February at Jewell Hollow Overlook

Shenandoah National Park
 at Mile 36.5 on Skyline Drive

Jewell Hollow Overlook offers spectacular views. There are two parking areas, and the Appalachian Trail is nearby.

Notice the rock wall. Now let's see what that sign says.

If These Walls Could Talk

"The hand-cut walls have stories to tell for those willing to listen."
Reed Engle, The Greatest Single Feature… A Sky-line Drive 

May 15, 1933 saw the first Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camps established in Shenandoah at Skyland and Big Meadows. Young, strong men were now available to help turn the dream of Skyline Drive into reality. Under the leadership of National Park Service landscape architects, CCC enrollees and engineers helped build Skyline Drive's stone walls and overlooks, including the one where you stand now—Jewell Hollow.

As you drive through Shenandoah National Park, you'll see plenty of the fruits of the CCC's labor—re-placed boulders, graded slopes, and transplanted trees and shrubs. While much of the boys' work blends seamlessly with the natural landscape, the walls stand out as visible testament to the quality and permanence of the CCC's work.

Wall Construction

In the 1930s stone walls in Shenandoah National Park were built in two styles of masonry: dry-laid and ashlar. Dry-laid walls, like those here at Jewell Hollow Overlook, could be built by less-experienced stone workers, like the young men of the CCC, since they require only moving and aligning heavy stones—more muscle than skill. Mortared ashlar masonry walls require more expertise and had to be built by experienced masons.

Sharing with Fences Around the World 

and Little Things Thursday.