A Stop in Stanardsville

Last week I showed you the chimney-style memorial in Criglersville, Virginia. On the day I took those pictures, I decided to continue south a little way to Stanardsville where there was another memorial.

It's been years since I've been in downtown Stanardsville because there is a bypass for Route 33. The town is actually cute and has barn quilts on many buildings.

I located the Blue Ridge Heritage Memorial near the Greene County Administration Building. It is built in the same style as the other memorials honoring the people who had to leave their homes when Shenandoah National Park was built.

On a plaque are surnames of families who owned mountain land but had to leave. The state of Virginia paid them for their property and helped them relocate.

Here are a few of the names: Adams, Armentrout, Baugher, Breedon, Burke, Collier, Comer, Conley, Davis, Dean, Delaney, Frazier, Funkhouser, Haney, Hensley, Hinkle, Jarrell, Marshall, McDaniel, Reynolds, Samuels, Shaver, Shifflett, Taylor, White.

There are books on the history of the park that provide stories about these residents, and there is also an exhibit at Big Meadows Visitor Center along Skyline Drive.