Memorial Park, Blowing Rock

Julian Price Memorial Park is a park of 4200acre at the foot of Grandfather Mountain in North Carolina, named in honor of Julian Price. It is at milepost 297 on the Blue Ridge Parkway and directly adjacent to the Moses H. Cone Memorial Park. Together these parks comprise the largest developed area set aside for public recreation on the Parkway. The park is managed by the National Park Service which received the lands from the Jefferson Pilot Standard Life Insurance Company shortly after Price's death when they received it through his will. The grounds are also known for the fact that the nation's largest National Lumberjack Association rally is held here annually.
Price was an insurance executive who purchased the acreage in the late 1930s and 1940s to create a retreat for the employees of his insurance company. His premature death in 1946 postponed these plans and the lands were deeded over to his company. They in turn donated the lands to the National Park Service / Blue Ridge Parkway for public recreational use with the cooperation and approval of Price's son and daughter.
The donor of the lands requested that Boone Fork be dammed to create a lake in Julian Prices' honor, which is now called Price Lake. The Blue Ridge Parkway goes over the top of the dam. The 47acre lake is visible from the road and is stocked with various fish. Among wildlife around the man-made lake are beavers, ducks, and frogs.

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