ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times

DATE: Thursday, July 25, 1996                TAG: 9607250040
SECTION: VIRGINIA                 PAGE: B-1  EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
DATELINE: BARREN SPRINGS
SOURCE: PAUL DELLINGER STAFF WRITER 
MEMO: NOTE: Shorter version ran in Metro edition.

SMALL STRETCH OF LAND IN TRAIL PARK STILL NOT OPEN

A DISPUTE REMAINS between landowners and state officials over a portion of a trail at New River Trail State Park that is impeded by privately owned land.

Two miles of the 57-mile New River Trail State Park from Fries and Galax to Pulaski remain closed to the trail's estimated 100,000 annual users.

Negotiations between the landowners and state Department of Recreation and Conservation are continuing over ways to open that last remaining block to hikers, bikers, horseback riders and others using the trail. When it does open, it will be missing a 143-year-old iron furnace that has been something of a landmark in this part of Wythe County, not unlike the shot tower beside Interstate 77 that is the centerpiece of park headquarters.

The furnace is being dismantled and its material used to rebuild a similar furnace in the Boone area of Pulaski County.

The linear park once had been a Norfolk Southern Corp. railroad bed, until NS removed its rails and donated their path to the state for public use 10 years ago.

Several landowners contested the NS donation at the time, arguing that the land should have reverted to them when it was no longer being used for railroad purposes. The matter was in and out of court until a judge finally ruled in favor of the landowners.

The state ended up buying 165 acres of disputed land in the Foster Falls area last year, near the county line between Wythe and Carroll. The acquisition included a turn-of-the-century train depot, hotel, orphanage and other buildings now being renovated for more tourism potential.

But now, just months after the resolution of the Foster Falls dispute was announced by the state, Barren Springs landowners still have "no trespassing" signs for their segment between mileposts 17 and 19 along the trail.

One of the property owners has sold the remains of a 19th-century iron furnace to Dr. Bruce Fariss, a Pulaski County resident and member of the county Board of Supervisors, who is using the material to rebuild a similar furnace in Pulaski County. He also will renovate some old buildings around the furnace to preserve some of the area's history, he said.

Although some Wythe County people worried about losing the iron furnace as part of that county's history, landowner Frances Christley - who sold the furnace material to Fariss - said it had become so dilapidated that it was dangerous. She posted signs warning people to stay off, but visitors continued climbing onto it.

Christley's son-in-law has been dismantling the furnace and carrying the material to where Fariss is trying to get the other one reassembled.

State officials had no comment on the negotiations with the Barren Springs landowners, or when they thought a resolution might be achieved. Meanwhile, users of the trail still must detour those two miles around Barren Springs.

LENGTH: Medium:   61 lines
ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO:  GENE DALTON/Staff. The Barren Springs Furnace at New 
          River Trail State Park is being torn down. Its material will be used
          to rebuild a similar furnace in the
          Boone area of Pulaski County.