Use Restrictions

The copyright interests in this collection have been transferred to the James Madison University Special Collection Library. For more information, contact the Special Collections Library Reference Desk (library-special@jmu.edu).

Access Restrictions

Collection is open for research. Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using this collection. Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the James Madison University Special Collections Library to use this collection.

Preferred Citation

[identification of item], [box #, folder#], Christine Hoepfner Collection on the Shenandoah National Park, 1911-2000, SC 0170, Special Collections, Carrier Library, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA.

Acquisition Information

Donated by Christine Hoepfner in 2002

Processing Information

In order to streamline the process of applying collection numbers, Special Collections staff completed a large-scale renumbering campaign in 2017-2018. This collection was previously cataloged as SC 4042 .

Bio/Historical Note

Christine Hoepfner began working for Shenandoah National Park as a historian and archaeologist in 1992. While out in the field one day she met an elderly man who told her for the first time about the removal of mountain families. At the time, Hoepfner was also working on a Ph.D. dissertation about the creation of Shenandoah National Park for the University of Pennsylvania. Later, she served as president of The Children of Shenandoah, a group of descendants of the families removed, formed in 1994 by Lisa Custalow to lobby for more complete and accurate historical displays and videos in Park visitor centers. Hoepfner moved away from the area in 2002.

Scope and Content

This collection contains photocopies of of letters, reports, memos, land records and other documents from the National Archives and Shenandoah National Park archives concerning the formation and early administration of Shenandoah National Park. The condemnation of private land and removal of approximately 500 families from the Park in the 1930s, the attempts of those families to deal with the government, and the response of the public and of governmental agencies to the removal, form the focus of the collection. Also included are newspaper articles about the removal, and programs and newsletters documenting the later establishment of a group of descendents of the removed families, The Children of Shenandoah.

Series 1, Letters/Correspondence, 1925-1999, consists of 9 folders, which contain letters and correspondence between government officials/members of the Department of the Interior and residents of the area of the proposed Shenandoah National Park and other private citizens. Also contains job applications and work requests for the Department of the Interior, along with letters to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, messages from John D. Rockefeller Jr. and various reports and legal documents pertaining to permits, land ownership and resettlement efforts.

Series 2, Publications, 1911-1990, consists of 4 folders which contain press releases and letters concerning news stories from the Department of the Interior, various newspaper articles, and dissertations and publications.

Series 3, Children of Shenandoah, 1981-2000, consists of 1 folder containing letters, program announcements, and other items pertinent to the establishment and work of the group, Children of Shenandoah.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged topically into three series:

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Children of Shenandoah
• Letters (correspondence)
• Mountain life -- Virginia -- Shenandoah National Park -- History
• Mountain people -- Blue Ridge Mountains -- Social life and customs
• Mountain people -- Virginia -- Shenandoah National Park -- Social life and customs
• National parks and reserves -- Appalachian Region, Southern -- History
• Photocopies
• Publications (documents)
• Recreation areas -- Virginia -- Shenandoah National Park -- History
• Shenandoah National Park (Va.)
• Shenandoah National Park (Va.) -- History
• Shenandoah River Valley (Va. and W. Va.) -- History