1 of 16
![01_3481_.jpg 01_3481_.jpg](https://blueridgecountry.com/downloads/2077/download/01_3481_.jpg?cb=9381f66237c77584f5ce657c74bb6983&w={width}&h={height})
Laurie McClellan
Field stone grave markers at a backcountry cemetery near Butterwood Branch.
2 of 16
![02_3472.jpg 02_3472.jpg](https://blueridgecountry.com/downloads/2078/download/02_3472.jpg?cb=1caa13ba7203a3992534872bdf6a3be9&w={width}&h={height})
Laurie McClellan
Field stone grave markers at a backcountry cemetery near Butterwood Branch.
3 of 16
![03_3420.jpg 03_3420.jpg](https://blueridgecountry.com/downloads/2079/download/03_3420.jpg?cb=5f0b65b422a6a30ddf8d311b4235d87a&w={width}&h={height})
Laurie McClellan
Shenandoah’s woods are replete with remnants that former communities left behind, like barbed wire, old fence or gate posts, stone walls, and stove parts.
4 of 16
![05_3413.jpg 05_3413.jpg](https://blueridgecountry.com/downloads/2080/download/05_3413.jpg?cb=64d51970bf64653dd66f3d9c24cca0e0&w={width}&h={height})
Laurie McClellan
Shenandoah’s woods are replete with remnants that former communities left behind, like barbed wire, old fence or gate posts, stone walls, and stove parts.
5 of 16
![06_3362.jpg 06_3362.jpg](https://blueridgecountry.com/downloads/2081/download/06_3362.jpg?cb=bb05fb4fa28d80548f81d44c774b6b56&w={width}&h={height})
Laurie McClellan
Shenandoah’s woods are replete with remnants that former communities left behind, like barbed wire, old fence or gate posts, stone walls, and stove parts.
6 of 16
![07_3340.jpg 07_3340.jpg](https://blueridgecountry.com/downloads/2082/download/07_3340.jpg?cb=233739d54cf7f0e84c9d756d94cdf933&w={width}&h={height})
Laurie McClellan
Shenandoah’s woods are replete with remnants that former communities left behind, like barbed wire, old fence or gate posts, stone walls, and stove parts.
7 of 16
![08_3313.jpg 08_3313.jpg](https://blueridgecountry.com/downloads/2083/download/08_3313.jpg?cb=b665e47c11935438d96d329b834b394e&w={width}&h={height})
Laurie McClellan
Shenandoah’s woods are replete with remnants that former communities left behind, like barbed wire, old fence or gate posts, stone walls, and stove parts.
8 of 16
![09_3314.jpg 09_3314.jpg](https://blueridgecountry.com/downloads/2084/download/09_3314.jpg?cb=01ccc776b9c788291e90b6a09c8b3254&w={width}&h={height})
Laurie McClellan
Shenandoah’s woods are replete with remnants that former communities left behind, like barbed wire, old fence or gate posts, stone walls, and stove parts.
9 of 16
![10_3304.jpg 10_3304.jpg](https://blueridgecountry.com/downloads/2085/download/10_3304.jpg?cb=e176ede83ad3130f740455b444e359c3&w={width}&h={height})
Laurie McClellan
Shenandoah’s woods are replete with remnants that former communities left behind, like barbed wire, old fence or gate posts, stone walls, and stove parts.
10 of 16
![12_2681.jpg 12_2681.jpg](https://blueridgecountry.com/downloads/2086/download/12_2681.jpg?cb=0fe48ec455f7e2dd3e33950249f4d694&w={width}&h={height})
Sue Eisenfeld
Shenandoah’s woods are replete with remnants that former communities left behind, like barbed wire, old fence or gate posts, stone walls, and stove parts.
11 of 16
![13_5453.jpg 13_5453.jpg](https://blueridgecountry.com/downloads/2087/download/13_5453.jpg?cb=00fbf9d54fa2a3f8de8e78c8a514733a&w={width}&h={height})
Sue Eisenfeld
Old rutted roads become the secret passageways to the past.
12 of 16
![14_3417.jpg 14_3417.jpg](https://blueridgecountry.com/downloads/2088/download/14_3417.jpg?cb=28526bd7721fb3c45e7ccbd7aacea0b5&w={width}&h={height})
Laurie McClellan
The author and her husband bushwhack their way through the old Butterwood Branch area communities.
13 of 16
![16_3423.jpg 16_3423.jpg](https://blueridgecountry.com/downloads/2089/download/16_3423.jpg?cb=9c84cdd352493ea38b65850e265ca944&w={width}&h={height})
Laurie McClellan
The stumps of chestnut trees endure in Shenandoah.
14 of 16
![17_3407.jpg 17_3407.jpg](https://blueridgecountry.com/downloads/2090/download/17_3407.jpg?cb=bbbfd3ce1f8aea701c9140b7a3127386&w={width}&h={height})
Laurie McClellan
The historic backcountry offers natural wonders and surprises as well, like pine saplings and a baby eastern ratsnake.
15 of 16
![18_3403.jpg 18_3403.jpg](https://blueridgecountry.com/downloads/2091/download/18_3403.jpg?cb=6842d90740c0d43e74e5e98611d558ac&w={width}&h={height})
Laurie McClellan
The historic backcountry offers natural wonders and surprises as well, like pine saplings and a baby eastern ratsnake.
16 of 16
![19_3246.jpg 19_3246.jpg](https://blueridgecountry.com/downloads/2092/download/19_3246.jpg?cb=4502e5ece16576481c9b6be369c90440&w={width}&h={height})
Laurie McClellan
Farming still goes on in many of the communities surrounding Shenandoah National Park, but in centuries past, families farmed the mountains too.