Greetings Facebook Friends from The Virginia Lewis and Clark Legacy Trail! (VLCLT). The trail’s County Chairs have been very busy researching, documenting and applying to Virginia’s DHR for Historic Markers. Several have been/or are being manufactured, and plans for unveiling and dedication events are being made!
If you live nearby Abingdon, Virginia, save the date of July 26, 2025! A new historical marker will be dedicated on Court Street that Saturday and the public is invited to attend along with a special guest. The marker will be one of the latest initiated and sponsored by County Chairs and local representatives of the Virginia Lewis and Clark Legacy trail, Inc. and installed by the Virginia Department of Historic Resources.
The marker title focuses on the connection of the Explorers to the Virginia Great Wagon Road, (aka Great Valley Road). The Great Wagon Road through Washington County on which Clark was traveling was a main route of cross-country travel for both Explorers between the East Coast and the western frontier. The marker text also recognizes William Clark’s more than likely visit in 1809 to the home of William King on his way from St. Louis to Washington D.C. King, who immigrated from Ireland with his family in 1784 and settled in the Saltville area by 1792, quickly made a fortune by developing the salt works and shipping salt down the Holston and Tennessee rivers to the Mississippi. It was during those years it is believed King met Clark, who was also shipping goods on the Mississippi River. After building Grace Hill in Abingdon in 1803, King died in 1808 at the age of 38 or 39 and is buried at Abingdon’s Sinking Spring Cemetery.
Participating in the dedication will be Thomas Jefferson as interpreted by Kurt Smith of Colonial Williamsburg. The public will be able to visit with Mr. Jefferson after the dedication at the log cabin on Plumb Alley behind the courthouse. He will be appearing in other events during the festival. The dedication, occurring during the Virginia Highlands Festival in Abingdon July 25 through August 3, will no doubt be an event to remember!
Meanwhile, at the other end of the state in King and Queen County, the below historical marker with Lewis and Clark Plaque has been received with another interesting text that ties Meriwether Lewis along with other early prominent settlers to Virginia. Congratulations to the King and Queen County Historical Society and to VLCLT County Chair, Gus Lewis, M.D. for spearheading this effort. Stay tuned for additional information about celebration plans for this marker and several others to follow throughout the state.
