| Burke's Garden | |
|---|---|
| — Unincorporated community — | |
| View of Burke's Garden, Virginia, from the center of the basin | |
| Location of Burke's Garden, Virginia | |
| Coordinates: | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Virginia |
| County | Tazewell |
| Elevation | 3,074 ft (937 m) |
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| ZIP code | |
| Area code(s) | 276 |
| GNIS feature ID | 1498460[1] |
Burke's Garden or Burke Garden is an upland valley and unincorporated community in Tazewell County, Virginia, United States.
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The oval, bowl-like valley (or "cove") is known for its fertile land and was once the bed of an ancient sea. About 8.5 miles long and 4 miles wide, it resembles a large volcanic crater in satellite photographs and on topographic maps; however, it was actually formed when underground limestone caverns collapsed. The valley is the highest in Virginia at around 3,000 feet above sea level and is completely surrounded by Garden Mountain.
Burke's Garden was first surveyed in 1748 by a team of surveyors working for local landowner James Patton. One of the party, James Burke, is said to have thrown away some potato peelings while cooking. A year later, when the party returned to the area, they found potatoes growing in the area where the peels had been left. The area was dubbed Burke's Garden as something of a joke, but the name stuck.
The area has remained isolated throughout its history. In the late 19th century, agents for the Vanderbilt family contacted local farmers about selling land so that the family could build a large estate there. Nobody wanted to sell, and the Vanderbilts instead constructed the Biltmore Estate near Asheville, North Carolina. In the 1990s, a small number of Amish families moved to Burke's Garden but later moved out after being unable to purchase enough land and attract enough other Amish families to form a viable community.
The county's oldest church, the Central Lutheran church, is located in Burke's Garden. In 1952, the community was terrorized by the "Varmint of Burke's Garden", a large coyote which killed many local sheep and caused much damage before being killed.
The area is drained by Wolf Creek (a tributary of the New River) which initially flows out of the geographic bowl in a northeasterly direction.
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