Monuments Across Appalachian Virginia; Green Pastures Project Resource Assistance
As part of a Virginia Tech-led initiative, Monuments Across Appalachian Virginia (MAAV), a local team supported by the Virginia Tech Center for Economic and Community Engagement worked to renew community interest in the historic Green Pastures site. The Green Pastures Recreation Area was set aside by the US Forest Service for African Americans to use. The park was built in response to the nearby segregated Douthat State Park, which opened in 1936. When it opened, Green Pastures was the first and only US Forest Service recreation site opened to African Americans in Virginia and remained one of the few sites in the central Appalachians through the 1950s. A pressing question for the site concerns the future of the Recreation Area, including the resources and support to enhance or create needed infrastructure, encourage visitation, staff the facility, and develop future programming. The thrust of the Green Pastures MAAV project was on capturing stories of the past, holding a community-wide event at the site, and developing a new interpretive trail and signage.