Welcome to Environmental Literacy Classroom
Brought to you by the Rockfish Valley Foundation
In Partnership With the Virginia DCR
Post 7 — South Rockfish Valley Rural Historic District
History still stands in the fields around you
Fun Fact:
The South Rockfish Valley Rural Historic District preserves a landscape that has been farmed since the first half of the eighteenth century. Tobacco, apples, cattle, and now viticulture all reflect different eras of how people worked this land.
Spot It:
Look for surviving farm buildings, old houses, field patterns, and the relationship between roads, slopes, and open ground. Historic landscapes are not frozen in time; they keep changing while still holding the outlines of earlier lives.
Why It Matters Here:
This district helps explain why the Rockfish Valley feels so distinctive. Its beauty comes not only from mountains and rivers, but from a long agricultural history still visible in the shape of the land.
South Rockfish River Historic District
South Rockfish Valley Rural Historic District (SRVRHD)
Created in 2016, the South Rockfish Valley Rural Historic District (SRVRHD) encompasses approximately 1,600 acres of rich farmland that has been in production since the first half of the 18th century. Many of the original farm buildings and houses can still be viewed today. Its agricultural history includes tobacco cultivation in the 18th and 19th centuries, apple production from the early 20th century to the present, and, currently, cattle farming and viticulture (cultivating grapes). The 1908 Wintergreen Country Store (which houses the RVF Natural History Center) is one of the many buildings in the district listed with the National Register of Historic Places.
The Rockfish Valley Foundation works to protect and educate on the land, air, waters, and living history of the Rockfish Valley. We are volunteer-led and donor-funded. For information on donating or volunteering please visit us at rockfishvalley.org