The stately towers of limestone that rise like tall buildings in Mount Solon, known as the Natural Chimneys, will become the crown jewel of the parks belonging to the Augusta County Parks and Recreation Department on Thursday.

The regional park of 127 acres — that is home to North America’s longest continuously held sporting event in the form of August’s Natural Chimneys Joust and Renaissance Faire – is becoming Augusta County property because of the dissolution of the Upper Valley Regional Park Authority.

The authority, composed of the governments of Staunton, Harrisonburg and Augusta and Rockingham counties, is dissolving in part because of budget cuts.

Another park authority property, the Grand Caverns, will become property of the town of Grottoes.

In the Natural Chimneys, Augusta County is receiving a property whose land and buildings are valued at more than $2 million.

The Natural Chimneys is a popular camping, hiking and biking destination. Parks and Recreation Director Ron Sites said the county has identified some needed capital upgrades to the park’s buildings and swimming pool estimated at nearly $300,000.

But Sites and other county officials said the Natural Chimneys is a welcome addition.

“It’s a great facility and it’s going to be a great asset for the county and the citizens,’’ said Sites, who said the prime camping season at the park will be from Memorial Day to Labor Day. There will be weekend camping in September and October.

Andy Wells, the executive director of the Upper Valley Regional Park Authority, is joining Augusta County Parks and Recreation as the coordinator of Natural Chimneys.

Wells said the park not only generates repeat campers but is “now easily on our second and third generation of campers, people who were there with their grandparents.”

Wells said the main revenue source for the county from the park would be camping.

But Wells, Sites and Augusta County Board of Supervisors Chairman Larry Howdyshell said the hope is that the park will be embraced as a part of northern Augusta County and can ripple down to help the economy of that rural area.

Howdyshell is the North River District supervisor representing the area where the park is located.

He has directed $100,000 in taxpayer money from his infrastructure account to help with park improvements.

The supervisor wants the Parks and Recreation Department to build on community involvement at the park. He said he envisions the Natural Chimneys as “a place where niche markets and farmers can sell produce.”

Howdyshell is excited about what the park can mean to Augusta County residents.

“The park offers a lot of things,’’ he said. “There is a swimming pool, campsites and things people can do. They can enjoy the beauty of the areas.”

Events such as the Joust and Renaissance Faire, which dates back 187 years, will continue, Sites said.

Started in 1821, the jousting event which tests horsemanship, balance and marksmanship, was started because a woman could not choose between two suitors.

The event was so successful it has endured longer than such American traditions as the World Series and the Kentucky Derby.

A history of the Natural Chimneys dates back centuries but includes some of the Civil War.

Confederate Gen. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson and his men passed in sight of the towers in 1862 when returning from the Battle of McDowell and heading to the Battle of Winchester.

Augusta County Parks and Recreation also operates parks in Crimora, Stuarts Draft and Augusta Springs.