Each week, the world of archaeology, geology, and science in general makes a number of

startling discoveries about our past that isn't necessarily reported to the general public.

These are cultures that we don't know about, science that we haven't discovered, and other

archaeological phenomenon that is unusual and just too much to report on. Hey, this is Cliff,

your host of Earth Ancients, and each Saturday we present a new topic that defies logic

that isn't covered in the news because it's just too amazing and brings us closer to questions about our past. Join me as we explore Earth's ancient past with writers, scientists, and research investigators. That's Earth Ancients, voted the number one ancient history podcast in the country. You know, I'm going to I'm a

Yeah The Blue Ridge Mountains are old. The oldest rocks in these mountains formed over a billion years ago,

deep beneath the earth's crust when magma pushed upwards and cooled into granite.

For centuries, these mountains stood silent.

Then, around 8,000 to 9,000 years ago, the first humans arrived.

By the 18th century, European settlers had pushed into the Blue Ridge,

carving farms from the wilderness,

building cabins in the hollows,

raising families in the shadow of the peaks that would one day bear names,

like Hawksbill and Old Rag.

They hunted, they logged, and they lived off the land for generations.

And then in the 1920s, the federal government decided that America needed a national park in the east.

Something grand like Yellowstone or Yosemite, but accessible to the millions of people

living along the eastern seaboard who could never afford to travel west.

Virginia saw an opportunity. A park would bring tourism and it would bring money. So the Commonwealth of Virginia said

about acquiring land along the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains, purchasing property

from more than 5,000 landholders. Some sold willingly, while others fought condemnation in court and lost.

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