On To Bedford

Well, as all of you know I have been following the walk of a friend of mine, Scott Teague, who is on a mission to walk from my home town of Mountain City TN to Washington D C .

On day 5 of his walk Scott has completed one third of the way. He spent the night in Roanoke VA and will continue his walk today to Bedford VA. His spirits are still great and he is receiving an outpouring of support from people he meets along the way to people from our hometown who support him. Some are driving from Mountain City to walk along with him. This has got to be one great experience!!

Just in case you are reading this Scott I support your efforts and the way you are standing up for your beliefs. I am also proud to say I come from Johnson County and Mountain City, Tennessee.

And now for my dear readers a little history about our beloved Johnson County, TN.

Johnson County was originally Cherokee Territory. Daniel Boone forged trails through Johnson County on his way to "Kaintuck". The father of Thomas Jefferson stood on one of the mountaintops and said " This is as far in the wilderness as any white man will ever go".

Later it became known as North Carolina. In 1784 some settlers declared freedom from North Carolina and formed their own state, The State of Franklin. This state only lasted for four years and it went back to a part of North Carolina. In 1794 Tennessee became the 16th state admitted to the Union and it became a part of Washington County in the new state of Tennessee. In 1796 it became a part of Carter County and remained that way until a county seat was named at Elizabethton. My ancestors were among the first settlers in Johnson County.

Because it was some thirty to forty miles away and the Doe River had to be forded at least eight times and because they thought a citizen should be able to go to the county seat and be home by dark it was decided that a new county of Johnson should be formed. This was 1836 when Johnson County was formed from part of Carter County. The county seat was to be called Taylorsville in honor of Colonel Taylor. It was later renamed Mountain City.

Johnson County lies in the extreme northeastern part of the state and Mountain City is located approximately 10 miles from the Virginia state line and approximately 10 miles from the North Carolina State line. The Appalachian Trail runs through a portion of Johnson County bringing thousand of hikers across the Iron Mountain each year. I was born at the foot of Iron Mountain. Watauga Lake formed by the TVA in the late forties is a popular recreation place.
The population at last census was around 18,000 in Johnson County and about 2500 in the town of Mountain City. And that is your history lesson for today.

Good luck Scott on your way to Bedford, Va today Thoughts and prayers are with you every step of the way.

For more information or if you are interested in following his daily walk to the steps of the U. S. Capitol you can find it at http://www.tencommandmentswalk.com/.

That's it For Today!!