Formerly named '''Hart's Bottom
, Green Forest
or Green Valley''' until 1888, and chartered as a town in 1890, Buena Vista separated politically from surrounding
Rockbridge County when granted a city charter on February 15, 1892. The
Buena Vista Downtown Historic District,
Buena Vista Colored School,
Cedar Hill,
Glen Maury,
Old Courthouse,
Southern Seminary Main Building, and
W.N. Seay House are listed on the
National Register of Historic Places.
Early history One civil war survey from 1863 lists a half dozen buildings on the site of what is now Buena Vista, including the Paxton and Majors properties and lists both as having mills along the Maury River, then called the “North River“. The city itself was founded by Benjamin C. Moomaw in the late 1800s, and originally consisted only of a simple
tannery at the intersection of two railroads and a canal. The
Richmond and Alleghany Railroad and the
Shenandoah Valley Railroad, stood alongside the
James River Canal that had been used to transport materials from the Atlantic ports of Virginia to
Lexington since the 18th century, but by the founding of the city had been converted for the distribution of water power. a paper and pulp mill, a saddle factory, a
cashmere mill, two brick and clay works, a wagon works, two banks, an egg crate factory, an electric light plant, a furniture and chair factory, a boiler factory, an iron furnace and steel factory, a glass foundry, and several wood and lumber establishments. The Flood of '69 was the result of rainfall from the inland movement of
Hurricane Camille. The Flood of '85 resulted from the convergence of three systems, including
Hurricane Juan, which dumped tremendous amounts of rain on western Virginia. The flood of record for the lower Maury River (downstream of the confluence with the
South River), including Buena Vista and
Glasgow, occurred on August 20, 1969, at a stage of on the Buena Vista gauge. (Flooding begins at and major flooding at .) The downtowns of Buena Vista and Glasgow were submerged in over of water. The difference in flooding results from differing contributions of the South River depending on rainfall in the respective watersheds. The James C. Olin Flood Control Project was completed in 1997 to reduce the potential for damage from flooding of the Maury River and inland streams in Buena Vista. The project consists of a 2.5-mile levee wall, topped by a walking trail known as the River Walk. ==Geography==