Eagle Rock, Virginia

Infobox Settlement
name = Eagle Rock, Virginia
settlement_type = Unincorporated community
nickname =
motto =

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pushpin_label_position = none
pushpin_map_caption = Location of Eagle Rock in Virginia
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subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = United States
subdivision_type1 = State
subdivision_name1 = Virginia
subdivision_type2 = County
subdivision_name2 = Botetourt

government_footnotes =
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leader_title =
leader_name =
leader_title1 =
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established_date =

population_as_of = 2000
population_footnotes =
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population_density_km2 =
population_density_sq_mi =

timezone = Eastern (EST)
utc_offset = -5
timezone_DST = EDT
utc_offset_DST = -4
elevation_footnotes = Gnis|1494212|Eagle Rock, Virginia. Retrieved on 2008-06-19.]
elevation_m =
elevation_ft = 971
latd = 37 |latm = 38 |lats = 26 |latNS = N
longd = 79 |longm = 48 |longs = 04 |longEW = W

postal_code_type = ZIP code
postal_code = 24085
area_code = 540
blank_name = FIPS code
blank_info = 51-51023
blank1_name = GNIS feature ID
blank1_info = 1494212
blank2_name = Other names
blank2_info = Breckenridge, Eagle Mountain, Eaglerock,
Rat Hole
Sheets
website =
footnotes = [cite web |url=http://www.zipinfo.com/cgi-local/zipsrch.exe?cnty=cnty&ac=ac&zip=24085&Go=Go |title=ZIP Code Lookup |accessdate=2008-06-20]

Eagle Rock is an unincorporated community in Botetourt County, Virginia, United States, located on the James River between Covington And Clifton Forge, Virginia.

Geography

Eagle Rock is located at coord|37|38|26|N|79|48|04|W|region:US_type:city (37.640686, -79.801156). Its elevation is 971 feet (296 m).

History

Eagle Rock is known for several things among those being the last lock of the James River and Kanawha Canal and the kilns for making lime. When approaching Eagle Rock northbound on US 220, one descends a long steep hill. This is locally known as Quarry Hill, and the old quarries are still visible on either side of US 220. Limestone was transported across the river via a tram system and then burned in the kilns to make lime.Clarifyme|date=June 2008

Rail History

With the ends of the Canal system the system was transferred to rail. Eagle Rock was the point of convergence of the Alleghany and Richmond Rail (then soon to be known as the C & O later CSX) and the Craig Valley Line which ran to Surber Station and on to New Castle, Virginia. The C&O 377, an F-11 class 4-6-0 locomotive which ran the Craig Valley line now resides at the B&O Museum, Baltimore, Md.

Fishing boating in Eagle Rock

The Jackson and Cowpasture Rivers converge in northern Botetourt County to form Virginia's greatest river, the James River. These headwaters, called the Upper James, provide some of the finest canoeing and freshwater fishing available in Virginia. A convert|16|mi|adj=on stretch of the James River between Eagle Rock and Springwood is the only part of the James River that has been designated a Virginia Scenic River.Fact|date=June 2008

The James is renowned for its smallmouth fishing, and the convert|45|mi|km|adj=on stretch that winds its way through Botetourt is becoming one of the most popular muskie sections of water in the state. The river also offers excellent rock bass, bream and catfish fishing.

Canoers and those in small flat-bottom boats will find easy access at five Department of Game and Inland Fisheries public boat ramps on the James. Those ramps have parking and are located:

*Beside the US 220 bridge over the river just south of Iron Gate at Rt. 633.
*On Rt. 43 between Eagle Rock and Buchanan.
*Directly under the Rt. 630 bridge over the river at Springwood.
*On Lowe Street just north of the US 11 bridge in Buchanan.
*Beside the Rt. 614 bridge at Arcadia, east of Buchanan.

There are other points which are accessible to the public, such as Ox Bow Campground on Rt. 43 west of Buchanan and off US 220 just north of Eagle Rock at Craigs Creek.

Those who ply the river will find remnants of the James River and Kanawha Canal. The stone locks and old bridge abutments represent an important part of the county's history. Grand plans brought the canal to Buchanan before the Civil War and the coming of the railroad curbed traffic on the system before it eventually was abandoned. The JR&KC was to link Richmond with the Mississippi River via the James River and an overland route to the Greenbrier River in West Virginia. That would have tied the canal to the Kanawha, then the Ohio River and the Mississippi.

Craigs Creek, which starts in neighboring Craig County, provides its own recreational opportunities. There are many private camps and cabins on the creek which passes through Jefferson National Forest and private land on its way to the James River at Eagle Rock. Most of the year, it can be canoed and fished, but there are no designated public access points.

Several trout streams in the Jefferson and George Washington National Forests provide excellent rainbow, brook and brown trout fishing. Jennings Creek, North Creek and Middle Creek in the northeastern part of the county are stocked each spring, along with Roaring Run in the northern part of the county. One section of North Creek is a special regulation stream.

For the more adventuresome, native trout inhabit other mountain streams.

Arguably the best striped bass fishing in Virginia is in neighboring Bedford County in Smith Mountain Lake, and Lake Moomaw in neighboring Alleghany County offers citation size brown trout fishing.

Notable residents

*William Hanes Ayres (1916–2000), U.S. Congressman from Ohio, was born in Eagle Rock. [CongBio|A000229|William Hanes Ayres|inline=1. Retrieved on 2008-06-20.]

References

External links

* [http://www.co-opliving.com/coopliving/issues/2000/February/pdf/dh_2000Feb.pdf Down Home in Eagle Rock] by Anita J. Firebaugh, "Cooperative Living" magazine, February 2000
*Geolinks-US-cityscale|37.640686|-79.801156