History

Timeline

1. Colonial era

   A German settlement called Mt. Airy stood on the town site. Robert Doak, one of the settlement's leading men, served in the House of Burgesses for Fincastle County from 1773 to 1775. Early settlers showed strong interest in establishing the Lutheran church and schools for their children.

2. 1789

   Wythe County formed from Montgomery County. The settlement already existed.

3. About 1856

   The railroad came through about 1856, and activity moved to the tracks.

4. New name

   The name Mt. Airy was dropped to avoid confusion with Mount Airy, North Carolina. Local history reports a General Mahone suggested the name Rural Retreat.

5. About 1870

   The depot was built. The Virginia Department of Historic Resources calls the depot one of the oldest surviving railroad-related buildings in Virginia. Freight service ended around 1965, and passenger service ran until the early 1970s.

   

   Photo: IxieVerns, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (another website)

6. 1890

   The Morrison Drug Store.

   

   Photo: Unknown author, via Wikimedia Commons, Public domain

7. By 1910

   Rural Retreat was known as the cabbage center of the world and grew into the largest cabbage market in the world. Cabbage led until the 1930s.

8. July 24, 1911

   The Town of Rural Retreat was incorporated.

9. After the 1930s

   Livestock and dairy farming grew, and many farms passed from one generation to the next.

10. 2014

    The depot joined the Virginia Landmarks Register on June 19 and the National Register of Historic Places on August 25. After restoration the depot reopened as a museum and meeting space.