Wytheville's history reflected transportation, entertainment, highways, and baseball. In 1847, through the efforts of Thomas J. Boyd, the rail line was extended from Lynchburg, Virginia, to Wytheville, allowing local farmers and industries to ship agricultural products, raw materials, and livestock to large markets across the country, while also bringing wealthy families from the Deep South to summer at local boarding houses and resorts. During the Civil War, the rail line through Wytheville became a target as Union troops tried to commandeer lead and salt shipped by rail for Confederate Army use. The community's later cultural life included the Chautauqua movement, which reached Wytheville as a stop on the circuit in the 1920s, and the annual Chautauqua Festival, established in 1985, with activities including arts, entertainment, hot air ballooning, music, drama, dance, and exhibits. Wytheville's transportation history also included the Great Lakes to Florida Highway, Route 21, the main route from Ohio to Florida before Interstate 77 and Interstate 81 came through in the 1970s. Baseball also held an important place in the community, beginning in 1949 when the Statesmen arrived as a minor league team in the Appalachian League, with teams playing at Wither's Park from 1949 to 1990, alongside school and recreation uses before the site became a walking and jogging park in the mid-1990s.