Page 224 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - USA

222  W ASHINGT ON , DC & THE C APIT AL REGION

w Blue Ridge
Parkway
Tel (828) 271-4779.
∑ blueridgeparkway.org
Stretching for 469 miles
(755 km) along the crest of the
Appalachian Mountains, the Blue
Ridge Parkway (see p51) extends
from the southern border of
Shenandoah National Park all the
way to North Carolina, ending
finally at Great Smoky Mountains
National Park (see p264). Created
as a public works project during
the “New Deal” era in the depths
of the 1930s Great Depression,
the scenic route was begun in
1935 but was not completed
until 1987. Mileposts along
the way, measured from north
to south, help travelers discover
the points of interest along
the route. Some of the
highlights along the 216-mile
A reconstructed building, Appomattox Court House National Historical Park (348-km) portion of the Blue
Ridge Parkway in Virginia
q Appomattox Lee realized that victory was include a crossing of the James
Court House impossible. The terms of River at milepost 63 and the
National surrender were generous, since lakefront lodge in the Peaks of
Union leaders hoped to promote
Otter section near milepost 86.
Historical Park reconciliation. When the The historic Mabry Mill at
Confederates laid down their milepost 176 was in use as a
n (877) AT BLUE GREY, (434) 352-
8987. Open 9am–5pm daily. arms, the Northern soldiers backwoods sawmill and
Closed Jan 1, Martin Luther King Day, saluted their opponents. blacksmith shop until 1935.
Presidents Day, Thanksgiving, Dec 25. Much of the original setting This parkway passes through
& 7 ∑ nps.gov/apco was destroyed in battle or later Asheville, North Carolina, and
dismantled by souvenir Roanoke, Virginia, and is
This National Historic Park, hunters. Most of what stands primarily rural and scenic, with
located 3 miles (4.8 km) north- here today was reconstructed no advertising or commercial
east of the town of Appomattox, by the National Park Service traffic allowed. Open all year,
re-creates the spot where in the 1940s. the peak travel season is fall.
Confederate General Robert E.
Lee surrendered to US General
Ulysses S. Grant to signal the
end of the Civil War (see p197).
Today, markers trace the sites of
the last skirmishes of the war,
and 27 reconstructed and
restored buildings replicate the
scene where, on April 9, 1865,
the two leaders and their armies
put an end to that long, destruc-
tive war. In the last months of
fighting, General Grant had
captured the Confederate strong-
hold at Petersburg, while
General Sherman’s “March to
the Sea” across Georgia
surrounded Confederate forces
from the South. With the fall
of the Confederate capital at
Richmond on April 2, General The picturesque Mabry Mill at milepost 176 of the Blue Ridge Parkway
For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp234–6 and pp237–9

222-223_EW_USA.indd 222 11/2/16 2:44 PM
Eyewitness Travel LAYERS PRINTED:
Catalogue template “UK” LAYER
(Source v2.6)
Date 12th July 2013
Size 125mm x 217mm