Photos by Matt Gentry | The Roanoke Times

Prints of community landmarks are part of the "Lost Communities" collection at the Virginia Tech Community Design Assistance Center. Locations in the photographs are Newport, Riner, Paint Bank, Pocahontas, Pamplin and Stonega.

Giles County Historical Society Director Terri Fisher co-wrote the upcoming "Lost Communities of Virginia" book, which is expected to be published next year. "There are things can be learned from these communities," Fisher says.

Better known to some as "Hell's Half-Acre," the bustling town of more than 1,500 offers the best in 19th century rural entertainment -- namely drinking and brawling.

But on other days, this Giles County town is a stopping point on the Fincastle-Cumberland Turnpike. Running west through the New River Valley, the turnpike was a major travel route that connected courthouses in Montgomery, Giles, Tazewell and Russell counties. To Newport, it brought tourists and commerce, Giles County Historical Society Director Terri Fisher said.

But on April 1, 1902, Newport changed forever when a catastrophic fire raged through downtown, destroying homes, stores and hotels, according to the Giles County Web site.

While many residents remained and some businesses eventually reopened, Newport's importance to the outside world waned. Later, U.S. 460 bypassed the town, replacing the turnpike as a major thoroughfare.

Today this once prominent crossroads community a few miles west of Blacksburg is better described as a tucked away treasure and is listed in the upcoming "Lost Communities of Virginia" book, co-written by Fisher.

The book, expected to be published next year, profiles 30 once-prominent Virginia towns and presents their oral, written and pictorial histories. Local communities include Newport, Eggleston, Riner and Paint Bank.

"We're passively preserving these communities for the future," Fisher said.

Fisher is outreach coordinator for the Virginia Tech Community Design Assistance Center, which has shepherded the project since 2000.

"There are things can be learned from these communities" -- how they developed and why they declined, Fisher said.

Some rose to prominence as major transportation hubs. But many were "company towns organized around particular industries," such as coal, Fisher said. As those industries declined, so did the towns.

While the featured communities may be "lost" in one sense, all still exist. Some, such as Newport, are thriving, if smaller and more isolated than in the past, Fisher said.

The project has a long history of its own. Former CDAC interns Kirsten Sparenborg and Jill Schlehr began the effort in 2000, driving across the state to explore and photograph forgotten places. Since then, Fisher has added historical documentation and context. To help raise money and awareness, the center has developed a motorcycle guide and mounted exhibits of the many photographs. One such exhibit is on display at the Holtzman Alumni Center at the Inn at Virginia Tech.

CDAC has raised more than half the $45,000 publication cost and recently started a "sponsor a chapter" fundraiser. If enough money comes in, the book could be published in early 2010, Fisher said.

CDAC Director Elizabeth Gilboy, who has supported the project since its inception, said she hopes publication won't be the end. She envisions researching more such communities, holding conferences and developing school programs.

"There's so much more we could be doing," Gilboy said.

Find out more or donate at cdac.arch.vt.edu/publication.html