Publisher Dan McDermott was guest hosting a talk show today. Dan and WZRV afternoon DJ Lonnie Hill discussed the Friends of Shenandoah River State Park and some critters that populate our favorite river destination.
Here is the Audio. (Left-click to play or right-click to Save-As and play from your computer.)
More about Friends of Shenandoah River State Park.
This eagle was flying over the Shenandoah River near the low water bridge south of the park at 2:11 pm today. After it flew up the river deeper into Shenandoah River State Park I drove to the three bends overlook and waited for about half an hour but didn’t see it return. – Dan McDermott
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Inside this issue:
Also, 2008: The Year in Review
Rare NHL Designation Recognizes Places of National Significance
Governor Timothy M. Kaine announced Friday that Virginia’s Skyline Drive, a 105-mile roadway which winds through Shenandoah National Park along the crests of the Blue Ridge Mountains between Front Royal and Rockfish Gap, has been designated as a National Historic Landmark by U.S. Secretary of Interior Dirk Kempthorne.
The NHL designation is the highest ranking bestowed by the U.S. government on a historic resource. It is reserved for those places that “possess exceptional value or quality in illustrating or interpreting the heritage of the United States,” according to the National Park Service.
“This designation reminds Virginians of what an extraordinary national treasure we have in the Skyline Drive and the Blue Ridge Parkway, that portion of the road extending beyond Shenandoah National Park,” Governor Kaine said. “What better time for this honor to arrive than in October, when autumn colors along the roadway are at their peak, attracting visitors from around the state and nation to Skyline Drive’s vistas.”
In 1996, the Department of Historic Resources listed Skyline Drive on the Virginia Landmarks Register and nominated it to the National Register of Historic Places. The department’s nomination cited the road’s national significance as a new model for conservation. That model was based on the acquisition of land with inherent natural beauty for permanent protection, while also providing recreational and scenic opportunities for the growing number of automobile travelers that arose during the early 20th century.
“The paradox of Skyline Drive is that the roadway was a powerful force for preserving the natural and historic landscapes and viewsheds of the Blue Ridge Mountains. From its earliest conception through to its final innovative design, the drive became the centerpiece of Shenandoah National Park, shaping the development of that splendid place.” said Kathleen S. Kilpatrick, director of the Department of Historic Resources. “Skyline Drive represents one of the earliest successes in Virginia resulting from a partnership between local, state, and federal agencies.”
In honoring Skyline Drive, the Interior Department notes that the roadway was “[d]esigned and constructed as the backbone of Shenandoah National Park from 1931 to 1942.”
“Skyline Drive is an outstanding example of the naturalistic landscape design developed by the National Park Service in the 1920s and refined in the following decade in the national parks and parkways of the eastern United States,” according to the Interior Department. The road’s balanced design, which flows with the landscape, “became the model not only for the nation, but also for other nations,” according to the Secretary’s announcement.
While Skyline Drive’s construction is often associated with the Civilian Conservation Corps formed under President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal, work on the roadway officially began in 1931, under President Hoover, who had a presidential getaway cabin at Rapidan Camp, located today within the park in Madison County.
Although the CCC did not construct the roadbed, “there would be no Skyline Drive without the efforts of the CCC,” according to Reed Engle, a cultural resource specialist with Shenandoah National Park. “They graded the slopes on either side of the roadway, built the guardrails and guard walls, constructed overlooks, planted hundreds of thousands of trees and shrubs and acres of grass to landscape both sides of the roadbed, built picnic areas and campgrounds, comfort stations, visitor contact and maintenance buildings, and made the signs that guided visitors on their way,” Reed writes on the Shenandoah National Park’s Website.
In Virginia there are 118 other National Historic Landmarks, including George Washington’s Mount Vernon, Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello, Fort Monroe in Hampton and Richmond’s Jackson Ward. Nationwide there are fewer than 2,500 NHLs.
More information on Secretary Kempthorne’s announcement designating Skyline Drive an NHL, along with 15 other sites, is available at http://www.doi.gov/news/08_News_Releases/101408b.html.
A complete listing of Virginia’s National Historic Landmarks is available at http://www.nps.gov/history/nhl/designations/listsofNHLs.htm.
Mandatory Water Conservation
of the Town’s Municipal Water System
The Town of Front Royal Department of Environmental Services has observed that the 14-day rolling average stream flow rate of the South Fork of the Shenandoah River has dropped below 340 cubic feet per second (cfs), or approximately 220 million gallons per day. The average river flow for 2007 as measured by the United States Geological Survey was 1,774 cfs, indicating that the river is flowing at 19% of last year’s average flow. The Town’s permit for water withdrawal from the river issued by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality stipulates certain river flow rates require various conservation measures. As a result of this reduced river flow and in compliance with the issued withdrawal permit, all users of the Town of Front Royal’s municipal water system are advised to observe mandatory water conservation efforts.
During periods of mandatory water conservation, all users of Front Royal municipal water system shall be prohibited from the following:
1.The watering of shrubbery, trees, lawns, grass, plants, or any other vegetation from Town water supplies (except indoor plantings, greenhouse and commercial nursery stocks, and new plantings less than one year old) between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.
2.The outdoor washing of automobiles, trucks, trailers, boats, airplanes, or other types of mobile equipment, except in a commercial vehicle wash facility.
3.The washing of private streets, driveways, parking lots, service station grounds, or other paved outdoor surfaces.
4.The operation of any ornamental fountains, unless the water is recycled. Municipal ornamental fountains shall be cleaned and closed within two (2) days of the mandatory water conservation restriction declaration.
5.The filling of swimming and/or wading pools, except that filled pools may be topped off to maintain the appropriate levels for use.
Violation of any of these mandatory water conservation activities can be punished by a fine up to $1000 per offense committed. In addition, each day that a violation occurs can be punished as a separate offense. Water users are urged to comply with these efforts.
Water users are requested to continue to reduce water usage through various other water conservation measures.
Thank you for your assistance in conserving our water resources during this low river flow time period. Please monitor your local media sources for future reports of water conservation efforts in the Town of Front Royal.
If you have any questions about this project, please contact the Department of Environmental Services at (540) 635-7819.
By Dan McDermott
Warren County Report
Long before there was an Interstate 81, a Route 522, or railroads, there was the Shenandoah River, the Daughter of the Stars. This once pristine 300 mile waterway stretches from forks in New Market in the north and Port Republic in the south and joins in Front Royal. The main river runs from Front Royal until it empties into the Potomac at Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia.
It turns out that human activity surrounding the Shenandoah dates back a very long time–over 11,000 years. Beginning in 9300 BC, Paleo-Indians built structures along the North and South Forks of the Shenandoah and lived near Front Royal for more than 2,500 years. In fact, their homes are the oldest buildings ever found in all of North America. It should be noted that these early settlers inhabited the Shenandoah Valley only 20,000 years after the disappearance of the Neanderthal.
Almost 8,000 years later, around the year 900, Native Americans began farming along the Shenandoah River.
The first European settlers arrived in the Shenandoah Valley in 1669, encountering abundant wildlife, beautiful terrain, and many Indian tribes. Many English navy vessels had masts made from the fine timber the Shenandoah River’s thirsty trees provided. George Washington surveyed the Shenandoah Valley and River when he worked for Northern and Western Virginia’s English owner, Lord Thomas Fairfax.
Toward the end of the 18th century, the Shenandoah River quickly became a major commercial route in the Valley. Mills sprung up along the river’s edge grinding grain into flour. And iron was abundant in the region. To get these and other products to their northern buyers, traders built flat bottomed boats called gundalows. To navigate these 90 foot vessels through the Shenandoah’s rough terrain, the Patowmack Company was formed in 1785 with the encouragement of George Washington and began blasting rock and dredging the river bed to create a navigable passage for trade. In especially shallow areas, V shaped dams were built with an opening in the center to create a higher flowing passageway.
The cost to transport goods was fairly high for the period. In today’s dollars it seems a bargain. Commodore Jacob Sipe advertised in the Rockingham Register in 1841 that he would transport a barrel of flour weighing almost 200 lbs from Port Republic to Georgetown for about $1.20. Today that that would most likely be sent by truck and would cost about 37.50 for a commercial shipper. A single gundalow could hold more than 100 barrels, about half the capacity of a modern 18-wheel truck and trailer.
Port Republic gets it’s name because it was the commercial port at the tip of the South Fork of the Shenandoah. On the North Fork, Bridgewater was originally called Bridgeport because it too was a hub of commercial traffic on the waterway. Harper’s Ferry first became famous for George Washington’s decision to build an armory there. He chose this location because of it’s proximity to the joining of the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers. Iron could be brought north on the Shenandoah and made into weapons in Harpers Ferry.
The gundalows that brought manufactured goods north were made of wood and they were destined for a one way trip. Since railroads had not yet arrived, these boats could not be easily brought back south for a second use. At their port of destination, they were sold for up to $25 and made into houses. Some of these houses still exist today and are a facinating indicator of the rich commercial history of the Shenandoah. After the journey north, the gundalow’s crew would literally walk back home–a journey that would take 2 or 3 days. It is interesting that the journey up the river by gundalow could take twice as long because of its many bends and the muscle required to move a 90 foot boat through a sometimes shallow river.
In 1854, the Railroad first came through the town of Front Royal. This made Front Royal the usual final stop for gundalows since goods could be transferred to train cars and brought to other parts of the country not served by commercial river traffic. At the time, Front Royal was known as Helltown. It seems that this rural community was not immune to the usual effect of sailors arriving in a port with a pocketful of money and time to chase women and booze.
Today, the gundalows are long gone. But the tremendous value of the Shenandoah River remains. In a 1992 survey, over 11,000 people went whitewater rafting on the Shenandoah and the Helltown of Front Royal has a new nickname, the canoe capital of virginia.
Much of this history was gleaned from two great sources. The Luray/Page County Chamber of Commerce looks into the history of this famous river in it’s website: luraypage.com. Another wonderful source of information on the Shenandoah River can be found in the Shenandoah River Atlas, published by Friends of the Shenandoah River.
editor [at] warrencountyreport.com
During the week of Oct. 5 my family visited Disney World. Last Thanksgiving my mother announced it was time my two children and my brother’s son experienced this American icon. Incredibly (and thankfully) Mimi and Poppy financed all but the airfare. My 95-year-old grandfather volunteered to pay for most of that.
Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine and his cabinet members took a whirl-wind trip through Northern Virginia today, and made a quick stop at the Arlington headquarters of the Consumer Electronics Association. Eco-friendly business was on his mind.
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