Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1919-07-04
LEBANON AND
RUSSELLCOUNTY
The County Seat Has One of the
Finest School Buildings in the
Southwest-Worst Road is
i'll Tazeweil County.
Continued from last week.

| '''hAN EpoSll' uDOul tnlS tfln
may not be out of place,
| Lebanon has two hotels. n stron,r
bank, II number of nice stores and
one of the best school buildings in the
| state. Recently new building. cost
lng $4,000, has bccn added. Prof.
Owen, of Richmond. is the PRINCIPAL.
The country around is rich in iin,.
bluegrass farms. Nearly all the lead
! ing citizens of the town own farms
III the country. Lebanon is about &
miles from railway connection nt
Cleveland. Autos meet tho trains
daily and transport passengers TO
and FRO acrosS the mountain Abinr-
don % miles south, is connected by
auto lines, over soEc of the mcancst
roads on earth. it is said.
Speaking of roads. Most of the
road from Ta2cwcll to Lebanon. n
distance of about 40 miles, is in good
shape and g delight to tho autoist.
but-nnd here is ''the fly in the oint-
ment." The west end of the Tazcwell
road has not been built, and from
midway to the Russell line is indcs-
cribably bad, even i'm good. dry
weather, but when mud and rain il
encountered, as on this Occasion.
much OF the pleasure of the trip is
lost. Just when this disgrace will be
wiped off the slate 10 one seems to
know. The people who travel these
bitches and gullicS called ronds once
never want to do so again. AZ both the
West and East ends of Taycwcll's
throughfare, there is about tho same
distance of miserable bad road. Rus
sell county has new roads from the
Tnzewcll county line, clear through
To the Washington county line. thtw
told me, and Tazcwclls gulf of awful
road between the two county lines is
the buE-bcar, the dread of travellers.
Some day, perhaps, there will he more
work and less talk, aud the roaI will
he liked. w" got ON pretty well.
nevertheless. Robert Lewis, son of
Geo. w. Lewis, was at the wheel, and
no knows how, and is careful, and we
soon badc farewell To the bad gulf
and opened the throttle a notch or
two, and sped away over Russclls
good roads, past big bluegrass farms
and nice country homes Almost 90
years had elapsed since had PASSED
over this road, and the houses and
farms were all new to me, rnd gloomy
though tho weather was, they ali
looked good to me, and said, "surely
this is the Lords country"
Belfast Mills and Elk Garden.
Belfast Mills is II clean, nice lit
tie village. | counted about a half
dozen well painted houses, The
"Crcaking Old MILL" from which the
village and post office takes il name.
! suppose, this side of the town, and
was "Still Maggie" on this day. A
nice, neat church is on the loft of the
road, ON an elevated plot of ground.
II looked good. People believe in re-
ligious worship there. Further down
we passed "Smithfield," the home of
Mrs. Watts and her fine boys, Tom
and John Henry. As ! passed re-
called the bright promising young
lawyer tho eldest son | believe, who
died in this town some years ago,
in the prime and strength of his
| young manhood
"Smithfield" is the name, not of n
village, but of the splendid farm. Tho
names is on an arch over the gate
entrance to the home. | have suE-
gosted and urged heretofore, that
all farms should be named, and the
name put on the gate or other pro-
minent place to be seen by travellers,
and also printed on the farmers sta
tioncry Every man should have his
w, L
wonder who lives here" is what pass
ers by-strangers, want to know. IT.
adds to the pleasure of travel. Near
Mrs. Watts homo is n large brick
church on the left, and on the right
II magnificent new school building,
of brick, just about finished, / sup
pose. 1t is the most elaborate and
costly building have seen i'm the
country. IL speaks well for the com
munity.
a little further down the road is |
old Bethel Baptist Church. There, in
other days long ago, Elizer Kiser,
father of N. W., at North Tazewcll,
Asa Ruth, Buckles and other old Bap-
tist preachers Numbered out long and
loud the gospel rs they believed it.
They have passed on, along with the
old Methodist ministers, their con-
temporaries, and given place to
younger men Of college and seminary
training, and more polished in man
ners, but many of the older people
think, weaker in the proclamation of
the fundamentals of the gospel
Russell has been, and is still, al
strong hold of tho Methodist and Bap-
tist denominations. Presbyterians and
Episcopalians do not seem to have
taken deep root in Russell.
Further down we ran into the
Stuart estate. Everybody knows
about this, the largest bluegrass
ranch in the world. Mind you, / said
bluegrass" ranch. 1t is said that the
Governor is the largest cattle deal
er east Of the Mississippi River.
asked, chow much land does he own 2"
The reply in every case was, 81 don't
know. Henry doesn't know himself"
Everybody calls him "Henry" cx-
cept a few people who have changed
after he was made Governor. Rus
sell is justly proud of their dis
tinguished, democratic, farmer citi-
zen. No one begrudgcs him his broad
acres and great wealth, for no is
generous, and "as plain as an old
shoe" they say. The Governors pa
latial residence and home is over on
the other road, in Elk Garden proper,
| believe, and we didn't see it.
We passed the home of Mr.. Dale
Stuart. brother, and magnificent
| nome IT and cnlftnl;I f,r,o .,