Dayton Virginia not far from Massanutten Resort
June 25
Today we went for a drive and visited the historic town of Dayton.
We stopped at the Harrisonburg Rockingham Historical Society &
talked with a Virginia native who has lived in Dayton since 1954.
She was sweet, kind and very knowledgeable of the Valley Area.
The Historical Society is a must on your next visit to Massanutten
Dayton, Virginia is a small town located in the middle of
the Shenandoah Valley two miles south of Harrisonburg
(one hour south of Winchester; 2.5 hours southwest of
Washington, DC; one hour northwest of Charlottesville) on Route 42.
Home to about 1500 people, Dayton is served by three family-owned restaurants, two auto-repair establishments, a bank, a convenience store, a print-shop, two museums, a post office, one of the
"world's largest poultry" processing plants (Cargill Turkey Products)
and a variety of other worthy establishments including the popular Dayton Farmers Market. (Open Thurs - Friday - Sat)
In addition to the forces of agriculture, which dominate the area,
the character of Dayton is shaped by the Old Order Mennonites
who farm most of the surrounding land.
The hitching posts around town are not decorations.
We also stopped and took photographs of beautiful Silver Lake Mill .
We had a picnic style lunch (dessert) at a local Harrisonburg Park.