Blue Ridge Parkway History
I have an old home movie from the mid 1960’s of my parents and grandparents visiting the Blue Ridge Parkway. Since they grew up in the region, they were very proud of the Blue Ridge Parkway. The old movie shows a few stops at scenic overlooks and can make you dizzy to watch as my Dad was holding the camera as they drove along.
Yesterday, I picked up the book, Building The Blue Ridge Parkway by Karen Hall and Friends of the Blue Ridge Parkway, Inc. It is a great collection of over 200 photos of the construction of the Blue Ridge Parkway. The next time you are driving along the Parkway, take some time to marvel at the construction of the actual road, bridges and tunnels.
Construction of the Blue Ridge Parkway started in September of 1935 and was not complete until 1987. The Parkway is the longest scenic highway in the United States and driven by more than 20 million visitors a year. Nationally, it is the most visited park. The Parkway is 469 miles starting in the Shenandoah National Park and going to the Great Smokey Mountains. Each mile of the Blue Ridge Parkway is marked with a milepost.
As part of Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal, the construction of the Blue Ridge Parkway provided jobs throughout the region and in Nelson County.
Plans for the Blue Ridge Parkway began in 1909 and the first section was to be called the Appalachian Scenic Highway. Contractors did most of the work on the actual road, and the Civilian Conservation Corps created the overlooks, landscaping and guard walls. The CCC planted thousands of trees, grass and shrubs. There was a CCC camp in Nelson County called the Black Rock Camp. It was located at milepost 3.3 in the Summer of 1935.
Close to the Black Rock Camp was the Humpback Rocks Visitor’s Center at milepost 5.8. This site was preserved and created to show Virginia mountain life prior to the construction of the Parkway. It is a great example of Nelson County history.
There are 250 scenic overlooks on the Parkway. There are also many mountain living demonstrations as well as mountain crafts. The Blue Ridge Parkway keeps the history of our mountains alive. If you are planning on visiting Nelson County (or even live in Nelson County) be sure to take some time to travel on the Blue Ridge Parkway.
Keep in mind that the speed limit on the Blue Ridge Parway is 45 miles per hour. Also, note that the Parkway is not maintained in the Winter and is often closed during the snow season.
