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| Tuesday Treasures. |
On behalf of these Madison counties families displaced to form Shenandoah National Park, this memorial is dedicated in the year of our Lord, 2015:
Adams, Aleshire, Alger, Anderson...and other family names follow, including some that I recognize as local place names: Corbin, Crigler, Graves, Greene, Nethers, Nicholson, Rose, Stanley.
The Blue Ridge Heritage Project is erecting these simple but elegant stone chimneys in each county that had families had to give up their homes when the park was formed.
Previously I posted pictures of the Blue Ridge Heritage Memorials in Front Royal, Elkton, and Sperryville.
A short walk from the monument is a historical marker for the Blue Ridge Turnpike.
The Blue Ridge Turnpike, completed in 1853, passed near here on its 56-mile route from the vicinity of New Market to the railhead in Gordonsville. Crossing the mountains at Fishers Gap, the road linked the Shenandoah Valley to markets in the east. The Blue Ridge Turnpike Company financed the $176,000 project by selling shares of stock to individuals and to the Commonwealth of Virginia. After the road sustained heavy damage during the Civil War, the company abandoned it. Counties along the route took over maintenance about 1870. Traces of the original alignment exist along State Routes 231 and 670 and within Shenandoah National Park.
...it interesting how early roads were often built by individuals and not the government. The history this road has seen. Thanks Linda for sharing, enjoy your week.
ReplyDeleteI wonder what those hundreds of people did after being displaced from these parks...I've often thought about the Smokey Mountain Park, Blue Ridge Parkway, and Shenandoah. I had ancestors in all those areas.
ReplyDeleteThey started over...they had no choice. Glad they did, or I wouldn't be here :)
DeleteThe stone chimneys are quite poignant.
ReplyDeleteI like the design of the stone chimneys. They are really attractive to see.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing the photographs and information.
ReplyDeleteThe stone chimneys really are quite poignant (as William also said)
All the best Jan
The chimneys make a nice tribute to those who had to give up their homes.
ReplyDeleteIt is very thoughtful.. Naturally I'd rather have the family land but such is the way if our government..smh
DeleteI am married to a descendent of the Weakley’s who were displaced. Someone questioned what happened to the families. The government purchased and built homes for the families of “Weakley Hollow” in Wolftown-Hood off of Riverview Lane. Two grandchildren still have homes on the family land. One daughter,Mary Lou Weakley, who never married nor had kids, is still alive and living in Greene County. The other Weakley children passed. Daisy many years ago. And Tex Weakley on Sept 23 of this year. We have lots of pictures we are going through discovering the aweakley heritage.
ReplyDelete