Near South Lee Highway (U.S. 11) at Wert Faulkner Highway (Virginia Route 130), on the right when traveling north.
That is how Thomas Jefferson described the Natural Bridge in his Notes on the State of Virginia. The Bridge so impressed him that he purchased the arch in 1774 along with the surrounding 157 acres of land for 20 shillings, or $200 in today’s . . . — — Map (db m231352) HM
Near South Lee Highway (U.S. 11) at Wert Faulkner Highway (Virginia Route 130), on the left when traveling south.
Before dying in 1980, this more than 1600 year old specimen of the Arbor Vitae tree was the oldest and largest known in the world. It’s (sic) diameter measures 56 inches. Depending on climatic conditions that determine it’s (sic) growth rate, the . . . — — Map (db m105822) HM
Near South Lee Highway (U.S. 11) at Wert Faulkner Highway (Virginia Route 130), on the right when traveling north.
Muskets cannot fire without gunpowder – this cave supplied the ingredients used by American soldiers for decades.
Saltpeter Cave was carved out of the nearby limestone by thousands of years of stream erosion, and after the discovery of nitrates . . . — — Map (db m231354) HM
Near South Lee Highway (U.S. 11) at Wert Faulkner Highway (Virginia Route 130), on the left when traveling south.
Natural Bridge has enormous proportions. Man first discovered Natural Bridge a few hundred years ago. But Nature, through millions of years, had worked with patient labor and magnificent skill to construct this monument which would stand for all . . . — — Map (db m105824) HM
Near Lee Highway (U.S. 11) at Wert Faulkner Highway (Virginia Highway 130).
Around 1750, while surveying
Natural Bridge, George
Washington carved his initials
under the bridge's arch.
His initials can still be seen
today, directly across Cedar
Creek and 23 feet up. — — Map (db m11082) HM
Near South Lee Highway (U.S. 11) at Wert Faulkner Highway (Virginia Route 130), on the left when traveling south.
From high on the south end of the first ridge of the Alleghany Mountains, 180 miles away, originate the headwaters of Cedar Creek. Before you, Cedar Creek plunges 50 feet to the creekbed. As the seasons change, the waterfall transforms from delicate . . . — — Map (db m105828)
Near South Lee Highway (U.S. 11) at Wert Faulkner Highway (Virginia Route 130), on the right when traveling north.
Around 1812, workers from the nearby Saltpeter Cave heard water flowing from behind the limestone rock where you are now standing. They blasted away the stone with black powder explosives and exposed the Lost River.
They built a pipe system to . . . — — Map (db m231355) HM
Near South Lee Highway (U.S. 11) at Wert Faulkner Highway (Virginia Route 130), on the left when traveling south.
About 1812, workmen from the Saltpetre Cave heard the waters of the Lost River, and blasted the opening to it that you see today. A water main was attached to transport water to the hoppers and kettles used to extract the nitrate from the cave. . . . — — Map (db m105865) HM
Near South Lee Highway (U.S. 11) at Wert Faulkner Highway (Virginia Route 130), on the left when traveling south.
The Monacan Indian Nation and Natural Bridge invite you to witness, in a living history environment, glimpses of what life would have been like in a small Monacan Village (sic) 300 years ago along the banks of Cedar Creek.
This is a project of . . . — — Map (db m105825) HM
Near Wert Faulkner Highway / Rockbridge Road (Virginia Route 130).
(Preface): On May 26, 1864, Union Gen. David Hunter marched south from Cedar Creek near Winchester to drive out Confederate forces, lay waste to the Shenandoah Valley, and destroy transportation facilities at Lynchburg. His raid was part of . . . — — Map (db m33398) HM
On Rockbridge Road / Wert Faulkner Highway (Virginia Route 130), on the right when traveling east.
Natural Bridge holds a unique place in American history as one of the natural wonders and first tourist attractions in the New World. Artists and illustrators popularized its image. This natural semielliptical arch is made of limestone carved by . . . — — Map (db m48) HM
Near South Lee Highway (U.S. 11) at Wert Faulkner Highway (Virginia Route 130), on the left when traveling south.
1926
This tablet
commemorates the fact
that the
Natural Bridge
patent was surveyed by
George Washington
about 1750 A.D.
and was granted to
Thomas Jefferson
July 5, 1774 A.D.
Erected by
The Natural Bridge Chapter
of the . . . — — Map (db m105821) HM
On South Lee Highway (Virginia Route F055) 0.7 miles north of Chambers Road (Virginia Route 610), on the left when traveling north.
Rockbridge County. Area 616 Square Miles. Formed in 1778 from Augusta and Botetourt, and named for the Natural Bridge. Samuel Houston and Cyrus H. McCormick were born in this county. Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson are . . . — — Map (db m55788) HM
Near South Lee Highway (U.S. 11) near Wert Faulkner Highway (Virginia Route 130), on the left when traveling south.
During the War of 1812 and the Civil War (1861-1865), earth from this cave was mined for the bird and bat droppings that it contained, to make gunpowder. The earth was saturated with cold water and left in hoppers for a day or two. Once boiled in . . . — — Map (db m105826) HM
