(SNP007) Victor Baker interviewed by Barbara Maynes, transcribed by Sharon G. Marston

Authors

Victor Baker

Files

Interviewee

Baker, Victor

Identifier

SNP007

Format

1 audio file (running time: 1:04:39)

Interview Number

SNP-7

Location of Interview

Mt. Crawford, Virginia

Date of Interview

4-13-1979

Description

Records the reminiscences of four Virginia residents who grew up near the Black Rock Springs Hotel, in Black Rock Gap, Virginia. The Black Rock Springs Hotel was a popular tourist destination in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, both for its scenic views and for the natural mineral springs for which it was named. The participants discuss the history of the hotel, their own memories of the grounds and buildings and the hotel's destruction by fire in 1909. Includes references to people associated with the hotel and springs, as well as many of the families and local people who lived near the hotel in its heyday. The site where the hotel stood was incorporated into Shenandoah National Park in the 1930s.

Rights

The copyright interests in this collection have been transferred to the James Madison University Special Collections Library. For more information, contact the Special Collections Library Reference Desk (library-special@jmu.edu).

Personal Names

Baker, Victor, 1894-1990, Interviews; Baker, Eva Patterson, 1899-1990 Interviews; Bowman, Marie, Interviews; Showalter, Alberta, 1893-1984, Interviews.

Family Names

Baker family; Bowman family; Miller family; Mitchell family; Showalter family.

Subjects

Black Rock Springs Hotel (Va.) – History. Black Rock Springs Company (Firm) – History. Hotels -- Virginia – History; Health resorts -- Virginia -- History; Mineral springs -- Virginia -- History; Mountain life -- Shenandoah River Valley (Va. and W. Va.) -- History; Mountain people -- Virginia -- Shenandoah National Park -- Social life and customs.

Place Names

Black Rock Springs Gap (Va.) – History; Black Rock Springs Gap (Va.) -- Social life and customs; Shenandoah National Park (Va.) -- History, Local; Augusta County (Va.) -- History; Albemarle County (Va.) -- History; Skyline Drive (Va.) -- History; Blue Ridge Mountains -- Economic conditions; Shenandoah River Valley (Va. and W. Va.) – History.

Interviewer

Maynes, Barbara

Transcriber

Marston, Sharon G.

Collection Title

Shenandoah National Park oral history collection

Collection Number

SdArch SNP

Recommended Citation

Victor Baker interviewed by Barbara Maynes, April 13, 1979, SdArch SNP-7, Shenandoah National Park Oral History Collection, 1964-1999, Special Collections, Carrier Library, James Madison University

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