The Walton's Museum is a special blend of history, nostalgia and entertainment. The same building where young Earl Hamner, Jr. attended school now houses replicas rooms from "The Walton’s," the memorable television series he created.
We step back in time and memory to John-Boy's bedroom, the Waltons' kitchen and living room, and Ike Godsey's store, which also serves as the museum's gift shop. The museum also has an exhibit room with models and a soapstone display and a Recipe Room.
The museum opened Oct. 16, 1992, in the former Schuyler school. It was built in 1924 as the elementary and high school, but most of it burned down, and it was rebuilt in 1931. In 1955, it was an elementary school until it closed in 1991, when it reopened as a community center. When the community could not afford to operate the center, supporters decided to add the museum to the building as a way to honor Hamner and support the community center, which still is used for numerous activities today.
Between 1972 and 1981, the nation followed the television depiction of the Walton family and their struggle to survive the trials of the Great Depression and the Second World War. For nine seasons on CBS, The Walton’s was a part of a weekly tradition for television viewers. It was a staple of Thursday nights for so long that many were a little lost when it finally went off the air in 1981. It won about 20 awards, including three Golden Globes.
Thanks to the exceptional realism of the show, many people came to feel like the Walton family were friends and wanted to know what the real story was behind the TV program. Did you ever wonder if the Walton’s were real people and where they really lived? The main story is set in Walton's Mountain, a fictional mountain-area community in fictitious Jefferson County, Virginia. The real place upon which the stories are based is the community of Schuyler in Nelson County, Virginia.
The mountain town of Schuyler is home to about 400 residents, and there the two-story Hamner family home still stands. Sadly, the local store that was the inspiration for Ike Godsey’s General Merchandise burned down many years ago, but the pretty Baptist church still stands tall in the verdant landscape and visitors are apt to recall the major part this landmark played in the Waltons’ storyline.
Mama was a devout Baptist and never gave up trying to get Daddy baptized, but Daddy was his own man and determined to honor God in his own way. While the family conflict over religion was especially hard on the Hamner/Walton children, their parents’ solution of loving one another despite their differences taught the boys and girls (and all TV viewers) a valuable lesson about tolerance and acceptance.
Grandpa Walton wants his grandchildren to remember that Walton land is fought-for land and that Waltons fought in the Civil War. When the elderly Baldwin sisters discover that their father harbored Yankee soldiers during the Civil War, they are convinced that they must permanently withdraw from society until a WPA writer proves that Judge Baldwin would likely have been acquitted for his ‘crimes’ due to his heroism in caring for the wounded on both sides of the War Between The States.
Speaking of War, the Museum now houses a room full of military memorabilia from one person! A new military exhibit in Nelson County will cover battles, campaigns and wars from World War I through the Iraqi war era.
The military displays also tie in to the rest of the museum, which is dedicated primarily to “The Waltons” television show, since the Walton family life takes place during World War II and there are storylines featuring characters who join the military during the war.
The exhibit was unveiled to the public as part of the museum’s 21st anniversary celebration and fundraiser. The new military museum room is full of memorabilia collected by Bill Luhrs, the son of the museum’s founder, William Luhrs.
Inside the room, you will see a plethora of uniforms, equipment, personal items and documents from World War I to the present day, with spotlight displays on aviation, the Medical Corps, paratroopers and the German army.
Also included is a small library of military manuals, original periodicals, magazines and newspapers, and reference books on soldiers, units, battles and campaigns. “We’ve always honored our veterans and folks in the military, and we have a lot of military people who come by here to view our museum,” Museum director Leona Roberts said.
Earl Hamner Jr was most well-known for The Walton’s, but he wrote so much more. TV shows, movies and documentaries! Just to name a few … TV Land Moguls, The Education of Little Tree, The Gift of Love: A Christmas Story, Boone, A Day for Thanks on Walton's Mountain, A Wedding on Walton's Mountain, Falcon Crest, The Waltons: A Decade of the Waltons, Lassie: A New Beginning, Where the Lilies Bloom, Apple's Way, Charlotte's Web, The Waltons, Heidi, Palm Springs Weekend, and Spencer's Mountain.
We piled back into our cars and headed to a vineyard for lunch, but we were not sure the name of it … making a few call, we ended up at the Veritas Winery. A family business owned by Andrew and Patricia Hodson. Andrew and Patricia met and fell in love in Nottingham, England while Andrew was a young Neurologist and Patricia was a nurse. Their careers brought them to the east coast of the US in the early 1970s, where they stayed until settling in Florida in the 1990’s. After successfully raising their three children and at the height of their careers they decided to take a leap of faith and pursue their passion, wine. In 1999 they bought Saddleback Farm, which at the time was a simple horse and cattle farm. Patricia saw the potential in the land and planted several acres of grapes with a wish and prayer.
By 2001, they had their first vintage ready for production. That year, Andrew tried his hand at winemaking with great success and their love for the Virginia wine industry blossomed. Since then, Patricia and Andrew have worked tirelessly to expand on their vision, bringing Veritas into the world of events and the fine hospitality at the Farmhouse. The business is truly a family affair as they have been joined by all three of their children in the running and development of the business.
It opened for business in June 2002. With the help of their daughter Emily they have succeeded in consistently producing a range of complex and elegant wines. The idyllic setting is easy to find but hard to leave, located at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Veritas wines are all unique and of high quality, derived from European wine grapes. Their philosophy is to make wine with the classic, old-style principles of agricultural practice of growing grape vines and process of winemaking, at the same time using state of the art technology to capture varietal and regional character.
We enjoyed our wines and charcuterie board on the sun-drenched deck and took the opportunity to relax, enjoy the beauty of Virginia and taste our wine.
We think this couple was really comfortable after their wine tasting!
After lunch, a few of us went to visit Nancy and help her
get a rental car. It was good to see her, but it was sad when we said “see you
later” because we knew we were leaving the area tomorrow with the remainder of
the caravan.
Stay tuned to learn more about our great #EastCoastPatriotTour
#TwoLaneAdventures
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