Did You Know?
There are 26 tunnels and 151 bridges on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Photo by Hugh Morton
Location
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Patrick County Chamber of Commerce
Stuart, Virginia
276.694.6012
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http://www.patrickchamber.com
Near milepost 180
Patrick County is a largely rural Blue Ridge Parkway community that was formed in 1791. The County seat is the Town of Stuart, named after Patrick County native General J.E.B. Stuart – the Civil War calvaryman whose birthplace, Laurel Hill, is located near Ararat in the western part of Patrick County. Another native son is tobacco magnate R.J. Reynolds from the community of Critz.
One third of Patrick County is in the rolling Piedmont plateau where agriculture, mainly peaches, apples, cherries, grapes, and cattle, plays an important role in the local economy. The remaining land is in the picturesque Blue Ridge Mountains, where the Blue Ridge Parkway forms the County’s western border with Carroll and Floyd counties to the north. In these mountains, visitors can enjoy a leisurely drive, abundant wildlife, and scenic vistas from up to 3,000 feet.
Patrick County offers a high quality of life with clean roads and streams and an unhurried way of life rich in the tradition and the friendliness of mountain communities. The County boasts four parks, including the 4,500-acre Fairy Stone State Park, which adjoins the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ 10,000-acre Philpott Lake and Dam. Five rivers – Dan, Ararat, North Mayo, South Mayo, and Smith – have headwaters in Patrick with lots of fresh water fishing opportunities. Mountain music and culture are equally important with traditional bluegrass music and artisan events on The Crooked Road and Round the Mountain trails.
Patrick is close to the south’s biggest markets but distant from their hectic lifestyles. Patrick offers the charm of traditional small-town America with friendly smiling faces and where visitors are treated as family. Patrick County celebrates two state-sanctioned festivals – the Virginia State Peach Festival and Virginia Covered Bridge Festival. There are two historic covered bridges in the community of Woolwine.
The Blue Ridge Parkway adjoins Patrick County on the north, with an exit at Meadows of Dan. There is a regional visitor center at this exit within 200 yards of the parkway.
From the Blue Ridge Parkway’s inception until now, Patrick County has been close neighbors with clear views of its forests, farmland, and wildlife. Many Patrick County residents gave up valuable land for the design of the parkway and have always promoted the Parkway to its visitors. Many of Patrick’s residents have been and are employed by the National Park Service.
