City of Norton

Virginia’s furthest west city, Norton is located in the heart of the LENOWISCO (Lee, Norton, Wise, Scott) region of Southwest Virginia coal country. With a total area of just 7 sq. miles, Norton ties Buena Vista and Emporia as the sixth smallest city in Virginia by size, while its population of 3,904 gives it the dubious distinction of being Virginia’s least populous city. The city’s origins trace back to 1787, when William Prince built a home in what was then a distant frontier outpost. For many years, the area was known as “Prince’s Flat” in his honor, and despite its remoteness, the settlement rode a rising tide of agricultural and timber industry prosperity. By 1883, the area had experience sufficient growth to warrant its first U.S. post office, which introduced the name “Eolia.” This moniker was destined for a brief existence, however, as the name changed again in 1890 when the name “Norton” was adopted in honor of Louisville & Nashville Railroad president Eckstein Norton, perhaps in a bid to draw railroad business to the town. This attempt at flattery was apparently successful, as both freight and passenger rail traffic arrived in the area in 1891, bringing with it a renewed prosperity for Norton. On the heels of rail- and mining-related industrial development, Norton also experienced a surge in population. Just a few years later, in 1894, Norton’s growth warranted incorporation as a town. Another sixty years would pass before Norton was granted city status in 1954. An annexation of land from Wise County in 1975 brought 3.6 sq. miles of land, nearly doubling the city’s size. While present-day Norton may feel somewhat isolated from the rest of Virginia, regionally it remains a hub of commercial activity, and ongoing revitalization projects promise to further increase its appeal.

For birders, Norton is truly one of the most unexplored regions in the state. With only 99 species reported as of September 2020, and only three hotspots in the entire city, it is effectively a blank slate for ornithological exploration! The uncontested birding heavyweight in Norton is undoubtedly Flag Rock Recreation Area, a thousand-acre park situated high above the city on the slopes of High Knob. This park offers a multitude of hiking trails, as well as camping opportunities and access to the city’s reservoir. Woodland birds are the main group on offer here, and Flag Rock’s high elevation gives it a suite of montane breeders that few of Virginia’s independent cities can claim. Alongside more typical resident woodland species, Least Flycatcher, Veery, and Rose-breasted Grosbeak have all been reported during the breeding season, as has a suite of warblers that includes Cerulean, Blackburnian, Chestnut-sided, Black-throated Blue, Black-throated Green, and Canada. The trail down to the reservoir passes through extensive mountain laurel thickets where Swainson’s Warblers can be found. In addition to its avifauna, Flag Rock Recreation Area is also home to a population of Green Salamanders, and is a designated sanctuary for the Woodbooger, a subspecies of Bigfoot ostensibly found in Appalachia. At the base of Flag Rock, Legion Park has a trail that parallels the Robinet Branch stream and afford opportunities to find, among others, Swainson’s Warbler and Louisiana Waterthrush. A steep 1.1-mile hike connects Legion Park to Flag Rock Recreation Area. The only other hotspot is Clear Creek Outdoor Classroom Park, a rather nondescript suburban park on the east side of town with a roster of mainly familiar suburban species. Nonetheless, this site did yield up Norton’s first (and thus far only) record of Mallard in 2020! Apart from these eBird hotspots, much of Norton is a fairly typical small town with limited birding opportunities. Of special note is a large, early successional cutover area that is behind the Super Service Center and accessible from Hawthrone Drive. This area is the best spot in Norton to find open country and edge species such as Field Sparrow, Yellow-breasted Chat, and Orchard Oriole. Water features are scant in the city, although the Guest River does flow right through the center of town; the river is quite narrow, but checking any accessible portions of it could turn up a Belted Kingfisher, perhaps a migrating Spotted Sandpiper, or maybe even a Great Blue Heron or Canada Goose (both unreported in the city thus far).

—Matt Anthony, September 2020

Hotspots

Sources

• City of Norton. “Norton History.” Accessed September 9, 2020. https://www.nortonva.gov/446/City-History

• City of Norton. “‘Woodbooger’ Sanctuary.” Accessed September 9, 2020. https://www.nortonva.gov/455/Woodbooger-Sanctuary

• Wikipedia. “Norton, Virginia.” Accessed September 9, 2020. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norton,_Virginia