Ararat is an unincorporated community

Unincorporated area

In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...

 in Patrick County

Patrick County, Virginia

Patrick County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2010, the population was 18,490. Its county seat is Stuart. It is located within both the rolling hills and valleys of the Piedmont Region of Virginia and mountainous Southwest Virginia....

, Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, south of the Blue Ridge Parkway

Blue Ridge Parkway

The Blue Ridge Parkway is a National Parkway and All-American Road in the United States, noted for its scenic beauty. It runs for 469 miles , mostly along the famous Blue Ridge, a major mountain chain that is part of the Appalachian Mountains...

 and north of Mount Airy, North Carolina

Mount Airy, North Carolina

Mount Airy is a city in Surry County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 10,388.-History:Mount Airy was settled in the 1750s as a stagecoach stop on the road between Winston-Salem and Galax, Virginia. It was named for a nearby plantation...

. Ararat is located near the Virginia/North Carolina state line about five miles north of Mount Airy, North Carolina and about 25 miles west of Stuart, Virginia. The community's name comes from the Ararat River

Ararat River

The Ararat River is a tributary of the Yadkin River in southwestern Virginia and northwestern North Carolina in the United States. Via the Yadkin it is part of the watershed of the Pee Dee River, which flows to the Atlantic Ocean....

 which flows through the area. The River takes its name from the Saura Indian name for nearby Pilot Mountain

Pilot Mountain (North Carolina)

Pilot Mountain, a metamorphic quartzite monadnock rising to a peak above sea level, is one of the most distinctive natural features in the state of North Carolina. It is a remnant of the ancient chain of Sauratown Mountains. The Saura were the earliest known inhabitants of the region...

 in Surry County

Surry County, North Carolina

Surry County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of 2010, the population was 73,673. Its county seat is Dobson.- History :The county was formed in 1771 from Rowan County...

, North Carolina

North Carolina

North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...

. The large Monadnock

Monadnock

A monadnock or inselberg is an isolated rock hill, knob, ridge, or small mountain that rises abruptly from a gently sloping or virtually level surrounding plain...

 mountain was thought to resemble a bullfrog

Bullfrog

The American bullfrog , often simply known as the bullfrog in Canada and the United States, is an aquatic frog, a member of the family Ranidae, or “true frogs”, native to much of North America. This is a frog of larger, permanent water bodies, swamps, ponds, and lakes, where it is usually found...

 and the Indians named it after the sound they thought it made "Ratratrat". Early white settlers thought what they were saying sounded like "Ararat," the mountain

Mount Ararat

Mount Ararat is a snow-capped, dormant volcanic cone in Turkey. It has two peaks: Greater Ararat and Lesser Ararat .The Ararat massif is about in diameter...

 which, according to the Bible, was the landing point of Noah's Ark

Noah's Ark

Noah's Ark is a vessel appearing in the Book of Genesis and the Quran . These narratives describe the construction of the ark by Noah at God's command to save himself, his family, and the world's animals from the worldwide deluge of the Great Flood.In the narrative of the ark, God sees the...

.

Blue Ridge Elementary School is located in the community. Several famous people were born in the community, such as the Reverend Bob Childress; "The Man Who Moved A Mountain," and James Ewell Brown "Jeb" Stuart, the Major General of Cavalry for Robert E. Lee

Robert E. Lee

Robert Edward Lee was a career military officer who is best known for having commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War....

 during the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

.

The J.E.B. Stuart Birthplace, Laurel Hill, is a preserved private park in the community that is open for self-guided tours daily and holds a Civil War encampment the first full weekend of October each year.

Sources

• Davids, Richard C., ' ' The Man Who Moved A Mountain ' ' , Augsburg Fortress Publishers, 1986, ISBN 080061237X, ISBN 978-0800612375.
• Perry, Thomas D., ' 'J. E. B. Stuart's Birthplace: The History of the Laurel Hill Farm ' ', Laurel Hill Publishing, 2008, ISBN 1438239343, ISBN 978-1438239347.
• Smith, Karen Cecil., ' 'Orlean Puckett: The Life of a Mountain Midwife, 1844-1939 ' ', Parkway Publishers, 2003,ISBN 1887905723, ISBN 978-1887905725.