Shenandoah Secrets: The Story of the Park's Hidden Past

(Revised 2011 ) The authors point out significant and interesting events that transpired within what is now the boundaries of the Shenandoah National Park before it was a park. What secrets lie hidden in the Park's forests and briery tangles? What fascinating all-but-forgotten incidents took place inside its boundaries? Today, Shenandoah National Park is, in the words of an old mountain woman, "a play place for city folk." But that was not always the case. Before it was a Park, it was home to nearly 500 families in more than 300 square miles of Virginia countryside — a microcosm of an earlier America. Industry, agriculture, commerce, war with its military actions, political decisions, community, church, and family life—all these have left their mark here. As time passes, these marks grow fainter. The Reeders have kept their memories alive through the words of this book. The authors have collected and published many photographs gleaned from the files of history, some of which were publi