I have been following with interest the discussion regarding the displacement of people for the creation of Shenandoah National Park.  I have researched the subject at great length (including records of the Park at Luray, as well as the National Archives. Library of Virginia and Library of Congress).  I have done some writing on the subject.  

My grandfather’s land and apple orchard business (planted by his father) was seized for the Park.  The last batch of apples he sold was to a company in England for over $10,000, not long before the dedication of the Park at Big Meadows.  The cemetery of our ancestors was cut off from access with the taking for the park.  

My grandfather sued the Commonwealth of Virginia and Harold Ickes the Secretary of the Interior arguing that taking  the land (by Virginia) on the premise that it would be later turned over to the federal government was not a proper basis to claim public purpose and therefore unconstitutional.  [Via v Virginia, et al].  He lost in the United States Supreme Court.

Virginia’s effort to take this land was started long before FDR and the CCC.  The first plan called for the seizure of over 800,000 acres in the 1920s at a time when the median family income was around $2,500 per year.  

Those who visit the park today, and take the time to visit the Visitor center at Big Meadows, can see a picture of my grandfather and a brief description of this event in what is now a more appropriate cultural exhibit recognizing that in addition to the magnificent scenery, people are interested in the people who lived on the mountain and lost their land and their homes. 

Robert Yingst

Sent from iCloud

On Nov 27, 2012, at 06:30 AM, sharpe <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

Ms. Manscill appears to have swallowed the party line, along with the
sinker and hook.

She states: "The Shenandoah National Park brought help to an area
that was suffering from the Great Depression. The CCC camps in the
Park brought jobs to young men who had little hope for their futures.
And the Park continues to help the growth and development of the
surrounding area."

The people driven off the land for the SNP were self-sufficient,
living simple lives. They were not desperately "suffering from the Great
Depression." Their lifestyle, being so simple, was not much changed
by the Depression compared with those whose lives were disrupted by
the loss of employment and purchasing power in urban areas.

From the perspective of educated, urban policy makers, the simple
lifestyle was backward, and poor. Their attitude toward those whose
land ownership stood in the way for a recreational resource for those
who owned autos, was similar to that of whites describing Native
Americans as savages while forcing them off the land.

The residents owned the land in most cases. They were paid a lump sum (not
generous) and made to live in an urban environment for which they were
unsuited. Most of the land was acquired by the State of Virginia
prior to the 1930 drought and well before the creation of the CCC in
1933. When the park was authorized in 1926, the CCC was not even a
thought.

The CCC camps brought men from other places (mostly urban) that were
suffering from the dismal economy. They benefited, as do today's
hikers, at the
expense of the former inhabitants.

People with political and economic power imposed their will for their
own purposes on those who lacked such power, and used propaganda to
justify their actions. Sic semper populus.

sharpe

To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at
http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-roots.html

To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at
http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-roots.html