Blue Ridge Skyline Parkway Drive

Settlement of the area that is now Grottoes first occurred around 1735 after a grant for land around the Augusta County/Rockingham County line was given to three men, John Thomas, John Taylor and William Beverly. The settlement became known as "Liola" in the early 1880's. In 1889 the Grottoes Company began to buy land in the area. The president of the Grottoes Company was Jed Hotchkiss, the mapmaker for General Stonewall Jackson. He was familiar with the area after Jackson marched down into the Liola settlement during the civil war through Brown's Gap. Jackson was the first to use the path during the war; many other Southern generals followed as they conducted operations against the Northern troops that occupied the Shenandoah Valley.

The area was perfect for a city; adequate land for manufacturing, a good water supply from the South River, rich beds of coal and ore for mining and the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains in the background made the site an ideal location. Weyer's Caves, now called Grand Caverns, were discovered by Bernard Weyer in 1806 and have been a popular attraction since.

The Grottoes Company began to develop the area after Major Hotchkiss gained financial backing from financiers in New York, Philadelphia and Washington D.C. The company planned on exhibiting the caves, mining the ore beds and selling business and residential lots. In 1890 the town was laid out and named Shendun. The town began to expand soon after with and electric plant constructed in 1891, and a phone line connecting Shendun to Staunton was completed in the same year. Factories entered into the town, and the population rose. By an act of the General Assembly, the Town of Shendun was incorporated on February 16, 1892.

Beginning in 1893, the Grottoes Company began to experience financial difficulties. The Grottoes Hotel burned and a valuable asset in the town was lost. The town's newspaper, The Shendun News, once said to be printed with the best equipment in the state, went bankrupt. The Grottoes Company went bankrupt the same year after they could not collect on stock subscriptions and a court ruled against them for fraudulent representation in the following lawsuit.

Once the Grottoes Company went bankrupt, the nucleus of the town crumbled and Shendun began to decline. Families left, and efforts by the remaining townspeople to lease the caves and streetcar lines failed to prevent the downslide. By 1908, when the Bank of Grottoes opened, the town only held about 400 people.

By an act of the General Assembly, the name of the town was officially changed from Shendun to Grottoes, meaning caves. The changing name marked a new chapter in the history of the area, and the Town of Grottoes has been steadily growing ever since. During the Great Depression the town served as a camp for Civilian Conservation Corps. workers as they built the beautiful Skyline Drive.
In 1948 a central water system was installed, and a centralized sewer system was created in 1983 to allow the town to grow without the limitations of individual sewer systems. The Volunteer Fire Department was organized in 1948. Reynolds Metals Company, now Alcoa, began its operations on the border of the corporate limits in 1956.

By 2000, the town had grown to a population of 2,114 people. After a new elementary school was built, the town moved its operations into the old school after the completion of renovations. Today the building houses all the town's operations, including a branch of the Massanutten Regional Library and the town's police headquarters.

Grottoes lies in the Heart of the Shenandoah Valley, between Harrisonburg and Waynesboro on the Rockingham County/Augusta County line. Located on the intersections of Route 340 and Route 256, the town is just 7 miles from Interstate 81 and only 4 miles from the Shenandoah Regional Airport. The town offers visitors several opportunities to eat while enjoying its small town atmosphere. Bike trails lead from the Grand Caverns park into the town. Hiking is available to adventurous visitors up the Brown's Gap fire road to the Skyline Drive. Hikers are invited to visit the old Mt. Vernon Furnace, located within yards of the trail, which supplied much iron for use by the Confederacy.

The town is currently developing a 54-acre park along the banks of the South River. The park offers visitors picnic shelters, a baseball field, several wetland areas, driving range, and a boat ramp. The South River is stocked with trout, and is an excellent opportunity to catch the fish. In the future another baseball facility will be installed and a walking trail will be completed.

No visit to the Shenandoah Valley is complete without a trip to Grand Caverns, located in Grottoes, Virginia. Parade Magazine recently ranked Grand Caverns the #2 caverns in the United States. The Caverns are not only one of the most spectacular caverns in America, but also one of the oldest. It has been showing visitors its beauty since 1806, making it America's oldest show cave. Thomas Jefferson even visited the caverns. Massive columns, beautiful draperies, rippling flowstone, and over 200 rare "shield" formations create a variety of fascinating sights that no visitor should pass up. Cathedral Hall, at 280 feet long and 70 feet high, is one of the largest rooms of the any cavern in the east. Other attractions such as Bridal Veil, Stonewall Jackson's Horse and Dante's Inferno make the trip truly unique. Visitors can also see "graffiti" from the Civil War, as soldiers have signed their names into the rocks. The Grand Caverns Park also offers hiking, picnicking, swimming, and minigolf. Some of the hiking trails follow the South River, while others meander through the beautiful valley. Five picnic shelters and numerous freestanding tables offer visitors a chance to eat surrounded by the beauty of the Shenandoah Valley. The park is open 7 days a week from April 1 to October 31, and on weekends only from November 1 to March 30. For more information or to set up a group reservation, Grand Caverns can be contacted at 1-888-430-CAVE. Be sure to visit the Grand Caverns website at http://home.rica.net/UVRPA.

Visitors are welcomed to visit the Bluegrass Festival at Grand Caverns. Held this year on September 6-7, 2002, it is an annual event held the Friday and Saturday after Labor Day each year. An all day event, it features the area's premier bluegrass artists. A must for bluegrass enthusiasts, more information can be found on the Grand Cavern's website.

Another upcoming annual event is the Town of Grottoes' Harvest Festival and Cruise-In. Be sure to visit on September 28, 2002, for the all day event. Featuring food vendors, craft shows, and antique cars, the event should not be missed.

More information about the Town of Grottoes and what it has to offer can be found on the Town's website, located at http://www.ci.grottoes.va.us.