BIG STONY CREEK HISTORIC DISTRICT VA‐### Kimballton vicinity Giles County Virginia PHOTOGRAPHS WRITTEN HISTORICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE DATA MEASURED DRAWINGS HISTORIC AMERICAN LANDSCAPES SURVEY National Park Service US Department of the Interior National Capital Regional Office 1100 Ohio Drive, SW Washington, DC 20242 HISTORIC AMERICAN LANDSCAPES SURVEY BIG STONY CREEK HISTORIC DISTRICT HALS NO. VA-### Location: The Big Stony Creek Historic District (BSCHD) is located along a one-and-three- quarters-mile stretch of Norcross Road (Route 684) in the vicinity of Kimballton, Giles County, Virginia, approximately one mile northeast of the New River and 3.25 miles northeast of Pearisburg, the county seat of Giles County. Coordinates are: latitude 37.370535, longitude -80.674879 (north corner of district boundary); latitude 37.366247, longitude -80.671977 (east corner of district boundary); latitude 37.351064, longitude -80.691319 (south corner of district boundary); and latitude 37.353837, longitude -80.693814 (west corner of district boundary). The coordinates were obtained on March 7, 2019, by plotting the location on Esri World Imagery aerial photography, dated March 28, 2013. Significance: A 2016 survey noted that the BSCHD “exhibits the physical characteristics of a potential NRHP rural historic district, including a concentration of buildings that are united historically by their geography, date of construction, construction materials, and function.”1 The district comprises resources that share a common period of significance in a community that grew around the development of the Norfolk and Western (N&W) Railway (historically the Big Stony Railway [035-5126]), the rich industry of the lime quarry, and the natural resource of Big Stony Creek.2 Description: The BSCHD (Virginia Department of Historic Resources [VDHR] ID #035-5127) is a collection of diverse historical resources—farm houses, a church, a small cemetery, a railroad corridor, and an industrial mine—set amidst a rural, agricultural, and mostly forested mountain landscape that straddles the namesake creek, which flows southwestward to the New River. The district is located in Giles County, founded in the early nineteenth century as one of several counties in southwestern Virginia that make up a region known as the New River Valley. This fertile region attracted settlement, agriculture, and industry throughout history. Following the seventeenth-century explorations of frontiersmen from eastern Virginia, the first settlers trickled into the New River Valley in the mid-eighteenth century and gradually made their way to what became Giles County. Agriculture was central to life in this period and continued to be so through the nineteenth century and much of the twentieth century. Industrial development in the form of a limestone mine reached the district in the mid-twentieth century. Agriculture and industry were vital to the regional economy and foundations for community 1 New South Associates, “Phase 1 Reconnaissance”. 2 Ibid. BIG STONY CREEK HISTORIC DISTRICT HALS NO. VA-### PAGE 2 life into the twentieth century. The historical remnants of agriculture and industry in the BSCHD, while they may appear unrelated, are connected in the sense that they illustrate important phases in the story of southwestern Virginia. DESCRIPTIONS OF RESOURCES WITHIN THE DISTRICT The BSCHD (035-5127) contains seven previously recorded historic resources and four previously unrecorded historic resources, listed in order from north to south: • Big Stony Creek Road (Route 635); • Norcross Road (Route 684); • Big Stony Railway (035-5126); • Caldwell House (035-5123); • Curtis Caldwell House (035-5122); • Caldwell Boarding House (035-5121); • Virginia Lime Plant (APG Lime Corp Plant #2) (035-5120); • Big Stoney United Methodist Church (UMC) (035-5119) and Cemetery (035-5139); • McDonald Place (035-5118); • Masters House (035-5117); and • Snidow Cemetery. Big Stony Creek Road (Route 635) Big Stony Creek Road (Route 635) is a two-lane paved road that passes through a mostly forested area located at the northern end of the BSCHD. Only approximately one-third of a mile of the road is within the district boundaries. The road appears to follow a tributary of the Big Stony Creek near the southwest slope of Butt Mountain. The road intersects Norcross Road (Route 684) and continues north to its intersection with White Rock Road (Route 613). The road terminates at its intersection with Virginia Avenue (Route 636). Big Stony Creek Road is depicted as an unpaved road in Kimballton east of Norcross Road on the 1937 Pearisburg, Va. USGS quadrangle map. Norcross Road (Route 684) Norcross Road (Route 684) is an unmarked, paved road that serves as the main transportation corridor throughout the BSCHD. The road has a northeast- southwest alignment and runs roughly parallel to Big Stony Creek, on the creek’s south side. Norcross Road is approximately 2.2 miles in length, beginning at the intersection with Big Stony Creek Road (Route 635) and terminating at the New River southwest of the BSCHD. A road with the same alignment of the present- BIG STONY CREEK HISTORIC DISTRICT HALS NO. VA-### PAGE 3 day Norcross Road is depicted on the 1891 Dublin, Va. USGS quadrangle map linking New River access to the Kimballton community. Two buildings are depicted flanking the road by 1891. The 1932 Pearisburg, Va. USGS quadrangle map depicts the railroad track adjacent to Norcross Road. By 1937, present-day Klotz Road (Route 626) is depicted intersecting Norcross Road north of 752 Norcross Road (Masters House, 035-5117). Big Stony Railway (Norfolk & Western [N&W] Railway) (035-5126) The Big Stony Railway (035-5126) is a historic railroad corridor that was developed by the Big Stony Railway Company. The company received a charter from the government of Virginia in 1892 to build tracks from the N&W Railway along the New River to the community of Interior. The 10.5-mile track, which passed through the BSCHD, was completed in 1895. The N&W Railway Company purchased the Big Stony Railway in 1905. Two other regional railroads connected with the Big Stony Railway in 1909: the Interior & Western Railroad and the Potts Creek Railroad. In the following year, the N&W Railway Company purchased the two new railroads, uniting them with the Big Stony Railway to form a new, longer line called the Potts Valley Branch. The N&W Railway Company abandoned much of its Potts Valley Branch in 1932. The trackage within the BSCHD was one of the segments that remained in operation. Through its years of service, the railroad hauled iron ore, agricultural products, timber, limestone, and passengers. The trackage in the BSCHD is approximately 3.25 miles. It has a roughly northeast-southwest alignment through the center of the Big Stony Creek Valley. The resource also includes associated railroad structures, such as trestles, culverts, and railroad spurs. Caldwell House (035-5123) 141 Rogers Road The Caldwell House (035-5123), built in 1945, is a one-story Minimal Traditional dwelling located at 141 Rogers Road. The 1.1-acre parcel is situated on the northeast side of Rogers Road and east of the N&W Railway grade. The wood- frame building has an irregular plan and a concrete block foundation. The cross- gabled roof is clad with asphalt shingles and a brick masonry chimney extends from the intersection of the gables. The southwest façade includes a partial-width attached porch with a dropped shed roof. Simple columns support the porch, which is enclosed with a wood railing. The building includes six-over-six-light wood-sash windows and the exterior is clad with non-historic vinyl siding. BIG STONY CREEK HISTORIC DISTRICT HALS NO. VA-### PAGE 4 Curtis Caldwell House (035-5122) 129 Rogers Road The Curtis Caldwell House (035-5122) is a one-story Minimal Traditional dwelling located at 129 Rogers Road on a 0.73-acre parcel. The small building, completed in 1945, is set back on a sod yard enclosed by a chain link fence. The building includes a small partial-width incorporated porch on its southwest façade. The porch has an unornamented ironwork support column and railing. The building’s cross-gabled roof is clad with non-historic standing seam metal. The exterior fabric of the building consists of non-historic vinyl siding, and its windows are replacement one-over-one-light vinyl-sash windows. The resource also includes a concrete-block garage, constructed ca. 1950. Caldwell Boarding House (035-5121) 114 Rogers Road The Caldwell Boarding House (035-5121) is a ca. 1890 two-story frame vernacular building, located at 114 Rogers Road. The 4.5-acre property is located adjacent to the N&W Railway grade and includes two store buildings, a concrete block garage, shed, and non-historic frame construction railroad switch house. The primary building’s three-bay southeast façade has a two-story porch and gallery, and a two-story rear ell addition extends from the northwest façade. The principal mass is clad with wood weatherboard, while the rear addition is clad with Masonite. The principal mass includes six-over-six-light and one-over-one-light wood-sash windows, and the rear addition includes replacement windows. The building’s exterior displays modest ornamentation, including turned posts and balustrade, pilasters, and window surrounds. The building’s original chimneys have been replaced with concrete flues. The building’s hipped roof is clad with asphalt shingles, and it has a concrete-block foundation. The building likely served railroad and local mining industry-related travelers. Virginia Lime Plant (APG Lime Plant #2) (035-5120) 114 APG Plant II Lane This ca. 1950 one-story office building (035-5120) is located east of Norcross Road and south of Big Stony Creek Road. The five-acre parcel also includes an N&W Railway spur for product transport. The building’s exterior is clad with stucco, and its side-gabled roof is clad with asphalt shingles.