The Blythe Ferry was established ca. 1809
by William Blythe and his Cherokee Indian wife.
Ironically, it became the gathering point for the Cherokee Removal, aka. the
Trail of Tears, when thousands of Cherokee were forced to give up their homeland
and were forced west to settle in what is now Oklahoma.
This photo shows the old ferry boat ramp
on the Meigs County side of the Tennessee River/Chickamauga Lake near TN
Highway 60. You can see the matching
ramp on the west side of the river…
Over 9,000 Cherokee and 300 Creek Indians
were held not too far from here and it took several weeks for all of them to be
ferried across what was then a much smaller body of water…the undammed Tennessee
River. Blythe sold the ferry and made
the trek west to Oklahoma with his wife…
The Blythe Ferry, pictured above,
operated until the mid-1990 when it was replaced by the nearly finished bridge which
appears in the background.
Laurie took this artsy photo of a bole on an old tree right next to the ferry landing...
The Cherokee Memorial Park is adjacent to
the ferry crossing. For information about this park, just go
to http://www.tennesseerivervalleygeotourism.org/content/cherokee-removal-memorial-park-at-historic-blythe-ferry/ten7DCDE1AE75A3CC4D4.
Located nearby is the Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge
with its famous annual gathering of Sandhill Cranes. For more information on this event, go to http://tn.gov/twra/sandhilldays.shtml.
This is the G.W. Shiflett Barn, also known
as the Lawman Barn. This isn’t to be
confused with my previous blog which covered the H.C. Shiflett Barn. From what I could determine, this particular structure
was built ca. 1875. It is well
maintained. I did note that a George
Washington Shiflett who was born here in 1832 and died in 1859. Perhaps the person who built the barn was his
son…
This was far and away the prettiest and
best maintained structure from the NRHP listings that we located in Meigs
County. An NRHP plaque is even mounted
on the corner closest to the camera.
This is the Bradford Rymer Barn…aka. the W.H. Lonas Barn. It was built in 1925.
We loved the stonework! Dawn Marie slipped through the fence and wandered
around the barn to take these pictures…with a bit of direction
from Laurie.
This outbuilding sits just west of the
barn. Note the stone footings supporting
the structure.
Both of the ladies loved this artistic
photo of an old file on the wall of the barn just inside the door. Sadly, other than a footnote about the TVA having
to account for any possible impact on this NRHP site in their preparation for
construction of the Sequoyah Nuclear Plant, I couldn’t find any background or
history re: this beautiful barn…
This is the plaque on TN Highway 30 that marks
the area where the Washington Ferry crossed the Tennessee River/Chickamauga
Lake. As noted, this ferry linked the
east side of the river with the river village of Washington…once the largest
town in Rhea County and that county’s original county seat.
This is a photo of the west ramp for the
Washington Ferry which is also known as the Hastings-Locke Ferry. The ramp on the east side is readily
visible. I like the fact that the sign
is still in place announcing that there is “No Night Ferry”…or, in actuality
there is “No Ferry”!
Here’s a photo of the Washington Ferry at
work…just before it was put out of business by the bridge in the
background. During the Civil War this
was a major crossing on the river…and it was heavily used by the Union
Army.
From what I can determine, there is only
one operational Ferry Boat remaining in Eastern Tennessee. It’s located at Sharps Chapel Tennessee. The Helms Ferry connects portions of Union
County that are separated by the Powell River. For those who are obsessed with ferry boat
rides, you can learn more at http://www.tennesseerivervalleygeotourism.org/content/helms-ferry/tenC292901B692E87554.
The question is…which county here in East
Tennessee do I focus on next? Hopefully,
I’ll have better luck with historical documentation with my next choice!
Just click on any of the photos to
enlarge them…
Thanks for stopping by for the final
chapter of our exploration of Meigs County Tennessee!
Take Care, Big Daddy Dave
I really like the barn shots.
ReplyDeleteThat barn is fantastic. The patience it must have taken To place and stack all that stone! Dave, take a look at Bloglovin as a replacement for the google reader come July. I think you'll like it and there is no charge for its use. Have a great evening. Blessings...Mary
ReplyDeleteDear Dave, I love wandering through the history of these beautiful and interesting barns and homes and all that goes with them. It makes you wonder of the lives that were spent.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the time and patience you put into writing these posts. I enjoy it.
Blessings to you and Laurie, Catherine