Collections : [James Madison University]

Records an interview with Butler Franklin, (née Butler-Brayne Thornton Robinson), a direct descendant of Francis Thornton, III, who built a plantation near Sperryville, Virginia, in the 1740s. Mrs. Franklin contends that several prominent geographic features now located in Shenandoah National Park, including Thornton Gap, the Thornton River and Mary's Rock, were named for Francis Thornton and his descendants. Includes a genealogical history of the Thornton family in Virginia, from William Thornton, III, who emigrated from England in the 1640s, through Col. John Thornton, who married Jane Washington, aunt of the future first president. Discusses several Thornton estates, including Montpelier, the plantation built on the Rappahannock River near Sperryville, and the Thornton ancestral home, Fall Hill, in Fredericksburg ,where Mrs. Franklin resided at the time of the interview.

Records an interview with Carl Shifflett and his wife, Gertrude, (née Shifflett), who discuss their memories of the people who lived within the future boundaries of Shenandoah National Park. Describes daily life in the mountains, touching on the work of growing and preserving food, herbal remedies, courtship, and funeral rituals, as well as holiday celebrations.

Records the reminiscences of Charles Estes, who owned a sawmill and several other businesses near Piney River, in Rappahannock County, Virgina, in the 1920s and 30s. Describes the everyday lives of the mountain people who lived around Piney River, popular community gatherings such as hog and beef butchering and apple butter boiling parties, as well as courting, wedding and funeral rituals. Includes references to the gardens and livestock raised by the mountain people, their methods of food preservation and popular holiday traditions. Discusses the various means available for earning money, such as bark peeling, barrel stave making, apple picking and moonshining. Includes anecdotes regarding Virginia governor Harry Byrd and local entrepreneur George Pollock, owner of Skyland resort. A woman identified only as Mrs. Estes provides an extensive description of many common herbal remedies employed by the mountain people, as well as additional commentary throughout.

Mr. Cave leads a walking and driving tour of the area around the Cave family homestead in Dark Hollow, Virginia, where he was raised prior to the establishment of Shenandoah National Park in 1934. The tour includes a stop at the Cave family cemetery, where Mr. Cave identifies the grave sites of his extended family, going back to the Civil War, and explains the genealogy of the various family members interred there. Includes references to Civil War era ancestors, moonshiners, bark peeling, copper mining, ginseng and chestnut harvesting, and other natural features of Dark Hollow.

Records an interview with Frank Willberger, whose family ran an undertaking business in Augusta County in the early part of the 20th century. Describes the practice of undertaking in those years, and the special conditions encountered when working with local mountain families, whose homes were often located in remote and marginally accessible areas.

Records an interview conducted by Edward Garvey of the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club (PATC) with George Corbin, who lived in Nicholson Hollow, Virginia from 1888 to 1938. The Corbin homestead was located on part of the land turned over to the NPS by the state of Virginia in the 1930s. Corbin describes the circumstances at the time of the construction of the log cabin he built for his family in 1909. The logs for the cabin were harvested locally by Corbin, who then cut and shaped them using axes and other hand tools. Corbin recalls the day of the house raising when ten friends and neighbors joined him to assemble all of the walls and rafters within the course of a single day. The cabin was later turned over to the PATC for use as a trail shelter in 1954, and is listed on the National Registry of Historic Buildings as the George T. Corbin Cabin. Edward Garvey was part of the PATC crew that restored the cabin for public use. Corbin elaborates on local methods of raising and storing crops and vegetables, collecting tan bark, funerals and burial rituals, and gives a detailed account of his experiences distilling moonshine. Includes a discussion on the Corbin and Nicholson family cemetery, as well as the local schoolhouse and church. Mr. Corbin speaks at length of the genealogies of the Corbins and the Nicholsons, as well as many of the other local mountain families. Included are anecdotes regarding businessman and entrepreneur George Pollock, owner of Skyland resort, and several local residents.

Records the reminiscences of Mary Early, (née Leonard), who lived in New Hope, not far from the Black Rock Springs Hotel, in Black Rock Gap, Virginia. The Black Rock Springs Hotel was a popular tourist destination in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, both for its scenic views and for the natural mineral springs for which it was named. Mrs. Early recounts her memories of the grounds and buildings and the popularity of the site in the years following the hotel's destruction by fire in 1909. Includes references to people associated with the hotel and springs, as well as many of the families and local people who lived near the hotel in its heyday. The site where the hotel stood was incorporated into Shenandoah National Park in the 1930s. Joining Mrs. Early in the interview is her son-in-law, George Coyner.

Records the reminiscences of Miley Frazier, who was born in 1900 near Patterson Ridge, in what would become the Southern Section of Shenandoah National Park. Describes daily life in the mountains, including local agriculture, livestock production and food preservation, courting rituals and folk music. Discusses the annual cattle drives from the lowlands to the mountain pastures. Discusses the importance of seasonal harvests, including chestnuts, huckleberries and tan bark, to the local economy.

Records an interview with Robert H. Corbin, who leads a party of researchers from the National Park Service (NPS), the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club (PATC) and several family members on a walking tour of Nicholson Hollow. The primary interviewers are Allen Tanner of the PATC and Paul Lee of the NPS. Additional questions and commentary are provided by Mr. Corbin's son, Joe, and other family members. The Corbin homestead was located on part of the land turned over to the NPS by the state of Virginia in the 1930s. The primary focus of the tour was the identification of home sites and their owners along the length of Nicholson Hollow. Discusses home and family life in the mountains, including the tan bark industry, apple, chestnut and ginseng harvesting, food cultivation and preservation, and the moonshine business. Community gatherings, such as weddings, funerals, corn husking and apple butter boiling parties are also discussed, with passing mentions of Camp Hoover and local entrepreneur George Pollock, owner of nearby Skyland resort. Mr. Corbin, who was nearly 80 years old, gives an extensive account of many of the inhabitants of Nicholson and Corbin Hollows, as well as Corbin Mountain. The second eldest of 21 children, Corbin was related by blood or marriage to most of the surrounding families. Some of the more notable relatives mentioned include Corbin's cousin George T. Corbin, builder of the landmark Corbin Cabin, Aaron Nicholson and Phinnel Fennel Corbin, who were both featured in George Pollock's book Skyland: Heart of the Shenandoah Valley. Corbin describes two local murders, including that of his father, William J. Corbin, who was killed by a family member, John Nicholson, in 1922.

Records the reminiscences of Rufus and Hazel Cline, (née Garber), who lived in New Hope, not far from the Black Rock Springs Hotel, in Black Rock Gap, Virginia. The Black Rock Springs Hotel was a popular tourist destination in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, both for its scenic views and for the natural mineral springs for which it was named. Mr. and Mrs. Cline recount their memories of the grounds and buildings and the popularity of the site in the years following the hotel's destruction by fire in 1909. Includes references to people associated with the hotel and springs, as well as many of the families and local people who lived near the hotel in its heyday. The site where the hotel stood was incorporated into Shenandoah National Park in the 1930s.