This thing rocks......literally....side to side as you walk on it. I walked about 1/4 of the way…read moreacross, and wondered if I was going to fall in the Clinch River. Makes me wonder how often these things are inspected.

I little piece of history spanning a beautiful river. Great photo op and my kid loves it.read more

There's a very helpful brochure at the entrance and if they're out of stock, I've added a picture…read more The brochure tells the story of this cemetery that dates back to 1785 when the oldest church in the county was organized by Scots-Irish in a log building that stood at the north side of the graveyard called Francis Dean's or Robert Henderson's Lower Meeting House. Dean owned the land and Henderson was the first pastor of the church. The brochure continues, "When the church was founded in 1785, Dandridge was just a small western outpost nestled along the French Broad River in Caswell County, State of Franklin, where most people were living in scattered log cabins. The ace of cession by North Carolina paved the way for the formation of the State of Franklin which almost became the nation's 14th state and survived for four years under its own government even though North Carolina would never officially recognize the Franklinites." It was peaceful and interesting and quite historic. If you're heading to Dandridge, stop in and visit the final resting place of these pioneers. [Review 20105 overall - 461 in Tennessee - 1081 of 2023.]

So old. Yeah, this is pretty neat. Dating back to around 1785, interred here are the graves of…read moreRevolutionary War veterans and early citizens of Dandridge. The are only a handful of headstones and they are all unmarked and weathered - in a really cool historic way. There are several stone benches and the grounds are well maintained. The local attendant at the visitor center told me much more oral history; apparently you may never guess it by the size of this little hill mound but approximately 200 unknown graves lie underneath. Oh my.

Was it carved by Cherokee Indians to honor their chief, or by wind and rain....I suspect the…read morelatter, but you can be the judge yourself. Just north of the rock, is an old abandoned store where you can pull over, and take a look, and snap a photo.

While visiting in the area we stopped at the Fort Watauga replica at the Sycamore Shoals State Park…read morein Elizabethton, TN near Johnson City, TN. It is located along the Watauga River. Fort Watauga, more properly Fort Caswell, was an American Revolutionary War fort that once stood at the Sycamore Shoals of the Watauga River in what is now Elizabethton, Tennessee. The fort was originally built in 1775-1776 by the area's frontier government, the Watauga Association, to help defend Watauga settlers from Native American (primarily Cherokee) attacks, which were in part instigated by the British. Fort Watauga was originally named Fort Caswell after North Carolina Governor Richard Caswell Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Watauga Sycamore Shoals State Historic Park 1651 W. Elk Avenue Elizabethton, Tennessee FREE Park. Free to view and tour the Fort Watauga, and FREE to tour the Visitors Center. The visitors center was not open when we stopped there but we did walk around the Fort.

So they give tours about every hour or so. I think it was about 45 minutes. They had 2 tour guides…read morewhile we were there . But our tour guide complained alot about his life. We did joke around about some things, but at least pretend you enjoy your job. They had a couple cute doggos that greet you while you are there. They also have a little store with a lot of different kinds of rocks if that is your thing.

Had great time at this cavern. We were greeted warmly by the staff.. walk inside building and…read moredecent sized gift shop with lots of gemstones and different things to see. We were only ones there at time and we had great conversations with staff before we started our journey into cave. I think we paid 13-15 a person fairly cheap for cave. So our guide took us thru a door down a ramp and into the start of cave tour. Even saw a salamander under some of rocks at start of cave. Lots of walkways and formations to see.. lot of history too. On way back our guide have us each a flashlight and let us see cave our way with lights off. It was so cool! There is different types of tours where you can crawl thru holes in caves and thru water but I just wanted easy walking tour lol.. definitely a must see.. glad we came!

About five miles out from Abingdon and well worth the drive down the country roads to get there,…read moreWhite's Mill and mercantile is a restored/working 18th century water mill that produces the best coarse ground yellow grits I have ever had (my first taste was the White's Mill Grit Cakes served at Abingdon's Bone Fire Smokehouse and I've never looked back/had better since). The goodness of those yellow grits are the main reason I'm writing this review, but the mill itself and the adjacent "mercantile" country store (where you can find said grits available for purchase stored within a chest freezer alongside other White's Mill milled grains (like cornmeal, flour, white grits etc.). I've never seen anyone attending the mill any time I have visited thus I cautiously wander around inside with at least one buddy in tow as the interior looks every bit as old as it's 1790 establish date (the 1866 restoration notwithstanding). From the entrance level there are rooms both upstairs and down, the lover level revealing a cool living room type of space complete with a hearth/fireplace and a lot of huge, aged and complicated-looking gears and other oddly quiet antiquated mechanics in motion. It feels like entering a portal to another time; braving the creaking stairs within the mill is an adventure in and of itself. The mercantile is an old house-turned-store next to the mill stocked windows-to-walls with goods, wears, and--let's be real--junk. If you like being overwhelmed with multiple rooms full of stuff and sifting through troves seeking treasures, get thee to this out-of-the-way country store. Aside from grain, jellies, and jams, you can find all kinds of antiques and other random oddities that only rural bric-a-brac magnets like this place can accrue. As a final testament to the boss quality of White's Mill yellow grits: when I moved to Japan I brought two bags with me that I keep squirreled away in the freezer for days when I have a fever for the flavor. To cook coarse yellow grits: boil 4 parts water and add 1 part grits. Stir every few minutes for about 25 minutes until they reach a naturally creamy consistency. Experiment to find your flavor by adding seasoning, cream/milk/water, cheese, other stuff etc. -or- let them cool and make polenta-like grit cakes :)

Toured the Carter Mansion today ($7 per person) Tours are not everyday. Call Sycamore Shoals, or…read morecheck their Facebook site for tour days, and time. We got to see every room in the house, except the basement, which has wood floors. A painting over the fireplace was pretty cool. It was painted over with white paint years ago, and while the restoration group was taking paint "samples", they realized something was under the white paint, which turned out to be a painting. Only one piece of furniture was original to the house, which was a chair. We checked out the family cemetery, and walked down to the Watauga river which is actually in front of the house. This is the oldest framed house in Tennessee. Interesting piece of history.

I love historical places, and I have been drawn to this place each time I've driven by. It was…read moreempty for a long while, then purchased, restored and made into a B&B. I googled it, and saw on Zillow about a year ago it was purchased once again, maybe now a beautiful home for someone. The house bones need a family! The Wheatland Plantation grew wheat thus the name. Wheatlands, was established as a family farm by Revolutionary War veteran Timothy Chandler in 1791. Wheatlands had become one of the largest plantations in the county. Measuring 4,600 acres the farm produced oats, sweet potatoes, hogs, cattle, wool, and distilled 18,000 gallons of whiskey a year from its immense wheat crop. Wheatlands is an antebellum plantation in Sevier County, Tennessee. And is the location of the revolutionary war site "The Battle of Boyd's Creek." The present day plantation house was occupied during the Civil War as a field house and winter camp. There is a graveyard in the back yard. Still at the site are the Federal-style, three-story brick home that was built in 1825 as well as the separate kitchen and dining building to the rear, a loom building and a smokehouse. When the overgrown seven-acre property was recently cleared of years of overgrowth, they found Cedar Spring and a pond it feeds, the slave cemetery near Boyds Creek and the mound where it is believed that Cherokees were buried who were killed by John Sevier on his way back from King's Mountain. An archaeological team also found the thick stone floor of a shed that was believed to have held the distillery product. Also it is noted of many hauntings. One of the most famous ghosts of Wheatlands Plantation is Granny Jane, a former slave who allegedly practiced voodoo. Her spirit is said to protect the house from intruders, often making her presence known to those who mean harm. Another well-known ghost is Lucy, a young girl who died tragically on the plantation grounds. Lucy is often seen playing near the house, her laughter echoing in the air. Other spirits include a Civil War soldier, whose ghost roams the grounds, and several children who appear in old-fashioned clothing, playing games from a bygone era. Furthermore, each of these spirits has a story that adds depth to the haunted plantation's eerie charm.

This marker stands on Main Street to the side of a tall brick building that used to be the local…read morehigh school. The marker is on two sides and reads, "his brick facility was built in 1923 by the United States Coal and Coke Co., then leased to Lynch Colored Common Graded School District. Students from Benham and Lynch enrolled in the high school. The first four graduates received their diplomas in 1928." "W.L. Shobe was principal, 1939-56, and was an outstanding and progressive administrator. After Professor Shobe's retirement, Coach John V. Coleman promoted to principal; school name changed to West Main High. School had many notable students and athletes." Online, there is more information... When the coal boom hit eastern Kentucky in the early-twentieth century, mining companies primarily recruited their workers from three population segments. First were local residents, who were traditionally farmers. Second were immigrants, including natives of Poland, Hungary, Yugoslavia, and Italy. Third were African Americans from the Southern states. Like the native mountaineers, they were typically farmers or had worked in the iron foundries of cities such as Chattanooga, Tennessee, and Birmingham, Alabama. Many African Americans who tired of a sharecropping existence welcomed a new change of scenery and opportunity for wage labor. [Review 13459 overall, 778 of 2020.]

Lynch is worth the drive off the beaten path!! So much history! There are several plaques giving…read morehistory and its like stepping back in time.