Herald and tribune. [volume] (Jonesborough, Tenn.) 1869-current, 1895-08-14
For the Herald and Tribune.
Geography OF the County.

1t Is now one hundred and twenty six
years since VIM. Bean built the first
cabin, and planted the first germs OF civ
ilization in the bounds of what Is now,
and has been since November I777, the
County of Washington. And although
we have been a regularly organized
county for one hundred and eighteen
years, we have neither a map nor his
tory OF our county. r... r..
True Ramsay and Haywood give the
date Of settlement, organization and just
brief mention of the principle events
that have taken place in our county dur
Ing the early years OF our history; but
as they were writing q history of the
whole State, 1t necessarily followed that
they could have but little space to devote
to each county. .r.t.
What we need is separate and dis
tincL full and complete history of our
own county, its events and affairs, reach
ing back to the first settlement; then on
down to the present time. We have
enough of material lying around loose
which If carefully gathered together and
written up, would make large book as
well as an interesting history.
There should be such history in this
county for use in our public schools.
There are many grown men and women
III our county. Some of them doubtless
teaching in the public schools who can
not name the different civil districts of
our county, giving the correct name and
number Of each one. Then again there
are very few persons, perhaps, that have
anything like an accurate knowledge of
the geography of their county, Wev ven-
ture to say that very few persons have
ever just thought OF the fact that here
within less than one mile from the Court
House may be found the sources of two
of the principal large creeks OF our
county; Boone's Creek and Little Lime
stone creek. Just over the hill little
to the northwest OF town and few
yards beyond where J. A. Beals lives is
little spring from which flows small
rlvlet down past the Morrell place,
on down the valley past the old Craw-
ford place where Daniel Boone, the great
pioneer, had his hunting camp, and from
which circumstance Boone's Creek de-
rived Its name, and on down past where
the Beans once lived, until II reaches
the Watauga River and there starts on
its long and winding journey of so many
hundreds of miles to the Mississippi
River.
Then up the railway track near where
Esquire Seaton lives is q large spring
known as the headwaters of Little Lime
stone. 1t starts out good size little
creek and coming on down through
Jonesboro, passes Telford's, Paynetown,
Broylesville, on down to where it unites
with the Nolachucky River, a little be-
low Greeneway's Ford.
Mingling with Chucky it passes on
down into Greene County and after
time forms the boundary line between
Greene and Cooke counties, then for
time separates Hamblen from Cooke
County until just about the edge of JEFF
ferson County Chucky becomes a part
of French Broad. Then on down to a
few miles this side of Knoxville, French
Broad unites with the Holston in max
ing the. great Tennessee River. Here
our own Little Limestone creek finds it's
long lost neighbOr from this county, the
| historic BOone's Creek, and these two
creeks mingling their waters together
start out on their long ride down the
broad Tennessee, on through East Ten
nessee past Chattanooga to Bridgeport,
where it enters Alabama and winding
across the northern end of the State
again enters Tennessee and passing up
through Hardin County to the corner Of
Perry, there becomes the dividing line
between Middle and West Tennessee,
thence through Kentucky to Paducah
where our two little creeks, now so far
from home, become part of the great
Ohio River and ride with it on down to
Cairo, Ill, where the mighty Mississippi
swallows up the entire lot and hIirries
them on down South till at last, through
its many mouths, it lands them into
the Gulf of Mexico.