Eagle Rock is a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

(CDP) in Botetourt 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, located along the

James River The James River is a river in Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows from the confluence of the Cowpasture and Jackson Rivers in Botetourt County U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowli ...

between Iron Gate and Buchanan. It was first listed as a CDP in the 2020 census with a population of 209.

History

Eagle Rock had the last

lock Lock(s) or Locked may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainme ...

of the

James River and Kanawha Canal The James River and Kanawha Canal was a partially built canal in Virginia intended to facilitate shipments of passengers and freight by water between the western counties of Virginia and the coast. Ultimately its towpath became the roadbed for ...

Lime production

This was the location of the

kilns A kiln is a thermally insulated chamber, a type of oven, that produces temperatures sufficient to complete some process, such as hardening, drying, or chemical changes. Kilns have been used for millennia to turn objects made from clay into ...

for making

lime Lime most commonly refers to: * Lime (fruit), a green citrus fruit * Lime (material), inorganic materials containing calcium, usually calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide * Lime (color), a color between yellow and green Lime may also refer to: Bo ...

Limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

was transported across the James River via a tram system and then burned in the kilns to make lime. Originally a river

ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

, known as "The Free Stone Ford", allowed mule drawn wagons to cross. In May 1884 a bridge was constructed across the river for the limestone. Later, large towers were constructed and the lime sent across the river by cable. Old

quarries A quarry is a type of open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some jurisdictions to manage their safet ...

and locally known Quarry Hill are located on either side of US 220. The Bessemer Archaeological Site, Phoenix Bridge, and

Roaring Run Furnace Roaring Run Furnace is a historic fiery furnace located in Jefferson National Forest near Eagle Rock, Botetourt County, Virginia. It was built about 1832, and reflects the national and statewide economics of the iron industry during the 19th ce ...

are listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

Rail history

At the end of the

system, transportation was done by rail. Eagle Rock was the point of convergence of the

Richmond and Alleghany Railroad The Richmond and Alleghany Railroad was built along the James River along the route of the James River and Kanawha Canal from Richmond on the Fall Line at the head of navigation to a point west of Lynchburg near Buchanan, Virginia, and combined w ...

(soon to be known as the

Chesapeake and Ohio Railway The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway was a Class I railroad formed in 1869 in Virginia from several smaller Virginia railroads begun in the 19th century. Led by industrialist Collis Potter Huntington, it reached from Virginia's capital city of Rich ...

, and later

CSX Transportation CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad company operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Operating about 21,000 route miles () of track, it is the lead ...

) and the Craig Valley Line, which ran to Surber Station and on to

New Castle, Virginia New Castle (historically spelled as one word; "Newcastle") is the only town in Craig County, Virginia, United States. The population was 125 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Craig County, Virginia, Craig County. The junctions of Virgi ...

Geography

Eagle Rock is located at (37.6422510, −079.7918942). According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the CDP has a total area of 0.71 square miles.

Demographics

Eagle Rock first appeared as a

census designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

in the 2020 U.S. Census. As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2020, there were 209 people residing in the CDP. The population density was . There were 102 housing units. The racial makeup of the CDP was 93.7% White, 0% Black or African American, 0% Native American, 0% Asian, 0% Pacific Islander, 0% from other races, and 6.3% from two or more races. 1.3% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

Education

The CDP is served by Botetourt County Public Schools. Eagle Rock had its own high school until the late 1950s, when the Northern Botetourt high schools were all consolidated into the newly formed James River High School in neighboring Springwood. Public school students residing in Eagle Rock attend Eagle Rock Elementary School, Central Academy Middle School, and James River High School.

Notable people

William Hanes Ayres William Hanes Ayres (February 5, 1916 – December 27, 2000) was an American World War II veteran and politician who served as a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio from 1951 to 1971. Early life and career William ...

(1916–2000),

U.S. Congressman The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

who served ten terms in the

House A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

, was born in Eagle Rock. Retrieved on 2008-06-20. *

Norvel Lee Norvel L. R. Lee (September 22, 1924 – August 19, 1992) was an Amateur boxing, amateur boxer, Tuskegee Airman, WWII veterans, WWII veteran, scholar, Teacher, educator, field grade officer in the US Army Reserve, and Youth mentoring, youth ment ...

, (1924-1992) Olympic

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: *Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing * Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

who represented the United States at the

1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and officially branded as London 1948, were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus cau ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and won a gold medal at the

1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics (, ), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad (, ) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952, were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1952 in Helsinki, Finland. After Japan declared in ...

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

Angela Tincher Angela Tincher O'Brien (born Angela Susan Tincher; December 16, 1985) is an American, former collegiate All-American, retired professional All-Star softball pitcher and coach. She most recently served as the pitching coach at Virginia Tech. She ...

, All-American

softball Softball is a Variations of baseball, variation of baseball, the difference being that it is played with a larger ball, on a smaller field, and with only underhand pitches (where the ball is released while the hand is primarily below the ball) ...

pitcher for James River High School and

Virginia Tech The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, commonly referred to as Virginia Tech (VT), is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States ...

References

Bibliography

* Eagle Rock Funeral Home, Craig-Botetourt Genealogy Club, and Fincastle Library
Eagle Rock Funeral Home
Fincastle, VA: Craig-Botetourt Genealogy Club & Fincastle Library, 2005. Notes: Copies of burial records of Eagle Rock Funeral Home, Eagle Rock, Virginia. * Eagle Rock High School (Eagle Rock, Va.)
The Eagle
irginia Eagle Rock High School, 1933. * Eagle Rock School, and Eagle Rock Public Library
A History of Eagle Rock: A Special Group Project
Eagle Rock, Virginia: agle Rock School 1975. Notes: A history of Eagle Rock, Virginia (Botetourt County) written by students and their teacher in the mid-1970s (at the now closed Eagle Rock School). Credits: Kevin Barger, David Dew, Susan Heck, Cheryl Hoy, Johnny Lawson, Charles Nelson, Gary Tingler, Kathy Waddell, Kim West, Stacy Zimmerman, Mrs. Mary Lynne Leffel, teacher. Contents: Location and names – Industries – Stores – Saloons, hotel, theatre – Houses – Schools – Churches – Floods and fires – The Kanawha Canal – Summary. * Galatia Presbyterian Church (Eagle Rock, Va.)
Church Records
irginia? Eastern Microfilm, 1967. The church was originally part of Locust Bottom Church which was divided in 1887 into two churches, Galatia and Glen Wilton. * McGuire, Odell S
Geology of the Eagle Rock, Strom, Oriskany, and Salisbury Quadrangles, Virginia
Charlottesville: Virginia Division of Mineral Resources, 1970. * Russ, Kurt C., John M. McDaniel, and Jeffrey P. Blomster
Archaeological Investigations of a Nineteenth Century Appalachian Farmstead: The Barger/Riddlebarger Farm in Botetourt County, Virginia
Lexington, Va: Laboratory of Anthropology, Washington and Lee University, 1987. Notes: Project conducted under contract with the Museum of American Frontier Culture, Staunton, Va. Described as "Historic farmstead site" with "Site number 44BO (site number not yet established) (see Architectural Survey Form #11-107" in Virginia Division of Historic Landmarks, Archaeological Site Inventory Form on p. of cover. * United States
Flood Plain Information: James River, Eagle Rock to Lick Run, Botetourt County, Virginia. Norfolk, Va
Corps of Engineers, U.S. Army, Norfolk, Virginia, District, 1971.

External links

Down Home in Eagle Rock
by Anita J. Firebaugh, ''Cooperative Living'' magazine, February 2000 {{authority control Populated places on the James River (Virginia) Census-designated places in Botetourt County, Virginia Census-designated places in Virginia Lime kilns in the United States