Small Towns of Virginia Series

Small Towns of Virginia Series - Pound

Downtown Pound, Virginia

Just south of the Kentucky State Line along US 23 is the Town of Pound. This Mountain Empire town of nearly 1,000 is a sample of many of the small towns in this region - tucked away within the folds of the numerous hills and mountains of the area and not a straight road to be found.

The Pound Hardware & Furniture Company building is now home to a hodgepodge of different shops.

Pound sits along Virginia's Crooked Road - a meandering journey through Southwest Virginia highlighting and celebrating the regions connection to Americana and Bluegrass Music. Pound celebrates its piece of Bluegrass Heritage 7:00 pm every Thursday night at the Pound Town Hall Building. "Pickin' in the Pound" features local bluegrass musicians and southwest Virginia hospitality.

Until 2011, Pound was home to the Pound High School Wildcats. That year, Wise County consolidated Pound HS with Wise's J.J. Kelly High School to form Central High School in Norton. The new Central High School would open in 2013. From my visit there in 2008, Pound was very proud of their high school.

This local store displays Pound High School Wildcat Pride

Pound sits along the Pound River and is served by US 23 and Virginia Route 83. The planned Coalfields Expressway - which will run from Beckley, WV southwest to Pound - will have its southern terminus here. There is no timetable for completion for this road.

The Pixie Drive-In was for sale by owner in 2008; however, it is still there and under new ownership.

Site Navigation:

Comments

Interstate 40's Tumultuous Ride Through the Pigeon River Gorge

In the nearly 60 years Interstate 40 has been open to traffic through the Pigeon River Gorge in the mountains of Western North Carolina, it has been troubled by frequent rockslides and damaging flooding, which has seen the over 30-mile stretch through North Carolina and Tennessee closed for months at a time. Most recently, excessive rainfall from Hurricane Helene in September 2024 saw sections of Interstate 40 wash away into a raging Pigeon River. While the physical troubles of Interstate 40 are well known, how I-40 came to be through the area is a tale of its own. Interstate 40 West through Haywood County near mile marker 10. I-40's route through the Pigeon River Gorge dates to local political squabbles in the 1940s and a state highway law written in 1921. A small note appeared in the July 28, 1945, Asheville Times. It read that the North Carolina State Highway Commission had authorized a feasibility study of a "...water-level road down [the] Pigeon River to the Tennessee l...

Massena Center Suspension Bridge

The Massena Center Bridge, also known as the Holton D. Robinson Bridge, has had quite the tumultuous history. Situated on the Grasse River just east of Massena, New York in the hamlet of Massena Center, the Massena Center Bridge is a reminder of the efforts the community has made in order to connect over the river. The first and only other known bridge to be built at Massena Center was built in 1832, but that bridge was never long for this world. During the spring of 1833, the Grasse River dammed itself due to an ice dam, flooded and lifted the bridge off its foundation, destroying the bridge in the process. The floods were frequent in the river during the spring, often backing up the river from Hogansburg and past Massena Center, but not to nearby Massena. After the first bridge disappeared, local residents had to resort to traveling seven miles west to Massena to cross the next closest bridge, and that was no easy task for a horse and buggy. However, it was many decades befo...

The Dead Man's Curve of Interstate 90 and Innerbelt Freeway in Cleveland

"Dead Man's Curve" refers to the transition ramp Interstate 90 takes between Cleveland Memorial Shoreway onto the Innerbelt Freeway in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. Said curve includes a sharp transition between the two freeways which is known for a high rate of accidents. Currently the curve (not officially named) has a 35 MPH advisory speed and numerous safety features intended to mitigate crashes. When the Interstate System was first conceived during 1956, Interstate 90 was intended to use the entirety Cleveland Memorial Shoreway and connect to the Northwest Freeway through Lakewood. The Innerbelt Freeway was initially planned as the northernmost segment of Interstate 71. The extension of Cleveland Memorial Shoreway west of Edgewater Park was never constructed which led to Interstate 90 being routed through the Innerbelt Freeway. Part 1; the history of Cleveland's Innerbelt Freeway and Deadman's Curve The Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956 was signe...

Gribblenation

Search This Blog