Last updated: August 29, 2024
Place
Historic Hemlocks of the Limberlost
While much of what is now Shenandoah National Park would have looked much different to the earliest resort guests of Skyland, some historic remnants of nature remain.
In the early 1900s, Addie Nairn Pollock, owner of Massanutten Lodge and wife of Skyland Resort's main proprietor, loved the hemlock groves of the Blue Ridge Mountains as much as Park visitors do today. Prior to the Park establishment, timber operations took place along the ridge, collecting wood for construction material as well as to produce charcoal for copper kilns. One area slated to be fallen was in the area of what is now the Limberlost Trail.
Addie, being a great admirer of the woodlands around her resort home, took pity on the grove of a hundred old hemlocks, and purchased the land to spare them. The hemlocks reminded her of the setting of one of her favorite novels at the time - A Girl of the Limberlost - which takes place largely in the Limberlost Swamp of eastern Indiana, and so the Limberlost became an attractive jaunt for resort guests.
Unfortunately, in modern times, the Eastern Hemlock is so to speak once again "under the axe" as it is one of many trees threatened by invasive species. When the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid, an aphid-like pest, was introduced to this area, Shenandoah lost about 90% of its hemlocks. If you look at the base of some hemlocks, you may notice a white painted dot. This is a sign that rangers have treated the tree to protect it from this invasive pest. Shenandoah's biological technicians and pest management rangers are always working to help eradicate invasive insects and plants that negatively impact the forest.
In the early 1900s, Addie Nairn Pollock, owner of Massanutten Lodge and wife of Skyland Resort's main proprietor, loved the hemlock groves of the Blue Ridge Mountains as much as Park visitors do today. Prior to the Park establishment, timber operations took place along the ridge, collecting wood for construction material as well as to produce charcoal for copper kilns. One area slated to be fallen was in the area of what is now the Limberlost Trail.
Addie, being a great admirer of the woodlands around her resort home, took pity on the grove of a hundred old hemlocks, and purchased the land to spare them. The hemlocks reminded her of the setting of one of her favorite novels at the time - A Girl of the Limberlost - which takes place largely in the Limberlost Swamp of eastern Indiana, and so the Limberlost became an attractive jaunt for resort guests.
Unfortunately, in modern times, the Eastern Hemlock is so to speak once again "under the axe" as it is one of many trees threatened by invasive species. When the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid, an aphid-like pest, was introduced to this area, Shenandoah lost about 90% of its hemlocks. If you look at the base of some hemlocks, you may notice a white painted dot. This is a sign that rangers have treated the tree to protect it from this invasive pest. Shenandoah's biological technicians and pest management rangers are always working to help eradicate invasive insects and plants that negatively impact the forest.