Lost Communities of Virginia Driving Tour Brochures
We’ve found that people are using the Lost Communities of Virginia book to tour the state, but there are many more fascinating places than we had room for in the book. Lost Communities of Virginia Driving Tour Guides introduce travelers to lesser known aspects of Virginia history by providing backroad routes to lost communities. Communities highlighted on the routes reveal physical remnants of once thriving communities and unique areas to explore and visit; each with their own unique piece of Virginia’s history and character.
The tour guides are brochures covering a few counties at a time via rural roads, with historical information and points of interest highlighted, along with a detailed map showing the tour route. The brochures are available in local county tourism offices, at our office (101 South Main Street, Blacksburg), or can be downloaded as PDFs.
Virginia’s back roads and rural areas are dotted with traces of once-thriving communities. General stores, train depots, schools, churches, banks, and post offices provide intriguing details of a way of life now gone. The Lost Communities of Virginia Backroads of Southwest Virginia Driving Tour gives people the opportunity to explore a sampling of Virginia’s back roads in counties connected by the mountains and the New River. Enjoy seeing mountain views, iron furnaces, agricultural landscapes, historic churches and cemeteries, and general stores; browse historic downtowns; hike trails like the New River Trail; listen to music of the Crooked Road. This route is designed as a loop so that you can jump on the route from a multitude of locations.
Please note that some points of interest in the brochure may no longer be open or be open different hours than stated in the brochure.
Download the 28″x19″ interactive PDF copy of the brochure. (Note: For best results, download the PDF file and use Adobe Acrobat Reader) Click on communities and points of interest on the map to link to their descriptions in the text. Click on URLs in the text to learn more about points of interest.
Alternatively, download the brochure as a PDF of 16 (8.5″ x 11″) pages that can be printed and assembled into a full-size copy of the brochure on your home printer.
Virginia’s back roads and rural areas are dotted with traces of once-thriving communities. General stores, train depots, schools, churches, banks, and post offices provide intriguing details of a way of life now gone. The Lost Communities of Virginia Southern Driving Tour gives people the opportunity to explore a sampling of Virginia’s back roads in south central Virginia. The route is designed as a loop so that you can jump on the route from a multitude of locations and spend an afternoon exploring or create a multi-day adventure.
Please note that some points of interest in the brochure may no longer be open or be open different hours than stated in the brochure.
Download 28″x19″ interactive PDF copy of the brochure here. (Note: For best results, download the PDF file and use Adobe Acrobat Reader) Click on communities and points of interest on the map to link to their descriptions in the text. Click on URLs in the text to learn more about points of interest.
Alternatively, download the brochure as a PDF of 16 (8.5″ x 11″) pages that can be printed and assembled into a full-size copy of the brochure on your home printer.
The Motorcyclist's Guide to Lost Communities of Virginia's Blue Ridge Driving Tour Brochure is the first of our driving tour brochures and is less detailed than the later brochures. It provides directions and suggested stops for 2 drives of less than 100 miles each in Southwest Virginia that highlight the boom and bust of Virginia's Iron Industry.
It is envisioned that these brochures will become a guidebook that seeks to bring to life the past and present characters of Virginia’s lost communities by providing the traveler with a historical sketch of each community written in the words of its residents. Accented by a general narrative of the trends and movements of Virginia and U.S. history, the book will highlight those moments in time that make each community a unique part of our shared American story.
For more information, call 540-231-5644, or email tlfisher@vt.edu.