Join us for a screening of the documentary film “Rock Castle Home” followed by a discussion with director and executive producer Charles D. Thompson Jr. In the mid-1930s, the Blue Ridge Parkway was born. As Rock Castle Gorge became part of the National Park Service’s plan to lure tourists to the Blue Ridge, farm families living there had to be moved. Parkway officials set about acquiring their land. But the story does not end there. Though generations removed, Rock Castle descendants today work to hold onto their past through photographs and stories. This film is a deep chronicle of one Blue Ridge hollow and its people. It is also a story of America and the amazing land we hold in common.
Thompson is a professor of the practice of cultural anthropology and documentary studies at Duke University.
This event is one of a series of programs highlighting stories of displacement in Virginia communities as part of the Library's programming related to the exhibition “House to Highway: Reclaiming a Community History,” on view through Feb. 28, 2026. Exhibition-related programming is provided with support from Virginia Humanities and the Mellon Foundation.
This is a free event, but registration is required. For more information, contact education@lva.virginia.gov.