Drive through time on the Blue Ridge Parkway

Built between 1934 and 1987, the Blue Ridge Parkway's construction radically altered the landscape in North Carolina and Virginia mountain counties. It also sparked intense controversy. "Driving Through Time," an online humanities project, explores its development in North Carolina through historic photographs, maps, news articles and oral histories. You can explore chronologically, geographically or by topics, and interactive maps layer historical maps atop current road maps so you can compare the parkway's dramatic impact. Anne Mitchell Whisnant, an associate professor of history at UNC-Chapel Hill and the project's adviser, included student essays on issues such as how the new parkway affected Cherokee Indians. There's also K–12 lesson plans to help students use the site's materials. www.docsouth.unc.edu/blueridgeparkway.