Virginia by Stagecoach [Paperback]

Travel in old Virginia was many things, but it was never dull. Stagecoaches were the primary means of transport, carrying mail as well as passengers. Trips that now take hours lasted for days. Coach trips could be dangerous, and all-hands situations arose quickly. A traveler might need to apply horsemanship, carpentry, leather-mending or the sheer brawny effort of shoving the coach out of a muddy ditch. Inns across the state catered to stagecoach riders and acted as community gathering places. Some still stand, like the Rising Sun Tavern in Fredericksburg and Michie Tavern in Charlottesville. Author Virginia Johnson relates tales of those wild early days on the road.Virginia Johnson is the digital services librarian at the Central Rappahannock Regional Library in Fredericksburg, where she is the lead content writer for the regional history page of the librarys website. She is the coauthor of Virginia Horse Racing: Triumphs of the Turf with The History Press. Find her online at www.gallopinghome.com.Johnson, a Fredericksburg librarian, starts each chapter with a brief recipe from a historical cookbook because taverns were important way stations along stagecoach routes. So, in addition to funny snapshots of the past, readers are treated to how-tos for old delicacies ranging from ginger wine to sweet potato buns.--BEN SWENSON, The Virginia Pilot