Today I ventured about twenty miles from my home to the little historic community of Rapidan. i had only been there once before, in the dark, and I had no idea what awaited me. What a special treat that little place is. I am going to quote from a document created by the Rapidan Foundation so that my facts are correct. Early residents of Rapidan were millers who began to use the Rapidan River as a source of power. It was known then as Waugh’s Ford. “In 1853 the Orange and Alexandria Railroad laid track and opened a passenger station, freight depot, and a Post Office. The village began to form and the name was changed to Rapidan Station. With Grant in Culpeper and Lee in Orange County for the winter of 1863-64, this section of the Rapidan River was unofficially an “international” boundary between the North and the South. The railroad bridge in Rapidan was constantly under attack by Union troops and just as constantly being repaired by Confederates.” Rapidan’s maximum population occurred between 1930 and 1950, but declined after that time. In 1987 the village was listed in the National Register of Historic Places and the Virginia Landmarks Register.
My images will show you but a part of the charm of this little village. Some are infrared and some are with my “normal” Nikon camera. The fun today was to have both swinging off my shoulders so I could switch back and forth at will. We met people along the way. At each church we encountered someone who invited us inside. You bet! At the country store, the gentleman working there, a native of Culpeper County, shared information about the old mill, the current PO, which used to be a bank, and other tidbits. The Old Mill, which was a wooden building, burned in 1950 and was rebuilt as a concrete structure. Today it is a small hydroelectric plant. Everyone was friendly and proud to be from Rapidan. As in all small communities, the word will spread about who we were and why we were there. I love it.
RR Bridge over the Rapidan
Old Mill
The man at the store says this stove is over 100 years old.
This is a close-up of the caboose
The old wooden caboose
Caboose in Infrared
Caboose in infrared
Waddell Presbyterian Church in Infrared
Emmanuel Episcopal Church
Window in the Old Train Depot
Trees Growing at the Old Mill
Waddell Presbyterian Church 1874
Patricia Temples Photography 