The Essence of Craig County

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The story below is from our March/April 2024 issue. For more stories like it, Subscribe Today. Thank you! 

Close community and natural abundance help Craig County shine.

It is small, poor, often backward, beautiful, friendly and—for the most part—content with what it is.

“I have lived [in Craig County] for 24 years but, of course, I am not considered a local and I consider myself a transplant. I moved here because of the beautiful scenery and vast amount of national forest. Unfortunately, our county is financially broke all the time because the population is so small. Ecotourism and agritourism are viable resources but it seems some outspoken locals do not want visitors here. It is a place where some people imagine they can live off the grid. In my opinion, you must love a place to preserve it and to love a place, you must experience it, so sharing with others is in our favor.”

–Craig County veterinarian Marge Lewter

You could talk to Craig Countians all day and get a hundred different opinions. All of them would be right, even when they are diametrically opposed.

Craig is one of Virginia’s most rural counties. It ranks 73rd out of 135 localities in per capita income ($23,500). That’s seven places higher than Roanoke City. Nearly two-thirds of its land is owned by the federal and state governments (Jefferson National Forest, Niday Place State Park, Appalachian Trail) and that means minimal taxes for the county.

But relative poverty doesn’t mean the school system doesn’t work. College acceptance rates for Virginia in general are 72.9%. In Craig, they are 86.4%.

Susan Shea Stimeling, a third-generation graduate of the Craig County system, is the principal for Craig County Schools, which are located in a compact set of buildings just outside the county seat of New Castle. The schools have 275 students in grades 6-12 (425 total in all grades) and “the benefit is more one-on-one education,” says Stimeling. “That means more positive connection with the community.” Students are “just as prepared for college as at larger institutions.”

New Castle High senior Emmie Radford, who hopes to seek an agriculture degree in college with the goal of teaching, says, “Sometimes I feel bad for the teachers” because of the workload. But “community members help out.” She finds it is “cool to have K-12 in the same building. We interact with the kids. We see them in the grocery store, and they recognize us.”

There is little diversity in the schools (or anywhere else in Craig, for that matter, where the white population is more than 95%), but, says Radford, “We do our best to educate with culturally diverse subjects.”

The county’s main library in downtown New Castle is a busy place, serving also as a tourist center. Many of its books and other media are donated. Linda Calderson, who volunteers at the library, says it “has substantial children’s and senior programs. We offer tutoring with retired teachers. And there are two book clubs.”

The library’s resources are small but can expand because it has arrangements with nearby libraries in other localities. Because cable access in much of the county is either nonexistent or minimal, the library is an important hub. The library circulates “a lot of videos and audio books,” says Calderson. “We copy, fax, are a notary center and have computer access,” with five computers, among other services.

Business in the county is about what you’d expect: small, spread out and responsive to the locals. There aren’t a lot of jobs (driving to Roanoke is more than a casual exercise). Pete Finch works at 30-year-old Thorvin Inc., a company that imports Icelandic seaweed for fertilizer, people and animal food. The seaweed is harvested in large nets by boat and then dried in geothermal driers. He says there is a solid demand for the product. And the jobs are good ones.

Craig native Rusty Zimmerman owns Zimmerman’s Equipment, which supplies farmers. He finds most of his customers outside Craig County. “We want to provide some jobs and keep people from having to drive to Roanoke,” he says. “We sell in about a 100-mile radius. We have good roots here. We are fortunate to travel the county.”

Why does he stay? “There’s no other place like Craig County,” he insists. “We have four distinct seasons; the mountains protect us from severe weather. I can offer my kids the same lifestyle I’ve had.” Part of that is homeschooling, which, he says, “is political.”

He is on the board of supervisors’ broadband study committee and sees a lot of promise in that area. “It comes back to money,” he says.

Martha Dillard and her husband John moved to Craig from Blacksburg 25 years ago and retired in recent years. He was a Virginia Tech chemist, and she has a healthy business painting metal barn quilts. The couple “would love to live out our lives here,” she says. “It is a beautiful place. Peaceful.”

They live on a 108-acre farm (that they don’t personally work). Her only complaint? “We drive a lot.” If you live in Craig, that’s pretty much a given.

Dina Imbriani owns Mountain Shepherd Adventure School and says, “Simply put, Craig County is gorgeous. … Specifically for my business, the remoteness is an advantage. The Jefferson National Forest borders close to 80% of my property of 100 acres. The views include the Appalachian Trail on Sinking Creek Mountain. My customers travel from around the country and marvel at the beauty of the mountain setting.”

Imbriani finds her neighbors to be “salt of the earth people, always willing to lend a helping hand.  …  it’s easy to run a business in Craig County. The people are great to work with and are always available.

“If I could change one thing, it would be to remove the hate-filled, politically-motivated signs on a roadside barn my customers drive by. Regardless of political affiliation, the signs are offensive.”

Jesse Spence knows about driving. He is an engineer for Norfolk Southern Railway and his family moved to Craig County when he was a teenager. “Dad bought a cabin” and that pretty much initiated a family move. Now his family (wife and three boys), father, two brothers and a sister all live in Craig. He homeschools his kids and has been on the Board of Supervisors for 10 years, eight as chairman.

He helps watch over a budget south of $13.5 million and a tax take that is affected by the federal ownership of quite a bit of Craig land. The feds pay $300,000 to $400,000 a year in taxes, he says, and most of the rest of the county’s tax revenue comes from property taxes and taxes from the county’s 120 businesses. The real estate tax is a meager 64 cents per $100 evaluation.

The county doesn’t collect trash and most water is from wells. There are plenty of septic tanks. There are few municipal employees. There are about 10 in the sheriff’s department and the state chips in with a few officers. “We are blessed to have a safe community,” says Spence.

Population has been on a downward trend in recent years, but “we have no interest in growing,” says Spence. “We want to be a rural community. We don’t anticipate business growth. Most people who work don’t work here. The largest employer is the school system.”

He notes that retaining young graduates is not a certainty. “Some leave, some stay their whole lives,” he says. “The young think it is too slow here.” He travels about 60 miles a day for work, but “I don’t think about it. Travel is the price you pay for living here. It’s a trade-off.”

Craig has a serviceable grocery store and a small mercantile, but “we generally [do grocery shopping] in Salem.” It is a matter of planning. “We do everything we can to take care of ourselves.”

Internet is problematic and cellular and television reception can be frustrating. The Board of Supervisors is working on all three challenges, says Spence, who adds that “we don’t even have a TV.”

Recently there has been a bruhaha about a new trail along Craig Creek that has pitted residents against each other. The trail would benefit Craig economically and would draw in a lot of tourists and hikers. But, says Spence, some “people don’t want change, but things do change. The trail is in the planning stage” and he’s pretty sure it will come about.

Living in Craig, he says, “we have to be more self-reliant. We are at the center of a circle.” And that circle has different meanings to different people.

What They Say 

Alexis Meyer: “Craig County chose us, not the other way around. [Husband] Ned’s grandfather purchased land with the GI bill after World War II. I appreciate our farm’s proximity to both Roanoke and Blacksburg. It is only 25-35 minutes from each but feels removed enough that traffic, lights and people are minimal. I think the notion of isolation/separation from the hustle and bustle serves a lot of folks out here.

“The further you go into the county the less convenient creature comforts. If life were merely simple without all the political and social rhetoric, I’d think it ideal. However, I do think that even in the slightest notion of progress towards strengthening the ties of community there are a lot of folks who fight against growth and change. … We relish in the natural abundance and the strong work ethic of the folks here.”

Karen Trip: “I love it, but lots of folks don’t want any progress. If it’s not in their backyard, they don’t care.”

Becky Hepler, ex-reporter New Castle Record, and a retired librarian: Craig “is a beautiful, beautiful space. It hasn’t been ripped up by voracious mining. The water is pretty clean. I enjoyed living there. … You get a strong sense of community [and] it’s close enough to Roanoke for the things they didn’t have there. It was especially fun when I was writing for the newspaper.”

Piper Lane Davis, a jewelry maker, finds that there is “no tolerance for anyone with differing thoughts, beliefs or lifestyles.” But she also discovered a “fun community, a nice group of friends and good neighbors.”

She adds that there is “no opportunity for growth or progress. The place is more work than it’s worth. Community is clannish at best. There are good people of course. It’s beautiful. Nature is pristine. It’s the only thing that really kept me sane there.”

Bonnie Cranmer, business owner: “One really good thing that’s happened is the library, which is now populated by the next several generations. When I got here, Craig was the last county in Virginia with no public library. The nonprofit I started, Craig County Rural Partnership, got the ball rolling and if nothing else, that was a win.”

Marge Lewter. “I have a special relationship with Craig County. I love living here and sometimes appreciate it being Virginia’s best kept secret, as our tourism poster once said. This area of Appalachia is a real treasure, and it should be preserved. Once it’s changed, there’s no getting it back. Others need to experience our forests and mountain vistas and our dark skies full of stars. … I appreciate the way it does not change much here. Farms remain for generations, and the local traditions remain strong.”

Annie Woodford, teacher and poet: “I moved there out of college for a couple of years, thinking it would be like Floyd. It was definitely not like Floyd, culturally. Great natural setting though.”

Craig County at a Glance

Named For: Robert Craig, 19th Century Virginia Congressman

Area: 330 square miles

Population: 4,865 in 2021

Population Per Square Mile: 14.9

Courthouse Built: 1851

Traffic lights: none

Per Capita Income: $28,973

Total Employers: 69

Employment: 407

Annual Payroll: $12.4 million

Poverty Rate: 11.5%

Age: Under 18, 16.3%; Over 65, 24.7%

Ethnicity: White, 95.9%; Black, 0.6%; Hispanic, 1.8%

Households: 1941

Education: Bachelor’s Degrees or Higher, 20.7%

Politics: Conservative

Number of Farms: 179

Land in Farms: 43,431 Acres

Average Farm Size: 243 Acres

County Seat: New Castle

Population: 126 in 2021 (181 at Peak in 2000)

Area: 109 Acres

Churches: 19

Businesses: 51

Restaurants: 7

(Source: Census, Various Others)

The story above is from our March/April 2024 issue. For more stories like it, Subscribe Today. Thank you!