Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, August 1, 1993 TAG: 9307300413
SECTION: DISCOVER PAGE: D-27 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MELANIE S. HATTER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
But on a clear day you can see West Virginia on one side and Franklin County on the other, says Barry Crawford of the Virginia Department of Forestry.
The view is breathtaking. All around are acres and acres of trees.
Poor Mountain, which got its name because of the poor land and soil conditions, peaks at 3,831 feet, according to a Forestry Department topography map.
In her book "A History of Roanoke County," Deedie Kagey says it peaks at 3,928 feet. Either way, it is the highest mountain surrounding the Roanoke Valley and is perhaps best known for the television, radio and emergency towers on its peak.
Although the fire tower is not used for spotting fires anymore - airplanes are used today - it's still used for radio communications by state agencies.
"We used to have to mow this," Crawford said of the grassy area directly below and around the tower. He's been with the forestry department since 1968.
He remembered one day some years ago when a co-worker mowing the grass heard a noise. He called Crawford over and they discovered "a great big old rattlesnake." Crawford didn't go into details but the snake didn't survive the encounter.
On one side of the tower is a small white brick building once home to the men who worked part time in the tower watching for fires. They lived in the house from March through May.
Standing in the room, comparable to an average bedroom and dark despite the two windows, Crawford explained that there used to be a woodstove for cooking and heating. Water was brought up in jugs and there was an outhouse out back.
Attached to the building was a room that held the radio equipment. "Way back when they had to bring equipment and supplies by horse," he said.
Most of the land on the mountain is privately owned - space for the communications towers is rented. But one section of the mountain, Happy Hollow Gardens off Mount Chestnut Road, was donated to Roanoke County in 1985 by Mary Jane Burgess and her sister, Cherie Shindell.
It got its name when the real estate man closed the deal in 1908 and told Burgess' uncle, H.B. Wharton, "I hope you're happy in your hollow," Burgess said. "And my uncle said, `That's it, that's the name.' "
Wharton gave part of the land to Burgess as a gift when she graduated from Virginia Polytechnic Institute.
"It's a wonderful place for children to run and not have to worry about running into the road," she said. Burgess, 79, grew up on a farm in Chesterfield County and fondly remembers playing on her uncle's land when she was a child.
The 34-acre park was opened to the public in 1989.
Crawford and district forester Chris Thomsen had driven up the mountain from Brake Branch Road in Elliston. The paved road ended and a dirt road weaved its way to the top. It's a bumpy ride and anything less than a four-wheel-drive vehicle wouldn't make it.
The higher the climb, the smaller the trees become. "The only thing they're good for is holding the world together," Thomsen said. "They stop things from eroding away."
Near the top, the road splits into a maintained gravel road that comes out on the other side at Bottom Creek and Poor Mountain roads.
"People use this as a shortcut through the mountain," Thomsen said.
"Years ago," Crawford said, "you'd see a lot of lovers up here, back when things were a lot more secretive."
by CNB