So, what is The Salty Southern Route?!
Have you ever woken up in the morning and said “Hey, I have the day off and I want to do stuff,” not just the same old laundry, dishes, yardwork or another Netflix binge session! You want to see something new! You want to discover a shop or a restaurant you didn’t know about. You and your friends want to visit a park, enjoy an outdoor concert, buy fresh produce from a local farmers market, discover more about local history and of course wrap up the day by whetting your palate with a local brew or glass of wine! But then you think, “But what is there to do around here or even nearby?” Well, if you live in or near the southeastern region of Virginia, or have a couple of days to come visit, The Salty Southern Route is here to help! As a newly created thematic driving tour, The Salty Southern Route (SSR for short) is here to inform you about all the awesome things there are to do in Isle of Wight, Suffolk, Surry, Southampton and Sussex County Virginia, while highlighting the region’s long and rich history with pork and peanuts (that’s why we’re “Salty”!) There is a ton to do and as an all online platform comprised of Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and saltysouthernroute.com, we aim to make planning your day trip or weekend adventure a breeze! Find a suggested driving tour by hopping on our website, get weekly updates on upcoming events and get to know a little bit more about local businesses and landmarks by following us on social media. Whether you’re living local, crushing Fridays or visiting someplace new, these counties in Southeastern Virginia have everything you’re looking for, and The Salty Southern Route is where to find it! genuinesmithfieldva.com
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By Jennifer Williams, Director of the Isle of Wight County Museum Facts & Figures • The U.S. is the largest producer and consumer of peanut butter in the world. • The average peanut farm in the U.S. is 100 acres. • There are enough peanuts in one acre to make 30,000 peanut butter sandwiches. • It takes about 540 peanuts to make a 12-ounce jar of peanut butter. • Peanuts aren’t nuts; they’re legumes. It’s technically inaccurate to call it a nut, but it's usually refered to as one anyway. • Peanuts have more protein, niacin, folate and phytosterols than any other nut. • Peanuts and peanut butter contain over 30 essential nutrients and phytonutrients. • Peanuts are cholesterol-free and an ideal source of protein. • The average American consumes around 6 or 7 pounds of peanut butter every year. • The average child will eat 1,500 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches before graduating from high school. • Two peanut farmers have been elected president – Thomas Jefferson and Jimmy Carter. • Astronaut Alan Shepard brought a peanut with him to the moon. The Language of Peanuts Goober—a nickname for peanuts—comes from nguba, the Congo language name for peanut. The Peanut Gallery - This term became popular in the late 19th century and referred to the rear or uppermost seats in a theater, which were also the cheapest seats. People seated in such a gallery were able to throw peanuts, a common food at theaters, at those seated below them. It also applied to the first row of seats in a movie theater, for the occupants of those seats could throw peanuts at the stage, stating their displeasure with the performance. More peanut facts can be found on the Virginia Carolina’s Peanut Promotions website. By Jennifer Williams, Director of the Isle of Wight County Museum For survival, every culture develops methods of curing food to prevent deterioration. From the bounty supplied by the Chesapeake Bay and eastern woodlands, the Virginia Indians smoked and stored game and fish for the winter months. Fish was smoked where it was caught and transported back to villages while venison, bear and other game hung in the tops of houses so that smoke from the fires preserved the meat. These techniques were observed by some of the first English settlers to arrive in Virginia. Swine, brought to the New World by Europeans, flourished in North America. Practically the perfect colonist, pigs are a relatively easy animal to raise, and they became a staple for most farmers by the 17th century. For the colonists, however, ham was the perfect food for export. In the New World, counties and towns grew as a result of the trade and commerce that sailed to and from its shores. Wharves and warehouses were built, and vessels sailed to and from foreign and domestic ports bringing with them news and various imports such as sugar, spices, chocolate, coffee, tea and liquor. Merchants, who maintained close ties with other seaports, sold these items in their stores and helped facilitate the export of goods such as tobacco, tar, pitch, turpentine, wood, shingles and, of course, ham. This trading system fueled the New World’s economic engine. Throughout the years, the business of ham became quite large. Industrial smokehouses replaced smaller farm and business fixtures, and numerous companies – some with names still recognizable today - gave their names to ham. Today along the Salty Southern Route, we can see and taste the influence of this history in salt and hardwood-smoked dry-cured hams, which keep indefinitely and without refrigeration. We are so happy you have found yourself exploring the route and all that there is do along this foodie, historic, local, thematic trail. You may be wondering what’s with the name “Salty Southern Route?” Thanks in part to definitions from Webster’s Dictionary understanding the background of the name is quite simple:
Salty: tasting of, containing, or preserved with salt Southern: situated in the south or directed toward or facing the south Route: a way or course taken in getting from a starting point to a destination Now put those definitions together starting from the bottom up and voila! “A way or course taken in getting from a starting point to a destination, situated in the south, tasting of, containing or preserved with salt” – this is the perfect explanation of the Salty Southern Route. Featuring all things pork and peanuts (which typically feature an abundance of salt) this trail meanders through eight charming towns, cities and counties along Coastal Virginia. Perfect for a girl’s getaway, a family trip, a couple’s mini vacation or a day trip, the Salty Southern Route offers something for everyone. Check out the itinerary section of the website to plan your trip or create your own custom adventure of all of the local shops, events, food & drinks and lodging. The route is still "under construction" as they say, but if you have questions or need assistance planning your visit to the Salty Southern Route please feel free to give us a call at 757353.5521 or send an email to ltokarz@isleofwightus.net. Y’all come back! -The Salty Southern Trail Crew- |
The Salty Southern Routeis a joint tourism effort of the towns of Franklin and Smithfield, Isle of Wight, Southampton, Surry and Sussex Counties, and the city of Suffolk, Virginia. Archives
September 2021
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