I had no destination when I left about 11am. The start of my trip took me by a small lake north of my house. This lake was almost dry. Like the rest of the Southeast we've not had a lot rain until lately but when I mentioned it at work the next day someone told me there was a problem with the dam for that lake. I didn't stop to take a picture mostly because I hadn't been riding long.
I meandered some back roads that were just filthy with mud and gravel from the recent snows. What would have been fun curvy roads were wet and hazardous. I'm talking 1st gear pull the clutch in slow. I finally hit a main road and had an idea of where I was. I had mounted the GPS on the bike because I like to download my tracklogs. Instead of using the power cord I ran it off batteries...a few minutes into the ride it was dead and useless to me. That was fine because this was just one of those trips where I wanted to get lost. So, zipping along this main road I go through Itmann, WV. I'd seen the name on the maps before but never thought much about it. In Itmann I passed this building:
Obviously I turned around and took some pictures. I've seen this sort of stone work around Bluefield where I live. The quality of the stone work done by Italian stonemasons is well known around here. There are many retaining walls around with no cracks in them whatsoever. So this building really caught my attention. I moved down the street to get closer:
A homeless rehabilitation center was certainly not the original purpose of the building. I had failed to notice the white historical marker visible in the first picture. The center did not seem to be open so I headed on my way.
The last half of my ride was more enjoyable than the first mostly because of the dry roads. I ended up in Bramwell, WV and did get a picture of the historical marker there. Make note of the name I.T. Mann.
I'd been to Bramwell before. There's some neat architecture there and even a brick paved street. Just outside of town I stopped by a swinging bridge and took some shots:
There was a police car in the middle of main street Bramwell with its lights on and the officer was talking some people on the sidewalk. I didn't tour any side streets for more pictures. I just motored on.
My next stop was Pinnacle Rock:
Back near my house I didn't stop. I made a loop on some familiar roads to the south and was home by about 4. A day of just what I'd been needing...riding. We're leaving this weekend to spend a couple of weeks in Florida so I needed something to hold me over.
So what about that building?
I finally noticed that historical marker and researched it. Here is what it says:
Hmmmm. The town of Itmann is named after I.T. Mann. He was one of the Millionaires that lived in Bramwell. The building was originally a company store and offices. Who knew bike riding could be so educational?Pocahontas Fuel Co. coal mining town, 1916, named for Isaac T. Mann, Pres. Italian stonemasons built large Co. store/office bldg., 1923-25 on plans of Alex Mahood, a noted WV architect. Placed on National Register in 1990. Ritter Lumber Co. shipped 200 ready-made company houses on N&W and Virginian and erected here. Mine's 125,000 tons in 1919 led county., closed 1928-49; operated again until 1986.
Here are some links I found:
Itmann, WV Wikipedia link - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Itmann%2C_West_Virginia
Isaac T. Mann info - http://www.bramwellwv.com/issaicmann.html
Bramwell, WV History - http://www.bramwellwv.com/history.html
Bramwell Houses* - http://www.bramwellwv.com/house.html
*Note the last two houses. The "Cooper" house with the green roof seen in my pictures and Isaac T. Mann's house
All my pictures are here:
http://DSKYZD.smugmug.com/gallery/3981418/2/231433444
For this time of year this about as good as my reports get.
Thank you for your time.
DSKYZD
