Dear Editor.

    I am Randy Parrish; I have lived in Polk County for seven years. I first moved here because I found a beautiful lot with the view of the mountains in my back yard. After living here I became interested in photography. I begin to ask around about roads and trails to take my pictures. I never thought about history or anything about Polk County being any different from another county.  

My lot was just off Ladd Springs Road so I thought the springs would make a beautiful picture. But to my surprise no one could tell me where to find them. During my search I found more history and more places to take pictures of. I found out that Polk County had more history in it than most states did. Polk County was the first  place in Tennessee ever seen by the white man -- Desoto in 1540s. They came in  to Polk County  down the Hiwassee River at what is now Reliance and Savannah Shores. They encountered  the first Cherokee settlement at what  use to be Columbus.

I also found that many other things were important about Polk County. One it was the site of Nancy Wards home. She was the most important Indian ally of the white Man and The Beloved Woman Of the Cherokee Tribe and is buried just outside Benton above Ocoee River where her home once stood. In 1812 Fort Marr was built and also the first grist mill was built at Columbus, the first white settlement in Tennessee’s Indian territories and also the first county seat of Polk County. Our county was also the location of one of the first interstate highways, the Old Federal Road. It ran across the mountains from NC at the Hiwassee and from Ga. at Easley's Ford and from Knoxville to the North and to Cleveland from the west. Fort Marr was built as a supply depot and as an outpost for Federal troops and later it was use as a concentration camp for the Indians on the Trail Of Tears. It was located at 411 and the Old Federal Road. A part of it still stands At Benton Fair Grounds.  It is also here that five other trails come together that linked the colonies with west,. Even though I have just started telling about our important and historical county I haven't even scratched the surface

I could write many more articles about this beautiful place. They would include stories about Jacks River, the Old Dutch Settlement, Old Columbus, Benton Springs, Copper Hill, and Kimsey Mt Hwy. Many of these places are gone but they were in their time an important part of our history. I have a saying: History is the foundation of our future and if we destroy our past we will definitely change our future.

I wrote this letter to inform our neighbors about our history and the importance of it. For many years our tax base was on an industry of mining and farming but now all we have is property taxes to support our county projects. But with today’s problems this must change. On my road alone one out of two homes are in foreclosure or has been in the last year and as for me I am at my limit of my expenditures and cannot take on anymore taxes of any kind. If we are all in the same boat who will pay for our projects.

The one project that worries me the most is the widening of Hwy 64 and the so called corridor K across Kimsey Mt. To me this project is a ploy to get federal funds and grants. Most of these grants come with a condition and this is we have to match dollar for dollar. For many years we have trusted our elected officials to make these decisions but it hasn’t worked. They made money and we got more than we can pay for in taxes. An example is Hwy. 411. It was supposed to completed 10 years ago and it is still under construction. We just built a new jail we can't even support it.  A bargain is not a bargain unless we need it. We do not need a road to Copperhill or to widen 64 more than it already is. First off where would this new road go? If it goes though Kimsey Mt it would destroy some of the most beautiful byways I have ever seen. If it goes any other area it would destroy other beautiful scenery. Between Kimsey Mt and Parksville the over 100 miles of wilderness roads for hiking and driving and from Parksville to Conasauga lake in Ga. there are at least five waterfalls and 300 more miles of backroads and old historical sites like The Dutch settlement and Jacks River. I would not sacrifice one inch of any of these beautiful sites for a road that will not generate one dollar of income. But instead will take away income from existing businesses like Bea’s bus and the rafting industry. As well as getting tourists out of Tennessee before they can spend a dollar.

Our county has survived logging that made it barren, sulfur gas created by copper smelting that Poisoned the soil. Time and time again it has been raped by  man. Copperhill was once  so barren it could be seen from outer space. The Dutch Settlement made furniture and wine but in 1939 the last family moved out (Becklers) because there was no wood for furniture and the soil would not grow grapes.  Benton Springs  near the top of Bean Mt. is nearly dry; once it was a hunting lodge  but now is being used up for bottled water. The Kimsey highway was built by Dr Kimsey to bring fuel for his car and to bring in students for his school. Neither his dream for his Highway or his school ever came true but they both are remarkably beautiful parts of our history.

The Kimsey Highway is like a time tunnel leading to time before modern roads. It is dirt but well maintained. It ran from 68 highway to Benton. It goes up Kimsey MT down to Greasy Creek and it runs along Hwy 30 to the road to Oswald’s dome up to top of Bean MT (note some call it Chilhowie Mt but Chilhowie Mt is about 50 mile north east at Chilhowie Dam) down past Benton springs to Benton at the square.

Bean Mt was settled by the Bean family in the early 1800. Mrs. Bean was taken captive By Dragging Canoe (Nancy Ward’s cousin). Mrs. Bean was saved by Nancy Ward and thanked her by staying with her for about a year and taught her tribe to weave and raise dairy cattle. Mrs. Bean even gave Nancy some of her own cattle. The Kimsey Highway was also the site of one of the major Cherokee trails. We also have an abundance of wild life.

Since the mine has closed we also have some of the cleanest water in the eastern USA. We have some of our history that has not  been lost just forgot. Reliance and Springtown were the site that the over the mountain Men met to go fight the British at Kings Mt, giving the Americans their fist clear victory. These men wiped out Gen. Ferguson’s Army in 1 hour and 15 mins and were lead by John Sevier.  Where Parksville lake is now is where the town of Parksville lay. It was one of the first Tennessee towns to generate its own electricity. The mill there and its generator was moved up the hill for a short time while the dam was built that created the lake. This generator made electricity for the works on the dam. Caney Creek was another little town along the Ocoee. It was the only Town that had never had an automobile. Nothing is left of it but a few foundations. Minniwaga Springs  or Ladd Springs was once a heath spa. It was considered to very rich in minerals and cure illnesses. There was a large hotel there.

Ladd Springs is the spawning grounds for two species of fish not found any where else in the southeast. It flows into the Conasauga river (which head water is Jacks river) . The Conasauga River is one of the only rivers in the eastern USA that does not have a dam on it. Polk County was the only eastern county of Tennessee that seceded from the Union. East Tn was a state within a state. Columbus was destroyed by the Union army and was never rebuilt. The Union Army tore it down and built a bridge with its timbers and burn the rest for fire wood. All that is left is the courthouse foundation and a grave yard.

So with all this area of history where could we put a road that would not destroy at least one of our major historical sites. Our county can recover from deforestation or even grow over a dirt road, but when we build concrete roads and the build homes along it, these sites would be gone forever, It takes generations for our earth to push up concrete restore a useless road.

There is a better way to generate an income and that is to promote our assets. Our beautiful and historical county is a tourist location. Instead of taking grants for highways, get them to build Hunting lodges, fishing lodges, rafting and scenic tours, museums. If we let the outsiders know just what an interesting county we have it could outgrow even Gatlinburg.

I know many of you are like I am I didn't think about the beauty I was passing every day to work. I didn't think about Highway Projects. I thought it would take care of itself. But if we just sit back and let the politicians push this project on us we will pay dearly in taxes and in loss of some of our beautiful sites.

I wish you all could see these places before it is too late. I would even be willing to lead a caravan tour though these back roads in protest of losing them if only I could get my fellow neighbors to open their eyes to this travesty before it’s all lost.

Not only would it be a travesty to us but to our neighbors to the north. If we complete 411 project it could bring new life to Ocoee, Benton, Englewood, Etowah and other places between 75 in Ga and Pigeon Forge. Lets keep tourists in Tenn. and away from NC state line while we can. As for trucks they do not need to come down river road. They have 68 in copper hill and 411 "I hope "in Tn and 76  and 75 in Ga.

Thank You so Much for your Time.

  Randy Parrish

(Note resources  were Polk County News and history of Polk by Thurman Parrish