Virginia State Historical Outdoor Drama

In July of 1755, Shawnee Indians, allied with the French, raided the early Western Virginia Frontier. The result of one of those raids was Mary Draper Ingles' Journey, The Long way Home. You can experience this historic epic in Earl Hobson Smith's most stirring play, which is now designated as "Virginia's Historical Outdoor Drama of the Commonwealth."

Come see this true heroic adventure depicting Mary Draper Ingles' 850 mile escape through some of the most rugged, and then unexplored terrain of the North American Continent by following the rivers. A trip fraught with danger to give warning of a second Indian attack, her incredible journey, as portrayed in this drama has won the approval of audiences since 1971.

The story of endurance and courage that Mary Draper Ingles told in the days following is astonishing. Her saga is the subject of Alexander Thom's best-selling novel, "Follow the River"; Earl Hobson Smith wrote an outdoor drama, "The Long Way Home," still produced each summer in Radford; ABC made it the basis of a made-for-television movie which aired early in l995.

Come to the beautiful, lush valley of the New River, between the Appalachian and Blue Ridge Mountains, where this brave woman and her husband, William Ingles, lived, help shape an entire nation and told her story that is retold each night in the Ingles Homestead Amphitheater at her homesite and grave.

The Long Way Home
PO Box 711, Radford,
VA 24141-0711
Phone 540-639-0679
Fax 540-731-8306

And while some of the story's details, told and retold over the past 240 years, are understandably hazy, the essence of what Mary Draper Ingles did -- her 42-day, 800-mile escape from her Shawnee captors across a mountainous wilderness -- couldn't be more clear.

JAN. 2, 2002
Bringing back the 'Long Way Home'
By LAURA OSBORNE
ROANOKE.COM COLUMNIST

This past summer, for the second year in a row, Radford's outdoor drama, "The Long Way Home," was cancelled. Problems with directorship and outdated facilities have been cited as causes. A consultant was hired recently to determine the future of what has been designated "Virginia's Historical Outdoor Drama of the Commonwealth."

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