New owners have a different vision for Natural Bridge.  Tom Clarke and his Virginia Conservation Legacy Fund bought the 1,500-acre property in February. Since then, they have been working to create a new experience for visitors. And they are collaborating with groups across the state to ensure that it will become Natural Bridge State Park.

Over the last decades, the structure that the Monacan Indians named the “Bridge of God” had become the epicenter of a sprawling tourist destination. A highway was paved over the top of the bridge, and visitors passed through a  ’70s style gift shop of foreign-made souvenirs before paying $21 to view the bridge itself.

George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and England’s King George III are all connected to the geologic marvel that is Natural Bridge. It was once heralded as second only to Niagara Falls as a Natural Wonder of the World,  and the surrounding Rockbridge County is its namesake.