history

Harpers Ferry, West Virginia — Lower Town in the Rain /  by Todd Henson

Philip Frankel & Co. in Lower Town, Harpers Ferry

My father and I drove over to Harpers Ferry in West Virginia on a weekday in late June to see what we could of the town and the National Historical Park, which occupies some of the town and surrounding area. We’d thought the rain would clear before we arrived but it stuck around a bit longer in the form of a light drizzle. But we were there, so we boarded the free shuttle bus which took us down to Lower Town, an area that’s part of the park and full of museums showcasing the history of the town.

Adams Express Office

High Street and Shenandoah Street

Even with the drizzle, it ended up being a perfect day to visit this part of town. I think the rain kept some folks away, and we arrived early enough to beat some of the tour buses that arrived as we were leaving, which meant there were very few other people around on the streets. And the drizzle added its own charm to the scenery, which I’m hopeful my photography might help convey.

Looking up High Street from Lower Town in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia

Dry Goods Store

Harpers Ferry is a beautiful town with some fantastic old buildings and loads of history to learn about and it’s well worth the visit. The Appalachian Trail passes through town and Harpers Ferry is considered the approximate halfway point of the trail. Do keep in mind it is a VERY hilly town, though Lower Town is flat and easy to walk around. It can also get very busy, especially on weekends and during autumn when the changing colors of the leaves turn the town into a series of beautiful paintings.

The corner of Shenandoah and Market Streets

I hope we’re able to return to Harpers Ferry and see some of the other sights in the area. It sits at a point where the Potomac River and Shenandoah River come together and are squeezed between cliffs on three sides. There are also active railroads and a train station/depot in town, as well as a walking bridge across the Potomac that parallels one of the railroad bridges. There’s much to see and do. 

The Winchester Potomac Railroad runs through Harpers Ferry

A Lower Town stairwell

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Strasburg Museum (Virginia) /  by Todd Henson

Outside the Strasburg Museum, showing some of their trains.

My father and I have often passed by the Strasburg Museum in Strasburg, Virginia, on our way from one place to another and we kept saying we should stop by there one day. Well, that day finally came at the end of July in 2025. I think it’s fair to say we were both surprised, and pleased, by what we found. It’s such an interesting and yet eclectic museum showcasing many pieces of historical significance to the local area. (Note, the two outdoor photos were made in late October of 2025.)

The museum is two stories with the central part of the building open to the ceiling, so the second floor wraps around that central area allowing you to look down at the main floor. There is also a door out back where, if your timing is right, you might find an open train car with a model railroad display inside.

Main Floor

The photo below shows the view upon entering the museum. It’s a wide open area with flags hanging from the rafters, display cases in the central area and all sorts of display areas along the walls.

A view inside the Strasburg Museum

One of the displays I was drawn to was of a store counter with a phone switchboard to the left and some coffee grinders to the right. Given my love of coffee I suppose it’s natural I’d be drawn to the coffee grinders. 😀

A display of an old store counter

A telephone switchboard

A cash register, coffee grinders and some scales

And like the coffee grinders, I was drawn to some old cameras, including a Target Brownie Six-20 and a Polaroid Land Camera Model 150.

A Target Brownie Six-20 camera, small binoculars, and a photograph

A Polaroid Land Camera Model 150

Both my father and I were a bit surprised to find a view of the covered bridge and church in Stark, New Hampshire in a small town in Virginia. I have written about Stark and my family’s ties to that area in a previous blog post.

An interesting find in a small town in Virginia: a view of the church and covered bridge in Stark, New Hampshire

Upstairs

As soon as you get to the top of the stairs there are a series of display rooms to help take you back a little ways in time.

A view of some of the room displays just upstairs

A beautifully decorated room

A Maryland Treadle Sewing Machine

And the views from upstairs are great, with various displays and items all the way around the floor, and the central area open giving fantastic views of the displays on the main floor.

Upstairs looking towards the back of the museum

Upstairs looking towards the front of the museum (towards the right)

Closing Thoughts

Though I might not travel great distances just to visit the Strasburg Museum, I would certainly recommend a visit if you happen to be in the area. It’s a fascinating museum sure to have something to draw your attention, no matter your interests. Keep in mind it’s in an old building and can get warm and muggy during the worst days of summer, though they open the doors and do the best they can to keep it comfortable. And if you have trouble climbing stairs you may need to skip the upstairs displays, though there is plenty to see on the main floor.

I hope you enjoyed this brief tour of the Strasburg Museum in Strasburg, Virginia. Please note, the museum is open seasonally, from May to October when we visited, and may not be open every day of the week, so check ahead to be sure they’re open before you plan a trip there.

Some Technical Notes

And now let’s talk about some technical aspects of photographing inside the museum. This is a dark museum, as many museums are, so photographing within it required high ISO settings to gather enough light to make a workable exposure. I used an ISO between 1000 and 2500 for all the inside photographs, with most at 2000 or 2500. This meant a fair bit of digital noise so I leveraged Adobe Lightroom’s denoise feature to reduce the noise.

I used two lenses inside the museum, a Nikon 16-35mm f/4, and an Opteka 6.5mm f/3.5 fisheye lens. Both lenses are fairly good in low light situations given their wide apertures, and they are wide angle so I could capture more of the museum in each photo. Most of the photos from the 16-35mm were wide open at f/4, with one at f/5.6, allowing me shutter speeds between 1/15 (very slow for handholding) to 1/200.

The fisheye is a manual lens so the aperture settings weren’t captured in the metadata but given some of the starburst flares from the hanging lights I must have stopped down a fair bit (to a smaller aperture). The shutter speeds with the fisheye were between 1/20 to 1/160, with most on the slower side.

I did the best I could to stabilize the camera while handholding, given the range of very slow shutter speeds. It’s a bit easier to do and still get reasonable sharpness with wide angles. I did attempt to correct as much of the wide angle and fisheye distortion as I could in the software, though you’ll still see some curving lines and some softness around the edges of some frames. Overall, though, I’m very pleased with how it all worked out.

Another view of the outside of the Strasburg Museum in Strasburg, Virginia

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North Stratford, New Hampshire /  by Todd Henson

The unincorporated village of North Stratford is part of the town of Stratford in Coos County, New Hampshire. It borders the Connecticut River with Vermont on the western side. The town of Stratford was incorporated in 1773, originally called Woodbury. The village of North Stratford, located on land that was once the farm of the Fuller family and was occupied during the War of 1812, had its beginnings around 1848 when brothers Elisha and William Baldwin settled in the area and built the first saw (for lumber) and grist mills, and shortly after this a bridge across the Connecticut River to Vermont. In 1853 the location was chosen for a northern expansion of the railway, further accelerating the growth of the area into a thriving community.

North Stratford Grand Trunk Railroad Station and Stratford Public Library

North Stratford Grand Trunk Railway Station and Stratford Public Library

The railway was originally known as the Upper Coos Railroad and later as the North Stratford Railroad. Before long the Grand Truck Railroad leased the station and connected their Toronto-Montreal line with the existing Montreal-Portland line, making North Stratford part of a major transportation route.

The renovated North Stratford Grand Trunk Railway station is now the Stratford Public Library

Much later the North Stratford Railroad ceased operations as more and more freight was transported in trucks on roadways. The North Stratford Grand Trunk Railroad Station was renovated and converted to the Stratford Public Library, which seems a very fitting way of keeping its history alive.

The Stratford Public Library beside the rails

First Baptist Church of North Stratford

The First Baptist Church of North Stratford

The Baptist denomination in the larger Stratford area dates back to around 1836. As mentioned above, the village of North Stratford began forming around 1848 by the Baldwin brothers, and grew with the construction of mills, the railway and the bridge over the river. Church services were initially held in schoolhouses and homes but with the growing community Elisha Baldwin bought a plot of land and building of the First Baptist Church of North Stratford began in either 1852 (as stated on a plague in front of the church) or 1855 (as stated in the History of the Town of Stratford, New Hampshire, 1773-1925 by Jeannette R. Thompson). The church was destroyed by fire twice, in 1868 and again in 1915, but in both cases it was quickly rebuilt. The current structure was rebuilt in 1915 and dedicated in January of 1916.

A front view of the First Baptist Church of North Stratford

Front details of the First Baptist Church of North Stratford

I hope you’ve enjoyed this bit of history and these views into two elements of the small community of North Stratford, New Hampshire, located in a beautiful part of the state. The area was once largely owned by paper companies, but the forests have been recovering over the years, with a benefit that the logging roads and camps have allowed for forest recreation and this part of the state is now a popular destination for outdoor activities.

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