2010-09-02 75th Anniversary of Blue Ridge ParkwayPITTSYLVANIA COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
2010-09-02
VIRGINIA: AT THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE PITTSYLVANIA COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS IN
THE GENERAL DISTRICT COURTROOM OF THE EDWIN R. SHIELDS COURTHOUSE ADDTION IN
CHATHAM, VIRGINIA ON TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2010, THE FOLLOWING RESOLUTION WAS
PRESENTED AND ADOPTED:
WHEREAS, the Blue Ridge Parkway links the Great Smoky Mountains National Park to the Shenandoah National Park,
providing 469 scenic miles for motor recreation along the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina and
Virginia; and
WHEREAS, on November 24, 1933, at the recommendation of Virginia Senator Harry Byrd, Secretary of the Interior
Harold Ickes approved construction of the new highway to connect the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the
Shenandoah National Park; and
WHEREAS, on September 11, 1935, construction began on the first 12.5-mile section of the Blue Ridge Parkway near
Cumberland Knob in North Carolina; and
WHEREAS, the Blue Ridge Parkway was established by Congress as a unit of the National Park Service on June 30,
1936; and
WHEREAS, the Blue Ridge Parkway is the most visited unit of the National Park Service with nearly 20 million visitors
each year; and
WHEREAS, the Blue Ridge Parkway is one of the strongest economic engines in the Southern Appalachian region,
generating an estimated $2.3 billion in North Carolina and Virginia annually; and
WHEREAS, construction of the Blue Ridge Parkway took more than 52 years, from 1935 to the completion of the Linn
Cove Viaduct in North Carolina in 1987; then
BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED that the Board of Supervisors of Pittsylvania County request all of the citizens of the
Commonwealth of Virginia and Pittsylvania County to join with their neighbors in North Carolina to celebrate the 75`''
Anniversary of the Blue Ridge Parkway and encourage these citizens to participate in the series of events that focus
regional and national attention on the history and stewardship of the this national treasurer, marking this historic occasion;
and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a copy of this resolution be presented to the Secretary of the Interior Friday,
September 10, 2010 at the 75`'' Anniversary celebration at Cumberland Knob, North Carolina.
Dated this 7`h day of September, 2010
Herl''ry A. DKvi Jr., Chairman ' -
Pittsylvania ounty Board of Supervisors
William D. Sleeper, C erk
Pittsylvania County oard of Supervisors