Blue Ridge Parkway Overlook at Groundhog Mountain, Meadows of Dan, VA
October 2025: Vol 2, #10
This month, Blue Ridge Tales brings you four stories pulled from the quieter corners of our region’s past. You’ll walk the darkened tracks of the Blue Ridge Tunnel, ride along with packhorse librarians who braved mountain trails, step into the Mayberry Trading Post that outlasted its TV namesake, and meet the Blue People of Kentucky whose family legacy still fascinates science. Each tale offers a reminder that history lingers in unexpected places, waiting for us to listen.
In Meadows of Dan, Virginia, the Blue Ridge Parkway passes a weathered frame building that has stood since 1892. Travelers know it as the Mayberry Trading Post. The name catches the eye because it recalls Andy Griffith’s television Mayberry, but this place is real. Its story is one of change met with perseverance, a reminder that communities in the mountains …
A baby born blue was nothing new on Troublesome Creek. Neighbors had seen it before. The midwife knew the color would fade in a few days for some, but not for others. For certain families in this corner of eastern Kentucky, blue skin wasn’t a sign of sickness. It was a sign of kinship. The Blue People of Kentucky lived …
In 1938, the Blue Ridge Mountains still held pockets of people far from any public library. Roads were rough, mail was slow, and a borrowed book might pass through several hands before finding its way back to a shelf. Into this gap came the Packhorse Librarians: women on horseback or mule, carrying books into places other delivery systems couldn’t reach. …
The stone arch cuts a clean curve into the mountain, framing the tunnel. At the entrance to the Blue Ridge Tunnel, faint drips and echoes are heard. The wind carries the smell of damp rock. Step forward, and the daylight behind you starts to shrink, the cool darkness pulling you in. Cutting Through the Mountain In the 1850s, French engineer …
Well, that's it for this edition. I hope you enjoyed it. If you would like me to cover a particular topic, drop me a line at the address below. And don't forget to "like" our Facebook page.
