Hopefully this will be a growing collection of old postcards and photographs that speak of earlier times in Washington County. It was a simpler time. There is much we take for granted these days. For instance, we ride by fields in our cars at high speed with our minds elsewhere, not considering the back breaking work it took to clear timber with axe or two-man crosscut saws to create fields that produce rich crops today. Stumps had to be dug out or burned so the land could be tilled by horse or mule-drawn plows. There was no air-conditioning. There were no fast food restaurants or corner store. Life was difficult, but at the same time, perhaps infinitely more interesting.

As progress came, we often memorialized our accomplishments with postcards to mail to distant friends, or to be purchased by visitors as a memento of their visit. Postcards captured images of our churches, streets, bridges, and important buildings that defined a town or region. Much has changed in the century which has passed since some of these images were captured, but the impressions made by these earlier citizens will long remain an integral part of the tapestry that is Washington County.

This collection is meant to be a touchstone to our forefathers and what they accomplished. They invite us into the past…

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