Seneca Creek State Park

Operation Redstone: The 150-Year-Old Secret of the Seneca Schoolhouse

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Built from the same stone as the Smithsonian Castle, this tiny schoolhouse carries a story far bigger than its walls.

A Promise Written in Stone There’s a bend in the road where the forest thins just enough to reveal a little red building. It’s quiet here—peaceful, even—but something about the place hums with old energy.That’s the Seneca Schoolhouse Museum, built in 1866 from the same fiery red sandstone that gave the Smithsonian Castle its fairytale … Read more

Why Did They Abandon Black Rock Mill?

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Abandoned Black Rock Mill reflected in the creek, its weathered stone walls half-hidden by trees in Seneca Creek State Park.

Black Rock Mill doesn’t shout for attention.It waits — stone-still, tree-shadowed — tucked deep in the woods along Seneca Creek.If you stumble upon it at the right hour, it almost feels like you’ve found something you weren’t meant to see. This was my twelfth stop of the day, long after my feet had started to … Read more