Visitors along the Blue Ridge Parkway often overlook the fact that the landscape they are traveling was occupied in earlier historic times. Very little has survived the passage of time of the settlers and farmers who once called this home. However, several cemeteries along the route bear mute testimony to these early dwellers and their desendents. The thirty some miles of Blue Ridge Parkway that passes through Carroll County, contains at least three marked cemeteries. At Mile Post 196.9, travelers can view three marked graves of W.H. and Hester Hayes (1895, 1908) and Bulah Edwards (1929). There are all also three graves marked by rough stones…are there others unmarked? This location is convenient for pulling off the parkway to stretch your legs, walk around, and merely mediate in the serene outdoor setting.
