The Digges' Valley Farm Ruins
The Ruins
Below are collections of the photos I took on my visits to the ruins. As I continue to research this location, I plan to develop a map of the property to show the location of all the current buildings, and how the farm may have looked over the two centuries it was inhabited and farmed. For a better look at the pictures, simply click on them to open up a larger view of the slide show. I would like to thank the property owners for opening their land to the students of NVCC and allowing me to study the beautiful ruins up close and in person.
This first gallery of images gives the view an idea of how it looks walking to the property, which is about 3/4 of a mile from the main road, as well as different views of the barn and surrounding area.
Road to the property
Path of old road
Close up of variation in type of field stones in Virginia piedmont.
Road to the property
This next gallery shows my progress across the property toward the spring house and pictures of the large thresher.
This 1930s-40s thresher is visible in some of the aerial photographs of the property.
View of the property looking north from the house. You can just make out one of the corners of the barn beyond the spring house.
This 1930s-40s thresher is visible in some of the aerial photographs of the property.
This last collection shows photographs of the main house, the smokehouse, and the surrounding area. During the time I began researching this, the landowner came and filled in the foundation of the house with rubble and mown down vegetation. Luckily, I was able to get some photographs of the foundation before it was filled in.
From this view you can barely tell there is anything until you look at the middle where the branches are laying. This is where the foundation of the house has been overgrown and filled in. On these farms, the house would have been built on a hill overlooking the property. This particular house would have faced east, overlooking miles and miles of farmland.
These trees by the house have become overgrown by creeping vines. There's evidence that trees began growing and filling in the property in the aerial photographs from the 1950s.
The road heading east from the property, perhaps heading to a neighbor's farm.
From this view you can barely tell there is anything until you look at the middle where the branches are laying. This is where the foundation of the house has been overgrown and filled in. On these farms, the house would have been built on a hill overlooking the property. This particular house would have faced east, overlooking miles and miles of farmland.