Greetings All!
The company I work for, Dovetail Cultural Resource Group, has undertaken a
project with the NPS to research the rights of ways and history of roads
connecting properties within Shenandoah National Park to the 'outside
world'. The purpose is to open up access to fire roads, access points, and
trails that have been currently cut-off.
My research thus far has focused on locating the properties in question,
conducting chain-of-title research to note any easements on the property,
understanding the condemnation process, and finding the historic roots of
the roads in question. In partiuclar, I'm focusing my work on six roads
located in Warren County, Rappahannock County, Page County, and Rockingham
County.
To this point I have not been able to establish any current easements or
rights of way via the chain-of-title research. I have been able to locate
the owners of the condemned properties that would have been using the roads,
and have used a NPS publication, "A Database of Shenandoah National Park
Land Records", to understand exactly what each property owner had.
Unfortunately, the resource does not include roads as a data point.
I have searched the records of both the Department of Conservation and
Recreation and the Commission of Parks for any communication or memos
dealing with roads. None have been noted. In addition, I've taken a look
at the Boards of Supervisor's minutes for the counties in question, with no
luck. State highway plat books located in the individual counties (some of
the roads that are currently on private land were formerly state highways)
did not provide any additional information.
I think I have exhausted the resources available, but would like to hear any
thoughts that you all have.
Thank you for your assistance.
Best,
Andrew Deci
--
Andrew H. Deci
Architectural Historian
Dovetail Cultural Resource Group, LLC
304/216-3104
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Fredericksburg, Va. 22401
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