We were testing out portions of the new "Appalachian Backroads" multi-state motorcycle route. These routes include the stretch (on State Route 606) from Stone Creek to Keokee in Lee County. Every time I go to Keokee, I wish I was riding a motorcycle. Yesterday, that wish came true! I counted the curves. There are about 55 curves between Stone Creek and Keokee.
Although we're not quite at our peak yet for Fall leaves, the colors were already changing along the way. It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon for a ride on the "Appalachian Backroads" motorcycle route. For more information about the motorcycle routes, go to www.appalachianbackroads.com. Curvy, scenic, winding back roads? We've got that!
Matter-of-fact, that same stretch of road (State Route 606) from Stone Creek to Keokee is not only on the "Appalachian Backroads" motorcycle route, but also on the Virginia Coal Heritage Trail, which is an official Virginia Scenic Byway. State Route 606 from Stone Creek to Keokee is a curvy, historical and scenic back road. For more information about the Virginia Coal Heritage Trail go to: http://www.virginiacoaltrail.com/.
We stopped in Keokee at the former school building to see the new Virginia Civil War Trail marker.
Here is a link to the successful application at http://www.dhr.virginia.gov/registers/Counties/Lee/052-0066_KeokeeStore_2007_%20NRfinal.pdf, which explained, "Perin had named his mining company after his wife, Keokee Henderson Page, and he requested a name change from Crab Orchard to Keokee from the post office department.... The Keokee Commissary was built in 1910 by the Stonega Coke and Coal Company (formerly the Keokee Coal and Coke Company). Known thereafter as Keokee Store No. 1, the store was repaired in 1930; then closed by Stonega in 1932. The commissary’s role was important as the central focus of the community and as a symbol of the company’s dominance. In 1938 the Lee County School Board acquired the commissary, and in 1939 applied for Works Progress Administration funds to convert the store into Keokee Gymnasium. After 1939, the building was part of a strong educational emphasis that influenced the lives of many students. It is a rare surviving coalmining camp commissary from the earliest period of mining in the area...”
This website says that "Keokee" is a Cherokee word: http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/jame1/moretti-langholtz/appendixd.htm
The Virginia Civil War Trails is part of the Virginia Civil War Sesquicentennial Commemoration activities. At http://www.virginiacivilwar.org/commission.php, a message from the Chairman explains, "The Virginia Sesquicentennial of the American Civil War Commission was created for the purpose of planning for and commemorating a significant milestone in our state and national history, the 150th anniversary of Virginia's participation in the American Civil War. The sesquicentennial commemoration in Virginia is a comprehensive statewide initiative that began in 2009 with programs examining the causes of the Civil War, and continues through 2015."
Updated in September 2013, this link shows the location of Lee County's Seminary (Turkey Cove) marker and the Daniel Ellis (Keokee) marker: http://www.civilwartraveler.com/about/maps/Valley-Map-2013.pdf The guide in the top left corner of the page explains,
"★Turkey Cove – There, Confederate recruits were organized and drilled in 1861.
★Daniel Ellis – This Lee County resident guided Unionist men over the mountains to Kentucky to join Federal forces there, 1862–1865."
Scroll down to the bottom right corner of the webpage to see these two Lee County sites on the map.
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