Stokesville Virginia, a Symbol of Flux in America Today

One gets a sense of a once small community when you ride through Stokesville VA with its old railroad depot and tracks. In fact it was flourishing wilderness town in the early 20th century comprised of coal mining and saw mills. The town inhabited over 1,500 residents and workers with their own post office, a school, two hotels and an engine house.

Various environmental and economic forces brought an end to Stokesville’s economic enterprise: decreased forest resources, emerging coal industry elsewhere, a pathogenic fungus (Chestnut Blight), the introduction of the automobile, the abandonment of the railroad (1930) and a devastating flood in 1949, all have left it a ghost town.

While Stokesville is a small reminder of the forces that plague our society today, it has remained on the map as an emerging mountain biking, bikepacking destination. Stokesville is evidence of a kind of flux happening in America today—people taking the remains of detrimental, human, industrial impact and creating healthy alternatives that place human kind in a closer relationship with the earth and her/his body. Not only are there  nearby trails, Stokesville is a gateway to the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests

Camping at Stokesville Campground