Restoring Tobacco Road ..

TruGrit

TruGrit

Forest Farmer
Joined
Nov 18, 2013
Location
Winston-Salem NC
This is not really a build thread, more of a restoration .. and not really a vehicle, but the road my 4X4 will ride on ..

.. got bored with retirement, so over the Summer we bought an old abandoned tobacco farm .. it had overgrown for 50 years and you couldn't see 5 feet in front of ya for the brush, brambles, briars and dead fall .. but, I did see remnants of an old trail the mules used to haul the tobacco up from the lower fields to the pack house ..

.. so this is the journey to restore that old trail to gain access to the rest of the property .. I am filming it, but for now I thought I'd share some stills in case someone would find it interesting .. plus, I find that I have more motivation if I can share the progress ..

So it begins .. by opening up the entrance off the upper field ...


PixTroad_001.jpgPixTroad_002.jpgPixTroad_003.jpg

.. if this is not appropriate for these forums please delete .. otherwise, more progress .... soon
 
I say keep the pics and progress coming.
 
Cool Project. Get busy! Looks like you've got alot of work ahead of ya!
 
neat idea!! our old timey ways and things from years past is leaving us. It is good to see people trying to save some of it!!
 
Worked my way down to, and around the Pack House .. this is where the workers would sit and select, grade and wrap (pack) up the tobacco for the auction market .. 10 to 12 hours a day in 100* heat .. yikes!

The building is solid, so I will be restoring it for some purpose, just not sure what yet .. shop, camp, sawmill, potato cellar ... ?

PixTroad_004.jpg PixTroad_005.jpg PixTroad_005b.jpg PixTroad_005c.jpg
 
.. Past the packhouse and on to a flat area (very few of those here) .. after a lot of searching, found the place where I could connect to the corner .. this is where the trail swings around behind the flat, does a 180* turn and begins dropping down into the valley ..... just one old dude this time .. :)

PixTroad_007.jpg PixTroad_008.jpg PixTroad_009.jpg
 
Very cool way to kill time! That sickle mower is really cool! Keep the updates coming.
 
neat old piece of history buried up there!! good looking progress, keep the updates coming i enjoy them!!

scared to death!!!!!
 
I freakin love history. Really local history that you can put your hands on and walk in the paths of our ancestors.
 
When I talk about 'we', of course I mean, me and my helpers - Pinch and Sadie, both rescues and the best friends a fella could ask for .. they are out there with me the whole time .. great company and they protect me from the coyotes, bears .. and chipmunks ...

.. have a wonderful Christmas everyone!!

Pinch.png Sadie.png
 
My uncle has 30-40 acres in clemmons, less than 10 minutes from Hanes mall, same kind of stuff, we made some dirtbike trails and found an old moonshine still and some cool old backer barns.
Love seeing this stuff. :D
 
ord.sgt.26NC said:
how far back have you researched the property?Alot of early history in the W.S. area.
Click to expand...


... so far we've been able to trace back about 45 years from a woman up the road that grew up here .. still searching public records, but info is scarce .. we figure this was a small time operation .. only 20 acres

.. there is an old drying barn down by the stream that must date to the 1800s by the look of construction, and a newer barn that looks to have been put up in the 30s or 40s .. when I get enough cleared away to see, I'll get pix of those ....

.. there is so much overgrowth the Forestry guy that sold it to us didn't even know the older barn was here .. was quite surprised when we found it on a walk-a-round .. :)
 
... made it around the turn at "Sickle Corner" and heading South along the mid way trail .. dropped about 20 feet in elevation and almost back even with the Pack house up on top .. after a real jumbled up corner, hit some thinner sections and picked up a little speed .. :)


PixTroad_010.png PixTroad_011.png PixTroad_012.png
 
Very cool. What part of the state is this property located?
 
... about half way down this leg, ran into a big ol' mess of downed trees .. one came off the high side root ball and all .. cleared that up and had an easier stretch for a bit ... the entire way is now lined with cut brush and tree parts .. I'm thinking of renting a giant chipper come Spring, driving down the trail and paving it with wood chips .. :)


PixTroad_014.png PixTroad_015.png PixTroad_016.png
 
Back
Top