Skyland — Tourism Was Here Before the National Park
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Transcript
Skyland began as a mountain resort decades before Shenandoah National Park existed. George Freeman Pollock promoted clean air, views and elaborate entertainment to middle-class visitors escaping industrial cities. His bugle reportedly organized daily life, from meals to activities. This pre-park tourism matters because Shenandoah was not created on an unknown landscape suddenly discovered by conservationists. Vacationers, landowners, farmers and businesses were already using the mountains in different ways. When the national park arrived, it absorbed some older recreational places like Skyland while displacing other residents. Preservation chose which existing uses fit the new park and which did not.