Lexington, NC and Childress Winery

Our brief visit here was precipitated by a long time friend's invite to his wedding ceremony on the Childress Winery grounds. The trip had 2 main themes, it is never too late for love, and rule #32, cherish the little things in life. As with all my adventures, I explore beyond the immediate goal to discover something off the beaten path. Lexington, NC is rich in history, wine and pork ;+)

My usual predawn rise took me straight outside to behind the hotel, and down a path to the Childress Vineyard
Lexington is known and famous for its barbecue, thus little porkers of all shapes and sizes everywhere
Be sure to stop inside this building which is now actually a museum. Catherine Hoffman was a delight to speak with, and had a lot of details about the history in the area, including how the town became known for its barbecue... story on poster pic

On the same street as the market and southern lunch were some old buildings, that seek to have been long abandoned, and stretched for several city blocks, I would explore some more and find the history behind these dilapidated structures
The story? Dixie furniture company facility in Lexington was a 2 million square foot manufacturing facility on 31 acres of land stretching 9 city blocks. Lexington Home Brands, the largest manufacturer in the city, can trace its roots back to 1901 and the small Dixie-Elk Furniture Co. on Fourth Avenue. Surviving fires, mergers and dissolution, Dixie Furniture emerged in 1936 as a regional maker of bedroom furniture under the leadership of the late Henry Link. At that time, about 90 employees made bedroom furniture in two wooden buildings covering 90,000 square feet.
A photographer that did an amazing job of capturing the history of a town and its people from the 20's to the 70's http://www.hleewaters-photography.com/

Upon first glance from the distance I thought, how quaint, and appropriate for a small southern town, the name and building had a story

Stopped in for breakfast at the recommends of the hotel clerk, old styles country breakfast, with a heaping serving of omelet, pancakes, and hash browns
Even now there was a sort of beauty to this facility built back in the 40's, manufacturing buildings, tanks, towers, work together in somewhat of an artistic way despite their story or impact. Wonderful colors, shapes and lines against the Carolina blue sky
http://barbecuefestival.com/history.html Story behind the notoriety https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/magazine/2000/09/24/north-carolina/fbc4e34f-8605-4c9b-a6dd-e218b37cf60e/

The day after this photo, Saturday, the market was buzzing, we bought some delicious purple heirloom tomatoes, and scuppernong jelly, yum!
Go here to find out about the rise and fall of Dixie, http://www.the-dispatch.com/article/20030505/175/305050318?p=3&tc=pg Perhaps lessons to be learned about manufacturing import impact!
The Davidson County historical museum, A must stop with wonderful surprises inside, including to a tribute to photographer H. Lee Waters http://www.co.davidson.nc.us/historicalmuseum/Exhibitions_.aspx