Ararat is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

in Patrick County,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

, United States, south of the

Blue Ridge Parkway The Blue Ridge Parkway is a National Parkway and National Scenic Byway, All-American Road in the United States, noted for its scenic beauty. The parkway, which is the longest linear park in the U.S., runs for through 29 counties in Virginia and ...

and north of

Mount Airy, North Carolina Mount Airy is a city in Surry County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 10,676. As of 2020, the city is the most populous municipality in Surry County. Mount Airy is located within t ...

. Ararat is located near the Virginia–North Carolina state line, approximately north of Mount Airy and about west of

Stuart Stuart may refer to: People *Stuart (name), a given name and surname (and list of people with the name) * Clan Stuart of Bute, a Scottish clan *House of Stuart, a royal house of Scotland and England Places Australia Generally *Stuart Highway, ...

. The community's name comes from the

Ararat River The Ararat River is a tributary of the Yadkin River in southwestern Virginia and northwestern North Carolina in the United States.DeLorme (2001). ''North Carolina Atlas & Gazetteer''. Yarmouth, Maine: DeLorme. Via the Yadkin it is part of t ...

, which flows through the area. The River takes its name from the Jefferson Fry Map of 1751, which calls Pilot Mountain part of the "Mountains of Ararat." The Saura Indian name for nearby Pilot Mountain across the state line in Surry County,

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

is "The Pilot" and the mountain reverted to that. The large

monadnock An inselberg or monadnock ( ) is an isolated rock hill, knob, ridge, or small mountain that rises abruptly from a gently sloping or virtually level surrounding plain. In Southern Africa, a similar formation of granite is known as a koppie, an ...

mountain was thought to resemble a

bullfrog ''Bullfrog'' is a common English language term to refer to large, aggressive frogs, regardless of species. Examples of bullfrogs include: Frog species Americas *Helmeted water toad (''Calyptocephalella gayi''), endemic to Chile *American bullf ...

and the Native Americans named it "Ratratrat," after the sound the animal makes. Early white settlers thought what they were saying sounded like "Ararat," the

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...

which, according to the Bible, was the landing point of Noah's Ark.

Education

Blue Ridge Elementary School is located in the community.

Notable people

Several famous people were born in the community, such as the Reverend Bob Childress; "The Man Who Moved A Mountain," and James Ewell Brown "Jeb" Stuart, the Major General of Cavalry for

Robert E. Lee Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a general officers in the Confederate States Army, Confederate general during the American Civil War, who was appointed the General in Chief of the Armies of the Confederate ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. Also, First Lieutenant Levi Barnard, eulogized by the band

Old Crow Medicine Show Old Crow Medicine Show is an Americana (music), Americana string band based in Nashville, Tennessee, that has been recording since 1998. They were inducted into the Grand Ole Opry on September 17, 2013. Their ninth album, ''Remedy (Old Crow Med ...

in their song, "Levi".

Historic site

The J.E.B. Stuart Birthplace, the Laurel Hill Farm, Laurel Hill Farm is a preserved private park in the community that is open for self-guided tours daily and holds a Civil War encampment the first full weekend of October each year.

References

Sources

* Davids, Richard C., ' ' The Man Who Moved A Mountain ' ', Augsburg Fortress Publishers, 1986, , . * Perry, Thomas D., ' 'J. E. B. Stuart's Birthplace: The History of the Laurel Hill Farm ' ', Laurel Hill Publishing, 2008, , . * Smith, Karen Cecil., ' 'Orlean Puckett: The Life of a Mountain Midwife, 1844-1939 ' ', Parkway Publishers, 2003,, . * Perry, Thomas D., 'Ararat Virginia: A Guide from Willis Gap to Kibler Valley ' ', Laurel Hill Publishing, 2009, .

External links

US Becon

The Hollow History Center (Ararat)
Unincorporated communities in Patrick County, Virginia Unincorporated communities in Virginia {{PatrickCountyVA-geo-stub