Madison Timber tract, Tract 191, Madison County

Did you know?Land burned bare in 1931

The 1920s survey

2,660 acres, valued at $5,150. The state paid $296.

Today

Landmarks on this map (1)

Summits

Fork Mountain · USGS place names

House sites and family graves are never marked. Pins show only public places, from USGS place names and other public sources.

Landmarks in this tract: Fork Mountain · USGS place names

Case files

The National Park Service has no case file online for this tract.

County court land file

Papers from the Madison County circuit court’s proceedings to take the land for the park, scanned by JMU Libraries.

Madison Timber Corporation
The file at JMU Libraries, opens in a new tab PDF, opens in a new tab
In the file: Claimant Worksheet, Tract Assessment, Owner Claim, LOB9 (pages 177, 335)
Courtesy of the Madison County Circuit Court Clerk and JMU Libraries, Histories along the Blue Ridge. Licensed CC BY-NC 4.0, opens in a new tab.

From the case file

The evidence before the Appraisal Commission is that the above improvements were put upon the lands of the Madison Timber Corporation without formal lease or understanding. They are claimed by the Madison Timber Corporation and no evidence was offered to the contrary, consequently their value is included in the value of tract #191 Madison Timber Corporation.

— Madison Timber Corporation, Madison County court land file, page 17. Courtesy of the Madison County Circuit Court Clerk and JMU Libraries, Histories along the Blue Ridge. Licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

Did you know?

Land burned bare in 1931
The land on this Madison Timber Corporation tract was burned over in the spring of 1931 by a damaging fire that laid the topsoil bare over much of the area.
From the records How we know
Three peach trees valued at one dollar each
The tract included three peach trees, each valued at one dollar.
From the records How we know
A log dwelling on Tract 191-k
Tract 191-k had a log dwelling of 28 by 28 feet with six rooms, an old log kitchen, and an old log meat house, all in poor condition.
From the records How we know
Three peach trees on Tract 191-k
Tract 191-k included three peach trees valued at $1.00 each.
Sources differ: the park land records at JMU gives “Tract 191-k included three peach trees valued at $1.00 each”; the county court land file says “3 peach trees at $1.00 each”.
From the records How we know
Four frame dwellings and camp buildings
The Madison Timber Corporation said it owned four frame dwellings of five or six rooms each, with outbuildings, and four new camp buildings with baths and a plumbing system.
From the records How we know
The Cabinet Camp buildings
The 'Cabinet Camp' on the Madison Timber Corporation tract had a frame camp house with two ells, a dining hall and kitchen, servant quarters, a dwelling, and a water and sewerage system with a concrete reservoir. The appraisers valued these improvements together at $5,600.
From the records How we know
Log tenant house on the Madison Timber tract
Martin J. Buracker occupied a log tenant house, 13 by 18 feet and one and a half stories, standing on pillars and in fair condition.
From the records How we know
Ben Shifflett's two-story frame and log house
Ben Shifflett occupied a log and frame tenant house with weatherboarded walls, seven rooms, a stone chimney, and a solid foundation in fair condition.
From the records How we know
A burned area on Tract 191c
Approximately 400 acres of the timbered portion of Tract 191c were burned over last year, killing merchantable timber in many places.
From the records How we know
Five heavy type circular saw mills
The claimant owned five heavy type circular saw mills complete with edgers, trim saws, log haul-ups, boilers, engines, and necessary camp buildings and camping equipment.
From the records How we know
Timber rights on 1,805 acres
The general report on the claim of timber rights of the Ward-Rue Lumber Company covered timber rights on 1,805 acres.
From the records How we know
Ward-Rue claim included 8 sawmills
The Ward-Rue Lumber Company's timber-rights claim covered, among other things, the value of 8 sawmills and miscellaneous logging tools and equipment within the area to be condemned.
From the records How we know

Source: National Park Service, Shenandoah National Park, Historic Land Tracts.

The 1920s survey

Map of the tract

Summits

Case files

County court land file

From the case file