The Virginia Blue Ridge Railway was formed in 1914 to haul American Chestnut timber for local lumber companies. As a short-line railroad of 16 miles, the Railway was intended to connect to larger rail systems with national reach. By the 1920s, the…
From 1931 until 1971 the American Cyanamid Company operated a 50-acre site in Piney River to extract and refine titanium ore for the manufacture of titanium dioxide used in paint pigments.
Although bringing prosperity to the region, Ameri…