Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 26

COUNTRY ROADS
ALONG THE NEW RIVER
New Life for 1887 Building
Resoration of The Inn at
Foster Falls is the result
of years of research on
its original construction
to assure true-to-history
reconstruction.
Tiny Foster Falls, Virginia, regains some of its old luster with a new inn.
he address of a new inn in Virginia's
New River Valley-Orphanage
Drive-hints at the long
and sometimes dark history of an
old building recently returned to
use. The Inn at Foster Falls opened
in April after decades of historic
research and restoration work.
An imposing two-story brick
building with expansive gingerbread
trim, the new inn started
out in 1887 as a " hotel, commissary
and post office " near the New
River when Foster Falls was the
site of an iron smelting furnace,
according to a spokeswoman for
the company operating the inn.
The Virginia Department of Conservation
and Recreation owns
the building.
In 1914 the smelter closed and
the Abingdon Presbytery purchased
the hotel, which became
an industrial training school for
girls and later an orphanage. After
extensive fire damage in 1962 the
orphanage closed and the buildT
ing
sat empty for more than 30
years.
Enter the Virginia Department
of Conservation and Recreation,
which bought the property in
1995. Years of painstaking research
followed, then reconstruction
to restore the building. Today
Foster Falls sits at Milepost 24
of the New River Trail State Park,
a 59-mile rails-to-trails recreation
paradise linking Pulaski, Galax
and Fries, Virginia. The past is still
present there, with the original
railway depot, along with equestrian
facilities, boat launches,
bicycle and canoe rentals and
picnic shelters.
The Inn at Foster Falls has
10 luxuriously appointed guest
rooms plus event space. Rocking
chairs are ready for guests
on the wraparound porch.
The Inn at Foster Falls, 176
Orphanage Dr., Max Meadows,
Virginia. stayinnfosterfalls.com.
-NAN K. CHASE
26 BLUERIDGECOUNTRY.COM
35 Years Ago
in Blue Ridge Country
" It's that pure clean beauty that
has kept me here all these years.
And it's that same beauty that
inspires me, with the birth of Blue
Ridge Country-which we'll bring
to you every other month-to
reflect some of the heritage of the
region that has my life as rich and
rewarding as it has been to this
point. "
-PUBLISHER
AND FOUNDER
RICHARD
WELLS,
INTRODUCING
OUR FIRST ISSUE
IN JUNE, 1988.
VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION AND RECREATION

http://www.stayinnfosterfalls.com http://www.BLUERIDGECOUNTRY.COM

Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023

Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - Cover1
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - Cover2
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 3
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 4
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 5
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 6
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 7
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 8
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 9
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 10
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 11
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 12
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 13
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Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 16
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 17
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 18
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 19
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Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 21
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Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 25
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 26
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 27
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 28
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 29
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 30
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 31
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Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 33
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 34
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 35
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 36
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 37
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Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 40
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Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 43
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Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 46
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 47
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 48
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 49
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 50
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 51
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Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 53
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 54
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Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 57
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Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 67
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Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 71
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Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 73
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Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 82
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - Cover3
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - Cover4
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