ALLEGHANY COUNTY, Va. – Another hidden treasure in Alleghany County is the Longdale Recreation Area, also known as Green Pastures.
The recreation area was built in the 1930s at the request of the Clifton Forge Chapter of the NAACP and was designated for African American visitors during segregation in the United States.
It was one of only four parks of its kind, according to the Alleghany Historical Society.
It was set to be decommissioned from the U.S. Forest Service due to budget constraints; however, community leaders and locals banded together and lobbied to preserve the local landmark.
“It has beautiful facilities, but the funding for the Forest Service had gone down and that was one of the places they stopped maintaining. And so it’s just kind of been a good community effort to get a beautiful asset back up,” explained Alleghany County director of Parks and Recreation Chad Williams.
The recreation area is closed to vehicles, but people are still able to walk there.
When it reopens, it will be managed by Douthat State Park.
The current plan is for a soft reopening in September with the official opening sometime in 2022.