The logo, “Virginia is for Lovers”, marked its 50th anniversary this year. In celebration of this iconic logo, the Virginia Tourism Corporation provided grants to 38 communities across the Commonwealth to showcase what makes a vacation in Virginia so special, and to show travelers why “Virginia is for Lovers” still rings true 50 years later. To celebrate “50 Years of Love”, Scott County Tourism has created a commemorative, trackable geocoin. Once you have found all 11 geocaches on our new geotrail and completed the required "passport" you will receive one of the commemorative geocoins. There are 100 geocoins available and once they're gone we have a special Scott County trackable to give to geocachers who have completed the passport.
What a LOVEly little town in the Heart of Appalachia.
Gate City received its present name in 1886, when Attorney General Rufus A. Ayers pointed out that proximity to Big Moccasin Gap marked the town as the "Gate Way to the West." The town was incorporated in 1892.
By the beginning of the twentieth-century, Gate City was one of several "boom towns" located in southwestern Virginia. Although the streets were little more than dirt byways in the town, the area was a vibrant commercial and transportation center. Up to six daily passenger trains passed through Gate City. The town also had a railroad log yard where logs from all over the county were stored and then loaded to be later transported by train. Iron ore from the Snowflake and Nickelsville areas as well as glass sand from the south of Clinch Mountain were manufactured and shipped from Gate City. In addition, the town had a thriving manufacturing center in the area of Water Street where wood pumps, staves, sleds, and harnesses were built. By 1915, the town supported two livery stables on Willow Street and a blacksmith shop on Jackson Street, as well as a dentist's office, an ice plant, a casket shop, and a furniture manufacturing business. By the 1930s, Gate City had three movie theaters, banks, and a hotel. The town also had two businesses that dealt with auto sales and repairs.
By the 1950s and 1960s, the town's momentum was slowing. As industry in Kingsport, Tennessee (6 miles to the south) attracted Gate City residents, several local businesses and small manufacturing companies shut down. By 2010, many former commercial buildings stood vacant, but the Gate City Historic District was newly listed on the National Register of Historic Places.