Massanutten

By Christine Michaels

Massanutten, a 50-mile-long mountain range, ends in a striking peak in the Shenandoah Valley of western Virginia, splitting the Blue Ridge Mountains fromthe Alleghenies and the North and South Forks of theShenandoah River. Once an area where Native Americansdwelled and perhaps cultivated the land, Massanutten boasted healing springs that blossomed to become a four-season resort. Private homes intermingle with a conference center, timeshares, and condominiums in an area of preserved woodland heritage. This volume chronicles the history and development of this part of the mountain range, from its use as a Civil War lookout point to a modern-day ski resort complete with golfing and a water park. Included are glimpses of sports, business, and political notables like Lance Armstrong, Del Webb, and Bob Mathias, who have made their marks here--either as guests or in the development of the resort itself.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
• Release date: Sep 18, 2012
• ISBN: 9781439635254

Christine Michaels

The author served in the armed forces for over thirty years. During his travels, he has seen conflict, assault on U.S. consulate, other acts of terror and vengeance by people who seemed to have lost hope. In searching for God, he has seen many cultures of the world, leading him to the Word, telling him to learn, pray and watch (Mark 13:33). This is the inspiration behind this book, The Last Day.

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(excerpted)

One

ROCK SOLID GEOGRAPHY

Called Peaked Mountain (pronounced PEAK-ed) by early settlers and later Buffalo Mountain, the origin of the name Massanutten is unclear. One translation, meaning potato ground, might have referred to the fertile river bottom, or old field, and its presumed use by Native Americans for crop cultivation. Perhaps it was two Native American words—massa meaning ground and nutte meaning potato—that formed the name. The words might have meant three-topped, referring to the range’s three summits. The early settlement on the valley floor was called Massanutting Town. Spellings used by various settlers in the 1740s refer to it as Mesenutten, Mesanothen, or Mesanoten. The range is 50 miles long and 6 miles wide, stretching from Harrisonburg to Strasburg, Virginia. This early postcard shows the mountain largely undeveloped.

Today its peak rises 2,922 feet above sea level. To the east of Massanutten are the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west the Alleghanies. However, some two billion years ago, Virginia was 10 degrees south of the equator, and its western border was a low inland sea. Massanutten sandstone was formed as that sandy beach underwent repetitive cycles of compression, upheaval, erosion, and beach building. The distinctive quartzite at its peak, 50 feet thick, is whiter quartz than most other North American sandstones. The slow-dissolving quartz was segregated from other minerals when the mountain was forming. The underlying sandstone is about 500 feet thick. Erosion of its shale base created the accompanying valleys—in this case, the Kettle on Massanutten’s northern slope and another called Fort Valley at the north end of the range.

Located on the east side of Massanutten and east of the Kettle, White Rock, as it was known, is a broad face of cliff that can be easily seen from points east, as in this picture. Legend has it that this clearing, located just above Rockingham Springs, was whitewashed to keep its tourist appeal. Now grown over, it was, no doubt, an exposed region of the quartz that permeates the mountainside. Another such geologic anomaly is Indian Rock, said to be on the western edge of the peak. An 1864 description details the print of a moccasined foot pointing due west, thought to be a directional sign placed there by Native Americans. The noticeable antennae atop Massanutten’s Peak include a television reception translator placed there in 1983.

Massanutten Mountain divides the North and South Forks of the Shenandoah River. The North Fork begins in the George Washington National Forest of Rockingham County, flowing northeast along the western side of Massanutten Ridge. The course of the North Fork is a result of its adjustment to the local geology. Seen here are three of the seven horseshoe bends caused by the river’s flow striking cross-fractures in the bedrock. At Front Royal, the North Fork turns to join the South Fork (which flows northeast from Port Republic past Elkton), forming the Shenandoah, the largest tributary of the Potomac. The Shenandoah meets the Potomac River at Harpers Ferry and continues to Washington, D.C.

Caverns abound in this area of Virginia: the famed Luray Caverns, a popular tourist destination (30 miles northeast); Grand Caverns (16 miles southeast); and Endless Caverns (27 miles northwest). In Keezletown, at the western base of the mountain, is Massanutten Caverns. The slope from highest to lowest point is only about 35 feet down through the limestone, making it the shallowest cave in Virginia. The caverns closed to the public in 1989, hiding away the many chambers in its two levels: the Meringue Room, Aladdin’s Palace, and the Trail of the Lonesome Pine. Plus there were formations named Romeo and Juliet, Sampson’s Fury, Santa Claus, and Luke the Spook. Visitors would encounter Mirror Lake, seen here, canopied with numerous stalactites, in an underground wonderland, said early advertisements. In 1928, admission was $1.50 for adults, and clergy and soldiers were charged only $1.00.

Augustine Armentrout discovered Massanutten Caverns in 1892 when he and his sons were blasting limestone. Word spread comparing it to Luray Caverns, seven times its size, and visitors flocked there. A lodge was built at Massanutten Caverns in 1925, becoming the site of many parties and dances. Outdoors, the property had a nine-hole golf course, tennis courts, and the area’s first Olympic-size swimming pool. Skyline Drive through Shenandoah National Park initially led visitors there, but its extension then lured tourists farther afield. After a World War II downturn, the caverns’ popularity revived from the 1950s through the 1970s under Bradford Cobb’s ownership. Then, after serving as a vacation home, the 4,000-square-foot structure was converted to a private residence and bed and breakfast. Now called Old Massanutten Lodge, its renovation was featured in 2003 on the HGTV series Building