Kilmarnock, Virginia
When entering a small town to explore, I typically grab the first available parking spot. In Kilmarnock, Virginia it was smack dab in front of a row of shops with too-cutesy beachy, water-themed names like Waterline, Splash, Good to Sea You and Salt and Sand. Not my style, but it looked like these businesses were thriving selling knick-knacks and artwork to tourists.
However, one piece of artwork did catch my eye, and it wasn’t for sale. A pair of oversized, fiberglass boots close to three-feet tall stood in front of Burke’s Fine Jewelry on Main Street. The boots were a colorful tile mosaic featuring a seahorse, octopus, starfish with a cluster of barnacles and shells on the toe of the right boot. A small plaque between the boots notes the boot sponsor, in this case the jewelry store, the artist, the name of the piece of art and Waterman’s Way.
It turns out that Watermen’s Way is a public art project honoring the Watermen and Waterwomen of the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. There are a total of 15 pairs of boots and each sculpture was personalized by local artists drawing on themes that reflect the lives of people who work on the water. I found a total of four pairs on Main Street alone. Aside from searching for boots and peering in store windows, I grabbed a bench and a cup of coffee and watched cars creep and pedestrians amble. Things move slowly in these parts. And, I kind of liked it.
Kilmarnock is located on the western side of the Chesapeake Bay near the mouth of the Rappahannock River in Virginia’s Northern Neck. There are a total of three “necks” or long thin peninsulas that stretch into the Chesapeake Bay. There’s the Peninsula where Hampton and Newport News are located, the Middle Peninsula and then Northern Neck.
The town dates to 1664 when the area was known simply as the “the Crossroads.” The Crossroads of what, I’m not really sure. A few years later in 1676, Anthony Steptoe came into possession of roughly 278 acres which now represents a major portion of land that Kilmarnock now occupies. One of his heirs, William Steptoe operated an “Ordinary” and store in town and was likely one of the area’s first entrepreneurs. The 17th-century ordinaries came into existence to meet a specific need. Travel was slow and travelers were forced to spend the night on the road if a journey covered more than a few miles. Ordinaries typically provided basic accomodations and regular meals at a fixed price.
So how did Crossroads, then Steptoe’s Ordinary become Kilmarnock? According to an article written by Eleanor Lee Templeman in 1987, the earliest mention of Kilmarnock appears in a land deed in 1776 by a silversmith named Rawleigh Hazard which would be an excellent name for a NASCAR driver. Rawleigh likely hailed from Kilmarnock, Scotland which is about thirty minutes southwest of Glasgow. The next year he applied to run an “Ordinary” in Kilmarnock. Sounds like there wasn’t a lot of bureaucratic gobbledygook to go through back then when it came to naming a town.
I continued my walk north along main street. The sidewalks were nice and wide, with attractive brick pavers, nice landscaping and ample seating for people watching. The whole area was spotless as if the area was swept every hour on the hour. For some odd reason, the sidewalk didn’t connect to the Kilmarnock Museum so I had to navigate the gutter, curb and passing traffic to make my way to learn more about the history of this place.
Carroll Ashburn, Kilmarnock Museum Director
Although a sign out front said they were open Tuesday thru Saturday 11-4 daily, they were closed. But that didn’t prevent me from peeking through the windows. I was about to head back to the historic district when a car pulled into the parking lot out back and a kindly gentleman by the name of Carroll Ashburn.
“Good morning, what can I do for you?” Mr. Ashburn asked in what I like to call an eastern Virginia waterman’s dialect. It was a pleasant mix of a slight southern drawl and a softness and genuine welcomeness you don’t hear very often. I explained to him that I’m an explorer at heart and a frustrated writer who likes to explore new and interesting places.
“We’re closed today. Only open on Saturday this time of year. Not too many people drop by during the week these days. I was stopping in because I have an appointment in a little while. Let me open the place and come on in and I’ll show you around,” he explained.
And that he did. The museum is literally housed in a home and is pleasantly cluttered with newspaper clippings, photos of past residents, and photos from three major fires that pretty much decimated the town in 1909, 1915 and 1952. There are old bottles, a vintage cash register, sports memorabilia, books and trinkets. The floor creaked as Mr. Ashburn and I walked about. He explained the home was built in the mid-1800’s and was turned into a museum in the late 1990’s. It’s considered one of the oldest homes in Kilmarnock.
“Come on, lemme show you something,” Mr. Ashford said proudly. I quickly learned that he started most of his sentences this way. “This here is a photo of the house taken around 1930. And this here is Ferdie Ward, a welder. His family lived in the house for decades. Hey, that’s your name! How about that? Maybe you’re related.”
Ferdie Ward owned a welding shop and garage across the street from the home for forty odd years. On the wall, there’s a framed receipt from 1937 from Ward’s Garage for “welding water line, working on pump couplings, and work on a Ford Tractor,” all totaling a whopping $7.75.
“Come on, lemme show you something.”
Kilmarnock’s orginal Top Gun, Rear Admiral Henri Bertram Chase III
Mr. Ashford led me to a shrine of sorts for what a man he claims was the original top gun. There are photo’s, medals, newspaper articles paying tribute to former fighter pilot and retired Rear Admiral Henri Betram Chase II, call sign Fox Black. His local claim to fame occurred in the late 1950’s when satisfied his need for speed and hopped in a navy jet plane and flew under the nearby Rappahannock River Bridge.
One of the early queens of the Kilmarnock Holly Ball
“Come on, lemme show you something.”
Kilmarnock is home of the longest running Holly Balls in the country dating back to 1895, with pauses during the WW I, WWII and the Pandemic. Holly Balls, or more commonly known as debutante balls date back to at least the 18th century and were originally intended as an avenue through which to present young eligible women for marriage to prospective high society partners. That’s not the case these days. According to newsontheneck.com, the 2023 Kilmarnock “events scheduled and hosted during the debutante season unite these young women and foster a spirit of altruistic advocacy. They inspire the formation of new and genuine lifetime friendships among like-minded women who wholeheartedly endorse returning gifts bestowed upon them in a generous and charitable fashion.” A photo album of past programs, events and queens sits on the velvet Holly Ball throne in the museum. Trinity Dabriel Bea of Burgess, Virginia became the first African American to become Holly Ball queen in 2017. Like I said, things move slowly in these parts.
Mr. Ashford’s appointment arrived which was my cue to head out but without one last “come on, lemme show you something.” He proceeded to load me down with brochures, booklets and pamphlets about Kilmarnock and the Northern Neck.
I made my way back to the sidewalk, choosing to walk on the opposite side of the street. Car and pedestrian traffic had increased significantly since this morning but didn’t affect how quaint the place is. Colorful storefronts abound. Small A-frame signs promote daily specials and spring sales. People going about their daily business under sunny skies and thoroughly enjoying unseasonably warm temperatures for February.
My last stop was Small Town Burger, a food truck establishment on a great parcel of real estate along Main Street. I opted for a small-town burger for $9.00 complete with two slices of American cheese, fresh lettuce, tomato, onion on a Brioche bun but opted to pass on the small-town burger sauce. Jay Wolfsome, the owner, stopped by and chatted to a bit. He was a big guy with a big personality.
Jay said that he “plans to open more of these in other small towns in Virginia. People tend to be nicer. It’s quiet and safe. No one is in a rush. And isn’t it a beautiful day”
That it is, and that it was. And the burger was not bad, either.