Virginia Department of Historic Resources Virginia Department of Historic Resources
For additional information, read the Nomination Form PDF
VLR Listing Date 09/16/1982
NRHP Listing Date 12/13/1985
NRHP Reference Number 85003172
The Big Meadows site, one of the most intensively investigated sites in the Shenandoah National Park and the entire Blue Ridge region, has revealed Indian habitation in the Big Meadows area occurring between ca. 2500 B.C. and A.D. 800. Yielding the park’s oldest example of prehistoric art and evidence of a possible dwelling in the Blue Ridge, the site also has produced large quantities of locally and regionally imported raw materials, indicating the extent to which its prehistoric occupants exploited a large and varied territory on a seasonal basis. The population peak of the site was reached in Late Archaic Early Woodland times and contrasts with subsequent sparse use of the region by Late Woodland peoples (ca. A.D. 800 1600).
Many properties listed in the registers are private dwellings and are not open to the public, however many are visible from the public right-of-way. Please be respectful of owner privacy.
Abbreviations:
VLR: Virginia Landmarks Register
NPS: National Park Service
NRHP: National Register of Historic Places
NHL: National Historic Landmark
Updated: November 4, 2021
