The Hartford herald. [volume] (Hartford, Ky.) 1875-1926, 1909-12-22
A SECTION OF
MUCH INTEREST
To Many Sightseeing
Visitors
IS AN OHIO COUNTY REGION
Many Strange Objects of In
tereSt on This Small
Piece of Land.
Enrdsville- Ky Dec. 16

Editors Herald:-ln The Herald OF
December 8, you published my list of
fatalities in what is called here THE
Valley of Death" but in that conf
munication / did not mention the
many historic and romantic places
In this beautiful and fertile valley.
From Mitchelrs to Jones Station,
in this couny, and within a radius of
abou one mile long and about half
mile wide, there are more strange
objects of interest on this small piec"
Of land than / have ever seen in any
State. A short distance above Mitch
ellis, on the left side of the valley,
is the noted Hedden Cave, which has
been visited and explored by tour
lists from various of our States and
the European countries.
Near the cave is the site of old
Mt Pleasant Baptist church, organ
lied by the first settlers of the COM
munity. Hon. Elisha NJ. Ford was
for years it's clerk before he moved
to Hartford.
Near the church site is the Indian
Arrow Head Ridge, where the points
we've made, and many of them and
broken pieces Of flints left in their
making can yet be found on the
ridge. | now have a box of them
a g,,s -rs,
North Of the ridge in a small stream
is a large limestone rock, partly sub
merged in water, and ON the face
of the rock above the water are the
tracks of little children's feet.
The rock is now turned to blue flint.
Near the ridge and further up The
valley Is the Indian Council Rock and
near it is the Mammoth Knot Tree.
Of which an engraving and descrp-
ton Of it appeared in the Chicago
Saturday Blade Of March IA, 1891.
Across the valley from the Indian
Arrow Head Ridge is the old John
B. Haynes farm. On some large rocks
near tie site of his residence are
some fishbones, now petrified to white
marble. On the opposite side of the
field is the John B. Haynes graveyard,
and in the center of the yard is a
sugar tree which measures 1872 feet
in circumference near the ground and
has acshade of "A feet in the yard.
In clearing the field, Uncle John, as
he was called, killed bear on this
tree and the last buffalo known TO
be in this community were two seen
beneath its shade.
On the east side of this tree is
the tomb of John B. Haynes and his
wife, Rhoda A Haynes, and ON the
west side Of the grave is the COnfed-
crate spy, Bennett. On this farm,
across the valley from the Indian
Council, Rock, is the Dark Hollow, 50
much visited by tourists at all sea-
sons of the year. In the summer sea
son the school children and others
enjoy their picnics in this gloomy
retreat where, before the trees thai
surrounded it were removed, stars
could lie seen from it on any clear
day.
October 10, 1907, John Whittinghill
settled the farm now embracing Jones
Station, In the valley ON the east
side vf the John B. Haynes farm.
While erecting a cabin for dwell
ing, he lived in camp back of East
Fork Baptist church. which. is To-
Gated at Jones Station and whose pres
ent members are nearly all the des-
cendants Of the early settlers of
this part OF the county.
John Whittinghill was a native OF
Rockbridge county, Va, ard his wife
native Of Chester District on the
Catawba river in South Carolina and
a schoolmate Of Gen Andrew jack
son at the Waxhaws. Her maiden
name was Cooper and she was a
sister of the late Joseph H. Cooper,
Sir, Of Breckenridge county.
In the year 1910 John Whittinghill
built corn mill on the creek near
his home and hauled the mill stones
from Mercer county. They are French
buhr stones and were no doubt
brought to Virginia during the ear
ly colony days and later to Fort Har-
rod, now Harrodsburg. These stones
are now lying in the mill pond near
the site of the old MILL They are