DOWN MEMORY LANE
June 29, 1978
The old Toll House on the highway between Sperryville and Washington has seen 125 years of change in Rappahannock. During its history, the little structure has known many different owners and been used for everything from antique sales to a residence to business offices. A review of Toll House history reads like a page taken from “Who’s Who in Rappahannock” with familiar county names popping up every few lines.
The building has recently become a real estate office for
W. H. (Bill) Lyne. It is currently owned by Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Nordone who bought the property in 1971 through Ray T. Cannon Company from Gibson Wharton. At that time, Lyne was associated with Cannon’s office. Neither the new owners nor Lyne had any inkling then that they would become partners in real estate seven years later.
According to C. J. Miller of Washington, the Toll House was used by the county to collect highway tolls during the construction of U. S. Route 522 from Chester Gap to Sperryville. Work was started at the top of the mountain near Front Royal towards Flint Hill in 1912-13. From there, it progressed to Massies Corner, to Washington and on to Sperryville about 1916. During this period, there were several buildings at intervals of approximately six miles along the road that were used as toll houses. But the old Toll House is the only existing structure.
According to Miller, the toll for cars was 25 cents per ticket or about $1 for a block of five tickets.
Wakefield Country Day School in Huntly began construction Monday of a new primary wing that will house the school’s Pre-School, Kindergarten, and Grades 1 and
2. The new facility will also include an assembly room for primary school use and a band room for general student use. The contractor for the construction is Monecs Corporation of Boston.
According to school Administrator William Lynn, the new structure is necessitated by the school’s burgeoning enrollment, which will exceed two hundred next year in the primary grades through Grade 10.
In addition to the new building, a second science laboratory for 7th and 8th grade use will be added in the main building, the library will move to a large area, and office space extended. Plans also call for the conversion of a barn on school property to an art studio for student use.
Feb. 15, 1979
“It was just such weather as this, only worse. You’ve heard of the blizzard of 1899, that’s the year I was born. Father sent for the doctor who rode horseback cross country over the fences where the drifts were so high,” said Miss Annie Miller Almond, who celebrated her eightieth birthday Monday.
“I told a friend who kept getting my birthday mixed up, just to remember there were two famous people born on February 14 — Abe Lincoln and I,” said Miss Almond, who lives in a comfortable old home in the Town of Washington, with a host of warm memories from her fifteen years of teaching in Fairfax County.
Her mother died when she was about four and with her father and a sister moved to a farm on Route 211, now known as Echo Hill. She attended classes at The Rabbit in Washington and then went to the Washington School after its construction.
John Walker Jenkins has announced that he will be a candidate for sheriff in the upcoming November elections.
Born and raised n Rappahannock County, the 46-yearold Jenkins attended Rappahannock County High School before serving two years in the U. S. Army during the Korean Conflict.
Jenkins has been a member of the Rappahannock Sheriff’s Department for ten years from 1965-1975. For six years he was deputy under Peter Estes before winning election as Sheriff in 1971. In the 1975 elections, Jenkins lost his bid for reelection, defeated by W. A. Buntin.
An auctioneer for over 20 years, Jenkins runs an auction company in Washington and a store and fruit stand in Sperryville.
Jenkins said on Tuesday that it was “too early” for him to make any statements on how he planned to run the Sheriff’s Department, if elected. He added that he would save his statements for later during campaign appearance.