About
This project was made possible by generous funding from the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities. Professor Mills Kelly at George Mason University serves as the lead researcher for the project. Jordan Bratt, Digital Scholarship Strategist at Ball State University created the project design, and Brandan Buck, a PhD student at George Mason University's Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media created the digital map.
The teaching case studies were created by Andrew Sayre, a history teacher at Floyd County High School, and Brandi Cochran-Mitchell, a history teacher at Carroll County High School.
This project could not have happened without the support and encouragement of Kathleen Ingoldsby, Director of the Old Church Gallery in Floyd, Virginia, who provided the research team with not only names of people to contact about the history of the Appalachian Trail in Southwestern Virginia, but also some of the resources in the archive. Similarly, Jim McNeely gave generously of his time and deep knowledge of the history of the Appalachian Trail in Southwestern Virginia throughout the project. The interactive map wouldn't have been possible without Jim's assistance and advice.
The Appalachian Trail Conservancy gave us unfettered access to their archives, including Myron Avery's personal scrapbooks of photographs from his trips to Southwestern Virginia, and ATC archivist Brian King provided many useful insights into the history of the trail. The Jeff Mathews Museum in Galax, Virginia gave us several important sources in the archive.
Finally, this project relies heavily on the memories and the personal photographs and documents of several residents of the region who still remember when the Appalachian Trail passed by their homes.
