The Crooked Road Holding Meetings on National Heritage Area Designation

Since its incorporation in 2005 The Crooked Road: Virginia’s Heritage Music Trail has worked with musicians, music venues, tourism agencies, Main Street programs, museums and others to promote economic development in Southwest Virginia. With the continuing support of local governments, The Crooked Road has been able to market and promote the unique musical and cultural heritage of the region - including the Blue Ridge Institute and Museum of Ferrum College - statewide, nationally, and internationally. As a result of these efforts, the nineteen counties, over 50 towns, and four cities of Southwest Virginia (as defined by the Commonwealth of Virginia) have become a major destination for visitors from throughout the nation and overseas.

The Crooked Road is now seeking designation as a National Heritage Area (NHA), defined as a place “where natural, cultural, historic, and scenic resources combine to form a cohesive, nationally important landscape.” There are currently 49 such areas in the United States. The generations of musicians of this region and the communities that are home to this music have a unique history and have played a major role in the development of American music. This is the basis of the effort to seek NHA designation.

National Heritage Areas are a community-driven approach to heritage conservation and economic development. NHAs are not national park units; the designation does not require any additional expenditure of public funds. Management of the NHA is strictly the responsibility of local communities and non-profit organizations.

As part of the process of seeking NHA status, The Crooked Road is holding a number of public meetings throughout the region to seek input and comments. A meeting will be held at 10:00 am on Wednesday, August 15 at the Town Municipal Building at 345 Donald Avenue in Rocky Mount. The meeting is presented by The Crooked Road and the Town of Rocky Mount.

The public is invited to attend and participate. Written comments may be sent by email to: info@thecrookedroad.org or by mail to: The Crooked Road, One Heartwood Circle, Abingdon, VA 24210.

For more information, please contact Jack Hinshelwood, executive director of The Crooked Road, at 276-492-2402. A full schedule of the remaining public meetings is presented below.

The Crooked Road
Proposed National Heritage Area Designation
Public Meeting Schedule

Town	Co-Sponsor	Location	Date	Time
Clintwood	Dickenson County Chamber of Commerce	Chamber of Commerce Building, 194 Main St.	14-Aug-12	9:30 AM
Tazewell	Tazewell County	Tazewell County Board of Supervisors Room, 108 East Main Street	14-Aug-12	1:00 PM
Rocky Mount	Town of Rocky Mount	Municipal Building, 345 Donald Avenue	15-Aug-12	10:00 AM
Christiansburg	Town of Christiansburg	Town Hall Council Chambers, 100 East Main Street	15-Aug-12	2:00 PM
Marion	Town of Marion	Lincoln Theatre, 117 East Main Street	16-Aug-12	10:00 AM
Wytheville	Town of Wytheville	Heritage Preservation Center, 115 West Spiller Street	16-Aug-12	2:00 PM
Abingdon	Town of Abingdon	Washington County Public Library, 205 Oak Hill Street	17-Aug-12	10:00 AM

See our previous article, Crooked Road National Heritage Area Proposal Explained for additional information.