www.vacreepertrail.us
Green
Cove Station and Museum
Hours: Thursday through
Monday - 10 a.m. until 4 p.m.
Green Cove Station was built by the Norfolk and Western Railroad in 1914. Located on the Abingdon Brach of the N&W, which ran from Abingdon, Virginia, to West Jefferson, North Carolina, it carried passengers, logs, lumber, livestock, mail, and other cargo. The train, and the line, became known as the Virginia Creeper because of its slow speed going up and over the mountains.
William M. Buchanan was station manager, Western Union telegrapher and postmaster for the community. He ran the post office until free rural delivery began in the early 1960s. He also operated a general store in the building.
Green Cove was a social center, where folks gathered to get their mail, meet the train, and catch up on what was happening with their neighbors.
In 1938 Buchanan purchased the building from N&W. His private ownership of the station saved it from being demolished when N&W ended service on the line. Green Cove is the only original passenger station remaining on what was the Abingdon Branch.
Green Cove Station and its contents were given to the United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service by Buchanan's daughter, Adele Edwards, so that it might be restored and preserved.
(Excerpted from "The Friends of Mount Rogers" brochure, available at the station. Painting of Green Cove Station by Bonnie Hurley.)
April through October
41259 Green Cove Road
Damascus, Virginia 24236
For information:
USDA Forest Service
800-628-7202
276-783-5196Dedication of Highway Marker for Green Cove Station on Old Va. Creeper Rail Line
RICHMOND, VA -- A new historical highway marker of the Department of Historic Resources will be dedicated to commemorate Green Cove Station, a former stop on the “Virginia Creeper” railroad, which ran between Abingdon and Todd, N.C.
The public ceremony will take place on Friday, May 19, 1 p.m., at the marker’s location on Route 600, approximately 100 yards from the restored former train station, which is now a U.S. Forest Service visitor center for the Virginia Creeper National Recreation Trail.
Event participants will include Myra D. Cook, executive director of the Abingdon Convention and Visitor’s Bureau; local, state, and federal officials, and co-sponsors of the marker Skip Blackburn and the Green Cove Senior Citizens. Annette Goode, granddaughter of former stationmaster William M. Buchanan, who operated the Green Cove Station for 60 years, will unveil the marker.
Activities after the ceremony will include a tour of the Buchanan Inn at Green Cove Station, and refreshments at the Green Cove Community Center provided by the senior citizens. In addition, visitors can view a recently installed multi-media exhibit, “The Creeper Trail Project,” on display at the Green Cove Station. A year in the making, the exhibit was created by art students at Abingdon High School.
The Virginia Carolina Railroad built Green Cove Station circa 1914. It functioned as more than a railroad station, serving also as a post office, general store, and telegraph office. The station is memorialized in renowned railroad photographer O. Winston Link’s “Maud Bows to the Virginia Creeper,” which he photographed in 1956.
The last Virginia Creeper train stopped running in 1977, and in the late 1980s the rail line was converted for use as a 34-mile long trail for hiking, biking, and horseback-riding. The Virginia Creeper National Recreation Trail receives about 200,000 visitors annually.
For more information about the marker dedication, contact Skip Blackburn at the Green Cove Station, at 276-388-3386.
The Board of Historic Resources approved the Green Cove Station highway marker in December 2005, and the Virginia Department of Transportation installed the sign.
The Virginia highway marker program is one of the oldest in the nation. Currently there are more than 1,800 official state markers.
Funds for new highway markers come from private organizations, individuals, and local jurisdictions. Historical markers cost $1,350. More information about the Historical Highway Marker Program is available on the Department of Historic Resources’ Web site at http://www.dhr.virginia.gov.
