U.S. Route 340

U.S. Route 340. Benefitting the Page Valley. Through the first half of the twentieth century, increasing automobile traffic and the transportation demands of industry and the armed forces during two world wars contributed to highway improvements in western Virginia. In 1934, plans were made to replace the nineteenth-century Front Royal and Luray turnpike through Page County with a modern roadway designated U.S. Route 340. The new highway, completed in 1936, provided a safer route through the county and ran in a nearly straight line from Overall to Gooney Run. It included large-span bridges, such as the one here at Overall Run., The highway and other roads constructed between the wars were essential to the Valley's expanding industries. Abundant supplies of iron ore, limestone, and charcoal had long made the Shenandoah Valley a center of iron production. Tanneries also dotted the landscape in Page County. Residents transported loads of bark to them in huge quantities. During the height of production, more than one hundred tons of bark were delivered daily to the nearby Delford Tannery., Page County tourism also benefitted from the construction of US Route 340 and the amenities that followed. The county is a gateway to Skyline Drive and Shenandoah National Park, where visitation soared between the wars. Shenandoah Valley residents recognized the economic opportunities that the improved highway offered, and they accommodated the growing number of visitors. Lodges, cabins, campgrounds, restaurants, motels, and shops were built along the highway to attract business and augment the Civilian Conservation Corps' infrastructure improvements. Page County became known as the "Cabin Capital of Virginia.", (captions) , Road workers, 1921, from Page, The County of Plenty (1976), CCC workers from Camp Spotswood in Page County planting laurel on Skyline Drive - Courtesy Library of Congress, Wagon hauling bark to a tannery, from Page, The County of Plenty (1976)