Doswell | thesavvyseeker

So this is my Squashapenny Junction Recap, Part Deux! Remember this amazing place I blogged about last week? Well, there was soooo much to talk about, I thought it would be best to split it into a two-part series. That way I didn’t totally overload you with all of the amazing eye candy! Just in case you forgot, here’s the main building from the front of the property that holds lots of vintage treasure! One thing I forgot to add, was that the owner of Squashapenny also sells a lot of these items as movie props…how cool is that?

Lots of treasure to be found in the Squashapenny General Store!

Directly across the street is this beautiful farmhouse. I can’t even tell you how much I love this house!!! With the green shutters and that wonderfully welcoming wrap around front porch!! (I think there’s a cold glass of sweet tea calling my name on that porch somewhere) Anywho, apparently it was the original hotel for the town since the railroad tracks are located a stones throw away from the home. This house was also constructed around the 1860′s (same time period as the general store building). Today, it is now a private residence…

I would LOVE to see the inside of this beautiful 1860′s home!

Next to the old farmhouse is this charming brick building that was the town’s original bank. This building was not constructed until 1920. Today, it has become a high end antique store that houses some serious americana collectibles. It wasn’t open when I was there visiting, but I drooled while peeking in the window. There were hobby horses and hand painted signs and lots of other amazing early american antiques. The sign on the window said “by appointment only,” so don’t plan on just popping in this place.

The town bank, circa 1920.

When the Mr. and I came out of the general store building, we thought that we had seen all there was to look at. The shop owner told us there was more around back and boy was she right! We walked through the side yard and found this wonderful iron horse sculpture and old tin shed.

The Mr. wanted to take this pony and place him in our front yard!

Once we were inside, we were surprised to see less wacky general store type merchandise and more items that reflected a primitive, early american style. Most of the merch in this building was not tagged, so I’m guessing you’ve got to name your price with the shop owner. One item that I fell in love with was this early hobby horse…hmmm…I’m detecting a bit of a horse theme…

Great early american hobby horse, all hand painted and constructed from wood.

This photo reminds me a lot of my own kitchen! I love old baskets, firkins and any kind of early cupboard. This cupboard was probably the top half to a larger pantry. The firkin in the foreground is in excellent condition and I loved the two-toned paint. Firkins are very hard to find in the south…maybe because majority of them were destroyed during the civil war? If you’re looking for a firkin, my recommendation is to head to Pennsylvania where they seem to be at every antique show and shop. Anyway, this one was a really nice size but lacked a price tag.

Lookin’ for a firkin? Better grab this one because they are hard to find in Virginia!

This building was small, but packed full of small cupboards, chairs and other early american primitive antiques. I loved the color of this red cupboard sitting next to the dark green file cabinet.

One thing I look for with primitives is rich, dark colors!

Here’s another corner of the building…

Adorable white pantry and I love the feed sign!

So pick a pretty day and head to Doswell, VA where all of these wonderful items are waiting for you! You will feel as if you stepped back in time…and if you place your own penny on the train tracks and wait for a train to come by…you can make your very own Squashapenny!

Let me know if you visit and what you think!

Have you been someplace to unique, so extraordinary, that you almost felt like you walked onto a movie set? That is exactly how I felt when I visited Squashapenny Junction a few weekends ago.

A friend of mine gave me the tip about this place and then when I was in Fishersville, another antiquing buddy had asked me if I had ever visited Squashapenny. I’ve been to a few places off the beaten path looking for treasures, but I know I would surely remember a placed called Squashapenny! And now that I’ve been, I can truly tell you that this place is as unique as its name.

I bet you’ve never seen a general store like this before!

Just a few miles off of the Doswell, VA / Kings Dominion exit off of 95 North of Richmond, down a tiny unmarked road that runs parallel to some train tracks, is this gem of a place. It was originally built as a general store in the 1860′s and about 16 years ago, the property was bought and turned into an eclectic antique store. I don’t think much has changed about this building since it was built…except maybe some of the contents inside…which still contain many old general store items such as old food cans, displays and advertising signs. There was so much to look at, it was totally sensory overload!! But what fun we had while we were there!!

How’s that song go…”whiskey for my men, beer for my horses…”

This old iron horse sits outside…he looked thirsty, sittin’ out in the hot southern sun, so I offered him a drink…

See what I mean about a movie set? I felt as if I had gone back in time…

This is what we saw when the Mr. and I entered the building through the original screen door. It was wall-to-wall-floor-to-ceiling eye candy!! You could literally get lost in this place, scoping out the walls and displays for one of a kind treasures!

Wonderful old Pepsi machine…I wonder if the fountain soda sign will fit in my station wagon?

The Mr. was all about this Pepsi machine…which up until recently looked like you could still purchase a cold beverage inserting a coin and pulling its lever. I’m a Coca-Cola kinda girl myself, but I still thought it was pretty amazing. I was more in love with the Fountain Service sign sitting to the right…

Amazing RCA Victor chair…maybe once used as a display piece in an old record shop.

The Mr. does not love antiques as much as I do…but he loves me which means he gets to tolerate my sometimes-over-the-top-enthusiasm for old treasures. I rarely see him get as excited as I do over antiques but when we he turned the corner and saw this RCA Victor Records chair, I thought he was going to lose his mind!! For a man that collects records, this chair takes the cake. I may have to talk to Santa to see if it can appear under our Christmas tree this year…

Children’s boots in pristine condition!

See what I mean about wall-to-wall!! So much to look at!!

Overall, I would say this is the place to go if you collect antique advertising pieces, old store displays or anything odd and quirky. And the owner was just a friendly as can be, so I’m thinking that she would probably be willing to negotiate on a few items for serious buyers. So if you’re near Doswell, VA, do yourself a favor and make this part of your itinerary! I’ll be sharing more about my visit at Squashapenny Junction next week so stay tuned!!