'Skyland Resort' was a small privately-owned community in the
Blue Ridge Mountains of
Page County, Virginia , built at the highest point on the
Skyline Drive with a sweeping view of the
Shenandoah Valley at 3,680 feet.
The Skyland Resort, originally called Stony Man Camp, was built in 1895 by
George Freeman Pollock, a young
Washington, DC man whose father owned a great deal of the land surrounding the resort. Skyland was intended to be a place where the affluent people from major cities would come to relax and recreate. Early in its life, it was advertised as a "dude ranch." When it opened, transportation was by horse or wagon. It competed with the nearby
Panorama Resort, which opened in 1924.
Around
1931, it was taken over by the
Shenandoah National Park, and the
Skyline Drive was built past it. Rather than destroying the improvements to restore the natural beauty as was the practice in most parts of the Park as it was established between 1924 and 1936, Skyland's accommodations were expanded, and are available to visitors today.
See also
★
Lost counties, cities and towns of Virginia
External links
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Shenandoah National Park — Skyland
★
Skyland Commercial Website for online booking and information
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National Park Service — "Why Not Panorama?" - Article about a similar SNP resort that has long been destroyed