Motoring Down The Great Wagon Road

Click on any image for a larger view.While the exact route of the Great Wagon Road has not been preserved, as such, we know that in Virginia and West Virginia, from the Potomac to the Roanoke Valley, it is either under or parallel to Route U.S. 11.  See The Great Wagon Road -- America's Original "Interstate Highway." The Great Wagon road was overlaid on and expanded from the aboriginal track known as the Great Trading Path and the Warrior Path.  Eventually the road was improved to the point where it could handle automobile traffic and in the 20th century became U.S. 11.  In the process, the road was regraded, straightened, widened, and sometimes relocated and sometimes expanded to three and four lanes.  Thus it is often hard to know whether you are on, or simply driving parallel to, the Great Wagon Road.

Except . . . there are places where you can be relatively certain that you are on the old road.  Sometimes these are loops of roadway left when U.S. 11 was straightened, as in the image above; there are other sections where the old road went through small towns, which are still there but which are skirted by newer by-pass construction.  On main streets of these old towns, built along the original track of the road, you can be fairly confident that you are motoring down the Great Wagon Road.

Above: this old log cabin is located near the main street of Greenwood, Virginia.  To judge from the foliage growing on the walls, it has fallen on hard times.

This well-maintained private residence is located on the main street of Greenwood, Virginia.  The original two-story log cabin has been expanded both to the left and to the right. As is the case with the majority of surviving structures, the original cabin was made with Pike joints.

This "Great Wagon Road" log house has expansions on one side and on the back. Like the other log houses pictured in this article, it has a metal roof.

Another section of "orphaned" roadway, left when U.S. 11 (visible in the background) was straightened and multi-laned.

This log house sits on the main road through Fairfield, Virginia.  It has expansions in the back and on one side.  Note the limestone foundation and the traditional barn-red paint. 

In its day, U.S. 11 was well-traveled both by commercial traffic and by tourists. U.S. 11 was a primary route south to Gatlinburg, Tennessee, and the Great Smoky Mountains.  Along the way there were motor lodges, souvenir stores, and attractions such as Natural Bridge.

And there were restaurants like the Pink Cadillac Diner, which still survives near Buchanan, Virginia, owing to its location at an I-81 exit and of course to its pink Cadillac, which you see pictured above. The restaurant is located on a section of road narrow and winding enough to give the feel of the Great Wagon Road. On the right, the official greeter at the Pink Cadillac Diner. Word to the wise: don't go there if you don't like Elvis. The decor, ambiance, and much of the cuisine is retro-1950s, harking back to the heydey of U.S. 11.

Where U.S. 11 crosses the James River, you find the town of Buchanan, Virginia.  Above, town hall.

Merchants along U.S. 11 still cater to the tourist trade, but instead of souvenirs, they sell crafts an antiques in places like the Buchanan building pictured above, a National Register historic structure that holds a warren of rooms created by several additions to the original.

On the main street of Buchanan, Virginia -- more antique houses housing antiques. 

The images in this article were all made in the stretch of U.S. 11 from Staunton, Virginia, to Buchanan, Virginia, a section of U.S. 11 once part of the Valley Pike.  Below Buchanan the road becomes increasingly urbanized and much less photogenic as you approach Roanoke.

Backcountry Trails

The Appalachian Trail runs from Georgia to Maine, through the heart of the Backcountry.  Officially the Appalachian National Scenic Trail, it is administered by the National Park Service and is guarded and maintained by a series of AT Clubs and by the Appalachian Trail Conservancy.   My favorite section is on Garden Mountain, not only because it is close to home, but also because I can sit on the rock outcroppings and watch the hawks and eagles circling below.

 The heart of the North Carolina Historic Barbecue Trail lies in the Carolina Backcountry.  Start at the center of the trail, in Lexington, N.C., and you may decide to never leave.  Visit the Web site for a listing of the North Carolina Barbecue Society's "Historic Pits." 

Virginia's Birding and Wildlife Trail is actually a series of driving routes designated by the state Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, with places to stop, stroll, and watch birds and other critters.  The majority of the "loops" are in the Mountain Trail section, located in Virignia's Backcountry. 

The Blue Ridge Parkway and the Skyline Drive run along mountain crests from northern Virginia to western North Carolina.   The Parkway features numerous overlooks for stopping to appreciate mountain vistas, some with short hiking trails.  The Skyline Drive portion of the road is in Shenandoah National Park.

Located on the Tennessee side of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Cades Cove contains a loop road which permits driving, walking, and biking.  Within Cades Cove, the Park Service has preserved a number of historic log and wooden structures.

The Crooked Road, Virginia's Heritage Music Trail, is a driving route which winds through Southwest Virginia.  The Crooked Road features bluegrass, old time, and traditional country music and provides a number of venues, such as Carter Fold, where you can listen and enjoy. 

The Monongahela National Forest in West Virginia has a multitude of hiking and mountain-biking trails.  One of the most interesting places in the Monongahela is the Cranberry Wilderness, named for its cranberry bogs, which contains a wide variety of wildlife.  The nearby Cranberry Backcountry is open to mountain biking, horseback riding, and cross-country skiing.

 

The Mount Rogers National Recreation Area in Southwest Virginia contains over 400 miles of outdoor recreation trails,  including the Virginia Highlands Horse Trail.

The Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail can be driven or walked; running from Tennessee and Virginia, where the "Overmountain Men" rallied and formed a militia, to the site of  the Battle of King's Mountain in South Carolina, this trail commemorates the most important militia engagement in the American Revolution.

The Pennsylvania Artisan Trails feature  several Backcountry venues, including the Rt. 15 ByWay of the Arts and Handmade Along The Highway (located along the Lincoln Highway and the historic National Road).

North Carolina's Pottery Road runs along a scenic byway, Route 705, through the heart of the Seagrove area where potteries are abundant.   Farther west, the Blue Ridge Craft Trail winds through the mountains.

'Round The Mountain,  Southwest Virginia's Artisan Network,  collects a number of artisan "venues" for travelers in the region.  The Web site features a guide to pre-determined routes which also permits you to map out your own "trail." 

 The Shenandoah Valley Wine Trail features a number of Virginia's new wineries.  Alas, there appears to be no published information on a moonshine trail, despite the reputation of Franklin County, Virginia, as the "Moonshine Capital of the World."

 From the town of Abingdon to the hamlet of Green Cove, the Virginia Creeper Trail follows the route of an old mountain railway.  A multi-purpose outdoor experience, the Virginia Creeper Trail   is open for hiking, bicycling, and horseback riding, and in the boundaries of the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area it parallels mountain trout streams. 

The War Between The States, also known as the American Civil War, and sometimes as the Recent Unpleasantness, is memorialized in a series of trails including Backcountry areas of Virginia,  Maryland, and North Carolina.