Blacksburg Then and Now

We are excited to announce the release of our new book: Blacksburg Then & Now from Arcadia Publishing!

We had lots of fun finding historical photographs of Blacksburg and Virginia Tech for the "Then" portion of the book then finding those same locations to take the "Now" photographs. We really enjoyed comparing what is there today with what was there in the past and uncovering why some of the changes were made. For example, Blacksburg's Main Street has a jog just past College Avenue where the historic buildings don't line up with the rest of the street. The reason? There was once a Preston and Olin Institute (Virginia Tech's precursor) building in the middle of Main Street's current path - the old Main Street jogged around the building.

We'll be holding a book signing at the Community Arts Information Office on College Avenue next to the Lyric Theatre on Friday from 4-6pm where we'll also have an exhibit from the book on display during the month of July. On July 4th from 10am - 1:30pm, we'll be at Historic Smithfield Plantation. Hope to see you there!

Tourism: A Cautionary Tale

As an author of Lost Communities of Virginia, I recently participated in the Virginia Festival of the Book and had the opportunity to think about potential economic drivers to revitalize these places. Many of the places are isolated geographically, at the far ends of the state, or far out (and up) winding mountain roads. Despite the isolation, several of the places are reinventing themselves as tourist destinations. Paint Bank is a busy place on a weekend afternoon as people navigate the curvy roads to have lunch at the Swinging Bridge Restaurant, shop in the General Store, or spend the night at the Depot Bed and Breakfast. Which brings me to the question: is tourism an appropriate way to revitalize or preserve a community that has seen better days?

Tourism can be a great economic driver and far less disruptive than heavy industry. Once you've enticed tourists, they need a place to eat, a place to stay, things to do...all of those needs can result in a revitalized Main Street, new businesses, jobs, and more tourists. But, what does that do for the locals? Sure, they may be the business owners or workers, but what does tourism do to their way of life? Do they still have local shopping and commerce opportunities or have all the businesses become antique shops, art galleries, gift shops, and trendy restaurants? 

Virginia Tourism Corporation has several trail opportunities that are meant to help struggling areas of Southwest Virginia showcase their talents. Artists, crafters, and musicians are the focus of 'Round the Mountain and the Crooked Road, with the trails guiding visitors into rural areas to visit studios and attend events. That seems like a noble effort, but what if these efforts really take off? Part of the charm of the trails is the rural nature of the venues. How does that change if hundreds or even thousands of people start visiting these places? 

What does tourism do to the environment? If the tourism draw is a river, mountains, or the ocean, what happens when more people use the resources? More people can mean the need for more lodging and restaurants; beyond what the community's existing buildings can handle. What happens we tear down the old downtown or level the dunes to build a new multi-story hotel? We end up with Pigeon Forge and Myrtle Beach. Places that are tourist meccas today, but where the original character and charm that originally brought visitors has been lost. Is that what we really want when we attract tourists to rural areas?

Lost Communities of Virginia

We now interrupt the regularly scheduled blog for bit of shameless self-promotion...

Are you curious about small rural towns and how they came to be?  Are you intrigued by commercial structures that now seem to be in the middle of nowhere?  Do you enjoy hearing stories of the past from those who lived it?  Lost Communities of Virginia is a new book by Terri Fisher and Kirsten Sparenborg from the Community Design Assistance Center at Virginia Tech, published by Albemarle Books, and distributed by University of Virginia Press.  

 

From the book jacket:

"Virginia’s back roads and rural areas are dotted with traces of once-thriving communities.  General stores, train depots, schools, churches, banks, and post offices provide intriguing details of a way of life now gone. The buildings may be empty or repurposed today, the existing community may be struggling to survive or rebuilding itself in a new and different way, but the story behind each community’s original development is an interesting and important footnote to the development of Virginia and the United States.
 

"The Lost Communities of Virginia project began with curiosity as Kirsten Sparenborg followed a green highway sign pointing to Eggleston and found a rural Giles County community, an elderly storekeeper, and the no longer obvious story of a once-thriving springs and railroad community. The Eggleston encounter planted the seed for Virginia Tech’s Community Design Assistance Center’s project to locate and document small Virginia communities before their built history and storytellers are lost. Over 2,600 communities were surveyed with 30 chosen that best represent the range of community types found in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
 

"Each community, though typical, is also unique. Lost Communities of Virginia documents stories of coal towns and grist mills, railroads and steamboats, clay smoking pipe makers and excelsior manufacturers, maple syrup and shad, church meetings and jousting matches, traveling salesmen and springs resort visitors to pique the imagination. The communities have lost their original industry, transportation mode, or way of life, but contemporary photographs, historical information, maps, and excerpts of interviews with longtime residents
awaken the bustling past."

 

Kirsten began this project, but I completed it, researching and visiting each of the 30 communities, writing the chapters, making maps, and taking additional photographs as needed.  Each of these small communities is, in its own way, a microcosm of American history.  Some contributed to national causes like Pocahontas coal powering U.S. Navy ships; all were affected by national economic and social circumstances such as Depressions and the advent of the automobile.  

I urge you to look at your own home town and learn more about its past.  If you live in a city or large town, look at your neighborhood.  What economic driver caused its development?  What happened when that driver was lost?  Why would new development be likely to survive today when it didn't in the past?  Are there older residents who can tell you about your community's past? Be curious about your home and you will learn a lot about the community's place and its attitudes in today's world.

The Lost Communities of Virginia book is available through on-line sellers and at your local bookstore if you live in Virginia.  Be sure to visit the Lost Communities of Virginia Facebook page for more information.