One of the most interesting aspects of my wandering in the woods near and in Shenandoah National Park is discovering the history of those that once lived in the hollows of the Blue Ridge Mountains before the area became a national park.
500 families were displaced for the creation of the park back in the early 1930s. Over 90 years have passed, and most of the remnants of the people that lived here are long gone.
Yet there are remains hidden in the leaves and among the rocks and foliage. Taking a hike down lonely trails, going off trail on a lone woods road then through sharp thorns of greenbrier that can rip at your skin, through the brush, and downed trees to find those humble areas where people raised their children and lived their lives proves a very moving experience.
When investigating these areas, you think about how they used to live and also how they died. Many women died in childbirth. Children from infancy on up died of various maladies. Some mountain folk lived their lives and are now buried in cemeteries beside rock piles that were once their home. There are numerous small cemeteries that are now buried in the woods, and unless you travel extensively into the wild, are mostly forgotten.
Seeing a washtub or a part of a car that somebody may have driven to go to church or the leather from a shoe that clad a foot, all speak of what happened long ago and a time now gone except for these memories in the woods.
I think about the trials and hardships the mountain people faced just to live, and then having to leave their homes under orders of the government for the establishment of a park. Many descendants now occupy the towns that surround the park and share their stories as well. You can read about them in books, but to see these lonely places makes you appreciate their endurance and determination.
