Slave Labor on Virginia's Blue Ridge Railroad Davis and much more

and much more

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A very unique situation arose when this rural area was coupled with the discovery in 1878 of something as spectacular as the Luray Caverns

Every new season offers fresh opportunities to discover and this curious Black Bear named in honor of the Shenandoah National Park

Slave Labor on Virginia's Blue Ridge Railroad Davis and much moreLyons, Mary E. Between 1849 and 1859, Virginia raced to pierce the Blue Ridge Mountains by rail and reach the Ohio River. At least 300 enslaved people labored involuntarily toward that goal, along with 1,500 Irish immigrants. The state leased the labor of enslaved Virginians from local slaveholders, including four connected with nearby University of Virginia. Blue Ridge Tunnel and Blue Ridge Railroad historian Mary E. Lyons explored hundreds of