How Big Walker Lookout preserves the culture of southwest Virginia.
Big Walker Lookout looking north
Looking north from atop Big Walker Lookout.
At 3,505 feet, the Big Walker Lookout in Wytheville provides visitors with beautiful panoramic views of southwest Virginia. Grounded at the peak of Big Walker Mountain and named after explorer Dr. Thomas Walker, the watchtower has been a 100-foot beacon for those thousands of feet below since its opening in 1947. Since the building of the lookout, Big Walker has expanded its facilities to include a swinging bridge, country store, and a fascinating weekend concert series in which it explores the rich history and culture of southwest Virginia.
Local authors, musicians, and craftsmen come to showcase their art every weekend during the summer. Ronald Kime, the current owner of Big Walker Lookout and Country Store, started the weekend concerts. “My mother and father started this business in 1947 and we’ve grown and expanded throughout the years… We’ve been working on that [the concert series] for about eight years.” Each artist that is represented, whether they bring music, books, or crafts, wear their Appalachian influences on their sleeves.
Kime mentioned how this mountainous region of Virginia pioneered music in some ways, starting with old-time music and evolving into bluegrass and eventually the current-day country genre. The bluegrass and country bands that come to play at Big Walker have been influenced by a history where people in the mountains were limited in their entertainment opportunities and were forced to entertain themselves through music. This history is on display every weekend as these bands pluck at banjo strings and strum at a fiddle like mountain folks used to on workless, relaxing weekends.
The end of the week at Big Walker Mountain is also a great opportunity to shop for local Virginian crafts. While there are always local crafts and books for sale at the BW Country Store, weekends give these craftsmen and women the opportunity to showcase and sell their new work. These crafts, like the music, are often rooted in the history of the mountainous area. As Kime puts it, “the crafts were homemade things that people had to have in their homes… There was not very much in the way of commercialism out here in the mountains. It was do it yourself or do without.” This tradition of mandatory craftsmanship has led to high quality products that have been made for hundreds of years to stand the test of the mountainous conditions.
After experiencing a bit of the history and culture of the mountains in southwest Virginia, the local authors that are featured each weekend provide visitors with even more written insight. These authors typically write about the mountains and the small towns scattered throughout them or fictional stories set within the nearby towns. Either way, there is a rich history and way of life that can be explored through local literature. Weekends at Big Walker are great opportunities to speak with authors about their experiences in the area and how it has impacted them. The books of the local artists are featured in the BW Country Store, which Kime says may contain the largest selection of locally-written books in the state.
Whether you’re enticed by the massively-high lookout tower, the trails around Big Walker Mountain, or the BW Country Store, Big Walker is a great place to experience some of the deeply-rooted culture that remains in southwestern Virginia. They are open just about every day of the year and encourage both local visitors and ones from farther away to come experience Big Walker Mountain in its entirety. Facebook.com/BigWalkerLookout
