Editing Grottoes, Virginia (section)

==History==
The town was previously known as Liola in the 1880s, then briefly called Grottoes (meaning "caves") in 1889.<ref>{{Cite news |date=February 1, 1899 |title=The Grottoes |work=Staunton Vindicator |pages=3}}</ref> A group of land speculators formally founded Shendun, a combination of "Shenandoah" and the Gaelic word "dun" meaning 'castle' or 'fortified hill', in 1892. Through a series of financial missteps, the Shendun Corporation went bankrupt in 1893. On March 11, 1912 the name was officially changed back to Grottoes.

Situated between the South Fork of the [[Shenandoah River]] and Brown's Gap, the town benefited from easy access to surrounding towns and natural resources. In 1933 a [[Civilian Conservation Corps]] Camp No. 1369 was established 3 miles east of Grottoes, and they built trails and roads into [[Shenandoah National Park]] that still exist today.<ref>{{Cite news |date=July 19, 1933 |title=Civilian Conservation Corps Camp Gets Settled At Grottoes |access-date= |work=News Virginian |pages=1}}</ref> The former CCC camp also served as Civilian Public Service Camp No. 4, a place for conscientious objectors to serve during World War II, and around 100 young Mennonite men lived and worked within four main categories: Soil Conservation, Forestry Service, National Park Service, and Land Reclamation Service.<ref>{{Cite news |date=July 6, 1941 |title=Religious Objectors Begin Conservation Work At Civilian Public Service Camp No. 4, Experiment at Grottoes One of Several in United States |work=Roanoke Times |pages=34}}</ref>

[[File:GrandCavernsLodge summer2024.jpg|alt=The Grand Caverns Lodge, built around 1925 in a Tudor Revival style, is a two-story stone building with a slate roof. The Lodge is located in Grand Caverns Park and sits right at the base of Cave Hill on the east side, between the hill and the South Fork River.|thumb|Grand Caverns Lodge (c. 1925) serves as the Grand Caverns tourism center and gift shop today.]]
Grand Caverns was designated a National Natural Landmark by the National Park Service in 1973.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Landmark Highlights 2021 (U.S. National Park Service) |url=https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/landmark-highlights-2021.htm |access-date=2024-07-28 |website=www.nps.gov |language=en}}</ref> The [[Stephen Harnsberger House]] was listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] in 1982.<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2010a}}</ref>