Sign Rock

At this intersection lies a rare example of an early Virginia road marker. A Virginia statute of 1738 required that all crossroads be marked by a stone or wooden post inscribed with the name of the most-noted place to which each of the adjoining roads led. This marker, which dates to the late 18th or early 19th century, refers to Beavers Tavern eight miles to the west and Lynch's Ferry, or the fledgling town of Lynchburg, 60 miles to the north. Of the fewer than 20 stone markers known to survive, most were erected in later years and refer to places only a short distance away. Stone and wooden markers ceased to be used early in the 20th century with the advent of standardized highway signs.