Listening to Brown Eyed Girl the other day, I paused when Van sang the “Down in the hollow” line. Years ago when I first moved here to Piney Point some of the old timers, after I informed them that I had purchased the old Collins place, would respond “Oh, you live in the hollow.” Never thought much about it until Bryan Swann showed this old map photo of the area on his FB page.
Here too, is another view of Piney Point showing a bit clearer the indented area of shoreline that is known as the hollow. My home is located beneath the word Piney which leads me to note that I live in the heart of the hollow. (I would officially name my Casa J as “HoH” but don’t feel like having to explain it over and over to inquisitive folks.)
Obviously the reference is still used as seen here in this recent Potomac River Fisheries announcement.
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However, a check of the Bay/River Chartbook does not show Piney Point designated as a hollow. Interestingly enough though the Chartbook shows Cedar Point as such:
But back to Van’s “Down in the hollow” line, he was probably not talking about a hollow as a waterfront locale but more so as a glen between two mountains or hills. Loretta Lynn was from Butcher Hollow, Kentucky aka Butcher Holler which she sang about in her most famous song.