The New River, creeks, limestone, timber, mineral springs, mountains, and railroads have shaped the small communities, industries, and tourism of Giles County, Virginia.

Many once-bustling places in the county are quieter today, but buildings and landscapes of earlier times are still present and interesting to compare to photographs of the past. Terri L. Fisher, executive director of the Giles County Historical Society and author of Images of America: Pearisburg and Giles County and Lost Communities of Virginia, is a resident of Narrows.