Mount Solon, Virginia

In the early 1900s, there existed a Ford dealership, a gas station, the Mount Solon Bank, Cochran's mill, and a few other shops gathered around an expanding downtown.

Moreover, the ill-fated Chesapeake and Western Railroad (C&W) ran an important rail line through Mount Solon, thus ensuring secure connections to a variety of external agricultural markets throughout the region.

Local lore says that around the first quarter of the 20th century, explosives were used to blow a hole in the northwest corner (newer brickwork repair visible in photo) during a robbery.

Due to the importance of this equestrian tournament, the National Jousting Hall of Fame is located at Natural Chimneys.

Close by Mount Solon is the Stokesville Observatory, with the telescope owned and operated by the James Madison University Physics Department.

The old Mount Solon bank.
Map of Virginia highlighting Augusta County