Near Floyd in Floyd County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)

America's Rural Landscape

Blue Ridge Parkway

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, October 3, 2019

1. America's Rural Landscape Marker

Inscription. The Blue Ridge Parkway showcases some of America's best rural and natural landscapes. Rocky Knob is known for its pastoral, or agricultural, countryside. The topography of this plateau differs from much of the Parkway. Here generations of family farms work this rolling land and fertile soil. Today, as in the past, you can see cattle grazing and fields of cabbage, corn, and hay growing on small farms along the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Farm work of the past, like this scene from 1953, has been replaced with the use of more contemporary machinery.

Hike the Gorge (kiosk supplementary panel)
Rock Castle Creek tumbles through a forest of tulip trees, rosebay rhododendron, and umbrella magnolias to create small waterfalls as it parallels Rock Castle Gorge Trail. Over time, this small creek cut the deep gorge you see from the overlook across the Parkway. Chestnuts from the ancient trees that once grew in this gorge were an important food and trade resource for mountain communities. Until the 1930s, the gorge was home to Rock Castle, a small agricultural community.

Erected by National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior.

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Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Agriculture • Parks & Recreational Areas • Settlements & Settlers. In addition, it is included in the Blue Ridge Parkway series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1953.

Location. 36° 48.692′ N, 80° 20.986′ W. Marker is near Floyd, Virginia, in Floyd County. It is on Blue Ridge Parkway (at milepost 169), on the right when traveling south. Marker is located at the Blue Ridge Parkway Rocky Knob Visitor Center, near the building entrance. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1670 Blue Ridge Parkway, Floyd VA 24091, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Southwest Virginia

and in the Blue Ridge Highlands.

It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Upper South,

in Appalachia,

and specifically in Southern Appalachia. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the original Thirteen

Marker detail: Farmers on the plateau image. Click for full size.

2. Marker detail: Farmers on the plateau

Farmers on the plateau grew not only food for their families and community but grasses and grains for their livestock.

Colonies,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 6 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Rock Castle Gorge (approx. 0.2 miles away); Buffalo Mountain (approx. 0.9 miles away); You Buy 'Em, We'll Fly 'Em! (approx. 5.1 miles away); Sorghum Making (approx. 5.2 miles away); Homemade Soap Recipe (approx. 5.2 miles away); Whiskey Still (approx. 5.2 miles away); Blacksmith Shop (approx. 5.2 miles away); Rakes Mill Pond (approx. 5.2 miles away).

More about this marker. This marker is the front panel of a triangular three-panel kiosk.

Also see . . . Remembering the People and History of Rock Castle Gorge. Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation website entry:
Native Americans, including the Cherokee, lived and hunted in the gorge, which includes parts of what is now known as Floyd and Patrick counties, for thousands of years prior to the arrival of settlers in the 18th century. What those settlers found in the gorge was a virgin forest of huge hardwood trees, a fast-moving mountain stream that one day would be recognized as one of

America's Rural Landscape Marker<br>(<i>wide view • Rocky Knob Visitor Center in background</i>) image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, October 3, 2019

3. America's Rural Landscape Marker
(wide view • Rocky Knob Visitor Center in background)

the best trout streams in the region and fertile soil that would support the growth of apple trees and corn, among other things. (Submitted on October 3, 2019, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

Hike the Gorge (<i>kiosk supplementary panel</i>) image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, October 3, 2019

4. Hike the Gorge (kiosk supplementary panel)

You Are Here (<i>kiosk map panel</i>) image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, October 3, 2019

5. You Are Here (kiosk map panel)

Credits. This page was last revised on April 26, 2025. It was originally submitted on October 3, 2019, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 551 times since then and 9 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on October 3, 2019, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.