OVERVIEW

East Mountain Forest, just ½ mile to the New River, contains 5.95 surveyed acres of mature woodland situated near the town of Glen Lyn VA. This property offers unparalleled access to the New River Valley and all its recreational, cultural, and educational amenities.

ATTRIBUTES AND HIGHLIGHTS

• 5.95 +/- acres has been professionally surveyed with elevations ranging 1561’ to 1750’
• Less than ½ mile to the New River. The New River Water Trail runs all the way through Giles County for 37 miles
• Perfect for all water sport activities supported by the nearby New River
• 2 miles from US-460 and offers excellent frontage on East Mountain Road (RT 725)
• Electric, telephone, excellent cell coverage with 4G is onsite
• Surrounded by farms and timber tracts in a nice rural community
• City and town amenities located nearby in Pearisburg, Blacksburg and Peterstown WV Princeton
• 45 minutes to Blacksburg, 2 hours to Roanoke, 3 hours Charlotte
• Superior access by state-maintained roads – FedEx, UPS and USPS delivery
• Jet airport service serving major hubs from Roanoke-Blacksburg Regional Airport (ROA)
• Timber species include beautiful oaks, black walnut, poplar, maple and hickories
• Fur bearing – deer, black bear, squirrel, rabbit, bobcat, raccoon, fox, chipmunk, opossum
• Winged wildlife – eagles, hawks, owls, ravens, turkeys and Neotropical songbirds
• Low taxes, low population density
• George Washington – Jefferson National Forest nearby with 92 square miles in Giles County
• 50 miles of the Appalachian Trail run through Giles County
• A rich geological location containing several types of interesting fossils and other finds
• Down river just 1 hour is America’s Newest National Park – 70,000 acre New River Gorge National Park and Preserve
• Glen Lyn means “Lovely Glen”

LOCATION

East Mountain Forest is located in Giles County, VA, ½ mile east of the community of Glen Lyn, ½ mile south of the small community of Lurich, and 15 minutes to Perisburg, the Giles County Seat.

Google Coordinates: 37.374635N, -80.842333 W
Address: No 911 address has been assigned since there are no residential structures onsite Elevation Range: 1561’ to 1750’

• Peterstown WV 15 min
• Princeton WV 20 min
• Pearisburg VA 15 min (county seat)
• Blacksburg 45 min
• Roanoke 2 hours
• Charlotte NC 3 hours

Directions
At the West Virginia – Virginia State Line on US-460 (entering into Giles County VA and the community of Glen Lyn, look for the Neighbors Convenience Store/Exxon Station), turn onto, RT 649 Lurich Road and travel 1.5 miles with the New River on your left and passing the power plant on the right and trough a one lane tunnel; immediately after exiting the tunnel, turn right onto gravel RT 25 East Mountain Road; travel 700’ and the property will start on the right and continue along the county road for 1000 feet to the private Jones Road.

RECREATION

The property offers unparalleled recreational opportunities. These recreational activities are anchored by the nearby New River, and the New River Valley region.

Cold Water Fishing can be found throughout the region. Many of the tributaries of the Greenbrier River are stocked with trout. The head waters hold the native Brook Trout. Several special regulation sections of some streams offer fly-fishing only areas. The Cranberry Back-Country area hosts 16 miles of secluded trout fishing and may only be accessed by non-motorized transportation.

Warm Water Fishing in the Greenbrier River and New Rivers is some of the best in the region. Smallmouth bass and muskie are the big draws. The Greenbrier River is great for the novice kayaker or canoeist to fish, the New River is for the more experience boaters only but has the best fishing for trophy sized fish. The New River has an excellent population of the native Eastern Highlands walleye. This walleye subspecies grows faster and produce quicker than their northern cousins. Great fishing is found on both rivers for crappie, catfish, pike and bluegill.

Water-sports enthusiasts will find the nearby Greenbrier River, New River and Bluestone Lake ideal for swimming, canoeing, fishing, kayaking, tubing, snorkeling, paddle boarding and windsurfing.

Nature viewing is next in line of recreational activities. Wildlife viewing is not just for larger animals. Equal consideration is given to a diversity of species including neo-tropical songbirds, butterflies, turtles, frogs, rabbits, chipmunks, dragonflies, owls, eagles and hawks. White tail deer, black bear, red/gray fox, bobcat, wild turkey, grouse, geese, squirrel, raccoon, fox and rabbit make up the resident wildlife population.

All Terrain Motorsports
Experience WV’s Hatfield McCoy Trail System, less than a two hour drive. Riders are welcome to ride all public roads that do not have a painted dividing line and there are miles and miles of open roads in the area. These exciting machines handle the wide variety of the forest’s terrain. Please check WV DMV regulations.

Mountain Biking and Hiking
The public lands may be used for mountain biking or hiking and the area offers several state and national parks geared for these activities.

Rock Climbing the “Endless Wall” located above the New River in WV has 183 routes with opportunities for easier traditional routes as well as hard sport routes and some mixed routes as well.

WILDLIFE AND TIMBER

The nearby New River is a major contributor to the local ecosystem richness and diversity for both plants and animals. There are many animals that live year round and at other times in the water and around the edges of the rivers including beavers, otters, minks, raccoons, opossums, blue herons, Canada geese, wood ducks, mallards, king fishers, minnows, native fish, turtles, salamanders, newts, crayfish, muskrats, bull frogs, eagles, owls, hawks and redwing blackbirds.

The miles of “edge effect” benefit all the resident wildlife. In addition to those listed above, white tail deer, black bear, wild turkey, squirrel, rabbit, bobcat, fox, chipmunk, make up the resident wildlife population.

Area winged wildlife includes Neotropical songbirds, turkey, grouse, eagles, herons, hawks, woodcock, owls, ravens, king fishers, ravens, crows, ground nesters, and hummingbirds and many types of waterfowl.

Of equal importance, there is the insect and microscopic world including butterflies, dragonflies, water skaters, water beetles, damselflies, hellgrammites, tadpoles and various insect larvae.

The rivers, lake, and creeks, and their surrounding aquatic plant life, create a water a water-supported community with a wide variety of wildlife. Much of their margins are fringed by wetlands, and these wetlands support the aquatic food web, provide shelter for wildlife, and stabilize their shores. The plant life associated with the wetland includes rushes, sedges, cattails, duckweed, bee balm and algae.

The hardwood forest of the surrounding mountains provides the essential nutrient source and produces tons of hard mast including acorns, hickory nuts, beech nuts and black walnuts. Soft mast includes stag horn sumac, black cherry, tulip poplar seeds, maple seeds, autumn olive berries and blackberries.

MINERAL RESOURCES

All rights the owner has in title will convey with the property.

BOUNDARIES AND SURVEY

The property was surveyed March 25th , 1995 by N. Keith Niday, professional land surveyor #1539, from Bland Virginia. The property is being sold by the boundary and not by the acres.

A survey plat of the property is available.

ACCESS/FRONTAGE

The property is accessed by East Mountain Road RT 725. The property has about 1,000’of frontage on the road.

The “Jones Road” provides about 300’ of access at the southern end of the property along the boundary line. Mr. Jones shares this road with the owner and uses this road to access his property and is shown on the survey plat.

UTILITIES

Water: Well may be developed
Sewer: Septic system maybe developed
Electricity: Onsite
Telephone: Onsite
Internet: May be available through telephone carrier or satellite services
Cellphone Coverage: Excellent 4G

PROPERTY TYPE

The property is comprised of mature forestland with some areas suitable for residential building.

DEED and TAX INFORMATION

Deed Information: Deed Book 371 page 8
Acreage: 5.95
Real Estate Tax ID/Acreage/Taxes:
Giles County, West Virginia
Western Magisterial District
Tax Map 23 Parcel 26
2020 Real Estate Taxes: $54.29

PUBLIC SCHOOLS

• Eastern Elementary/Middle School (Pembroke)
• Macy McClaugherty Elementary/Middle School (Pearisburg)
• Narrows Elementary/Middle School (Narrows)
• Giles High School (Pearisburg)
• Narrows High School (Narrows)
• Giles County Technology Center (Pearisburg)

The schools have a combined enrollment of 2425 as of mid 2014.

THE AREA

Giles County, located in Southwest Virginia, with its highest peak at 4,348 feet above sea level, consists of a population of 17,000 residents spread over 363 square miles of beauty and adventure. By analysis of the rocks at Bald Knob and discovery of many marine fossils, geologists have determined that the land rose from under sea at the end of the Mississippian period. This movement deposited many horizontal layers of limestone.

The mountain-building processes broke layers, shoved them up, mixed up the blocks and layers, and stood them on edge. As a result, the mountains of Giles have layers tilted at all angles with mixed layers. Geologists also believe that Giles has lost over a vertical mile of material from the surface since it formed.

Numerous Indian village sites, burial grounds, and artifacts indicate a Native American presence in the Giles County area for more than 10,000 years. The European pioneers who came much later to Giles County found majestic mountains and beautiful, rushing streams. They also discovered the great towering forests and palisades of rock along the New River with an abundance of deer, elk, buffalo, and other animals roaming the area. Food was plentiful.

The first evidence of white settlers was found at Glen Lyn with an inscription identifying Mary Porter who was killed by Indians on November 24, 1742. Several years later, in 1745, Adam Harmon, a fur trapper, made the first permanent settlement in the county at Eggleston. Sometime later, lumbermen, drawn by the large variety of trees and number of streams and natural springs in this area, were the first major group to settle Giles County.

Before formation of Giles County in 1806, the territory was included in Orange County, which was organized in 1734 and consisted of much of the vast territory east of the Blue Ridge. Giles County was formed from parts of Montgomery, Monroe, Wythe, and Tazewell Counties. In 1830 part of Monroe County was added, and again in 1841 Giles gained a small strip from Mercer County. In 1851 and 1858 territories were lost due to the formation of Craig County, and in 1861 Giles lost a considerable amount of land due to the formation of Bland.

Giles is named for William Branch Giles who was born in Amelia County, Virginia in 1762. Giles became a lawyer and from there was elected to the House of Representatives where he served from 1790 to 1815. He also served on the Virginia Legislature from 1816 to 1822. In 1827, he was elected Governor. In all, he served his nation and state around a total of forty years.

The government of Giles County was organized and set into motion in May of 1806. In the same month the court met to designate a place for a permanent seat of government. George Pearis offered the court 53 acres of land where they could build the public building and establish a town. He also offered the lumber and stone for their buildings. The court accepted his proposal, and the first courthouse was completed in 1810. By 1834, the county needed a new courthouse because the old one had severely deteriorated. The new courthouse was completed two years later for a cost of $5000.00 and remains in regular use.

With its limestone base Giles County has many caves and caverns. These caves contain beautiful and rough formations. The cave system is not an extensive one since the mountain formations interrupted their continuity. Most of the passages through these caves come from an interaction between the limestone and groundwater. The most popular cave in Giles is the New River Cave or Tawney’s Cave. The numerous caves in the county bring many caving groups yearly.

Forestland and the ancient New River still offer an abundance of wildlife, making Giles County a paradise for hunters and fisherman. Giles contains 92.4 square miles of Jefferson National Forest and many accesses to the Appalachian Trail.

CARBON SEQUESTRATION

This enchanting forest is a tremendous producer of Oxygen and is also a wonderful Sequester of Carbon (aka – Carbon Sink). Carbon Sequestration is the act of processing carbon dioxide through sinks and stores and releasing them into the atmosphere as oxygen.

FOREST FARMING

The most common crops are medicinal herbs and mushrooms. Other crops that can be produced include shade-loving native ornamentals, moss, fruit, nuts, other food crops, and decorative materials for crafts. These crops are often referred to as special forest products.

Here are some specific examples of crops

• Medicinal herbs: Ginseng, goldenseal, black cohosh, bloodroot, passionflower, and mayapple
• Mushrooms: Shiitake and oyster mushrooms
• Native ornamentals: Rhododendrons and dogwood
• Moss: Log or sheet moss
• Fruit: Pawpaws, currants, elderberries, and lowbush blueberries
• Nuts: Black walnuts, hazelnuts, hickory nuts, and beechnuts
• Other food crops: Ramps (wild leeks), maple syrup, and honey
• Plants used for decorative purposes, dyes, and crafts: Galax, princess pine, white oak, pussy willow branches in the spring, holly, bittersweet, and bloodroot and ground pine (Lycopodium)

SELF-SUSTAINING LIFE OFF THE GRID

Just like 200 years ago, when the first mountaineers settled the area, the property would be self-sustaining in times of necessity – even without electricity

• Fresh water for drinking and cooking would come from mountain springs
• The forest would provide fresh food (deer, and turkey)
• The flat to rolling land could be cleared for agricultural land raise livestock, vegetable gardens, berry patches, fruit orchards, and row crops of corn, oats and barley
• Beehives would provide honey and beeswax for candles
• The forest would provide firewood for heating and cooking, lumber for building, maple syrup and pounds of nuts (walnuts, beechnuts and hickory nuts)

New River Gorge National Park and Preserve America’s Newest National Park!

One of the most exciting destinations for hiking, biking, climbing, and paddling in the eastern U.S., the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve was established by the National Park Service in 1978 and includes more than 80,000 acres in and adjacent to the New River Gorge and the valley of the New River. More than a million visitors annually climb rocks along the rim of the gorge near Fayetteville and paddle its whitewater runs on the New and its tributaries. Countless miles of hiking and biking trails wander the park and climb into the surrounding mountains. The nearby Gauley River National Recreation Area likewise attracts thousands of tourists annually, notably rafters during “Gauley Season” in autumn when the river runs strong.

History of Glen Lyn

Earlier in 1755, Mary Draper Ingles made her trek back home from captivity through here where her Dutch companion attacked her. She escaped and found a canoe, and used it to cross the river to her rescue by Adam Harmon.

John Toney built the first brick house in Giles County in 1780 on the site of a decayed cabin he found upon his arrival. Toney owned the land around his settlement for a long period of time and named the area Montreal. Toney lived in the house until he sold it to Mr. Raleigh Parris. Lilly Davis last occupied the house before the Highway Department bought it from her. The Highway Department then demolished the house for the expansion of Route 460.

Over the years a post office was established giving Montreal a new name of Mouth of East River, Virginia. Railroad workers of Norfolk and Western Railroad later gave it the name Hell’s Gate. The name changed once again to its current name, Glen Lyn, meaning lovely glen, with the railroad’s completion in 1883. The town experienced a little growth with the construction and completion of the railroad.

In the late 1860s, John T. Shumate put up a store at the mouth of the East River and continued selling goods for more than twenty years. Parkinson Shumate had a ferry in Glen Lyn, too. In 1887, Mr. W.T. Ould built a store. However, the town did not experience any substantial growth until the construction of the Appalachian Electric Power plant in 1919, which was built near the West Virginia Border. This development increased the population of Glen Lyn from 50 to 400 people.