Squashapenny Junction

 

Squashapenny Junction as described by Visit RichmondVA.com is “no ordinary antiques store”. It is located next to the railroad track in the Doswell area of Hanover County. For generations, this spot has been a place where people could use passing trains to flatten pennies. Is Squashapenny Junction just a place of business, or does it embody the essence of a true ‘place’?


Expanding this concept to rural communities, under the Rural Placemaking Innovation Challenge, Innovation Challenge, the USDA has allocated $4 million in cooperative agreement funds to support planning in rural communities. These funds aim to promote infrastructure and access. While these funds may not be a good fit for Hanover’s “Squashapenny” directly, they could be evaluated as a funding source promoting rural tourism.    
 
Squashapenny provides a unique visual destination and antiques attraction. The increasing influx of I-95 tourists and visitors to the nearby Kings Dominion theme park presents an opportunity for local landowners and Hanover County to collaborate on promoting the county’s historic, agrarian character. This collaboration could lead to identifying an interconnected system of existing rural byways linking Squashapenny and other local historic and scenic destinations. 


This local system of rural byways has the potential to showcase Hanover’s countryside. Recognition and promotion of Hanover’s rural byways and the agrarian landscapes still dominate this part of the county, and make places like Squashapenny ripe for recognition. 


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