Sky Meadows State Park in Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains preserves a varied landscape of woods, meadows, wetlands, streams, farmland, and the Appalachian Trail, rooted in the history of the former Mount Bleak-Skye Farm. Before the Civil War, Abner Settle and his family worked the property with enslaved labor; later generations linked the farm to John Brown's execution and Confederate service under John S. Mosby. After changing owners, the land became a state park beginning with Paul Mellon's 1975 donation and expanded to its present size by 1991. Its historic district, listed in 2004, preserves buildings dating from about 1780 to 1954, while the park is also valued for recreation, birding, and dark skies.