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9/27/2019 4 Comments

Before the Bridge - The "opeckon" Ford

The Opeckon Ford, Photographed by Charles Littler Wood, 1901, CCHA Archives

On your morning commute to work, do you ever take a second to think about how you’re getting there? I’m not talking about trying to snap out of that morning haze you get where one second you’re pulling out of your driveway and the next thing you know you’re at work and you somehow got lost in your True Crimes podcast… I’m talking about the literal road you take to get from point A to point B.

Every day, hundreds of people’s commutes take them over the bridge crossing the Opequon Creek on Virginia Rt. 7, heading towards either Winchester or Berryville. You might be one of them. But, have any of those commuters have actually thought about the significance of that part of their commute? Of course, a bridge is necessary to actually cross the creek… otherwise we would need kayaks, and I can imagine that traffic jam would cause you to do a little more than cuss like you did at the Nissan who cut your off this morning.

But, why is the Rt. 7 bridge in its physical location?

Why isn’t it half a mile up or down river?

I bet the thought never crossed your mind.

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9/13/2019 0 Comments

A LOOK AT TWO ROYSTON CHILDREN

Children are great imitators. So give them something great to imitate.

-anonymous

Ruth Sommerville Royston (right) and Robert Winter Royston, Jr (left) as young children, c. 1910, Donated by Robert W. Royston, Jr., CCHA Archives

Children have been playing 'dress up' for ages. After all, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. How often did you slip into your parent's shoes as a child, or secretly put on your mother's jewelry? Were you a different character every year for Halloween, or were you The Lone Ranger until the costume wore out? What about your parents, and their parents? What did they want to be when they grew up? What did your children want to be?

The mind of a child is limitless, and it expresses itself through play.

What that 'play' looked like is the only thing that has changed over the years. Children will continue to play and dress up for generations to come. The Royston children, pictured left, weren't immune to the playful effects of childhood.

Ruth and her brother Robert, pictured above were born on January 24, 1900 and February 21, 1902, respectively, to Robert Royston and Mary Carper - a family that has ties to early settlers of what is now Clarke County. The following information has been compiled from Donald R. Royston's draft of "the Peter Royston Family History," available in the CCHA research library:

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Melanie is the current archivist for the Clarke County Historical Association, in Berryville, Virginia. She is a graduate from Shepherd University, where she earned a degree in History.

She has worked at Harper’s Ferry National Historical Park, the George Ranch Historical Park, and the Lake Jackson Historical Museum.

Her research and interests focus on Antebellum race relations and fabric material culture.

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Before the Bridge - The "opeckon" Ford

A LOOK AT TWO ROYSTON CHILDREN

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