Cherry Grove Estate, as the sign says, was the birth place of Governor James McDowell.  It is also the home of my cousin, Jim Alexander, who has lived there his entire life (except when he attended Virginia Tech and then it was still his permanent address).  Cherry Grove was the home of Jim's parents, grandmother, and great-grandmother.  And it is the setting for many of the family photos that I have posted & will post--such as the ones I posted yesterday. 

We generally take pictures on the front steps of the porch or in front of the large evergreen that you can see on the right-hand side of the yard closer to the house.  The pictures that I have that were taken in this yard span over 100 years.  That's pretty awesome.

Of course, the only people who actually come to the front door & ring the doorbell are strangers.  Everyone else enters through the side door, which is on the left rear of the house. 

The yard is as big as it looks...even bigger.  All of this is to the right of the driveway.  There's a left of the driveway that is almost as big.  And I was not standing at the front of the yard when I took this picture in August 2010.

The inside of the house is just as awesome. There are three stairways, seven bedrooms (not counting the downstairs "parlor" that Jim uses as a bedroom), and a dining room table that comfortably seats a dozen people (and we have seated 15 there before).

During the depression, my grandmother, who was at that time a widow, ran a "Tourist Home" at the house.  It was an early version of a bed and breakfast.  I've written about that before.  I have many happy memories of family gatherings this house.  And I still use it as my personal "Tourist Home" when I visit the area.