|
Abingdon, the Virginia Creeper Trail and Historic White’s Mill
Abingdon claims, “Every town has a history, some just seem to have more than
others...” The town has a lived-in look, one that isn’t created for public
entertainment but rather has mellowed with age, retaining historic buildings to
serve current needs. It is not a town with house museums, but rather a
town where homes are redolent of the past. The self-guided walking tour,
available at the visitors center at 335 Cummings Street, highlights interesting
spots in the 20-square block historic district.
This part of southwest Virginia
was first explored in 1749-1750 by Dr. Thomas Walker, who was given over 6,000
acres by King George II. After obtaining a look at his holding, Walker
sold a portion to Joseph Black, who settled it and built a small fort. The
settlers and indigenous Native Americans coexisted peacefully during the latter
part of the 1760s and early 1770s. But by 1776 the Cherokees were raiding
settlements and many pioneers fled to the relative safety of Black’s Fort.
That same year, when the Assembly of Virginia established Washington County,
they designated Black’s Fort, now enlarged and strengthened, as the meeting
place for the first county court. By 1778 the area around Black’s Fort was
incorporated as the town of Abingdon.
The first of
the 33 points of interest on Main Street is the 1860 Fields-Penn House Museum.
Down the street are two of Abingdon’s most well-known sites: the Barter Theatre
and the Martha Washington Inn (see selection). The Barter Green adjacent
to the inn was at one time the location of Governor John B. Floyd’s house.
It is now used for the Virginia Highlands Festival Arts and Crafts exhibit held
the first two weeks in August. The festival began in 1948 and over
the years it has grown and flourished---it’s one of the top 100 tourist events
in North America and one of the top 20 in the Southeast. There is a hot
air balloon event, plenty of entertainment, juried craft shows, regional cooking
as well as nationally-known writers, lecturers and visual and performing artists
who offer distinctive programs. For details on the festival call (800)
435-3440.
Eleanor
Roosevelt’s father Elliott was a boarder at 116 East Main Street, the 1847 house
of Judge John A. Campbell. One of the houses to survive the three major
fires that destroyed so many of Abingdon’s old dwellings is the 1798 log section
of the Valentine Baugh House at 129 East Main Street. The western section
of the Andrew Russell House, 165-167 Main Street, was built in 1792. The
house was used as a Confederate officers’ headquarters during the Civil War.
The Tavern, 222 East Main Street, has been serving
travelers since it was built around 1779 on the Old Indian Trail and Wilderness
Road. It is not only one of Abingdon’s oldest buildings, it was one of the
first built west of the Blue Ridge. Travelers who have stopped here
include Henry Clay, French King Louis-Philippe, President Andrew Jackson and
capital designer Pierre Charles L’Enfant. One noted visitor passed this
way before the tavern was built. Daniel Boone was camped at the base of
the hill where the tavern stands. Boone called the area Wolf Hills
because during the night his dogs were attacked by wolves. The location of
the wolves’ den is marked on a barn behind the Cave House Craft Shop
across the street from the tavern. This excellent shop is the home of the
Holston Mountain Arts and Crafts Cooperative whose members produce fine
Appalachian craft items.
The first tavern keeper, John
Yancey broke the law and enforced it. A month after he applied for a
license to operate an ordinary, he was fined for enclosing his sheep in the
courthouse, which was across from his tavern. But by the following summer
of 1780 the court appointed him Deputy Sheriff of Washington County. Local
patriots gathered at the tavern in September 1780 before joining other colonial
supporters to fight British Major Patrick Ferguson at the Battle of King’s
Mountain in South Carolina, a significant British defeat. During the Civil
War the tavern was used as a field hospital. On the third floor,
charcoaled numbers can still be seen on the plastered wall designating the
location of soldiers’ beds.
For more than 100 years The Tavern was owned and
operated by the Harris family. In 1965 Mary Porterfield, the wife of
Barter Theatre founder Robert Porterfield, purchased the establishment. In
1984, The Tavern was restored to its colonial appearance and it is now open for
lunch and dinner daily; phone (540) 628-1118.
Another popular dining spot is
the
Starving Artist Cafe, on Depot Square, owned by Kim and Shawn Crookshank.
The latter is a noted regional artist whose work, along with many of his
contemporaries, often adorns the walls of this small eatery. Most of the
tasty dishes are named for noted artists. Across the parking lot is The
Arts Depot, a cooperative artists association with large airy studios in the
1890 Virginia and Tennessee Railroad’s freight station. The artists create
and sell their work at this bustling arts center. Classes, workshops and
readings are held at The Arts Depot; call (540) 628-9091 for additional
information. Art is also exhibited in Abingdon’s William King Regional
Arts Center.
Many of the regional artists are inspired by
Abingdon’s splendid natural surroundings. To get out and enjoy the
country, take a walk along the Virginia Creeper National Recreation Trail.
It’s a 34 1/3-mile hiking, biking, horseback riding and cross-country skiing
path from Abingdon to Whitetop. But even an abbreviated hike gives you an
appreciation for the area’s scenic appeal. The trail follows the route of
an old Indian path. It begins at the site of Black’s Fort, now marked by a
steam engine. Four of Daniel Boone’s campsites are documented along this route.
The trail is named for the slow-moving steam-powered Virginia-Carolina Railroad
that served the area during the 1900s. To reach the in-town trail head
turn off Main Street onto Pecan Street and travel two blocks; the trail is
well-marked. Another access point that will put you into the forest more
rapidly is on Watuga Road. From Abingdon take Route 75 south to Watauga
Road and make a left (it will be about three miles past the intersection with
I-81), in a few miles you will come to a parking area for the trail.
Another spot of interest on the walking tour guide,
is really a drive-to location since it’s 3 ½ miles out of town. White’s
Mill Road is popular with bicyclists although it does not offer any paved berm
and cyclists must be alert for traffic. Historic White’s Mill,
tucked away in a picturesque, fertile valley beside a meandering stream,
is also popular with photographers. This is one of only a few operational
water-powered combination mills in the state. White’s Mill is the only one
that can be run by the traditional millstone method and by the roller system.
Thomas Moffet built a mill on this site in 1790. Some of his foundations were
probably incorporated into the new mill Colonel James White built when he
acquired the property and surrounding land in 1838.
White’s Mill has two stories,
plus a full-sized attic and a down-slope basement in which stands the original
corner fireplace. Be sure to walk out behind the mill for a good perspective on
the metal overshot water wheel run by the mill race. The old equipment is
still used to grind corn, wheat and buckwheat by traditional methods. You
can purchase White’s Mill ground flour and cornmeal across the street at White’s
Mill General Store. The store was built around 1830 and still stocks a
wide array of goods. There is an admission to the mill, a Virginia State
Historic Landmark and a site on The National Register of Historic Places.
Five miles south of Abingdon on Route 11 is
Dixie Pottery, whose slogan is “Shop the World!” Like the Williamsburg
Pottery an amazing array of items can be found at Dixie Pottery. It is open
daily from 9:30 A.M. to 6:00 P.M.; on Sunday it doesn’t open until 1:00 P.M.
Directions:
From I-81 take Exit 17, Cummings Street into Abingdon and the visitors center
will be on the left. For White’s Mill, from Cummings Street
make a right on Valley Street and travel east, then make a left and head north
on White’s Mill Road.
Back to top
Back to Free Virginia
Guidebook
Barter Theatre
A Good Deal
The Barter Theatre wasn’t part of
Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal, but it did start in the Depression and it
certainly was a good deal. Theater for the price of farm produce was the
idea of Robert Porterfield, a forward-thinking young actor from southwest
Virginia. He left New York with a company of professional actors and on
June 10, 1933 Porterfield opened the Barter Theatre in Abingdon. The
actors were put up in a nearby house and the patrons paid with vegetables, eggs,
milk, fruit and meat--the equivalent of 40 cents. By the end of the first
season the company had made $4.35 and collectively gained over 300 pounds!
While Shakespeare was never paid ham for Hamlet,
playwrights Noel Coward, Tennessee Williams and Thornton Wilder did accept
Virginia hams as royalty payments. George Barnard Shaw, a vegetarian, was
paid spinach for the right to stage his play.
Only Philadelphia’s Walnut Street Theater is older
than the Barter Theatre. The latter was built between 1831 and 1833 to
serve the congregation of the Sinking Spring Presbyterian Church. The
church used the building for a year. It then became a temperance hall and
was converted to a theater. When Porterfield acquired it, he heard that
the 1875 Empire Theater in New York was scheduled for demolition. He had
one weekend to carry away its interior furnishings and equipment---with the help
of volunteers he managed to save $75,000 of theatrical property. His
acquisitions included the theater seats, lighting fixtures, carpeting, large
gold-framed paintings and red wall tapestries. The Empire lighting,
designed and installed by Thomas Edison, was used at the Barter until the
mid-1970s. Portraits from the Empire include those of Dennis King, Maude
Adams and Katherine Cornell. The large painting of Robert
Porterfield was done in 1973 by Hans Clausing.
On the theater’s second floor is
a collection of photographs of the celebrated actors who have performed at
the Barter Theatre. The list of alumni include Gregory Peck, Patricia
Neal, Ernest Borgnine, Hume Cronyn, Ned Beatty, Kevin Spacey, Larry Linville and
many others. In 1946 Barter was designated the state theater of Virginia.
It is the oldest continuously operating theater of its kind in the country.
A variety of theatrical
experiences are presented: Barter Theatre does theater in the grand tradition;
Barter Stage II offers exploratory theater and Barter’s First Light Theatre
presents performances for young people. Staged readings of new works take
place at Early Stages on selected Monday nights. On the first and last
Thursday evening performance of each play, there is an after-theater discussion
between the audience and the company. For a current schedule or ticket
information call (800) 368-3240 or (540) 628-3991.
Across the street is another
venerable institution, Camberley’s Martha Washington Inn.
The inn dates back to 1832, when the center portion was built for Brigadier
General Francis Preston, his wife and their nine children. Their living
room is now the inn’s main lobby. The grand staircase and parlors are
remarkably untouched. In 1858, the house became the Martha Washington
College for young girls. During the Civil War the students acted as nurses
while the grounds served as training barracks for the Washington Mounted Rifles.
After one skirmish the college became a makeshift hospital for wounded from both
North and South. The college closed in 1932.
For the next 50 years the
property served as a hotel under different managements. In 1984 it was
acquired by the Virginia-based United Company and underwent an $8 million
restoration. Faithfully preserved, the 61 guest rooms retain antique pieces to
complement the decor including four-poster canopied beds in many rooms.
Lodging Hospitality magazine rates this as the 37th most successful resort
hotel in the country. In October 1995, the inn became part of the
Camberley Hotel Company. Even if you don’t stay overnight at this
Four-Star, Four-Diamond inn, stop in for a pre-theater cocktail or dine in one
of the inn’s fine restaurants. One of the most striking pieces of period
furniture is the 16-foot-long Art Deco silver table, discovered in a dusty
basement and now in the center of the main dining room. The carved-glass
tabletop rests on internally illuminated silver pedestals. For information
on lodging, or to make dinner reservations call (800) 555-8000 or (540)
628-3161.
Directions: From I-81 take Exit 17, Cummings
Street, into Abington. Follow Cummings Street one-half mile to the
intersection of Main Street (first traffic light) and turn right.
Camberley’s Martha Washington Inn is one-quarter mile on the right and Barter
Theatre is across the street on the left.
Back to top
Back to Free Virginia
Guidebook
Breaks Interstate Park
Take a Break
It takes a lifetime of good works
to get to heaven. It only takes a few hours of good driving to get to the
wilderness paradise of Breaks Interstate Park. For Daniel Boone, who
discovered Breaks Gorge in 1767, it was a far more arduous journey. Boone
and two companions were searching for a route through the mountains into
Kentucky, or Kaintuck as it was called at that time. Following the rivers,
the trio headed into the Cumberland Mountain range and began traveling along a
northerly flowing stream. Their route is known because Boone carved his
name on a tree at a salt lick on Russell Fork just upstream from what is now the
town of Haysi. It was downstream from this camp that the travelers came to
the rugged, impassable river gorge. The rapids that spilled through the
gorge’s rock walls made further passage along the river impossible. Giving
up their trek west, the men spent the winter camped at the junction of Russell
Fork and Levisa River, then returned in the spring to their homes in North
Carolina. In 1771, Boone again sought a route west through this region and
again left his name carved on a tree.
It wasn’t until June 1951 when
Virginia-Kentucky Route 80 opened that there was an accessible route though the
Breaks. In 1954 Virginia and Kentucky passed joint legislation creating
Breaks Interstate Park (the only other jointly held state park is
Palisades State Park on the New York and New Jersey border). These steps
opened an incredible wilderness area for travelers.
The 4,600-acre interstate park
encompasses the largest canyon east of the Mississippi River. The
five-mile, 1600-foot-deep gorge is called the “Grand Canyon of the South” or,
reflecting the lush vegetation, the “Grand Canyon With Clothes On.” The
brilliant colors of Arizona’s canyon walls are more than matched by the
brilliant autumn foliage of the Cumberland Mountains.
The gorge was cut by the Russell
Fork of the Big Sandy River at the northern end of Pine Mountain. One
section of the mountain range was so hard and resistant to the flowing waters
that it turned Russell Fork. The fork looped in a giant horseshoe around
the mountain. The three-sided pyramid-shaped formation called The Towers is one
of the parks most scenic spectacles. Over a half-mile long, one-third mile
wide and 600 feet high, The Towers had a railroad tunnel hewn through its solid
rock. Local legend holds that Englishman John Swift hid a vast silver
fortune somewhere on The Towers. Another striking geological formation is
The Chimneys, on the western rim of Breaks Gorge, visible from the eastern rim.
Most of the park facilities are on the one-mile
tabletop plateau on the gorge’s eastern rim. No highway bridge spans the
gorge and the western side is undeveloped and inaccessible. There are 13
miles of trails. Two short trails take roughly 30 minutes: The Tower
Tunnel Trail leads to an overlook from which to view the railroad tunnel.
In July and August the blueberries bushes along the trail yield a delicious
harvest. The Towers Trail also leads to an overlook; this walkway is
flanked with rhododendron and mountain laurel. Six trails can be hiked in
an hour; of these two--Geological and Ridge trails--have self-guided nature
trail booklets that can be picked up at the visitor center. The other
short trails lead to a grassy overlook, a cold spring, Laurel Lake, and a
connecting loop trail that leads to other trails. It takes about an
hour-and-a-half to hike the Grassy Creek Trail; there is a steady uphill grade
on this moderate-ranked trail. For those with more time, (and more
energy), there are four trails that take two hours or more to walk. The
most difficult is the River Trail that takes you down to the base of the gorge;
the trail is steep and rugged. The Overlook Trail extends along the edge
of the cliffs and offers an array of canyon overlooks. (Children need to
be closely monitored on these unprotected promontories.) This is a
spectacular trail in the autumn. Laurel Branch Trail leads from the lower
end of Laurel Lake to Grassy Creek, and the later part of the trail is steep and
treacherous. Prospector’s Trail follows the contour of the land about 350
feet beneath the major overlooks, so you can look up at the rock formations and
down at the canyon below. There is a three-mile long Mountain Bike Trail.
The physically challenged visitor
can view the gorge from the Stateline Overlook, which has a paved walkway
connecting the viewing platform with the parking lot. This overlook is 920
feet above Russell Fork, where the river exits the gorge and flows from Virginia
into Eastern Kentucky. For those not able to hike, there is a 7/10 of a
mile drive through an undeveloped part of the park that provides an opportunity
to spot turkey, deer and other small game. Sports enthusiasts may want to
try their luck in the 12-acre Laurel Lake. It is stocked with bass and
bluegill (the Russell Fork River is stocked with trout). Pedal boats can
be rented near the park’s swimming pool. The riding stables are also in
the pool area. The best place to learn all about the activities at the
park as well as the natural and historical background is at the visitor center,
open daily from 9:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. Visitor programs are frequently
scheduled at the amphitheater.
The park is becoming increasingly popular with
white-water enthusiasts who are exhilarated and challenged by the ten-mile
course from Bartlick above Breaks Gorge to Elkhorn City below it. Running
the river entails a dropping 440 feet in a series of rapids that range in
ratings from four to six. There are pull-out points for less-experienced
floaters. The level of water depends of releases from the John
Flannagan Dam, for information on times of releases call (703) 835-9544.
There are eight rafting companies that run the
Russell Fork:
Russell Fork Whitewater Adventures (703) 530-7044
USA Whitewater, Incorporated (800) USA-RAFT
Cherokee Adventures (800) 445-7238
Laurel Highlands River Tours, Inc. (800) 4-RAFTIN
Wahoo’s Adventures (800) 444-RAFT
Whitewater Adventures (800) WWA-RAFT
Infiniti Rafting (704) 254-4898
Mountain Streams and Trails (800) 245-4090
Popular as Breaks Interstate Park
is with daytrippers, many who visit like to stay for a few days. There are
122 developed camping sites and 30 primitive sites, all on a first-come,
first-served basis. Additional accommodations are available at the 34-unit
motor lodge (703-865-4414), where each has a balcony overlooking the canyon.
Four cottages are nestled in a wooded setting. The Rhododendron Restaurant
is open daily from 7:00 A.M. to 9:00 P.M. and it too overlooks the canyon.
Picnic shelters and picnic areas are located throughout the park and there are
children’s playground areas. There is a nominal per car entrance charge.
They do rent bicycles in the park.
Directions: From I-81 take
I-77 west to Bluefield then Route 19/460 south. At Claypool Hill where the
two roads split take Route 460 west. After you pass Grundy you will make a
left on Route 609 which will take you into the park.
Back to top
Back to Free Virginia
Guidebook
Cumberland Gap National
Historical Park
A Gap Not to Overlook
Cumberland Gap is a pass through the Appalachian
highlands near the border of Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee. The gap
was discovered by Thomas Walker in 1750, but it was Daniel Boone who in 1775
marked the trail the pioneers would follow as they headed west.
Historian Frederick Jackson Turner, whose
Turner Thesis explained westward migration, said, “Stand at Cumberland Gap and
watch the procession of civilization, marching single file---the buffalo
following the trail to the salt springs, the Indian, the fur-trader and
hunter, the cattle-raiser, the pioneer farmer---and the frontier has passed
by.”
Native Americans following paths marked by bison
and deer created the Warrior’s Path that led south from the Potomac River
through the gap and north to Ohio. When European settlers first
discovered the trail it was said to be strewn with the bleached bones of the
enemies of the raiding parties from the five tribes who fought for control of
the area: Cherokee, Miami, Shawnee, Delaware and Wyandot. The first
white man through the gap was Dr. Thomas Walker who, after discovering this
passage through the Appalachians, named it in honor of the Duke of Cumberland,
son of King George II. But it was Daniel Boone, with 30 men, who marked
it and created the Wilderness Road in 1775. The narrow winding
208-mile-footpath Boone created took pioneers six to eight months to travel.
After crossing through the gap, there were three options: trails led to what
would become Boonesboro, Kentucky; Nashville, Tennessee; and Louisville,
Kentucky.
During the American Revolution, Great Britain
enlisted help from the indigenous tribes to keep pioneers from moving west.
But from 1775 through 1796, the gap was crossed by between 200,000 and 300,000
settlers. The westward groups often met farmers driving herds of
livestock heading east.
In the 1820s and 1830s new routes to the west
supplanted the route through Cumberland Gap. The National Road, a 1796
wagon road that extended north of the Ohio River was an easier route.
The Chesapeake and Ohio Canals, the Pennsylvania Main Line and the Erie Canal.
Steamboats also plied the Mississippi carrying settlers westward.
During the Civil War, Cumberland Gap was a
strategic point dividing North and South---it was called the Gibraltar of
America and the Keystone of the Confederacy. Union troops under
Brigadier General Robert L. McCook built Fort McCook (earthworks of their fort
can be seen from the park’s Pinnacle Overlook). It proved too difficult
to provision the fort and McCook evacuated his men. The Confederates
soon occupied the fort, renaming it Fort Rains. Over three years the
fort changed hands four times, with occupying troops never managing to
maintain a defensive position due to supplying difficulties. The
invasion that both sides feared might come through the gap never materialized.
The 1860s were the military years, while the 1870s
heralded the industrial years. In 1875 coal, iron and timber were
reported to be abundantly available in the Cumberland Gap area. A
railroad was built and the “Industrial Boom” of the early 1880s began.
Local fires, bank failures and other unexpected setbacks heralded the end of
the economic growth and it wasn’t until the early 1900s when roads began to
open the gap to traffic that the area began recovering.
The visitor center for this 20,279 acre park, the
nation’s largest National Historical Park, is on the Kentucky side of the park
(just to the south of the park is Tennessee). Exhibits and displays at
the center, open daily 8:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. (except Christmas, New Year’s
Day, Martin Luther King’s Birthday and President’s Day), detail the history of
Cumberland Gap. An audio- interpreted diorama reveals Daniel Boone and
his crew blazing the Wilderness Road. On his exploration of the gap,
Boone said, “I can’t say as ever I was lost, but I was bewildered once, for
three days.” At the center you can view two short videos on the history
of the park and on Hensley Settlement.
You can hike to the early 20th century Hensley
Settlement by taking the 3.5 mile Chadwell Gap trail up the mountain from
Caylor, Va., or during the summer months by park shuttle (reservations can be
made up to a week in advance by calling, (606) 248-2817). The Hensleys
and their relatives, the Gibbons, moved to Brush Mountain, northeast of the
gap, in 1903. They built log houses on their mountaintop and lived
without modern conveniences. The last family member left this rural
Appalachia community in 1951.
Cumberland Gap National Historical Park has
restored three farmsteads at Hensely Settlement. You’ll see houses,
barns, fences and farm and pasture land. Also restored is a
one-room schoolhouse, where all the grades were taught by one teacher.
Students had to haul water from the well and bring in coal and wood for the
pot-bellied stove. There was no church in the settlement but services
were held in the schoolhouse by preachers of various denominations.
During the time the Hensleys and Gibbons lived here, there were no roads to
the settlement. Access was by foot, horseback or mule-drawn sleds.
The best spot to gain an overview of the park is
from the Pinnacle Overlook. Getting to this high ground
reinforces the concept that pioneers desperately needed a route through the
mountains, rather than a trail over them. After parking, you’ll see a
bronze relief mural of the pioneers trekking through Cumberland Gap. A
short walk along the paved Overlook Trail will bring you to the stone overlook
platform. A map will indicate Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee,
the town of Cumberland Gap and the city of Middlesboro.
There are more than 50 miles of park trails.
The 21-mile Ridge Trail is the longest; it is of medium difficulty and runs
the length of the park. A spur off Ridge Trail leads to Sand Cave,
located in the White Rocks on top Cumberland Mountain. This is not
literally a cave, but rather an enormous opening 150 feet wide and 40 feet
high. Sand is deposited in this opening which extends 160 feet into the
mountain. The ceiling is of gold, red and green shades of rock.
The easy Tri-state Peak Trail lets you stand in three states at the same time.
The park plans restoration work at Cudjo’s
Caverns, located beneath Pinnacle Overlook on the east side of Route 25E.
These caverns boast the tallest stalagmite in the world and the many cavern
chambers have fascinating formation. When this work is complete the
caverns will reopen.
The park has five backcountry campsites and the
160-site Wilderness Road Campground. There is also Martin’s Fork Cabin,
a one-room primitive cabin with six board bunks and a fireplace, call (606)
248-2817 for reservations.
Directions: Follow I-81 to Morristown, Tennessee.
At Morristown take Route 25E north to Cumberland Gap National Historical Park.
Back to top
Back to Free Virginia
Guidebook
Guest River Gorge
Newly Accessible Scenic
Splendor
Driving through the rugged mountains of southwest
Virginia only hints at the beauty that exists within this forested wilderness.
Much of it remains inaccessible, but a new six-mile section of the Guest
River Gorge can now be explored. Although much of the land in and
around the gorge remains in private hands, the Norfolk Southern Railroad
donated an abandoned railroad bed along this state scenic river to the
Jefferson National Forest in 1991 (see selection).
It is a 5 ½ mile hike from the trailhead through
the Guest River Gorge to the confluence of Clinch River. The walk through the
scenic hardwood forested gorge fully merits your efforts. Rushing rapids
and waterfalls mark the river’s passage between the high cliffs and bluffs.
The gorge trail provides access to hikers,
fishermen, kayakers and canoeists. The Guest River is rated a
challenging Level 5, in terms of difficulty. Frequently caught fish
include smallmouth bass, crappie and bluegill. Future development will
include wildlife viewing sites along the trail, but those interested in
hunting and trapping must do it outside the gorge on National Forest land.
While this area is breathtaking year-round, it is particularly splendid in the
autumn when the foliage turns and the shape of the rocky cliffs can be more
clearly discerned. In early June the mountain laurel blooms, followed by
the delicate blossoms of the rhododendrons growing in profusion on the
hillsides.
Eventually there will be three locations from
which to gain access to the Guest River Gorge Trail; only the northern access
point near Coeburn is currently in place. There will also be a southern
access point at the trail’s end near the Clinch River in Scott County and at
Crab Orchard Creek off Route 661. On the drawing boards are visitor
facilities at the northern and southern access points with picnic areas,
restrooms and an information center where you can obtain a self-guided nature
interpretative brochure.
Opening the Guest River Trail, which can be
reached from Route 72, is just the first step in the plans to make this area
accessible. In addition to the more than 540 acres of private land
already acquired, additional property will be obtained to provide alternative
trailheads. Long-range plans anticipate a hands-on environmental museum
along the Guest River Gorge entrance road.
Nature lovers may also want to hike the
Pinnacle Natural Area Preserve, a 68-acre preserve along Big Cedar Creek
and the Clinch River. This preserve’s namesake is a towering rock
formation that stands 600 feet above Big Cedar Creek. The lush forested
hillsides support a wide variety of wildflowers and ferns, while the two
bodies of water, both part of the state scenic rivers system, flow through the
preserve to create rapids and breathtaking waterfalls. Visitors are
welcome to hike the preserve’s trails from dawn to dusk.
Directions: From I-81 take the Abingdon exit and
travel west on Route 19/Alt 58 to Coeburn. At Coeburn head south on
Route 72 to the sign indicating the Guest River Gorge Road, part of Jefferson
National Forest. For Pinnacle Natural Area Preserve, when Route 19
splits, remain on that and travel north to Lebanon. Then bear left on
Route 82, right on Route 640 and left again on Route 721 for the start of
hiking trails in the preserve.
Back to top
Back to Free Virginia
Guidebook
Historic Crab Orchard
Museum and Pioneer Park
Life on the Appalachian
Frontier
Europeans occasionally disparage American history,
because by their standards, it is all so recent. These critics could not
find fault with Historic Crab Orchard Museum because history here is
interpreted from 570,000,000 years ago to modern times. The museum and
Pioneer Park are located on a portion of a 110-acre prehistoric archeological
site.
Documented evidence indicates that Native
Americans lived here 1,200 years ago, and many archeologists believe it may
have been as much as 14,000 years. The museum’s exhibits of fossils from
this prehistoric period include the leg bone and teeth of a huge mastodon that
foraged here millions of years ago. There is also a casting of a
300-million-year-old lepidodendron tree, unearthed as it was showing signs of
turning to coal.
The region’s first prehistoric inhabitants arrived
from Asia by crossing the Bering Straits. The Cherokees, the last of the
Native Americans to have settlements in this part of southwest Virginia, were
forced out by warring Shawnees and European pioneers. Pottery, hunting,
cooking and trade items from the Cherokee period are exhibited in the museum
and there is a diorama of their settlement on this site. One fascinating
piece is a Woodland Period stone effigy, circa 1550.
The first English explorers crossed the mountains
into this part of Virginia in the late 1600s. Diary entries indicate
that it rained continually during their passage over the Allegheny range and
they mistakingly believed the rivers and fog-shrouded plains they saw west of
the mountains were the tidal waters of the Pacific Ocean. The ocean was
the original western boundary of Virginia.
Gradually permanent settlers moved into the region
from the colonies of Pennsylvania, Maryland and North Carolina and from
eastern Virginia. There were formal land surveys and large tracts of
land were granted; one recipient was Patrick Henry (see Red Hill selection).
The museum has agricultural tools and household items from these early
pioneers. But in its Pioneer Park, their way of life comes alive.
Thirteen historic log and stone buildings bring back the 1830s. The
Thompson Valley farmhouse has three buildings connected by a breezeway, or
dogtrot. Inside you will see a spinning wheel and spartan furnishings.
In addition to the living quarters there is a kitchen and lard house.
The latter was used to store salted meats, lard, pickled foods and preserves.
Other buildings include Major David Peery’s 1805
log home. It is obvious he was financially secure as his windows have
six panes of glass, meaning he was willing to pay the special tax on windows
with more than four panes. The park also has a blacksmith shop,
smokehouse, hunter’s cabin, carpenter and cobbler’s shop, apple house, loom
house and corncribs. Its largest reconstruction is an 1880 log
farmstead.
Fields and gardens typical of the frontier era
are planted in season and tended by hand. Of special note are trees
replanted from the birthplaces of historic figures: Robert E. Lee, George
Washington, Cyrus McCormick and Helen Keller. Near the loom house is a
fenced herb garden; a pamphlet lists the early 19th-century varieties you will
see growing and gives their medicinal use. Herbs include sage, lemon
balm, oregano, lavender, jasmine, thyme, horehound, rue, chives, bee balm,
sorrel, lamb’s ear, germander, tansy, lovage and comfrey.
There is also a horse-drawn equipment barn that
has one of only two known original McCormick reapers made near Staunton (see
McCormick Farm selection), along with later, more mechanized models. The barn
also has buggies, a flax brake, dog-powered treadmill, pony cart and a wide
array of agricultural equipment. A 1917 Model T Ford is a frequent
participant in local parades. Near the old Ford is a gravity-operated gasoline
“pump.”
Agricultural pursuits are explored in Pioneer
Park, but the concurrent industrialization of the country is explored in the
museum. Exhibits focus on the coal mining that was significant to this
region. Finally, the museum is noted for its diverse collection of
weapons. Swords, sabers, matchlock rifles, blunderbusses, flintlocks and
more up-to-date martial gear are displayed.
Historic Crab Orchard Museum and Pioneer Park are
open year round weekdays and Saturdays 9:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. and Sundays 1:00
to 5:00 P.M. They are closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s
Day plus Sundays and Mondays from November through March. Admission is
charged. There is a museum shop with crafts, arts, recordings, books and
toys. You can purchase refreshments and there is a picnic shelter on the
grounds. For additional information call (540) 988-6755.
Directions: From I-81 at Abingdon take Alt. 58
west, then Route 19 north. Just before Tazewell you will see the
museum and park on your right off Route 19/460. An alternative route is
to take the I-77 Bluefield exit off I-81 and head west on Route 52, then
proceed south on Route 19/460.
Back to top
Back to Free Virginia
Guidebook
Natural Tunnel State Park
Hats Off to Mother Nature
Local enthusiasts claim that “the Natural Bridge
is a slice of bread, while the Natural Tunnel is the whole loaf.” It is
likely that Daniel Boone, while blazing the Wilderness Trail, was the first
nonindigenous explorer to see the tunnel. It wasn’t, however, until
1832, a year after Lt. Col. Stephen H. Long explored the site, that it was
publicized. William Jennings Bryan called it the “Eighth Wonder of the World.”
This wonder was formed over a million years ago
during the early glacial period when carbonic acid in the groundwater flowed
through crevices and slowly dissolved the limestone and dolomite bedrock.
Then the flowing water, now called Stock Creek, was likely diverted
underground where for centuries it continued to carve out the 850-foot-long
tunnel. Fossils have been discovered in the creek bed and embedded in
the tunnel walls. The tunnel exits in a deep, semicircular basin with
walls rising over 400 feet.
During the Civil War, land around the tunnel was
mined for saltpeter, an essential ingredient in making gunpowder. Then
in 1890, the South Atlantic and Ohio Railroad laid railroad tracks through the
tunnel. When the Southern Railroad acquired the tracks in 1906, they
opened a passenger line. As many as ten coal and freight trains
travel through the tunnel each day.
In 1967, after acquiring the tunnel and 143 acres,
the state established Natural Tunnel State Park. Subsequently, Virginia
acquired 500 additional acres and the park opened in 1971. Stop at the
visitor center when you arrive at the park to see the exhibits that provide
additional details on the tunnel’s formation and the history of the region.
You can also obtain information on the park’s seven hiking trails.
Trails lead to the tunnel floor, to Lover’s Leap, Tunnel Hill and Gorge Ridge.
A 500-foot boardwalk, accessible for the physically challenged, leads from the
visitor center to an observation deck overlooking the gorge.
If you don’t have the time or agility to hike to the
bottom of the gorge, try the chairlift. The exciting ride is 536 feet long
and descends 230 feet. You get a bird’s eye view of the mountain slope as
you descend into Stock Creek Gorge. Patrons in wheelchairs can be
accommodated on the lift. A short walk leads to the mouth of the tunnel in
a natural rock amphitheater that is singularly impressive. Safety
considerations prohibit walking into the tunnel.
A myriad of recreational opportunities are available
at the park: hiking, swimming in a hill-top pool, camping with electric/water
hookups and picnicking. There is even a small butterfly garden visible
from the parking lot. Park personnel offer interpretive programs focusing
on local folklore, natural history and the local flora and fauna. One of
the most frequently told legends is that of Winnanoah, a Cherokee maiden, who
was saved from a panther attack by Cochessa, a warrior chieftain. They
fell in love but because they were from warring tribes were forbidden to marry.
Refusing to live apart, they leapt to their death from one of the gorge’s great
cliffs; the spot is now called Lover’s Leap.
Directions: From I-81 just over the state line in
Tennessee take Route 23 to Kingsport, then continue on Route 23/58 to Duffield;
signs indicate the park turn-off. The park is located only one mile from
Route 23/58.
Back to top
Back to Free Virginia
Guidebook
BIG STONE GAP
Southwest Virginia Museum and The Harry W. Meador, Jr. Coal Museum at Big
Stone Gap
The Story of Big Stone Gap
Stories about Virginia’s rugged southwest mountain
region extend back well before it was explored for the Ohio Land Company of
Virginia in 1750. The land was a much-sought-after Native American
hunting ground with disparate tribes vying for control. Between 1671 and
1685, the Cherokees succeeded in driving out the Xulans before being displaced
themselves by the Confederacy of Six-Nations. Warring parties of
Cherokees and Shawnees continued to contest the area; this strife deterred
European settlement. The high, steep mountain terrain with its deep
gorges was not hospitable to agriculture so those settlers who eventually
ventured into the area were primarily hunters.
It wasn’t until the discovery of bituminous coal
in 1879 that the region realized any significant economic prosperity. To
haul coal and lumber two railroads, the Louisville and Nashville and the South
Atlantic and Ohio railroads, developed lines that extended to Big Stone Gap.
One of the most significant towns to grow up along the tracks was Big Stone
Gap. The early and boom years of the coal rush are explored in
Southwest Virginia Museum’s main gallery. Attention is given
to what was the crowning moment of the boom years, the visit of the Duke and
Duchess of Marlborough, who were considering investing in the region’s iron
ore. This was the height of the drive to make this community the
“Pittsburgh of the South,” but the fact that the iron ore was not of the
quality needed and the country-wide Panic of 1893 ended the dream. But
not before this mining revolution brought hotels, banks, schools, a newspaper
and a number of impressive Victorian houses in the section of town called
Poplar Hill.
The museum is located in one of these houses,
built in the 1880s by Rufus Ayers, who owned iron and coal mines in the area.
Ayers served as Attorney General of Virginia from 1886 to 1890. It took
seven years to build this limestone and sandstone mansion; no expensive was
spared. You’ll note that the floor boards were laid thin side up, making
an interesting pattern and indicating an availability of lumber unheard of in
other areas. The house was eventually purchased by C. Bascom Slemp, VMI
graduate, eight times member of the U.S. Congress and the private
secretary to President Calvin Coolidge. Slemp wanted a museum in the
house that would depict life in southwest Virginia. The collection
amassed by Slemp and his sister, Jane, form the nucleus of the museum’s
exhibits.
The mansion’s second floor has galleries that tell
the story of Big Stone Gap residents at the turn of the century. One way
this mountain region stayed in touch with current fashion was through mail
order catalog. The Sears catalog which, as you can see in the exhibit,
grew from one page in 1872 to 1,036 pages in 1899, kept residents supplied
with the latest merchandise. A selection of these items is
displayed: a sewing machine, baby carriage, gold clubs, sled, fan and
gramophone as well as clothes and personal memorabilia. There are many
items associated with C. Bascom Slemp, including those he acquired during his
travels.
The third floor galleries move back in time to
early exploration and settlement. You’ll learn about the Wilderness Road
that Daniel Boone blazed through the Cumberland Gap (see Cumberland Gap
National Historical Park). Less well-known was Dr. Thomas Walker, who
explored a passageway through the Western Appalachians. Native American
artifacts, hunting rifles, settlers tools, a Conestoga wagon, basic household
items, quilt patterns and a multitude of other exhibits tell the story of the
early days.
The Southwest Virginia Museum is open Memorial Day
to Labor Day, Monday through Thursday 10:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M., Friday 9:00
A.M. to 4:00 P.M., Saturday 10:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. and Sunday 1:00 to 5:00
P.M. At other times of the year, the museum is closed on Monday as well
as major holidays. It is closed entirely during January and February.
Admission is charged. The museum has a shop with Victorian-era items as
well as locally made crafts.
Just a few blocks away you can get more detailed
information on the coal boom at The Harry W. Meador, Jr. Coal Museum.
This industry defines the region, and this museum is the place to find out about
the coal industry. Learn about the coal camps where the workers lived (a
drive in this area will take you to some of the camps: Imboden, Lower Exeter,
Exeter and Keokee) and the tools the miners used. You’ll see the office
equipment of Westmoreland Coal Company that owns the museum. The museum is
named for company vice-president and museum founder Harry W. Meador, Jr.
He personally collected, catalogued and arranged the exhibits. Meador
believed that the history of the coal mining industry should be preserved and he
undertook to see that it was. You’ll learn that the miners were paid
with script, but if they could manage to wait two weeks they could get cash.
The minimum wage in 1950 was 75 cents an hour. You’ll see an amazing
collection of photographs of the mines and miners, as well as extensive coverage
of mine disasters like the 1934 Derby Explosion.
The Henry W. Meador, Jr. Coal Museum is open year
round at no charge Wednesday through Saturday from 10:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. and
Sunday from 1:00 to 5:00 P.M. It is located on East Third Street and
Shawnee Avenue (one block north of Wood Avenue) in Big Stone Gap.
Directions: From I-81 at Abington take Route 19/Alt.
58 west. When these split, continue west on Alt. Route 58 to Route 23 into
Big Stone Gap. The Southwest Virginia Museum is at the corner of West
First Street and Wood Avenue, which is Business Route 23.
Back to top
Back to Free Virginia
Guidebook
BLACKSBURG
Smithfield Plantation
and The Long Way Home
Mountain Laurels
In their brave hope of
extending Virginia's boundaries beyond the Blue Ridge, a band of early
settlers carved out homesteads in the Native American-dominated wilderness of
what is now southwest Virginia in 1748. On July 30, 1755, the Shawnee
Indians, who had heretofore ignored the vanguard of white settlers, attacked
and massacred all but a few of the valley families. Two that survived
were the Pattons and the Ingles.
Colonel James Patton, who had
been given a Crown Grant of 120,000 acres in 1745, headed the valley's
militia. A widower, aged 63, he took the responsibility of guarding the
valley very seriously. When the French and Indian War began, George
Washington stopped in the New River Valley to warn him of the war's potential
danger to the settlers. As Washington had foreseen, the war did come to
the valley. Colonel Patton died during an attack by indigenous tribes.
The Ingles family, who farmed a small homestead on land they had purchased
from Colonel Patton, were also grievously affected.
Mary Draper Ingles's mother,
Eleanor, who years earlier had lost her husband to marauding Braves, was killed
in the massacre. Mary Ingles, 23, and her two boys, age two and four,
were abducted by the Shawnees (also abducted was her sister-in-law Bettie
Draper). They were forced to walk hundreds of miles to the tribal camp
near what is now Cincinnati, Ohio. During their trek Mary bore a
daughter. After months of captivity Mary escaped with an elderly Dutch
woman. Following the Ohio River, they made their way back across 850
miles of uncharted wilderness before Mary Ingles finally rejoined her husband
and brother.
This dramatic story is
re-created each summer in the outdoor dramatization, The Long Way Home.
It is performed in an amphitheater beside the Ingles Homestead in Radford,
Thursday through Sunday at 8:30 P.M. For many years the role of Elenor
Draper was played by her great-great-great-great granddaughter, Mary Ingles
Jeffries. Reviewers of outdoor drama give high marks to this stirring
production. In addition to seeing the performance visitors can tour the
amphitheater and a part of the Wilderness Road. For ticket information call
(540) 639-0679 or write The Long Way Home, P.O. Box 711, Radford, VA 24141.
The novel, Follow the River, by James Alexander Thom, also tells the
story of Mary's kidnapping and her 42-day walk to freedom.
Despite the adversity, the
Ingleses did not abandon the Virginia frontier although they did for a time
move to a protective fort before returning to the New River Valley.
Neither did the Patton-Preston family. From 1772 to 1774, James Patton's
nephew, William Preston, who had been visiting in the New River Valley at the
time of the massacre and narrowly escaped death himself, built a
story-and-a-half white frame house he called Smithfield after his
wife, Susanna Smith. Preston represented the area in the Virginia House
of Burgesses and was County Surveyor, County Lieutenant, Colonel of the
Militia (like his uncle) and a member of the Committee of Safety.
The Smithfield Plantation in
Blacksburg is no rough country house; it is furnished in a style William
Preston copied from Williamsburg. The drawing room fireplace duplicates
the one that can be seen in Raleigh Tavern (see Williamsburg Tavern
selection). In this formal room you'll also see a copy of the Gilbert
Stuart portrait of James Patton Preston. One of William and Susanna's 12
children became governor of Virginia (1816-1819). Several terms later
James's son-in-law, John Floyd, Jr. became governor (1830-1852). Another
grandson, James McDowell, also served as governor (1843-1846) but unlike the
others he never lived at Smithfield.
Today, only 11 of the original
2,000 acres are still part of the plantation. On these stand the house,
outbuildings and interpretive gardens. Four acres are landscaped as they
would have been in the 18th century with grazing lawns, shade trees and a
kitchen garden of herbs, perennials, fruits and period crops. Costumed docents
interpret the five period-furnished rooms: the drawing room, dining room, master
chamber, schoolroom above-stairs chamber and below-stairs winter kitchen. One of
the few pieces of furniture you see that belonged to the Preston family is the
walnut corner cabinet in the dining room. It was made on the plantation
and displays Chinese export china. The staircase to the upstairs, carved
in the Chinese Chippendale pattern, also reveals the influence of the Far East.
The Georgian-style looking glass in the passageway belonged to William
Preston’s mother. It was carried in the hold of Colonel James Patton’s
ship with the possessions of the senior Prestons. James Patton was
originally a ship’s captain from the Ulster area of Northern Ireland who sailed
to ports along the “new country.” He persuaded his sister and husband to
bring their children to the new land. One of those children was William
Preston.
Smithfield Plantation is open
April to November on Thursday through Sunday from 1:00 to 5:00 P.M. Admission is
charged.
Outdoor enthusiasts may want to
add a stop at one of the two nearby lakes to their outing. Mountain
Lake is just 20 miles north of Smithfield. Claytor Lake State
Park and Camping Grounds is 30 miles south.
Directions: From I-81,
take Exit 118, U.S. Route 460 By-Pass, around Christiansburg and
Blacksburg. Smithfield Plantation is adjacent to the Virginia Tech campus
off Route 314. For the Ingles Homestead Amphitheater take Exit 105 off
I-81 and go 1/4 mile on Route 232 toward Radford.
Back to top
Back to Free Virginia
Guidebook
All material © Jane Ockershausen,
2004
|
