Slow Travels-Tennessee

By Lyn Wilkerson

This is the Tennessee edition of the Slow Travels series. U.S. Highways 11, 25, 31, and 70 are followed through the State, examining a cross-section for Tennessee and providing a wealth of historical information along the way. Reference maps and GPS coordinates for all listed points of interest are included.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lyn Wilkerson
• Release date: Jan 7, 2011
• ISBN: 9781458056856

Lyn Wilkerson

Caddo Publications USA was created in 2000 to encourage the exploration of America’s history by the typical automotive traveler. The intent of Caddo Publications USA is to provide support to both national and local historical organizations as historical guides are developed in various digital and traditional print formats. Using the American Guide series of the 1930’s and 40’s as our inspiration, we began to develop historical travel guides for the U.S. in the 1990’s.

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The northern section of U.S. Highway 11 follows the valley of upper East Tennessee. This was the route over which passed the westward-moving wagon trains of the pioneers, coming down the valley from southwestern Virginia or over the mountain passes from North Carolina. Settlers built blockhouses at strategic points, and grouped their cabins around them. These settlements were made in defiance of the British Proclamation of 1763, which guaranteed the Cherokee their holdings west of the mountains. The Cherokee, angered by continued occupation of their lands by the whites, grew restless. Irresponsible young warriors began to attack groups of settlers. In 1776, a band led by Dragging Canoe took the war trail against white invaders. The war continued until 1777, when the members of the Cherokee Nation, with the exception of Dragging Canoe and his followers, signed the Treaty of the Holston.

Virginia State Line

U.S. Highway 11 separates at Bristol, Virginia into two branches, U.S. Highway 11E and U.S. Highway 11W. The first part of our travel route follows U.S. Highway 11W, which continues the original Lee Highway out of Virginia, down the northwest side of the East Tennessee valley to Knoxville. This road was once also referred to as the Baltimore International Turnpike.

The Virginia-Tennessee Line has been a question long-disputed. Originally part of the boundary between Virginia and North Carolina, the line was first surveyed by Colonel William Byrd in 1728. The line was continued by Joshua Fry and Peter Jefferson in 1749, and momentarily settled by a compromise in 1803. In 1897, the dispute flared again, continuing when commissioners were appointed to reestablish the boundary between White Top Mountain and the Cumberland Gap in 1900. A United States Supreme Court decision set the boundary as established in 1803. This site had been under the jurisdiction of North Carolina (1779-1785), the State of Franklin (1785-1789), the Federal Government as part of the territory south of the Ohio River (1789-1796), Tennessee, and Virginia (1796-present).

Bristol (1.2 miles east of U.S. 11W on State Street)

The 1,946 acres that comprise Bristol’s site were sold to Colonel James Patton for 9 pounds, 7 shillings, and 6 pence. In 1771, Colonel Isaac Shelby built a fort here to protect the thousands of immigrants. The place was called Sapling Grove. Recruits gathered for Shelby’s campaign of 1779 against the Chickamauga Indians in lower East Tennessee. These troops marched to the Long Island of Holston, and thence to the mouth of Big Creek in the present Hawkins County, where boats were built for the voyage to the Chickamauga towns along the creek of the same name near Chattanooga.

After the American Revolution, Colonel James King bought Sapling Grove and changed the name to King’s Meadows. King, a Londoner and a civil engineer, started an iron works about 1784 and brought John Smith, an expert foundryman, from England to operate it. The plant produced the first nails for the frontiersmen. The quality of the ore used here, its high cost, and the difficulties of hauling it to the furnaces by wagon over poor roads finally reduced the output of the 29 furnaces. Eventually, they were abandoned.

In 1852, Joseph R. Anderson learned that a railroad was planned to connect Knoxville and King’s Meadows, bought 100 acres of land from the King estate, and laid out the tract. Because he thought his town would be an industrial center, he named it Bristol for the great manufacturing city of the same name in England. A Tennessee charter was granted in 1856 and in the same year a Virginia charter incorporated Goodson across the line, which was named in memory of Thomas Goodson, who had been a business associate of James King.

Point of Interest:

Gammon House (324 6th Street)

The Gammon House is a 2 ½ story Queen Anne house. Built around 1875 for William and Maggie McFarland, the house has the characteristic features of the Queen Anne style such as an asymmetrical plan, prominent tower, projecting bays and ornate woodwork. Unlike most brick houses of the late 19th century, which were constructed of balloon framing, the Gammon House was constructed of load-bearing brick. It is believed to be one of the earliest houses of this style in Bristol. The house had several different owners in the late 19th century. In 1902, Dr. L. H. Gammon bought the house for $5,400 and lived there until his death in 1942.i

Edward Washington King House (7th Street and Anderson Street)

The E. W. King House was built by Edward Washington King in 1902. The large three-story brick residence stands on high ground once owned by General Evan Shelby. Shelby's Station (fort) was a combination trading post, way station, and stockade. This fort was erected on high ground in 1771 for the protection of pioneer settlers. From it went forces to battles of Point Pleasant, Long Island Flats, and the Chickamauga towns. The preliminary planning for the King's Mountain expedition also occurred here, culminating in the successful battle of October 7th, 1780.

Bristol Virginia-Tennessee Slogan Sign (3rd Street and E. State Street)

The Bristol Virginia-Tennessee sign, which crosses State Street and notes the town's two-state location, was first erected on June 21st, 1913. The sign along with a long line of electric street lights illuminating the commercial district initiated the opening of Bristol's Great White Way.ii

Bristol Municipal Stadium (1112 Edgemont Avenue)

Known as the Stone Castle, this structure was completed in 1939.

First National Bank of Bristol (500 State Street)

In 1868, Joseph R. Anderson organized his private banking business into the Bank of Bristol. In 1874, it was converted into a national bank and renamed the First National Bank of Bristol.iii A new bank building was constructed in 1902.

Paramount Theatre and Office Building (516 State Street)

This theatre was built in 1931 and restored in 1991.

Parlett House (728 Georgia Avenue)

Albert Parlett built his house in 1892.

King College (King College Road and Elizabeth Street)

This Presbyterian co-educational college was founded in 1867. This college was named for James King.

Side Trip to Pemberton Oak (U.S. Highway 421 East, Arnold Way South, Pemberton Road East)

Pemberton Oak (8.6 miles east on U.S. 421, 0.9 mile south on Arnold Way, 0.9 mile east on Pemberton Road)

Under this tree, Colonel John Pemberton mustered his troops for the Battle of Kings Mountain in 1780.

Junction with Tennessee Highway 126 (0.6 mile south of the Virginia Line on U.S. 11W)

From this junction, the travel route for U.S. Highway 11W will follow Tennessee Highway 126 west, the earlier route of U.S. Highway 11W. From here south to Surgoinsville, the highway parallels the Great Indian War path, an ancient and important Indian trail. South of Surgoinsville, the War Path was east of the highway, crossing the Holston at Dodson's Ford.

Junction with Stagecoach Trail (2.8 miles west of U.S. 11W on TN 126)

Point of Interest:

Steel House (Stagecoach Trail and Delaney Road)

This residence was erected on the Old Stage Road in 1777.

Blountville (4.5 miles west of Stagecoach Trail on TN 126 at TN 394)

This community was named for William Blount, the first Governor (1790) of the Territory South of the River Ohio. According to tradition, Blountville had been the site of a fort and settlement before it became a town in 1795. In 1806, Jefferson Academy was established in a log structure that in 1836 was replaced by one of brick.

The county, named for General John Sullivan (1740-1795), was organized at the home of Moses Looney on February 7, 1780. Isaac Shelby, appointed colonel-commandant of the new county by Governor Caswell of North Carolina, subsequently became the first Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

Here, on September 22nd, 1863, Confederate forces commanded by Colonel James E. Carter fought a Union brigade led by Colonel John W. Foster. After delaying the Union advance for more than four hours, Carter withdrew toward Zollicoffer, now known as Bluff City. During the battle, artillery shells set fire to the courthouse and much of the town burned. Skirmishing near Blountville continued until news of the bloody battle at Chickamauga reached General Ambrose Burnside and Union General Henry Wager Halleck ordered a retreat toward Knoxville.

Point of Interest:

Old Deery Inn (Main Street, between Anderson Road and TN 394)

During its early years, this inn served as a main way-station on the Great Stage Road. In 1801, William Deery obtained what we refer to today as the Deery Inn Property. Deery soon expanded his trading post, adding a frame general store and a tavern with hotel rooms above. The cut stone addition was probably added in 1821, before his marriage to Elizabeth Alison. In total there are nineteen rooms, two attics, a cellar, and two kitchens.

William Deery, a man from Ulster in Ireland developed the inn into a major trading post. The inn served as a stopping place for many distinguished travelers of the early days of America. Andrew Jackson, James K. Polk, the Marquis de Lafayette, Prince Louis Phillipe, Andrew Johnson and others enjoyed its hospitality. It operated as an inn until shortly before 1930.

Acuff Chapel (2.3 miles west of Blountville on TN 126, between Robinson Creek and Isley Road)

In 1773, Timothy Acuff (1732-1823) left his native Virginia to homestead on the frontier. He and his wife, Anna Leigh, settled in what is now Sullivan County, Tennessee (then part of North Carolina). In 1785, a Methodist class was formed, mostly of emigrants from Virginia, and in 1786 Acuff and his fellow class members built a chapel on land given by Timothy and Anna Leigh Acuff. Acuff's Chapel was the first Methodist meetinghouse in Tennessee and the first west of the Appalachian Mountains. The nearest church was one hundred miles to the east, and there were none west of Acuff Chapel. Since there was only one other school within a hundred miles, the chapel was also used as a school for some seventy-five years.

Junction with Adams Chapel Road (0.9 mile west of Acuff Chapel on TN 126)

Side Trip to Erwin Farm (Adams Chapel Road South)

Erwin Farm (0.6 mile south on Adams Chapel Road on right)

This farmhouse was constructed in 1822.

Junction with Fall Creek Road (3.7 miles west of Adams Chapel Road on TN 126)

Side Trip to Roller-Pettyjohn Mill (Fall Creek Road South)

Roller-Pettyjohn Mill (1.3 miles south on Fall Creek Road)

Also known as Indian Springs Mill, this structure was built in 1903.

Junction with Island Road (0.7 mile west of Fall Creek Road on TN 126)

This military road from Chilhowee, Virginia, to Kingsport, Tennessee, was completed in September of 1761 by Major Andrew Lewis under the command of Colonel Adam Stephen. Upon reaching the Long Island of the Holston, the militia erected Fort Robinson to treaty for peace with the Cherokees.

Junction with Chestnut Ridge Road (0.8 mile west of Island Road on TN 126)

Point of Interest:

Yancey’s Tavern (North of Chestnut Ridge Road at TN 126)

The house was built in 1777 by James Hollis, who hosted the second meeting of the Sullivan County court. The court continued to meet here and at other homes until the county seat of Blountville was built in 1792. It stands beside the original Island Road, built in 1761, Tennessee's first wagon road and oldest road still in use.iv

Side Trip to Gaines Preston Farm (Chestnut Ridge Road North, Orebank Road West)

Gaines Preston Farm (1.8 miles north on Chestnut Ridge Road, 0.3 mile west on Orebank Road)

Originally part of a 3,000-acre land grant given to Edmund Pendleton in 1756, this land remained wilderness until John S. Gaines and his wife Letitia received 160 acres as bounty for his service in the War of 1812. Gaines gradually increased his holdings to more than 2,000 acres, and in 1846 traded the western portion of the plantation, including the main house and its dependencies, for the Holston Springs property in Scott County, Virginia. The new owner, John M. Preston, presented it to his son, James Wilson Preston, upon his marriage to Catherine Ann Greenway.

Junction with Tennessee Highway 36 North (5.5 miles west of Chestnut Ridge Road on TN 126)

The travel route follows Tennessee Highway 36 north through Kingsport.

Side Trip to Long Island on Holston (Tennessee Highway 126 West)

Long Island on Holston (1.4 miles west on TN 126 at Jared Drive)

Long Island divides the river for four miles southwest of Kingsport. In July of 1777, the Cherokee Indians, after two years of fighting, met the commissioners of Virginia and North Carolina to make peace with the white invaders. William Christian, William Preston, and Evan Shelby represented Virginia. North Carolina sent as its agents Waightstill Avery, William Sharp, Robert Lanier, and Joseph Winston. From the Overhill towns came the headmen of the Cherokee; Oconastota (Great Warrior of Chota), Old Tassel of Toquah, the Raven of Chota, and peaceful old Attakullakulla (Little Carpenter). The talks were about to begin when an unknown white man killed an Indian brave named the Big Bullet. Immediately, Peace Island became an armed camp. The angry commissioners offered $600 reward for the capture of the murderer, but he was never found. After the Indians had been calmed by presents with which to cover the grave of the slain warrior, the conference continued.

The Cherokee ceded to Virginia all of their claims north of a line from a point about three miles west of Cumberland Gap to the Holston River, at its junction with Cloud’s Creek. To North Carolina, the Indians ceded land north and east of Cloud’s Creek to Chimney Top, from there to the Nolichucky ten miles below the mouth of Limestone Creek, and southeastward into the territory of the Cherokee Middle Towns. No white man was supposed to cross these boundaries on any pretense whatsoever. The Indians refused to give up the Long Island to any person except Colonel Nathaniel Gist, with whom they recognized joint ownership. Colonel Gist, the son of Christopher Gist, Washington’s guide to Fort Duquesne, is said to have been the father of half-breed, George Guess or Gist (Sequoyah), inventor of the Cherokee alphabet.

Kingsport (1.3 miles north of TN 126 on TN 36 at Broad Street)

Dr. Thomas Walker, the leader of the first organized expedition into Upper East Tennessee, followed Reedy Creek down to the North Fork of the Holston in the early spring of 1750. He found a well-marked Indian path that crossed the Holston River at Long Island and extended through what is now the southern part of Kingsport. This was the trail used by Daniel Boone and his party in 1769 when marking out the route of the Wilderness Road.

The first structure built by whites on the site of Kingsport was Fort Robinson, built in 1761 near the fording place of the Holston at Long Island. Later, Fort Patrick Henry was erected at the same site in the spring of 1775. That fort became the outpost of white civilization beyond the mountains. Kingsport was known variously as Island Flats, Fort Robinson, Fort Patrick Henry, the Boat Yard, and Christiansville. The last name was for Gilbert Christian, who bought land and intended to build a town. The Boat Yard seems to have been the generally accepted name until 1774. It became known as King’s Port because it was used as a port, or boat landing, for the shipping of iron, bacon, salt, and other commodities to towns down the Holston and Tennessee Rivers.

In 1774, Colonel James King established a mill at the mouth of Reedy Creek and later built an iron works and a nail factory. Early settlers met with bitter resistance from the Cherokee, when they began to occupy the valley. The Indians were finally defeated in the Battle of Island Flats in 1776. The battle took place in the cane brakes which covered what now is the heart of the business district of Kingsport. On July 20th of the following year, the treaty of the Long Island of the Holston was made between the whites and the Cherokee.

Early in 1779, Colonel John Donelson's group arrived here and built 30 flatboats for 300 people to make the 1,000-mile journey to settle Middle Tennessee. They embarked on their boating adventure on December 22nd, 1779. Within an hour they wrecked at the mouth of Reedy Creek, resuming the voyage in February of 1780. They arrived in Nashville the following April.

Situated on a main north and south post road, Kingsport was a busy place in the early nineteenth century. In 1806, the town’s industries consisted of four powder mills, a charcoal iron furnace and iron works, oil mills for turning out pure linseed oil, tanneries, gristmills, and sawmills.

During the American Civil War, a minor battle took place at Kingsport on December 13th, 1864. After a day’s fighting, Union forces captured the entire Confederate force. The town’s development was at a standstill for more than two decades following the war, reviving a little in 1885 when David Roller, William Roller, and C.N. Jordan established a brick and glazed tile plant. In 1909, the Holston valley was connected with Cincinnati and the Carolina coast by the Carolina, Clinchfield, & Ohio Railroad.

A modern city was planned adjacent to old Kingsport as an industrial center, receiving its charter on March 2nd, 1917. Dr. John Nolan, internationally known engineer and city planner, superintended the designing of the public buildings, homes, and parks. Definite areas were set aside for residential sections, industrial divisions, and business centers. The principal streets radiate from a circle drive and small park in the geographical center of the city.

Points of Interest:

The Netherland Inn (2144 Netherland Inn Road)

Known locally as the Old Tavern, this structure was built in 1811 by Richard Netherland, a big slave-holder and land-owner. It was the center for the gay social life of upper East Tennessee in the early nineteenth century. The tavern was a regular stopping place for Andrew Jackson on his trips from the Hermitage at Nashville to Washington D.C. Presidents Andrew Johnson and James K. Polk frequently rested here.

On a hill behind the tavern stood the log house in which the brothers, General Edmund P. Gaines and George S. Gaines, were reared. Edmund Gaines, born in Virginia in 1777, served in the Tennessee militia against the Indians when he was eighteen. He joined the U.S. Army two years later. In 1801, he surveyed Gaines’ Trace, a military road generally following the Natchez Trace between Nashville and Natchez. In 1804, as commander of Fort Stoddart in Alabama, he arrested Aaron Burr. When Burr was tried in Richmond, Virginia, Edmund Gaines was one of the prosecution’s witnesses. While on leave from the army for several years, he practiced law in Mississippi. He was commissioned a colonel at the outbreak of the War of 1812 and placed in command of Fort Erie, which he successfully defended during a long hard siege by a large force of British and Indians. For this, he was given a citation by Congress and was promoted to major general. He later participated in the Creek and Seminole Wars and in Black Hawk’s War. Though he was removed from his command of the Western Department at the beginning of the Mexican War for overstepping his authority, he was vindicated and, until his death in 1849, commanded the Eastern Department.

George S. Gaines, an Alabama pioneer, was born in North Carolina in 1784. During his young manhood, he traded with the Creek Nation in Alabama and was appointed Indian agent at St. Stephens Post on the Tombigbee River. Trusted and well-liked by the Creek and Choctaw, he prevented them from joining Chief Tecumseh. In 1812, he persuaded the Choctaw to aid the United States against the Creek. He was also instrumental in carrying through the Choctaw Purchase. In later years, as a merchant of Mobile, he became wealthy, helped promote the Mobile & Ohio Railroad, and served in the Alabama Legislature.

Site of King’s Mill (Industry Drive at Reedy Creek)

The gristmill, built by Colonel James King in 1774, was one of the first water-powered mills in Tennessee. King also erected a substantial stone tavern near the mill. The site then became known as King’s Mill Station.

Clinchfield Railroad Station (101 E. Main Street)

This structure was built in 1905.

Site of Fort Robinson and Fort Patrick Henry (TN 93 at Riverside Drive at north bank of South Fork Holston River)

Fort Robinson was constructed on the north side of the South Fork of the Holston River near the eastern end of Long Island in the winter of 1760 and 1761 by Colonel William Byrd, who was leading about 600 Virginians against the Cherokees after the Fort Loudoun massacre. This fort was named Fort Robinson in honor of John Robinson, one of Byrd's partners in a Virginia lead mine. Fort Robinson was described as a stockaded fort with bastions and supporting structures within the enclosure.

In September of 1776, Lieutenant Colonel William Russell, commanding the Fincastle Rangers, established Fort Patrick Henry on or near the site of Fort Robinson. The stockade wall with bastions at the corners enclosed three acres on the bluff of the Holston River. This fort was used in the war against the Cherokees. A force of approximately 200 Cherokee warriors commanded by Dragging Canoe attacked the Holston settlements and was defeated in the battle of Long Island Flats on July 20th, 1776. In September of that year, men from Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia gathered at Fort Patrick Henry for a campaign against the Cherokees. The combined force of 2,400 under the command of General Griffith Rutherford of North Carolina soundly defeated the Cherokees, who sued for peace. The conflict ended with the signing of the Avery Treaty in 1777 on the Long Island of the Holston. Fort Patrick Henry was garrisoned throughout the remainder of the American Revolution.

Site of Old Pactolus Ferry (TN 36 at the south bank of the South Fork Holston River-Hammond Bridge)

Moses Cavett built the Pactolus Ironworks near here before 1795. Shortly after that year, John Sevier, his son, and son-in-law acquired it. It was owned later by E. & E. Embree, East Tennessee ironmasters, whose Pactolus Nail Factory, located ¼ mile downriver, was operated by Jonathan Wexler.

Stone Penn House (1306 Watauga Street)

This English Cottage was built in 1916.

Kingsport Presbyterian Church (W. Stone Drive and Afton Street)

This church is the oldest one in the city of Kingsport, organized on May 20th, 1820, as the Boatyard Congregation.

Side Trip to Rock Ledge (Clinchfield Street East, Bloomington Pike East)

Rock Ledge (0.9 mile east on Clinchfield Street, 2.6 miles east on Bloomington Pike at Stuffle Street)

This residence was built before 1835 by David Shaver, father of Samuel Shaver, an early Tennessee portrait painter. It was passed to Lucinda Shaver, wife of Unionist and Tennessee State Senator (1865-69), John Welsh. The home was inherited by Leah Welsh and her husband, Lafayette M. Stuffle, a well-known planter and lieutenant in the Confederate Army. This property has remained in direct descent for six generations.

Allandale Mansion (3.3 miles west of TN 36 on U.S. Highway 11W, 4444 W. Stone Drive)

The Allandale mansion, built in 1950, was previously the house of farmer and businessman Harvey C. Brooks. The house looks like a smaller version of the White House. v On the grounds is the Brown House, built in 1852.

Side Trip to Rotherwood (Netherland Inn Road East, Rotherwood Drive South)

Rotherwood (0.6 mile east on Netherland Inn Road, 0.2 mile south on Rotherwood Drive at Nottingham Court)

This house was built in 1850 by Frederick A. Ross for his daughter Rowena. He named his estate for the castle of Cedric the Saxon, and his daughter Rowena for the blond heroine of Scott’s Ivanhoe, a popular book of the day. Ross and his large family extended lavish hospitality to some of the most noted men of the day. He also built a cotton mill on the bank of the North Fork River, but it was a failure and in 1852 he lost his entire estate.

North of the house was the Old Rotherwood Elm. This old tree was mentioned by Dr. Thomas Walker in the Journal kept on his exploration through the valley in 1748. A party of French travelers commented with awe on this magnificent elm. Daniel Boone is said to have camped under it on one of his journeys through this region into Kentucky.

South of the Holston River is Carter Valley. Joseph Kinkead and John Long, the first known pioneers to what later became Hawkins County, settled here in 1769 and 1770. The valley is named for Colonel John Carter, who first settled here and later became a prominent member of the Watauga Settlement.

Church Hill (5.3 miles south of the Allandale Mansion on U.S. 11W at Central Avenue)

Robert Patterson built a fort here about 1775, and shortly thereafter built a mill. It was one of the two stations at which the settlers took refuge during the Cherokee raid under The Raven in 1776. Nearby is the site of the store established by John Carter and William Parker. This store was pillaged in the Shawnee raid in 1774. At the Sycamore Shoals Treaty in 1775, the proprietors were awarded the whole Carter's Valley as reparation.

Sevier Branch (2.8 miles south of Church Hill on U.S. 11W)

On this site, Henry Rice built and fortified a mill in 1775. Here, in 1776, the settlers took refuge from warring Cherokee. In April of 1777, Captain James Robertson and eight other pioneers had a fight with 30 or 40 Cherokee here, in which Frederick Calvatt was scalped.

Junction with Stony Point Road (4.1 miles south of Sevier Branch on U.S. 11W)

Side Trip to Fudge Farm (Stony Point Road South, Tennessee Highway 346 West)

Stony Point (0.2 mile south on Stony Point Road, on hill southwest of intersection with TN 346)

In the late 1700’s, William Armstrong built the original portion of this house. Later, a separate brick house was constructed to the north of the first, and a passageway was added to connect the two. vi

Fudge Farm (0.2 mile south on Stony Point Road, 0.4 mile west on TN 346)

The Fudge Farm is the second Century Farm in Hawkins County to evolve from the original 1852 estate of Conrad Fudge. It gains special significance for the number of its remaining mid-1800’s buildings. In 1948, Ella M. Fudge inherited 76 acres of the family land. The founders’ great granddaughter, Ella lives in a mid-nineteenth century two-story brick dwelling. A log granary, barn and smokehouse, each at least 100 years old, are intact and in use. Together with a farm tenant, Miss Fudge operates a property that yields tobacco, hay, grass and cattle.vii

Side Trip to Long Meadow Farm (Stony Point Road North, Carter Valley Road West)

New Providence Presbyterian Church, Academy and Cemetery (0.2 mile north on Stony Point Road, north of Kite Road)

This Gothic structure was built in 1893. The congregation was established in Carter's Valley in 1780 by Reverend Charles Cummings and Reverend Samuel Doak. It was moved to its present location in 1815. A cemetery is at the old site. Maxwell Academy was established by the Presbyterian Church in 1852 and named in honor of Captain George Maxwell, who fought in the Battle of Kings Mountain. Serving students in grades one through twelve, the academy was operated by the New Providence Presbyterian Church until 1907. It continued operation under the Hawkins County School System until 1954.

Long Meadow Farm (1.7 miles north on Stony Point Road, 1.8 miles west on Carter Valley Road, before Young Branch)

Built in 1762, Long Meadow, the Young homestead, is considered the oldest wooden structure in Tennessee. The first white child was born in Hawkins County here in 1763.viii

Big Creek (6.8 miles south of Stony Point Road on U.S. 11W)

Born in Surry (now Sussex) County, Virginia, in 1734, Thomas Gibbons settled here in 1778, having been forcibly ejected from a homestead about 12 miles east by one Robert Young. The courts of Spencer County, State of Franklin, met in his house from 1785 to 1787. On June 4th, 1787, the first county court of Hawkins County, North Carolina, met here. Gibbons died in 1811.

Three miles southeast of the highway, on the south side of Big Creek, James Robertson, The Father of Middle Tennessee, then a captain, lived in 1777 and 1778. A fort there was garrisoned during the Indian troubles. From there in 1779, Colonel Evan Shelby embarked 300 men in canoes and went down river to attack the Chickamauga towns near the present site of Chattanooga.

To the southwest, to the north of Big Creek, the Confederate cavalry brigades of General Sam Jones, coming from Rogersville, and of Colonel Henry Giltner, coming from Surgionsville, were caught between the Union 2nd Tennessee Mounted Infantry and a detachment of the 7th Ohio Cavalry, and the entire Confederate force was captured.

Junction with Stanley Valley Road (1 mile south of Big Creek on U.S. 11W)

Side Trip to Hickory Cove (Stanley Valley Road, Meadow View Road North, Hickory Cove Road East)

Hickory Cove (1.6 miles north on Stanley Valley Road, 1 mile north on Meadow View Road, 0.8 mile east on Hickory Cove Road at Fisher Creek)

This hill-locked body of land was discovered in 1774 by Castleton Brooks, one-time Long Hunter, who settled here in 1775 and was killed by Indians in 1777. A fort was here in 1775, under the command of Captain Robert Kyle.

Junction with E. Main Street (0.7 mile south of Stanley Valley Road on U.S. 11W)

The travel route follows E. Main Street from this point into Rogersville.

Junction with Ebbing and Flowing Spring Road (1.1 miles west of U.S. 11W on E. Main Street)

Side Trip to Amis House (Ebbing and Flowing Spring Road South, Bear Hollow Road West, Tennessee Highway 347 West)

Ebbing and Flowing Springs (1.1 miles south on Ebbing and Flowing Spring Road, before Bear Hollow Road)

The basin fills slowly. At intervals of approximately two and a half hours, it overflows. When the water reaches its lower ebb, it suddenly begins to stir slightly; then within eight or ten minutes, it is flowing strongly. For a few minutes it holds this heavy flow, and begins to ebb again.

On a hill about 300 yards from the spring is a burial ground, where a monument over the grave of W. A. Lee (1885-1906)