The Mountain People and the &lt;i&gt;Washington Post&lt;/i&gt;: Conflicting Narratives in the Relocation of Shenandoah Families

Caroline Harvey

doi:10.21061/vtuhr.v9i0.2

Abstract

Congress authorized the creation of a conservation area in the Shenandoah Valley on May 22, 1926, and that same year the secretary of the interior declared that residents in the region had to leave the new Shenandoah National Park. This essay examines competing perceptions of the relocation of those residents, known as mountain people, in the creation of Shenandoah National Park by comparing the narratives of the Washington Post and the families who were forced to relocate. The editors and writers of the Post characterized the region as isolated, underprivileged, and in need of outside help and federal programs to build habitable homes. However, this discourse reflected trends of modernization within American society at large that differed from mountain people’s vision of their own life; the ideals of “modern” life were reflected in the Post’s discourse about mountain people, who the Post thought represented the antithesis of “modern” life. This narrative of a “modernizing” America versus an “outmoded” mountain way of life serves as important historical context for this conflict. This belief allowed Post writers to tell a narrative that belittled and disregarded the region’s inhabitants as they were removed from the park area. By contrast, relocated mountain people did not think of themselves in that way. Furthermore, despite promises of aid and support, they struggled socially and economically during and after their forced relocation, which proved to be both logistically difficult and emotionally trying for them. Despite these challenges, mountain people were adept at working the land and some learned to navigate and petition the bureaucracy themselves.

Highlights

Congress authorized the creation of a conservation area in the Shenandoah Valley on May 22, 1926, and that same year the secretary of the interior declared that residents in the region had to leave the new Shenandoah National Park
Just seventy-five miles from Washington, DC, the Congress authorized the creation of this conservation area Shenandoah Valley in northwestern Virginia cradles a on May 22, 1926, and that same year the secretary of the two-hundred-thousand-acre protected wilderness area.[1] interior declared that residents in the region had to leave
As Harold Baugher described, the park families “got along fine” because people “had to learn to stand on [their] own feet.”[40]. Walter Carter, a former resident outside of Front Royal, Virginia, stated, “As we look at it today [life was hard for the mountain people], but it wasn’t as far as they were concerned because that’s all they knew.”[41]. Both former residents commented about the self-sufficiency of the valley residents, and Carter insisted that the mountain people did not see themselves as “underprivileged.” The Post’s narrative did not reflect the mountain people’s unique traditions that allowed them to live independently within their environment, because it did not fit with the country’s perception of modernization

Summary

Introduction

Just seventy-five miles from Washington, DC, the Congress authorized the creation of this conservation area Shenandoah Valley in northwestern Virginia cradles a on May 22, 1926, and that same year the secretary of the two-hundred-thousand-acre protected wilderness area.[1] interior declared that residents in the region had to leave. This essay examines competing perceptions of the relocation of those residents, known as mountain people, in the creation of Shenandoah National Park by comparing the narratives of the Washington Post and the families who were forced to relocate.

Results

Conclusion