Road Tripping: West Virginia Mail Pouch Barns

While we were in West Virginia, you can bet your boots that I had jotted down a few Mail Pouch barns that were in the general vicinity. West Virginia is the home of Mail Pouch Tobacco after all. As a matter of fact there were several barns right on Route 50, which is the main artery into where we were staying in Romney.

Knowing my penchant for the ole barn paintings, Kathy even incorporated a stop at one into our ride:

I know that these paintings are often on “work” buildings.  And so, I can’t expect farmers to invest a lot in to the care of the murals but all the same, I feel sad when a sign is at the tail end of its life.

This little shed was along Route 50 about 10 miles east of the Koolwink Motel. I don’t recall ever seeing the phrase “Regular or Sweet” painted on any of the barns I’ve visited before. It’s usually “Treat Yourself to the Best.”

A nice 2 sided barn, also on Route 50 east of Romney:

This was one of those situations where I felt weird about walking on to someone’s property. It’s tempting but I generally keep my distance.

Following Route 50 about 10 miles west of Romney there were 2 more barns. The first one, nearly falling down, was in a precarious spot that didn’t allow me any space to pull off to take a picture so I just kept going. The second one, a mile further on was a nice 3-sided number in a lovely farm setting:

Seeing the barn tucked in amongst the farm gates, rustic fencing and a dirt road leading up into a rolling hill was the perfect end to a great day of riding.

• Hampshire County Route 50 Near Augusta
• Hampshire County – Route 50 Near Augusta – Regular or Sweet
• Hampshire County – 3 sided Barn