Christmas at Point of Honor

Yesterday admission fees to Point of Honor were waived to enable the public to get a rare glimpse of Christmas in the early 1800’s. Each year the dedicated staff at Point of Honor spends countless hours decorating the home of Dr. George Cabell, Patrick Henry’s personal physician, for the holidays. Yesterday over 500 people toured the house. The public is not allowed to photograph the interior (a common policy for museums) which is why you won’t see postings of multiple interior photos on this blog posting so you will just have to go there in person to see the holiday decorations. There are some great (non-holiday) photos and lots of history on Point of Honor’s website.

As you drive up to Point of Honor you won’t see metal or plastic reindeer or Santa’s sled lit up with lights, exterior lights will not outline the building, nor will you see a Christmas tree decorating the home. These holiday decorations are modern day displays of the Christmas season. What you will see is garland (the real stuff, straight off a pine tree) wrapped around the front door. Upon entering the home you will see more Christmas greenery and candles around the interior doors in the entry foyer and greenery on the banister going to the rooms upstairs. Keep in mind that in 1815 times were simpler and we couldn’t run to Walmart to purchase all that mass produced stuff from China that we use to decorate our homes today so Dr. Cabell, his family and staff used materials that were native to the area that they gathered from the grounds around his home.

One of the main focal points is the dining room. The table is set with period china and flatware and a typical holiday feast which includes fried apple pies, bread pudding, carrots, beets, oysters, chestnut stuffing, roast venison, pan fried rock fish, hoe cakes and sugar embellishments. With special permission I was able to take this photo (above right). Meals at the Cabell’s home were prepared in the kitchen out back using a fireplace as the stove/oven (right).

The Carriage House Inn Bed and Breakfast is located just two blocks from Point of Honor and our guests just love taking the tour of this magnificent home. As part of the Lynchburg Museum System you can purchase a ticket to tour the home or a combination ticket to tour the home and the museum in the old courthouse at the top of the steps of Monument Terrace on Court Street. We highly recommend both tours to our guests as well as locals interested in learning more about our wonderful city’s past. One special note about the old courthouse, the bell on the clock in the bell tower started ringing again this past Saturday at the opening of the Christmas Parade down the street of downtown Lynchburg. The old clockworks are scheduled to be on display in the museum sometime next year.

Farwell to the D Street Bridge

Built about 100 years ago, the D Street Bridge linked Rivermont Ave. to the historic Daniels Hill neighborhood. It was built when the major mode of transportation was the horse and buggy and the occasional automobile. The graceful arches tower about 150 feet above the ground and used to cast its shadow on a neighborhood of homes that have been gone for decades. Today the bridge is flanked by an army of bright yellow construction equipment. Like a military exercise, there is equipment to the north and south. A large piece sits at the bridge entrance and at the other end; the construction trailer sits where an army of workers plot the bridges destruction.


About 18 months ago during a routine inspection major cracks were discovered and it was determined not to be safe and it was closed. From a selfish point I hated to see it closed as this was the easiest and quickest way for visitors to The Carriage House Inn Bed and Breakfast to reach us. Simply turn off of Rivermont onto the D Street Bridge and you will arrive at our home on the corner of D and Cabell. Now visitors have to that a longer and less scenic route to reach us.


Saying goodbye is never easy, but like the mythical phoenix, from the ashes of the old bridge, a new one will emerge and open mid December 2010. We are already planning a bridge opening party tentatively scheduled for December 17, 2010.


Over the next 12 ½ months we will keep you posted (with photos) on the progress of the destruction of the old bridge and the construction of the new one.

Day at the Point

Point of Honor, home of Dr. George Cabell who was Patrick Henry’s personal physician, recently celebrated its annual Day at the Point where the historical home is open to the public free of charge.

This year’s event drew hundreds of people to see the home and experience life as it would have been in the early 1800’s. There was a blacksmith and trapper, explaining their life in the early 19^th century. Also on hand were people in period garb, cooking demonstrations, period music and much more.

If you missed this year’s day at the point it will return again next year, but if you are in the area on December 6^th from 12:00-4:00pm you won’t want to miss Christmas at Point of Honor. This is your opportunity to see how the home would have been decorated for Christmas in the early 1800’s. Admission is free.

If you are traveling to the area and will be in Lynchburg on 6 December, The Carriage House Inn Bed and Breakfast is just two blocks from Point of Honor and would be the ideal place to spend the evening before continuing your travels.