia Greenstone Company operated a quarry in West End and a finishing plant at 2530 Fort Avenue (more recently Campbell-Payne’s facilities). The plant closed in 1969. It was the only source of greenstone in the country.
Photo by S. O. Fisher from the archives of Blackwell Press
If you have any mystery pictures of your own (or any old photos of Lynchburg and the surrounding area) please contact Nancy Marion at Nancy@LynchburgHistory.com or at 847-0939. For more old photos visit www.LynchburgHistory.com.
Oct. 23, 2017: A Little of Everything
Hint: The A. Plunkett store was at 210 Tenth Street in the 1890s. They conducted both wholesale and retail trade, and specialized in country produce.
Photo from the archives of The News
If you have any mystery pictures of your own (or any old photos of Lynchburg and the surrounding area) please contact Nancy Marion at Nancy@LynchburgHistory.com or at 847-0939. For more old photos visit www.LynchburgHistory.com.
Oct. 16, 2017: Not at This Location
Hint: Glenn A. Trent is still in business, but it moved farther up the street. This photo shows it at the corner of Twelfth Street and Campbell Avenue. Across the street there seems to be a greenhouse enterprise. Trent has since moved to another location on Twelfth Street at Kemper Street.
Photo by S. O. Fisher from the archives of Blackwell Press
If you have any mystery pictures of your own (or any old photos of Lynchburg and the surrounding area) please contact Nancy Marion at Nancy@LynchburgHistory.com or at 847-0939. For more old photos visit www.LynchburgHistory.com.
Oct. 9, 2017: A Good Start
Hint: Virginia Baptist Hospital was designed in 1921 by Stanhope Johnson, who continued to design additions to it for thirty years. His plans included the park-like landscaping of the front lawn, which remains to this day.
Photo from the archives of The News
If you have any mystery pictures of your own (or any old photos of Lynchburg and the surrounding area) please contact Nancy Marion at Nancy@LynchburgHistory.com or at 847-0939. For more old photos visit www.LynchburgHistory.com.
Oct. 2, 2017: Drive Up or Eat In
Hint: The sign on the outside of this establishment read “Jimmie’s Drive-Inn.” I’m not sure if it was, in fact, an inn, but it did have two stories, so there may have been rooms upstairs. This was on Wards Road, but I don’t know exactly where. If you can remember it, I’d love to hear from you.
Photo by S. O. Fisher from the archives of Blackwell Press
If you have any mystery pictures of your own (or any old photos of Lynchburg and the surrounding area) please contact Nancy Marion at Nancy@LynchburgHistory.com or at 847-0939. For more old photos visit www.LynchburgHistory.com.
Sept. 25, 2017: Torture or Pleasure?
Hint: This 1940 photo shows workers at Mayfair Beauty School practicing their technique. Presumably this was part of a permanent wave or some sort of hair-curling technique.
Photo by S. O. Fisher from the archives of Blackwell Press
In June 1964 the Rev. Jerry Falwell started an interdenominational camp for youths on Treasure Island, an island in the James River near Riverside Park. The gymnasium-tabernacle is being completed in the background. The island flooded in 1985 and a fire in 1988 destroyed the remaining buildings.
Photo from the archives of The News
Sept. 11, 2017: A School on the Move
Hint: These buildings at the corner of Ninth and Clay Streets housed the Academy of the Holy Cross, now Holy Cross Regional Catholic School. A new school facility was built on Langhorne Road in 1958 and these buildings were demolished. The Blue Ridge Regional Jail is now on this site.
Photo from the archives of The News
Aug. 28, 2017: More Fun, Less Work
Answer: While the City Stadium complex has seen some improvements, most of the surrounding neighborhood is about the same as in this 1983 photo. The notable exception is the removal of the large Allen-Morrison Sign Company, shown beyond the greenhouses.
Photo from the archives of The News
Aug. 21, 2017: Last of the Line
Answer: Bus operation was begun in Fairview Heights in 1937. The Peakland and White Rock lines were converted in 1938. By November 1941, the last streetcars had been sold to Norfolk and buses were running on all the routes.
Photo from the S. O. Fisher collection
This was probably from the 1960 soap box derby, held on Bedford Avenue. The weight of the cars and drivers was carefully regulated. The derby was held on Bedford Avenue in the late 1950s and ’60s, and at some point was also held on Rivermont Avenue on the hill above the Rivermont Bridge.
- Photo from the archive of The News
July 31, 2017: Not Just a Hole in the Wall
Answer: This cliff face is immediately across the river from downtown Lynchburg. The door is the entrance to the Piedmont Concentrated Iron and Alum Water Spring, which, in 1903, was touted “to enrich the blood and throw off all impurities from the system.” Such healing springs were common at that time and claimed to cure such ailments as “dyspepsia, headache, dropsy, catarrh, bilious affections, diarrhoæ and dysentery, kidney, liver and bladder troubles, diseases of women, nervous prostration”—and the list goes on. Clearly a miracle cure. The cave is still there, though hidden now.
Photo from the archive of The News
July 24, 2017: A Growing Concern
Answer: Halliday & Harris Nursery dealt exclusively in cut flowers, vegetable plants, shrubbery, and flower plants of all kinds, according to the 1900 pamphlet, Lynchburg Headlight. Halliday is shown on an 1899 map as being just below the Presbyterian Cemetery along the creek.
Photo from the archive of The News
July 17, 2017: Celebrating the End
Answer: The men are marching east on Church Street past Tenth Street. The Apperson and Lee Motor Company on the corner was the former Friends Warehouse, built in 1806. That entire block was razed in the 1930s to build the current City Hall (then a post office). The building on the right still stands, though clad in metal.
Photo from the archive of the Jones Memorial Library
July 10, 2017: Keeping it Trim
Answer: This crew was set to mow Miller Park. With 37 acres of land, it must have been a daunting task, especially with these reel mowers. Gasoline-powered mowers did not come into widespread use until after World War II.
Photo from the archive of Thomas George
July 3, 2017: Sashes, Doors & Blinds
Answer: The E. E. Ross Sash, Door and Blind Factory stood at the corner of Cleveland Ave. and Fourteenth St. But Cleveland Ave. is nowhere near Fourteenth St. The street is now called Stephenson Ave., which starts near the intersection of Fort Ave. and Twelfth St.
Photo from the archive of The News
June 19, 2017: Many Ways to Travel
Answer: This is a photo of Anne Langhorne Kemp on a mule around the turn of the century. I have seen several photos of children on this same animal, with the FVCo. sash on it. It may have been an advertisement for something. Here it is posed in front of the Clay Street reservoir with Court Street houses visible in the background.
June 19, 2017: Many Ways to Travel
Answer: This photo of the Glamorgan Pipe and Foundry Company (now Griffin Pipe Products) in the 1920s shows the canal that was still open along the left side of the image. No longer used for transportation, the canal had been kept open to supply water to power Lynchburg businesses. It was drained and filled in 1940.
Photo courtesy of the Lynchburg Museum System (www.LynchburgMuseum.org)
June 12, 2017: The Last of a Breed
Answer: This 1922 model of a six-cylinder Piedmont was one of the last the company made in its short career. Although the sales manager persuaded the Lynchburg Police to use Piedmonts, the company went into receivership in 1922 after overstocking its inventory. This one is parked at the trolley stop on Peakland Place, where the graffiti proclaims the rivalry between V.E.S. and L.H.S.
Photo courtesy of the Lynchburg Museum System (www.LynchburgMuseum.org)
May 29, 2017: On the Way Out
Answer: This 1965 photo shows a somewhat seedy section of Main Street. This was in the 600 block of Main, next to the old gas company building that still stands as part of the Academy Center of the Arts. All of these buildings were to the right of that and have been replaced by a parking lot for Pacific Life.
Photo from the archives of Downtown Lynchburg Association
May 22, 2017: A Mill by the Creek
Answer: Pierce and Akers Company was established in 1893 and operated in what was called South Lynchburg. It made brick and sold building supplies. This plant was just downhill from the Virginia Seminary, which appears behind it. A bridge in the foreground crosses Fishing Creek. Railroad tracks go in front of and behind the mill.
Photo from the archives of The News
May 8, 2017 - Progress at a Cost
Answer: When downtown revitalization took off in Lynchburg in the mid 1980s, several old buildings were torn down to make way for progress. On this corner at Twelfth and Church Streets, the little gas station was saved to become the Visitor Center, and the plan was to save the building next to it. Warren’s Meat Market was housed in an historic structure, built in 1842 as a Universalist Church, and later used as a theater and as an Odd Fellows Hall, before becoming a store. Plans called to restore the building to its former glory, but it was weakened during demolition of the adjacent building and had to be demolished.
Photo from the archives of Lynch's Landing
April 24, 2017 - A Sweet Ride
Answer: The sign on the building is Alford Ford Sales, and the sign in the yard says the Forest Ruritan Club was sponsoring the contest, apparently around 1957 based on the cars. I don’t know if the car was the first prize, or where it was. If you do, please contact Nancy Marion at Nancy@DesignGroup.com or (434) 847-0939.
Photo from the archives of The News
April 17, 2017 - A Bridge Again
Answer: Since at least the 1870s there has been a bridge across Blackwater Creek linking Sixth and Commerce Streets to Cabell Street. By the time of this photo it was only a footbridge. A bridge no longer links the streets, but we do have a footbridge across the creek a little closer to Seventh Street, and a lot lower, connecting two of the Blackwater Creek trails together.
Photo from the archives of The News
April 10, 2017 - A Place to Get Ahead
Answer: Piedmont College began in 1887. At the time of the publication of this photo in 1898 it had four departments: academic, business, shorthand and typing, and music. It was then located at 1403 Church Street, at the south corner of Church and Washington Streets, a former Langhorne family home. It later moved to a new building at 311 Rivermont Avenue.
Photo from the archives of The News
April 3, 2017 - Put Up a Parking Lot
Answer: The Young Building covered much of the 700 block of Church Street, adjacent to the Allied Arts building and across from the Virginian Hotel. It housed several offices and professional services before its demolition for a parking lot.
Photo from the archives of Lynchburg Redevelopment and Housing
March 27, 2017 - Humble Beginnings
Answer: This childhood home of Pulitzer Prize–winning author and historian Douglas Southall Freeman was part of a group of houses in the 400 block of Main Street, which no longer exists. The area where these buildings were (411–413 Main Street) is now a mound of grass near the Rivermont Bridge. To see this view of it, you would have to be standing in the overflow parking lot of the Texas Inn, and looking up the bank toward the street.
Photo from the archives of the Jones Memorial Library
March 13, 2017 - A Community School
Answer: Built in 1894 as the Floyd School at Seventeenth and Monroe Street, the school was renamed in honor of former teacher and principal Marce T. Jones in 1959. Although the school was demolished, the site continues to anchor the neighborhood as the Diamond Hill Community Center, built in 1977.
Photo from the archives of Lynchburg Schools
Feb. 27, 2017 - A Curvy Bridge
Answer: The Rivermont Bridge used to be a straight shot from the old Main Street, which can be seen at the lower right. Now that small section of street is part of the entrance drive to the Texas Inn, and its overflow parking lot ends in a barricade where the old bridge started. At the lower left is the roof of the old Paramount Theater, where the Holiday Inn parking deck now stands.
Photo courtesy of B. K. Mundy
Feb. 20, 2017 - What Goes Around, Comes Around
Answer: When it was built in 1913, the Virginian Hotel was the talk of the town. It has gone through many changes since then, including being one of the first dorms for Liberty Baptist College in the early 1970s. After its stint as part of a college, the building became a place for elderly and low-income housing. It is scheduled to open again as a hotel in late 2017.
Photo from the archives of the S. O. Fisher collection
Feb. 13, 2017 - Newer Than What?
Answer: The New Appomattox Hotel, near the railroad tracks in Appomattox, replaced an earlier hotel that wasn’t even in the same place. The “old” Appomattox Hotel was in the village of Appomattox Court House where Lee surrendered to Grant to end the Civil War.
Photo courtesy of B. K. Mundy
Feb. 6, 2017 - A Place to Learn a Trade
Answer: The Monroe Street School at Eleventh Street was built in 1872 and was one of the first three public schools built in Lynchburg—this one as a school for white boys. It later became the city’s first trade school. It stood at the corner of Monroe and Eleventh Street until it was demolished.
Photo from the archives of the Lynchburg City Schools
Jan. 30, 2017 - Frozen Fire
Answer: On Dec. 21, 1955, fire burned much of the 900 block of Main Street, causing $500,000 in damage and leaving 300 out of jobs. But the buildings survived and are once again a vibrant section of town. The McGehee Furniture building is now home to loft apartments, a t-shirt business, and a wedding dress store.
Photo courtesy of B. K. Mundy
Jan. 23, 2017 - Healthy Competition
Answer: This building still stands in the 1100 block of Main Street. At the time of this photo it had Kroger and Piggly Wiggly grocery stores side-by-side, and Mckenna’s meat shop was next door. Upstairs was Red Crown Bowling and across the street was Delancy’s Ice Cream.
Photo from the archives of Blackwell Press
Jan. 16, 2017 - May it Please the Court
Answer: This 1940s photo shows what the Corporation Court room looked like at that time. It was similar to the original layout of the Hustings Court room from 1852. When the Circuit Court was built in 1955, the room was partitioned into cubicles for probation offices. A 1970s restoration opened the room backup and tried to restore it to its original appearance. A subsequent remodeling made the room into the gallery space of the Lynchburg Museum that it is today.
Photo courtesy of the Lynchburg Museum System (www.LynchburgMuseum.org)
Jan. 9, 2017 - The Fairest of Them All
Answer: Frank B. Wright Jr. won first place for his Chinese figure kite in this contest held at the municipal stadium at 13th and Court streets (you can see First Baptist Church and John Wyatt School in the background).
Photo courtesy of Jim Wright
Jan. 2, 2017 - Decline to Ruins
Answer: This duplex at 608–610 Court Street had been converted into an apartment house by the time this photo was taken. It used to stand in the now-vacant block across the street from Court Street United Methodist Church.
Photo from the archives of Jones Memorial Library
More like this...
Dec. 25, 2017: 70 Years of Sales
Hint: The store that was started by an Amherst County boy at the end of the nineteenth century grew to be one of the largest in the state. Remember it?
Photo from the S. O. Fisher Collection of Blackwell Press
Dec. 25, 2017: 70 Years of Sales
Answer: Millner’s departent store opened in 1890 on this block at 802–804 Main Street. The store pictured here replaced the original one that burned in 1922. It merged with Miller and Rhoads in 1957 and stayed at this location at the corner of 8th and Main until 1982, when Miller and Rhoads moved to River Ridge Mall.
Image courtesy of Kyle Baldwin
Dec. 18, 2017: Downtown Living
Hint: This idyllic scene portrays an easy life (for some) in the city. Do you know where this is?
Image courtesy of Kyle Baldwin
Dec. 18, 2017: Downtown Living
Answer: The building now known as the Courtland Building was built in 1909 as an apartment house at the north corner of Court and Seventh Streets. It was later bought by the Lynchburg Foundry and converted to office use.
Image courtesy of Kyle Baldwin
Dec. 11, 2017: Spelling Lesson Needed
Hint: This water tower was adorned by someone, probably in the middle of the night. I think they needed a spelling lesson.
Photo from the archives of Jimmie Ray
Dec. 11, 2017: Spelling Lesson Needed
Hint: The Beaumont Juvenile Correctional Center in Powhatan County may have been the subject of these pranksters. Perhaps if they had gone there they would have learned to spell it. The Center was scheduled to close in June of 2017. The water tower still stands in Madison Heights near Lowes.
Photo from the archives of Jimmie Ray
If you have any mystery pictures of your own (or any old photos of Lynchburg and the surrounding area) please contact Nancy Marion at Nancy@LynchburgHistory.com or at 847-0939. For more old photos visit www.LynchburgHistory.com.
Dec. 4, 2017: Waiting for Some Bricks
Hint: This empty lot is ready for something big—and it got it. Do you know where this is?
Photo courtesy of Jones Memorial Library
Dec. 4, 2017: Waiting for Some Bricks
Hint: The site in the foreground had been cleared to build the United States Court House and Post Office at the south corner of Church and Ninth Streets in 1885. That building has since been replaced by the building that stands today. But this photo is useful for showing the steps that preceded Monument Terrace and all the buildings on Court Street that are no longer there.
Photo courtesy of Jones Memorial Library
If you have any mystery pictures of your own (or any old photos of Lynchburg and the surrounding area) please contact Nancy Marion at Nancy@LynchburgHistory.com or at 847-0939. For more old photos visit www.LynchburgHistory.com.
Nov. 27, 2017: Ready, Set, Wait
Hint: The object of everyone’s attention was at the far end of the street, at the top of the hill. Do you know what they are waiting for?
Photo from the archives of The News
Nov. 27, 2017: Ready, Set, Wait
Hint: These men are at the finish line of a soap-box derby held on Bedford Avenue in 1958. Back then there were two gas stations on the right—a Gulf and a Texaco—and two on the left—a Shell and a Richfield. Behind the men were two more gas stations! Now there are none on the street.
Photo from the archives of The News
If you have any mystery pictures of your own (or any old photos of Lynchburg and the surrounding area) please contact Nancy Marion at Nancy@LynchburgHistory.com or at 847-0939. For more old photos visit www.LynchburgHistory.com.
- News & Advance
Nov. 20, 2017: Nothing Stays the Same
Hint: Shopping centers come and go, but this one has been quite resilient. Do you recognize it?
Photo from the archives of The News
Nov. 20, 2017: Nothing Stays the Same
About the only store that is still there in this photo of Boonsboro Shopping Center, is on the far left: the ABC store. All the rest have changed: Western Auto, Fidelity Bank, Winn-Dixie, Boonsboro Drug, Boonsboro Theatre, Smartwear-Irving Saks, Shop of John Simmons, Rule Bookshop, and Emil’s Gourmet.
Photo from the archives of The News
If you have any mystery pictures of your own (or any old photos of Lynchburg and the surrounding area) please contact Nancy Marion at Nancy@LynchburgHistory.com or at 847-0939. For more old photos visit www.LynchburgHistory.com.
- News & Advance
Nov. 13, 2017: Excitement & Trepidation
Hint: Imagine what was going through the minds of these boys heading off to summer camp, many for the first time. Do you know where this was?
Photo from the archives of The News
Nov. 13, 2017: Excitement & Trepidation
Hint: This 1939 photo shows a group of boys heading off to summer camp from the Elks Club in downtown Lynchburg. The club stood between Main and Church Streets behind the Academy of Music theater.
Photo from the archives of The News
If you have any mystery pictures of your own (or any old photos of Lynchburg and the surrounding area) please contact Nancy Marion at Nancy@LynchburgHistory.com or at 847-0939. For more old photos visit www.LynchburgHistory.com.
Nov. 6, 2017: A Cozy Room to Wait
Hint: This odd-shaped building was not an unusual sight at the time. Do