Podcast

This podcast features 30 episodes telling complex stories about history along the 555 miles of Route 76 in Virginia
Spotify (link) Apple (link)

The episodes are numbered in sequence traveling from east to west: Episode 1 is the first going westbound and the thirtieth episode going eastbound. Cyclists who begin at the Atlantic Ocean will follow the episodes in ascending order from 1 to 30; cyclists who enter western Virginia will follow the episodes in descending order from 30 to 1. The mileage is from the westbound starting point in Yorktown, Virginia. The name of the episode is a geographical location, while the short description provides a summary of the episode’s content, historical examples, and broader relevance. Please note that distances may vary depending on route.

1. Yorktown (mile 0): The Victory Monument, the starting or ending point for the Bikecentennial route since 1976, connects the independence of the new nation following the military victory in 1781 to the emergence of the United States as a world power in the subsequent two centuries.
2. Jamestown (mile 22): This episode examines the site of two transformative moments in American history, the first permanent European colony in 1607 and the first African slaves in 1619, which produced origin stories which shape identity at national, regional, and individual levels to the present day.
3. Sturgeon Point (mile 37): The Powhatan River, now called the James River, shaped Native American history for centuries before the arrival of European settlers and African slaves, producing food, facilitating travel, and shaping community and spiritual practices.
4. Kimages (mile 61): Plantation slavery dominated this region of Virginia for two centuries prior to emancipation, as thousands of enslaved peoples produced the economic goods which sustained generations of white power in economic, political, and cultural spheres.
5. Richmond (mile 77): The proximity of Richmond Battlefield Park makes the connection between the capital of the Confederacy and the fierce fighting around the city which determined the outcome of this struggle over slavery and the future of the United States.
6. Ashland (mile 94): The expansion of the railroads in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries transformed rural Virginia, bringing goods to markets, connecting communities, and distributing opportunities for employment across regions and populations.
7. Needstan Creek (mile 110); The separation along racial lines of two churches in the 1860s, now located less than one mile from each other along route 76, illustrates the complex relationship between religion and identity in the history of Virginia and the United States.
8. Lake Anna (mile 128): Farmlands along Route 76 are a constant reminder of the key role of agriculture in the history of Virginia and the United States, yet the communities south of Lake Anna also illustrate the changing relationship between food, land, and people.
9. Mineral (mile 141): The growth of the mining industry in Virginia, including numerous mines in this region, demonstrates how resource extraction shaped economic growth as well as population displacement and environmental transformations.
10. Shannon Hill (mile 158): Religion in Virginia from English settlement to the first decades after independence shaped settlement patterns, community identity, and social change, a history that survives in historical churches such as Mount Gilead Baptist Church, established in 1831.
11. Fluvanna (mile 174): The history of segregated schools, the civil rights movement, massive resistance, and uneven steps toward equity in public schools are illustrated in the Abrams high school, which educated African American students for three decades.
12. Charlottesville (mile 195): Monuments to enslaved people and Thomas Jefferson along route 76 confirms the contradictory promises of liberty and equality in revolutionary Virginia during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.
13. Watts Branch (mile 210): Orchards and vineyards contributed to economic development and population movement in Virginia from the colonial era to the present, as illustrated by the numerous working farms, wineries, and distilleries along route 76.
14. Rockfish Gap (mile 226): The Blue Ridge Tunnel, built for railroads and now a walking and cycling trail, illustrates how long term trends in infrastructure respond to market forces, technological innovations, and popular interests..
15. Tye River Gap (mile 253): The Blue Ridge Parkway confirmed the automobile as a primary driver of tourism and development, as the Works Progress Administration invested in infrastructure as a driver of economic recovery during the Great Depression.
16. Irish Creek (mile 267): As Americans of Scottish, Irish, and English descent migrated from northeastern states in the eighteenth century, their economic, religious, political, and cultural practices shaped the subsequent development of Appalachia to the present day.
17. Natural Bridge (mile 292): The Great Indian Warpath, which passed through the Appalachian valleys, connected Native American communities for centuries, serving as a durable route for trade, warfare, and migration, as documented on the Monacan walking trail.
18. Buchanan (mile 303): The birthplace of Mary Johnston provides a perspective on the history of women’s rights in Virginia, with particular attention to the suffrage campaign that fused the struggle for gender equality with unresolved conflicts about racial boundaries.
19. Troutville (mile 319): The expansion of housing, retail, and office spaces in the suburbs of Roanoke demonstrate how the growth of these communities have come, to some extent, at the expense of both urban and rural populations, with broader implications for all of society.
20. Catawba (mile 339): The Tuberculosis Sanatorium, founded in 1909 in an elevated rural location, was the first state run facility to treat this deadly disease in ways that demonstrated how public health became an important part of government policy and economic structures.
21. Christiansburg (mile 364): The Tuskegee model of industrial education for African Americans, based on Booker T. Washington’s vision for “racial uplift,” inspired the Christiansburg Industrial Institute, which educated African American students during a century of Jim Crow segregation.
22. Radford (mile 389): The construction of a new hospital outside Radford prompts exploration of the opioid epidemic in Appalachia which provides insights into the recurring challenges of sustaining community and improving lives.
23. Fort Chiswell (mile 410): The intersection of I77 and I81 represents how the interstate highway system transformed rural America, as highway infrastructure facilitated the movement of people and goods while also directing consumers and resources away from rural communities.
24. Mill Creek (mile 428): The lynching of Raymond Arthur Byrd in 1926, just north of where Mill Creek runs along route 76, illustrated the power of racial violence and the delayed efforts of Virginia’s white political establishment to control this exercise in community intimidation.
25. Troutdale (mile 455): Nineteenth century manufacturing transformed towns across Virginia, connecting communities to markets, and contributing to the growth of a national identity based on production, exchange, and consumption, leaving legacies that persist to the present.
26. Damascus (mile 476): The intersection of Route 76 and the Appalachian Trail demonstrates the emerging importance of recreational tourism to the potential revitalization of rural America, as the movement of people by foot or wheel brings economic resources to communities poised to provide services addressed to this growing demand.
27. Logan Creek (mile 498): Clearcutting the forests of Appalachia in the nineteenth century contributed to economic development through resource extracting with long-lasting effects on the relationship between human and natural environments.
28. Honaker (mile 518): The celebration of regional music along Virginia’s Crooked Road brings attention to the ways that arts and culture were shaped by community and regional identities in Appalachia and more broadly in rural America.
29. Davenport (mile 532): Rivers and creeks across Virginia, from the Appalachian mountains in the west to the Tidewater regions in the east, shaped population movement, economic growth, and political structures from before European settlement to the present day.
30. Breaks (mile 555): Native American peoples across the Appalachian region used the natural resources of the land to build communities, engage in trade, and follow migratory routes in the centuries that preceded the arrival of the first white European settlers.