A Good Marion Morning

We spent July 4th exploring Marion in the morning and Hungry Mother State Park in the afternoon.  Marion is only four miles from the park.  It offers several grocery stores, restaurants and gas stations for resupplying campers and tourists.  While Marion is a small town of only 5,968 residents, the town has done an admirable job preserving its history by renovating many of its historic buildings and creating the Marion Historic District.  The historic district is composed of 361 buildings.

One of the buildings included in the National Register of Historic Places is the Norfolk & Western Railway Depot.  The depot was built in 1904 to handle passenger traffic.  Passenger traffic peaked after World War II and started to decline in the 1950's until passenger service at Marion ended in 1971.  The depot, renovated in 1994,  now houses local businesses.

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Marion Norfolk & Western Railway Depot c 1904

Restored front of the railway depot.

One of the original baggage carts at the depot c 1904

The Colonial Revival-style original Marion US Post Office building was built in 1935.  Louis A. Simon was the Architect and Neil A. Melick was the supervising engineer.  The old post office is now a Macado's Restaurant.

The Old Marion Post Office - Now a Macado's Restaurant c 1935

The building below was built in 1930.  Previously, it was the Donnelly Furniture Company.  It now houses the Blue Ridge Title & Settlement Agency. 

Blue Ridge Title & Settlement Agency c 1930

Iron Street Mall c 1835

The Lincoln Theatre was built in 1929 by Charles C. Lincoln, Sr., his son Charles C. Lincoln, Jr. and John D. Lincoln.  When it opened on July 1st, 1,000 people packed the theater to watch a silent movie called "Close Harmony" starring Buddy Rogers and Nancy Carroll.  

Artists who appeared in person at the theater include Roy Rogers (and Trigger), Dale Evans, Lash LaRue, Randolf Scott, Sunset Carson, Hopalong Cassidy, Tom Mix, The Lone Ranger and Gabbey Hayes.  Country music stars Minnie Pearl, Earnest Tubb, Del Wood, Roy Acuff, June Carter Cash, The Stanley Brothers, Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs, Stringbean, Little Jimmie Dickens, and Grandpa Jones also appeared at the Lincoln.

The Lincoln closed in 1973.  It opened briefly in the 1970's, but closed in 1977 due to poor ticket sales.  The theater was later preserved, then renovated.  It reopened on May 16th, 2004 with a performance by Riders In The Sky.    

The Lincoln Theatre c 1929

The Beaux-Arts-style Smyth County Courthouse was designed by architect Frank P. Milburn and built in 1905 by Stephenson and Getoz of Knoxville at a cost of $50,000.  Originally, the courthouse included an auditorium for public performances and meetings called "Court Square Theater."  It was replaced with office space during remodeling in the 1950's.

Smyth County Courthouse

In 1903, a statue of a Confederate soldier at parade rest was erected on the lawn of the courthouse.  The Civil War Battle of Marion was fought in 1864 over the industrial facilities, lead works and salt mines in Marion and Saltville.  John C. Breckinridge commanded a Confederate force of 1,200 to 1,500 cavalry and infantry against General George Stoneman's Union forces.  Breckinridge's force successfully defended Marion through the first day of the battle.  Lack of ammunition and casualties caused the Confederates to withdraw the following day.  The Union force then destroyed the Confederate industrial infrastructure, salt mines and lead works at Saltville and Marion.

Confederate Memorial c 1903

Flags flying in front of Smyth County Courthouse on July 4th, 2014

The building below is one of the oldest brick commercial buildings still existing in Marion.  It was built in 1891.

Mercantile & Stillhouse Store c 1891

The Classical-Revival style Hotel Lincoln was built in 1927 as the Francis Marion Hotel.  The hotel was built by Charles Clarke Lincoln, Sr. and Dr. William M. Sclater.  The boutique hotel reopened in 2006 after two years of renovation and restoration by the new owners Joe and Susie Ellis.  The hotel is also home to the Black Rooster Restaurant & Lounge.

The Francis Marion Hotel c 1927

Veterans memorabilia on display in a store window on Main St.

The Dip Dog Stand on Route 11 was opened by Lester Brown in 1957.  Since then, the restaurant has been popular with devotees of their famous "Dip Dog" corn dogs.  The stand was purchased in 1966 by Grant Hall, Sr.  Grant operated the stand with his family until the stand was purchased by his son and his wife in 1979.  The Hall family continues to operate the stand to the delight of many a happy customer.

The Dip Dog Stand c 1957

The Colonial-Revival style Municipal Building was built with WPA funding in 1936.

Marion Municipal Building - c 1936

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Hungry Mother State Park

Hungry Mother State Park is a jewel in the crown of the first six Virginia State Parks built by the Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC's) between 1933 and 1941.  The six park Virginia State Park system was dedicated in 1936 by Governor George Peery and State Park Director R. E. Burson at Hungry Mother State Park at an event attended by 5,000 people.  The land was donated by local landowners led by John D. and Mildred Lincoln who alone donated 1,881 acres on Hungry Mother Creek.

The CCC's created a 108 acre lake by building a dam on Hungry Mother Creek.  Hungry Mother offers a beach with bathhouse, boats, fishing pier, campgrounds, cabins, gift shop, visitor center, a six-bedroom family lodge that sleeps 15, hiking and biking trails, and restaurant. 

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Hungry Mother Lake

Legend has it that when the Native Americans destroyed several settlements on the New River south of the park, Molly Marley and her small child were among the survivors taken to the raiders’ base north of the park. They eventually escaped, wandering through the wilderness eating berries. Molly finally collapsed, and her child wandered down a creek until the child found help. The only words the child could utter were "Hungry Mother." The search party arrived at the foot of the mountain where Molly collapsed to find the child's mother dead. Today that mountain is Molly’s Knob, and the stream is Hungry Mother Creek.

female Mallard and her ducklings

Hungry Mother Lake - South End

Kayaker on Hungry Mother Lake

Lake View from Lake Trail Loop

Canoeing on Hungry Mother Lake

Lake Side Picnic Table

Hungry Mother Beach

Wild Rose along Lake Trail Loop

The Beach Scene

Summer Fun

Hungry Mother Beach from North End

Hemlock Haven is now part of Hungry Mother State Park.  Hemlock Haven previously was a retreat center for Episcopal Diocese of Virginia from 1957 until 1989 when the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation purchased the property.  The facilities are now operated as the Hemlock Haven Conference Center.

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Back Of The Dragon!

If you are a motorcyclist or drive a sports car, you might be familiar with the route called "Back Of The Dragon."  It twists and turns as it follows Virginia State Route 16 from Marion past Hungry Mother State Park to Tazewell through gorgeous territory.



There are about 260 curves on this route of 32 miles.  I highly recommend it whether you are in a car or on a motorcyle.  I shot these photos of Thompson Valley from an overlook just east of Clinch Mountain.




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Motorcyclists Cruising - Back Of The Dragon

Thompson Valley from Back Of The Dragon

Capturing The View - Back Of The Dragon

Thompson Valley II from Back Of The Dragon

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