On Monday, October 12, 2026, I received a gift: the privilege of seeing the Rich Valley, Virginia home of my grandfather’s childhood from the top of Walker Mountain where he likely once stood to view it for the last time. Here’s how it happened.
One story my grandfather Clint Troutman told his children revolved around the time he left his Rich Valley home about the year 1909 at age twenty-two to claim his bride. The love of his life, Mary Ann Waggoner, had gone west with her family to Missouri, and Clint’s plan was to follow them to wed his beautiful Mary. However, his parents, especially his mother, so we were told, did not approve of the match, so he had to slip away in the night.
Prior to leaving, however, during an argument with his brother James, who called him Shoat, Clint said, “Sometime soon, and it won’t be long, you will look for Shoat, and Shoat will be gone.” And as Clint told it, a few nights later, when family members were asleep, he tiptoed out the door and began hiking over Walker Mountain. When he reached the peak, he turned for a last long look at the valley of his birth, his youth, his home, swallowed a lump in his throat, turned and walked on to Marion to board a train bound for Mexico, Missouri where he and Mary were married on October 27, 1909.
This romantic story filled me with wonder. Where was the place he stopped to view his valley home? For years, I imagined it was an overlook on Highway 16 at the top of the mountain that provides a view of the valley. But it was too far down the valley and the view did not include his home. Then, I learned that highway 16 wasn’t build until the 1930s when the CCC went to work on it.
Fast forward to the summer of 2025 during a visit to the valley, I learned from my cousin Hal Campbell (third cousin on the Pratt side) about the Shannon Gap Road. This road had been the way over Walker Mountain from the part of the valley where the Troutman family lived starting about 1860. Now it was much overgrown and nearly impassable. Not to be deterred, Hall and his son set out to clear the brush and other obstacles from it. This road, I believed, was likely to have been the path Grandpa Clint had taken when he left home. Hal offered to take me over the road to the top of the mountain. A year and a half later, I took him up on his offer.
What a thrill! Not just the ride, but the view. The road was rough and a bit treacherous, especially when we drove over a rock slide and our vehicle bottomed out on a rock. Our hardy chariot seemed un-phased, and we continued our journey. Reaching the top where there was an electrical tower, we stopped and drank in a spectacular view.
Hal pointed out landmarks to me—his home, the Rich Valley Presbyterian Church and cemetery where our great-grandparents, Daniel and America Troutman are buried, as are 2x great-grandparents, Nicholas and Sally Pratt, who are also Hal’s 2x great- grandparents. In a photo below, I’ve marked the locations. And I couldn’t leave out a picture of Hal and the vehicle that took us over the mountain road.
I’m deeply grateful for Monday’s “dream come true” journey. As I pondered the beauty of the mountain, the valley, the historical significance of this place where my ancestors lived and died, where the only traces of them are gravestones in the cemetery, I thank the Lord for this place and the people. Empty for decades, the Troutman house is over grown with weeds, weathered and collapsing, and the Pratt house located above the Rich Valley Presbyterian Church is gone.
I’m reminded of a scripture: “As for man, his days are like grass; as a flower of the field, so he flourishes. The wind has passed over it, and it is no more, and the place acknowledges it no longer” (Psalm 103:15-16 NASB1995). But the next two verses add a promise: “But the lovingkindness of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him, and His righteousness to children’s children, to those who keep his covenant and remember His precepts of do them.” (Psalm 103:17-18 NASB1995). Although few descendants of the Troutman family live in the area, none of them named Troutman, the valley is teaming with descendants of the Pratt family, like Hal and Lynn and their sons, who carry on the traditions of generosity, stewardship of the land, and faithfulness to God. Thanks be to God!
Our transport to the mountain top, Hal and his side-by-side.
A portion of the Shannon Gap Road.
