Parkway Historical Documents
Documents pertaining to the 75th anniversary date
Documents assembled for NEH Seminar July 2008
Documents Pertaining to the 75th Anniversary Date
(see also my page of "Key Dates in Early Blue Ridge Parkway History")
Previous celebrations of Parkway anniversaries have identified September 11, 1935 as the date of the groundbreaking or beginning of Parkway construction.
In 1988, the state of North Carolina installed a highway historical marker on the Parkway near Low Gap proclaiming that "construction began near here on September 11, 1935." Now, of course, the meaning of "construction" is unclear, but it seems generally to be understood as the moving of dirt.
New research, however, reveals that although the Project 2-A contract start date probably was September 11, 1935 (link takes you to a summary card from the Blue Ridge Parkway archives detailing work on the first Parkway section, Section 2-A) it is more likely that the groundbreaking (that is, first moving of dirt) for the Parkway took place on September 19, 1935. Consider the following documents (click the link to view a PDF of each document):
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Skyland Post, 5 September 1935 article: "110 Men to Begin Work on Parkway Road at Once." Article notes that the work on the first section, for which Durham contractor Nello Teer had received the contract, would "get underway immediately." No start date is given, however.
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Alleghany Times, 12 September 1935 article: "Work on Scenic Parkway Link to Begin Very Soon." This article states that "the first work toward the construction of the first link of the Park-to-Park Scenic highway began Wednesday morning [September 11, 1935] when a few men were employed by the contractor to assist in unloading and moving machinery to Low Gap, where the first dirt will be moved. It is understood that steam shovels will begin moving dirt there on next Monday morning [September 16, 1935]. Several car loads of machinery were expected in Galax, Virginia Wednesday [September 11, 1935]."
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Mt. Airy News, 19 September 1935 article: "Parkway Started Monday Above Lowgap." This article states that "more than 100 men started work on the Parkway at the Carolina-Virginia line above Lowgap Monday morning, this being the first 12 mile section of the Parkway which was recently awarded by the Federal Bureau of Road to Nello Teer, road contractor of Durham . . . The first job given the men was that of clearing off the 200 foot right of way. Work was started where the parkway crosses the Lowgap-Sparta road at the Lyons brick house."
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Letter from James P. Dodge (Senior Claim Adjuster, NC State Highway and Public Works Commission) to Capus M. Waynick (Chairman, NC State Highway and Public Works Commission), 21 September 1935. This letter says "Representing you and the people of the state of North Carolina, I ordered the first breaking of ground on the first project of the Shenandoah-Great Smoky Mountains National Parkway on Thursday, September 19, 1935, at the Low Gap of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The work is progressing." [From Blue Ridge Parkway Archives, Asheville, NC; Browning Papers, Box 1, Series 1, Folder 1.]
- Skyland Post, 26 September 1935 (paper says 1936, but that is incorrect) article: "Doughton to Join Parkway Group in Capital Discussion."
Documents pertaining to the 1933 origins of the Parkway idea and activities by Virginia supporters, including Senator Harry F. Byrd
- Minutes from 17 October 1933 meeting in the Washington office of Senator Harry Byrd. First official discussion of the Parkway involving representatives from NC, VA, and TN. [From Blue Ridge Parkway Archives, Asheville, NC, RG 5, Box 59]
- 1950s correspondence about the origins of the Parkway idea, including letters to and from Senator Byrd and other early participants. [From Blue Ridge Parkway Archives, Asheville, NC, RG 5, Box 54]
Documents Assembled For the NEH Seminar July 2008
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June 1, 1934 Letter from R. Getty Browning to George Radcliffe, arguing for selection of the North Carolina route for the Parkway
(from the National Archives, RG 79, Entry 7, Box 2711) -
June 8, 1934 Report on Proposed Locations, Shenandoah-Great Smoky Mountains National Parkway, by Stanley W. Abbott
(from the National Archives, RG 79, Entry 7, Box 2711) -
January 7, 1937 Letter from S. A. Miller, Obids, NC to Franklin D. Roosevelt about the "Park to Park highway"
(from the National Archives, RG 79, Entry 7, Box 2731) -
May 1940 issue of the Blue Ridge Parkway News
(from the National Archives, RG 79, Entry 7, Box 2715) -
April 1944 article "Grandfather Mountain: Shall It Be Saved?" by Harlan P. Kelsey
(reprinted from Planning and Civic Comment, April 1944, found in the North Carolina Collection, UNC-Chapel Hill) -
[1957] Hugh Morton, "A Capsule of Facts Substantiating Opposition to a Possible Change in the Established Right of Way for the Blue Ridge Parkway at Grandfather Mountain"
(from the Lands Files, Blue Ridge Parkway headquarters, Asheville, NC) -
[1957] R. Getty Browning, Report on Blue Ridge Parkway Section 2-H (Grandfather Mountain)
(from the Lands Files, Blue Ridge Parkway headquarters, Asheville, NC)