Good Monday morning! Welcome to a brand new week. This is The Daybreaker, the first of several newsletters that will be published this week by the Independent Herald. The Daybreaker (Monday morning) and The Weekender (Thursday evening) are our two news-first newsletters. We publish several other newsletters throughout the week, as well as our regular E-Edition on Thursday and our Varsity E-Edition on Sunday (during sports season). If you’d like to adjust your subscription to include (or exclude) this or any of our other newsletters, please do so here. If you need to subscribe, it’s as simple as entering your email address:

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Record-low streamflows as drought worsens

After some modest relief near the end of April, dry conditions have again gripped the northern Cumberland Plateau region, and local rivers have once again dipped to record low streamflows for this time of year as the risk of an abnormally hot summer begins to increase.

The Big South Fork River was flowing at about 220 cubic feet per second (cfs) late Sunday, shattering the existing record for the date, which was set in 1986. The streamflow at Leatherwood Ford west of Oneida is usually over 1,000 cfs in early May, and the river typically doesn’t dip to its current level until mid-to-late summer. Further upstream, where U.S. Geological Survey records from its Burnt Mill gauge date back further, Clear Fork wasn’t quite at a record low Sunday, but it was at levels not seen in early May since the mid 1930s. There, the streamflow had dropped to 60 cfs.

Although rain was expected Sunday night and early Monday, only slight increases in streamflows were expected, and the upcoming week looks mostly dry, with summer-like heat expected by the weekend. The National Weather Service is currently calling for temperatures in the 80s by Saturday, perhaps rising to near 90° by Sunday.

The local area has had six consecutive months of below-average rainfall, and appears to be on its way to seven consecutive months if trends don’t change over the next couple of weeks. Since January 1, the National Weather Service has recorded just 14.3 inches of rain in Oneida. That doesn’t quite beat 1986 for the driest start to a year on record in Scott County, but it’s well below the norm of 22.7 inches of rain that has fallen by this point in an average year.

As a result, the entire region is in a moderate-to-severe drought, as classified by the U.S. Drought Monitor. Scott County is rated as “severe drought,” with “extreme drought” pushing up the southern Cumberland Plateau into parts of Cumberland and Morgan counties.

With soil moisture low, chances are increasing for a hotter-than-average summer. The upcoming weekend may be a taste of that, and the Climate Prediction Center is forecasting a “slight risk” of hazardous temperatures for the region next week. The CPC is also forecasting hotter-than-average conditions throughout the remainder of May and into June. Some long-term forecasters have drawn parallels to 2012, which saw record-setting heat in Scott County in late June and early July. The temperature in Oneida hit 103° on July 1, 2012, and again on July 2, 2012 — the hottest temperatures on record in Scott County, and two of just six days that temperatures of 100° or greater have been recorded here dating back to the 1950s. June 2012 was extremely dry, with less than half an inch of rain.

As summer progresses, long-range forecasts are calling for a record-setting El Niño to develop in the Pacific. It’s unclear how that will impact the weather in this part of the country.

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Scott County returns to a single congressional district

NASHVILLE | Scott County will return to a single congressional district, losing the representation of U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, R-Chattanooga, in the process.

Fleischmann, who represents Tennessee’s 3rd Congressional District, has been Scott County’s voice in Washington since 2012, when the redistricting process that followed the 2010 census shifted Scott County from the 4th District represented by Scott DesJarlais to the 3rd District.

However, the 2022 redistricting process split Scott County between the 3rd District and the 6th District, as Tennessee Republicans radically shifted district boundaries to eliminate the Nashville congressional seat that had long been held by Democrats. That shifted the northern half of Scott County into the district represented by John Rose, R-Cookeville.

The state legislature met in special session last week at the behest of President Donald Trump to again redraw the congressional district boundaries, in the process eliminating the Memphis congressional seat that is the last in the state to be held by a Democrat. The new map splits Memphis into three congressional districts, making it likely that a Republican wins the seat currently held by Steve Cohen, D-Memphis.

The move comes amid a redistricting arms race that has consumed the nation’s political conscience so far in 2026. Texas Republicans jump-started the unusual mid-cycle redistricting by redrawing its congressional boundaries to potentially give the GOP five more seats in the Lonestar State. That prompted California to retaliate with Proposition 50, which was approved by voters to potentially net Democrats five more seats in the Golden State. Virginia followed suit, with voters narrowly approving a measure last month that could potentially net Democrats four more seats there.

In response to Virginia’s vote, Florida has redrawn its map to potentially give Republicans four more seats in the Sunshine State, and several other Republican-controlled Southern states have called special legislative sessions to consider new maps of their own. In the midst of it all, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on April 29 that a provision of the 1960s-era Voting Rights Act requiring districts to be drawn to give minority voters a chance to elect representatives of their choosing is unconstitutional. Then, the Virginia Supreme Court last week struck down the recent redistricting election there, which seems likely to touch off even more state-by-state battles across the country.

In Tennessee, the redistricting war is over — barring a court’s action to declare the new boundaries unlawful, which more than one lawsuit has already been filed to do. The entirety of Scott County will be represented by Rose, although Campbell County will remain split between two congressional districts. The southern half of Campbell County will shift to District 6 with Scott County, as will Morgan County.

Rose is not seeking re-election this fall, choosing instead to run for governor. He is currently mounting a long-shot bid against U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn for the Republican nomination. Leading candidates to replace him include former U.S. Rep. Van Hilleary, who serves as Rose’s chief of staff, and state Rep. Johnny Garrett.

The Growth Chart

On Mondays, we present The Growth Chart, a look at recent and ongoing growth throughout Scott County. Already-completed projects will shift to the bottom of this list, before eventually falling off the list.

Hammer’s: A poorly-kept secret was made official last week, when Hammer’s — best-known locally for its store in Clinton, though it also has a store in Wartburg and in several other locations throughout the region — announced that it will soon be opening a new store in Huntsville. It will be located in the former Napa Auto Parts building, which is owned by Oneida-based Brewco and is currently being remodeled. Hammer’s is not new to Oneida; the company has a warehouse in the Tibbals Industrial Park in Oneida.

Parkside Villas: Stanley Building General Contractors has begun construction on a new condominium unit near Oneida City Park. Parkside Villas will be located next-door to the Scott County Ambulance Service headquarters off Paint Rock Road and Buffalo Road, and will consist of four units with two-bedrooms and two baths that will be offered for sale once completed. There will be a monthly HOA. Amy Martin, Oneida realtor and Stanley Building representative, called it “a new style of housing here in the county. Home ownership and someone else does the maintenance.”

O&W Road: The O&W Road into the Big South Fork National River & Recreation Area is slated to re-open before the end of this month, following completion of a bridge over Pine Creek near the intersection with Toomey Road just outside the national park.

Niggs Creek Road: Construction of a new railroad overpass at High Point has begun, with the demolition of the existing bridge — which has been condemned by TDOT — beginning in late April and nearing completion.

Alberta Street resurfacing: The resurfacing of Alberta Street through Oneida is currently underway. Rogers Group is laying down new asphalt along a stretch of highway from near the Boys & Girls Club on the south end to near Bear Creek Road on the north end.

Long John Silver’s: A Long John Silver’s fast food seafood restaurant is being constructed at Oneida Plaza, on the south side of McDonald’s. The targeted opening date is August 2026.

Zaxby’s: Zaxby’s, the fast food chicken restaurant chain, has purchased 1.3 acres of property on Alberta Street, just north of the Oneida Municipal Services Building, and continues to prepare it for the start of construction.

Dairy Queen: Nick Patel, who owns several other businesses in Scott County, is planning to purchase a DQ franchise that will be located in Oneida. Patel told the Independent Herald in March that the property for the new store has not yet been finalized.

Swan Hollow Brew Project: Oneida will soon have its second brewery. The father-and-son team of Jeff and Chris Swanson are planning Swan Hallow at 281 Underpass Drive in Oneida (former site of the Coffey Medical Center), according to the Scott County Chamber of Commerce. It will offer craft beer brewed on site, as well as food and entertainment. It will be Oneida’s second brewery. Big South Fork Brewing opened in the former First Trust & Savings Bank building on South Main Street earlier this year.

Dollar General: Following a failed attempt to place a store near the intersection of Coopertown Road and Cooper Lake Road in Oneida, Dollar General is in the process of constructing a store at the intersection of Coopertown Road and Smith Road in the Coopertown community, across from New Haven Baptist Church. The building began going up last week and is already under roof. The new DG will join other stores in Oneida, Huntsville, Robbins, and Winfield, and is likely not the last DG location in Scott County.

Polo’s Italian Restaurant: Polo’s Italian Restaurant & Pizza, which will be located in Oneida Plaza (up the sidewalk from Walmart), announced on April 3 that its new store will open soon. A grand opening has not yet been announced.

Package Stores: The Town of Oneida began accepting applications for certificates of compliance for liquor stores in May, following November 2024 referendums approved by voters of both the town and the county. Two package stores have since been permitted and are slated to open in the coming months. Lisa Meadows announced on Facebook on Dec. 2 that applications for employment are currently being accepted at one of those stores, which will be located in Oneida Plaza.

Huntsville Store: Huntsville, too, will soon have a package store. Signage for that store went up at the site of the old Hickory Mill on S.R. 63 last month. A convenience store and “fast food” are also planned for the location.

Veterans Memorial: Work continues on a grant-funding Revolutionary War veterans memorial at the John John Yancey Memorial Park in Huntsville, as part of America’s 250th celebration. The memorial is being constructed adjacent to the parking lot off Glass House Road and will honor the Revolutionary War militia fighters who later moved to present-day Scott County.

New Flea Market: The 63/27 Flea Market recently opened at the former mobile home retail lot on U.S. Highway 27 just south of the S.R. 63 intersection in Huntsville. Tina Reed — who most folks will recognize from Perdue’s Shell Kitchen in Huntsville — is the face behind the new flea market, which rents spaces for $25 per day.

TCAT: The Tennessee College of Applied Technology Oneida/Huntsville has opened both its new buildings on the Oneida campus, which represents a $17 million investment. The back building houses the college’s diesel and power line programs, while the front building houses industrial maintenance, building construction, and a new program that will launch soon: aviation maintenance. The existing buildings on the Oneida campus have been painted to match the new buildings. The only thing that remains incomplete is the final paving of the parking lots.

Casey’s: The Casey’s pizza and convenience store chain has opened a store on Alberta Street in Oneida, located “on the corner” at the site of the former 4WD Performance, which was the home of Marcum’s Parts before that.

Mountain People’s Health Councils: Mountain People’s recently debuted its new, state-of-the-art diagnostic imaging center at its Oneida campus, located on Industrial Lane.

University of Tennessee Medical Clinic: University of Tennessee Medical Center has opened a new medical facility next-door to the Scott County Food Court in south Oneida that is currently accepting patients for University Midwives and UT Rheumatology Associates. Scott County Mayor Jerried Jeffers said in January that cardiology and high-risk pregnancy will be added later.

More to Come: Something to add? Email newsroom@ihoneida.com.

Words of Wisdom

Each week, Preacher Johnny Polk and the Oneida Church of Christ present Words of Wisdom, short devotionals that are archived on our website. Here is the current Words of Wisdom. (Sponsored content.)

🌦️ Weather: Rain this morning will give way to clouds and then to sunshine, and we’ll top out around 70° with a light northeast breeze. Sunny days are likely the rest of the week, although there’s a slight chance of rain on Wednesday as a moisture-starved cold front swings through the region. Much warmer temperatures are on the way for the weekend. Check out our daily Eye to the Sky updates on our Facebook page — published each morning at 7 a.m. on the dot — or always available at indherald.com.

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📅 Community Calendar

Monday: The Scott Appalachian Industries Senior Center (Monticello Pike, Huntsville) offers a walking program, puzzles and games, and massage chairs every week day (Monday-Friday) from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Additionally, Golden Grooves Exercise will be offered today at 2 p.m.

Monday: Ridgeview Behavioral Health Services’ Mobile Health Clinic will be in the Walmart parking lot in Oneida from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., offering integrated primary care and behavioral health. No insurance is not a problem. Call (866) 599-0466 for more information.

Monday: The Scott County Senior Citizens Center (Main Street, Oneida) will serve lunch from 11:30 a.m. until 1 p.m. The cost is $7 for dine-in or carry-out. Phone: (423) 569-5972.

Monday: The Scott County Finance Committee will meet at the Scott County Mayor’s Office in Huntsville, beginning at 5 p.m.

Monday: The Winfield Board of Mayor & Aldermen will meet at the Winfield Municipal Building, beginning at 6 p.m.

Tuesday: The Scott County Senior Citizens Center (Main Street, Oneida) will host exercise from 10 a.m. until 11 a.m.

Tuesday: Pinnacle Resource Center’s food pantry (1513 Jeffers Road, Huntsville) will be open beginning at 10 a.m. There are no income guidelines; however, a photo ID and a piece of mail with a Scott County address are required.

Tuesday: Boy Scout Troop #333 will meet at the Oneida War Memorial Building on Alberta Street in Oneida beginning at 6 p.m.

Tuesday: Wall Builders will meet from 7 p.m. until 9 p.m. at Trinity Baptist Church (1611 Glass House Road, Helenwood) for those struggling with addiction or striving to keep off drugs. There will be preaching, teaching, food, fellowship and personal counseling.

Tuesday: Alcoholics Anonymous will meet at 7 p.m. at the Highway 27 Unity Club (17737 S. Alberta Street, Oneida).

Wednesday: The Scott County Senior Citizens Center (Main Street, Oneida) will serve lunch from 11:30 a.m. until 1 p.m. The cost is $7 for dine-in or carry-out.

Wednesday: The Scott Appalachian Industries Senior Center in Huntsville will host Senior Meal Connect.

Wednesday: Alcoholics Anonymous will meet at 12 p.m. at the Highway 27 Unity Club (17737 S. Alberta Street, Oneida).

Thursday: The Gerry McDonald Mission House, located on Church Avenue, directly behind First United Methodist Church, is open from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. You are eligible to receive food once per month. 569-8828.

Thursday: The Scott County Senior Citizens Center (Main Street, Oneida) will host exercise from 10 a.m. until 11 a.m.

Thursday: The Town of Oneida Board of Mayor & Aldermen will meet at the Oneida Municipal Services Building, beginning at 6 p.m.

Thursday: The Town of Huntsville Board of Mayor & Aldermen will meet at the Huntsville Municipal Building, beginning at 6 p.m.

The Community Calendar is presented weekly by Citizens Gas Utility District. Citizens Gas Utility District pipelines are generally safe. They can be damaged by things such as excavation, natural forces, and automobile accidents. These can potentially cause a leak.Visit citizensgastn.com.

Thank you for reading. Our next newsletter will be Echoes From the Past tomorrow. If you’d like to update your subscription to add or subtract any of our newsletters, do so here. If you haven’t yet subscribed, it’s as simple as adding your email address!

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• Monday morning: The Daybreaker (news & the week ahead)
• Tuesday: Echoes from the Past (stories of our history)
• Wednesday: Threads of Life (obituaries)
• Thursday evening: The Weekender (news & the weekend)
• Friday: Friday Features (beyond the news)
• Sunday: Varsity (a weekly sports recap)

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You’re reading Friday Features, a weekly newsletter containing the Independent Herald’s feature stories — that is, stories that aren’t necessarily straight news but that provide an insightful look at our community and its people. If you’d like to adjust your subscription to include (or exclude) any of our newsletters, do so here. If you haven’t subscribed, please consider doing so!

Today’s newsletter is sponsored by First National Bank. Since 1904, First National Bank has been a part of Scott County. First National is local people — just like you. Visit fnboneida.com or call (423) 569-8586.

The tragedy of the Jerome Boyatt saga

It started with a fistfight — a struggle over the sale of illicit liquor. It ended with five bodies, a shattered community, and a question that’s never been answered: Who really fired the first shot?

In the Spring of 1933, the rugged hills along the Scott-Pickett county line erupted in bloodshed that still haunts people who trace their lineage back to No Business Creek. By the time the smoke cleared, a father and son from one of Pickett County’s most respectable families lay dead. So did a moonshiner, his father, and a teenage boy caught in the crossfire.

The newspapers called it justice. The mountains called it murder.

What happened in that boxcar on Rock Creek has been told a hundred different ways, but none of them ended with a trial. There were no convictions, no apologies. Only the cold truth: five men went into the ground, and not a single man answered for it. Ninety-two years have passed and still the truth proves elusive. Most of those who knew what really happened are dead. The rest — their children, grandchildren, and neighbors — have only pieces of the story, handed down in hushes and warnings.

This is the story of one of the most brutal and infamous lynchings in Scott County history — and the violence that led to it.

***

Jerome Boyatt wasn’t born to be notorious. But by 22, he already had a reputation.

The second-oldest of seven children, he was raised on a hardscrabble farm near the headwaters of No Business Creek — a remote, cliff-lined gorge cut off from the outside world by bad roads and worse terrain. His father, Ransom Boyatt, worked the land with bare hands and grit. His mother, Poppie Litton Boyatt, came from a long line of Appalachian settlers who had buried more children than they’d raised.

The Boyatts lived by their own code. And in those hills, moonshine wasn’t a crime — it was currency.

Jerome knew how to fight. He knew how to run. And, as the law would learn, he knew how to shoot.

***

Sixty miles west, in the tidy town of Byrdstown, Sheriff George Winningham sat at the head of a very different family. At 62, he was a fixture in Pickett County — four times elected, respected by preachers and feared by bootleggers.

His son, Deputy Floyd Winningham, was following in his father’s footsteps: sharp-eyed, proud, and quick on the draw.

The Winninghams came from lawmen and Union scouts. George’s wife Martha was the daughter of Asa Smith, a Civil War veteran who survived a Confederate hit squad that murdered his father and brother. That kind of legacy doesn’t go away.

Neither does a vendetta.

***

It began at Rock Creek, a coal camp run by the Stearns Coal & Lumber Company. Jerome Boyatt had ridden the train there that morning with his deaf-mute brother, Eugene, and three friends: Walter and Charlie Crabtree, and Lige Terry. Word was he brought liquor with him.

Then he ran into his uncle — Albert Boyatt.

Nobody knows what sparked the fight. Maybe Albert was selling bootleg in Jerome’s territory. Or maybe it was the other way around. Either way, fists flew, and Albert came out the worse for wear.

The camp superintendent, fearing more violence, herded all five men into a boxcar and phoned the sheriff. But when he called, he didn’t report a fistfight.

He claimed there’d been a murder.

***

Maybe things would’ve been different if Sheriff Winningham had known the truth — that they were headed to Rock Creek to break up a fight between family members. Instead, he and his deputies thought they were going to a fight that had turned deadly. In any event, George left his dinner table and rode out with Deputy Floyd and another officer, Bram Garrett. What happened next is where the story splits.

The official story — what made the front page of The Tennessean — claimed that when the sheriff opened the boxcar door and opened the men out, Jerome raised a .45 and fired.

But the men inside — and witnesses outside — told it differently.

They said Floyd Winningham fired first. Maybe a warning shot into the air. Maybe into the car itself. Maybe he was drunk.

What’s certain is that Eugene, unable to hear and panicked, screamed and fell back. Believing his brother had been shot, Jerome drew his pistol and fired.

Floyd took two rounds to the face. Dead before he hit the ground. Sheriff Winningham fired back and was hit twice in the gut.

As the old lawman collapsed, Jerome fled into the woods. The others were arrested on the spot.

The sheriff died the next night. The Winninghams were gone. Well, most of them. One very determined member of the family remained. And that’s where things started to get really ugly.

***

What followed was less investigation than crusade.

A reward fund was established. A posse of more than one hundred men — led by George Winningham’s surviving son, Sheriff Willie Winningham of Kentucky — descended on No Business like an occupying army.

And they weren’t looking to arrest Jerome. They were looking to bury him.

They tore through the creek, rounding up everyone named Boyatt. Ranse and Poppie were taken. So were their four daughters — Lola, Violet, Bonnie and little Dulcie, just eight years old. Even today, those descended from families that were close to the Boyatts grit their teeth in anger over the way it all played out.

But Jerome? He vanished.

He knew the cliffs, the caves, the game trails. He found refuge with people like Will and Maude Burke, with people like Dewey Burke, with anyone who knew what happened in that boxcar and believed a man had a right to defend his kin.

He never fired another shot.

But blood was still coming.

***

After several weeks, Ranse Boyatt was released from jail. The newspapers said he’d agreed to talk Jerome into surrendering.

Instead, he was found dead.

Concerned neighbors entered the Boyatt home to find Ranse’s body lying on a bed, badly decomposed. Some said he’d been hanged in the barn and then laid in the bed to rot. Others were less sure. An autopsy was inconclusive. And, for the record, the door was locked from the inside.

There was no investigation. Just another dead Boyatt.

And still, no Jerome.

***

Poppie Boyatt begged neighbors hot to tell Jerome what had happened to his father. She knew what he’d do. And what would happen to him. But someone figured he needed to know the truth. And what happened next was exactly what Poppie had feared.

Fearful for his mother and his sisters, Jerome met a Scott County lawman near the Black Oak community west of Oneida. He was taken to the Scott County Jail in Huntsville.

He wouldn’t last a week.

***

The mob came with masks.

Twenty-five men stormed the jail, beat the jailer, and dragged two prisoners from their cells: Jerome Boyatt and 19-year-old Harvey Winchester — a kid awaiting trial for a separate killing.

They were taken into the woods outside Helenwood.

Harvey was found first. Rope around his neck. Bullet in his chest.

Jerome’s body was found hundreds of yards away. Naked. Shot twice in the back. Once in the head.

Executed.

Those who saw the scene said both men had been tortured. It appeared that Jerome had been turned loose to be gunned like a rabbit.

But who pulled the trigger?

Suspicion fell on Sheriff Willie Winningham. He was never formally charged. But the next day, one of his deputies died from a gunshot wound. The official story — the one Willie told — was that his deputy dropped the gun and it went off. But the bullet didn’t match the dead lawman’s weapon.

Did Jerome or Harvey somehow get ahold of a gun during the melee in Helenwood? Did the Kentucky lawman wind up in a crossfire as bullets were rained down on Jerome?

No one knew for sure. Chances are, no one ever will.

***

Six days after the lynching, the men from the boxcar — Eugene Boyatt and the others — were released. A Pickett County grand jury found no cause for further prosecution.

Martha Winningham was named sheriff of Pickett County, replacing her husband.

Sheriff Willie Winningham died the following month in a shootout across the state line in Kentucky.

Jerome Boyatt was buried at Foster Crossroads. His mother remarried and lived another forty-five years. His sisters scattered, some to Ohio.

Harvey Winchester was buried quietly in Pine Knot, Ky. His family, too, left behind a trail of silence.

***

It was a day that forever changed No Business. It was a day that forever changed Byrdstown. Five men died in the wake of a fistfight. Some called it justice. Others called it murder. They’re still disagreeing on it today, and who calls it what depends on whether you’re asking in Scott County or Pickett County.

But one overriding truth remains: Nobody ever answered for the deaths of Jerome and Ranse Boyatt.

And the law never came back to that gorge the same way again.

Thank you for reading. Our next newsletter will be The Daybreaker bright and early Monday morning. If you’d like to update your subscription to add or subtract any of our newsletters, do so here. If you haven’t yet subscribed, it’s as simple as adding your email address!

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• Monday morning: The Daybreaker (news & the week ahead)
• Tuesday: Echoes from the Past (stories of our history)
• Wednesday: Threads of Life (obituaries)
• Thursday evening: The Weekender (news & the weekend)
• Friday: Friday Features (beyond the news)
• Sunday: Varsity (a weekly sports recap)

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Cracks in the Rocks
Trailhead: Blue Heron Overlook
Trail Type: Out-and-back
Payoff: Views, rock formations
Difficulty: Moderate
Distance: 1.3 miles
Elevation Gain: 494 feet

The Spring Hiking Challenge has taken us to some pretty amazing places so far, each seemingly better than the one before: places like O&W Bridge, Yahoo Falls, Northrup Falls, and Buzzard Rock. Week #8’s destination will continue that trend. And, if we’re being completely honest, this week’s destination might be tough to beat.

We’re headed to Cracks in the Rocks this week. It is the pride and joy of the Kentucky side of the Big South Fork National River & Recreation Area, and the pride and joy of the Blue Heron Loop Trail. We aren’t hiking the entire loop; instead, we’re carving out an out-and-back adventure that takes us to the spectacular overlook and the split rock passageway below it.

For those of us on the Tennessee side of the national park, Cracks in the Rocks — and the Blue Heron area in general — are generally underrated, simply due to a lack of awareness. The infrastructure here (paved trail access, expansive parking, restrooms, and et cetera) far surpasses East Rim Overlook or anything else on the Tennessee side of the park, and while the views offered here may not be quite the best in the BSF (respectfully, Angel Falls holds that distinction), they certainly rank towards the top. Throw in Cracks in the Rock, which rivals Twin Arches and Needle’s Eye for the most outstanding geological formations in the BSF, and Blue Heron is a can’t-miss destination that everyone should experience … especially when the mountain laurel is in bloom, as it is now.

Step-for-step, there’s no question that this week’s hike is the most difficult one thus far. However, we’ve intentionally shortened it so that it will still be kid-friendly and a hike the entire family can enjoy. At 1.3 miles, it’s one of the shortest hikes of the challenge so far.

The challenge apologizes for back-to-back trips to the Kentucky side of the park, but we wanted to catch the mountain laurel while it’s still in bloom, because it grows in abundance along the route to Cracks in the Rocks. While we’re headed to the north end of the BSF, we aren’t headed as far north as Buzzard Rock or even Yahoo Falls.

So, for the third and final time of the Spring Hiking Challenge, let’s head north across the state line!

To get to the trailhead, head north on U.S. Highway 27 into Kentucky. (If you want to take the scenic route, turn onto Kingtown Road in Winfield and go that way, which adds about 10 minutes to the trip.) At Stearns, turn left onto Ky. Hwy. 92 (towards McCreary Central High School), and take it 1.3 miles to Revelo. There, veer left onto Ky. Hwy. 1651, and after half a mile take a right onto Ky. Highway 741. After seven-tenths of a mile, turn right again onto Mine 18 Road, and follow it 5.9 miles to Gorge Overlook Road, which will be on the left after entering the Big South Fork National River & Recreation Area (if not using a GPS or maps app, watch for the sign). Continue to the end of the road, which ends in a loop at a large parking area.

There are actually two overlooks here: Devils Jump Overlook and Blue Heron Overlook. Devils Jump is definitely the most spectacular of the two, and you owe it to yourself to check it out while you’re here (more on that in a bit). For the purposes of this hike, though, we’re going to start at the end of the road and visit only Blue Heron Overlook.

Mile 0.0: From the parking lot, the trail is a wide, paved, handicap-accessible pathway all the way to the overlook. It ventures through a lush, mixed-hardwood forest that features oak, hickory and maple, with a sparse scattering of hemlock and an understory of mountain laurel and various other shrubs.

Mile 0.12: Check out the large oak tree on the right side of the trail. By Big South Fork standards, this tree is pretty massive. Most of the older oak and other hardwoods were cut by timber-cutters in the early and mid 20th century, before the land was acquired by the federal government. This land was once owned by the Stearns Coal & Lumber Company, which did the bulk of the timber-cutting.

Mile 0.20: The trail splits, with the dirt right fork leading to Blue Heron Loop, and the paved main trail continuing to the overlook. We’re going to stay left and visit the overlook. The forest type changes dramatically here, as it nears the rim of the gorge and the mature hardwoods give way to scrubby trees and shrubs that define the sandy, shallow, and well-drained soils near the edge of the gorge.

Mile 0.25: The trail reaches the overlook, which offers an expansive view of the Big South Fork River. To the left, you can see a reclaimed strip mine near the river’s edge. Also to the left, you can see the viewing platform at Devils Jump Overlook. The platform here is massive, and it’s the only place in the BSF where there’s a roofed vantage point that allows you to admire the views from an overlook on a rainy day and stay dry, if you so desire.

From the overlook, we backtrack to the fork in the trail.

Mile 0.34: Take the left fork at the split, leaving the pavement and turning onto the narrow, dirt trail that leads to Blue Heron Loop. The trail will lead slightly downhill as it makes its way from the tabletop plateau lands to the bottom of the cap rock that lines the rim of the gorge.

Mile 0.40: The trail gets a little steeper as the real descent starts.

Mile 0.45: If you’re fortunate enough to hike this trail on schedule, while the mountain laurel is still blooming (we’re nearing the end of the blooming season), check out the stunning pink laurel to your left. Most of the mountain laurel in the BSF has white flowers that are outlined in pink. Occasionally, though, you’ll come across the more colorful varieties, like this one.

Mile 0.46: The trail intersects with the actual Blue Heron Loop Trail. Turn right.

Mile 0.53: The trail descends a steep set of steps to reach the bottom of the bluff line.

Mile 0.59: There’s an unsigned fork in the trail. The right fork dead-ends at a rock shelter. Stay left to continue to the destination.

Mile 0.63: Check out the towering rock wall along the left side of the trail. It is a fissure through this same rock wall that offers the passageway known as Cracks in the Rocks.

Mile 0.66: Arrive at Cracks in the Rocks. This series of “cracks,” or fissures, through the massive rock lining the gorge rim has been created by time and erosion. The trail enters and exits the passageway via two sets of steps. This is one of the most stunning geological formations in the Big South Fork, competing with points of interest like Twin Arches, Needle’s Eye, and Devils Cave for that unique honor. After exploring the natural passageway through the rock, we’ll retrace our steps to the trailhead.

Scavenger Hunt: There is a main way in and a main way out of Cracks in the Rocks. But if you stoop low enough, you’ll find a “secret” exit near the base of the stairs. Take a picture of this hidden passageway and post it on social media with the hashtag #SpringHikingChallenge to enter our random drawing for a Texas Roadhouse gift card.

Historical Context: Blue Heron was an isolated mining camp on the Big South Fork River that was operated by the Stearns Coal & Lumber Company from 1937 to 1962. It was the site of the company’s Mine #18, and it was served by the Kentucky & Tennessee Railroad, which still offers excursion trips to the historic mining community today. As a company town, Blue Heron was complete with workers’ houses, a store, and related infrastructure. There was also a coal tipple, where coal was loaded onto railroad cars. After the mine closed in 1962, the buildings all decayed or were removed. In the 1980s, the National Park Service rebuilt many of the structures as open-air steel skeletons or “ghost structures” to show the original size and locations of homes, the church, and the school. The coal tipple was also restored. Today, Blue Heron tells the stories of the life that once happened in this isolated, yet vibrant community.

Make It Better: We’re starting this week’s hike from the Blue Heron Overlook Trailhead to shave off some distance, but there are several ways to make this trip better. A.) Begin your hike at the first parking lot on the left after turning from Mine 18 Road onto Gorge Overlook Road, which is the trailhead for Devils Jump Overlook. From there, you can hike to Blue Heron Overlook and Cracks in the Rocks. It’s a 1.8-mile out-and-back hike (not including the climb from the loop trail up to Blue Heron Overlook) and includes a visit to Devils Jump Overlook. B.) Begin your hike at either starting point and finish the entire Blue Heron Loop. From Cracks in the Rock, simply continue along the trail rather than retracing your steps back to the trailhead. You’ll go to the historic Blue Heron mining community, follow the river for a short distance, then climb back to the top. It’s a 7-mile hike featuring about 980 feet of elevation gain. C.) If you don’t want to add any mileage to your hike, finish your trip to Blue Heron by driving back to the Devils Jump Overlook parking lot and visiting the overlook, which is just a short walk from the trailhead, and/or take Mine 18 Road on to the Blue Heron mining community and explore it while staying within sight of your vehicle.

Be Careful For: There are steep steps on this hike. Use caution with pets and small children. Use extra caution if the stamps are damp or wet, as they can become slick.

Please Remember: Hikers are encouraged to obey the “Leave No Trace” ethic. “Leave only footprints, take only memories.” Please do not litter! Also, remember that while all trails in the Big South Fork are dog-friendly, all dogs must be leashed and kept within six feet.

Document Your Hike: Record your participation on this week’s hike by taking a photo of you and your group and tagging it with the #SpringHikingChallenge hashtag on social media (make sure the post privacy is set to public!) or emailing newsroom@ihoneida.com.

Hike #1: Sunset Overlook
Hike #2: Angel Falls Rapid
Hike #3: Yahoo Falls
Hike #4: O&W Bridge
Hike #5: Northrup Falls
Hike #6: Burnt Mill
Hike #7: Buzzard Rock

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NASHVILLE | If a proposed redistricting map becomes law in Tennessee — and it is expected to — Scott County will be returned to a single congressional district.

Republicans in the Tennessee General Assembly on Tuesday unveiled their proposed redistricting map, which is being considered during a special session in Nashville this week. Gov. Bill Lee called the legislature into special session at the behest of President Donald Trump to consider a new congressional map. The end goal is to eliminate the 9th District, which consists of the city of Memphis and is currently held by Rep. Steve Cohen, a Democrat.

The redistricting is based on a recent Supreme Court ruling that majority-minority congressional districts constitute racial gerrymandering in some instances. While the ruling involved the State of Louisiana, it has opened the door for redistricting efforts in other Republican-led states. The effort is part of a broader response to the Virginia legislature — which is led by Democrats — to redraw congressional districts to eliminate Republican-held seats there, which, in turn, was a response to a similar move by the Republican-led Texas legislature.

Tennessee has nine congressional seats, which is based on the state’s population size. Federal law requires that congressional districts be drawn so that each of the nine districts contains the same number of residents. Traditionally, redistricting occurs after the federal census every 10 years.

As recently as 2008, Democrats held a majority of the congressional seats in Tennessee — five of nine. However, the “red wave” election of 2010 resulted in Republicans ousting the incumbents in three of those districts, leaving Democrat representatives in just two districts: Nashville and Memphis. Following the 2020 census, the legislature redrew the Nashville district, eliminating one of those Democrat-held seats.

As result of that redistricting prior to the 2022 election, Scott County was split into two congressional districts for the first time ever. The southern part of the county, roughly south of S.R. 63, continued to be represented by Chuck Fleischmann, R-Chattanooga, as part of the 3rd Congressional District, while the northern part of the county, roughly north of S.R. 63, was switched to the 6th Congressional District, represented by John Rose, R-Cookeville.

The 6th District also includes part of Nashville, which was divided into several different congressional districts as a result of that redistricting effort.

The new map that has been proposed in Tennessee would divide the city of Memphis into three different congressional districts. The 9th District is currently held by Steve Cohen, a Democrat who has been in office since replacing Harold Ford Jr. in the 2006 election, and who last won re-election in 2024 by better than 20 percentage points. He’s facing a primary challenge this year from state Rep. Justin Pearson.

Not only will the new map make it unlikely that a Democrat will continue to hold Cohen’s seat, based on current demographics, but it also reshapes the 5th District — currently held by embattled Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Culleoka — to ostensibly give him an easier route to re-election. He is the only member of Tennessee’s congressional delegation who had a relatively close race in his last election bid, winning by eight percentage points. The Democratic National Committee has identified the seat as a potential flip opportunity in the 2026 election.

Under the proposed new district boundaries, Campbell County would still be divided into two separate congressional districts. The southern half would shift to District 6 with Scott County, while the northern half would remain in District 2. Morgan County will shift from District 3 to District 6 with Scott County, as well.

Rose is not a candidate for re-election in 2026. He is instead seeking the Republican nomination for governor of Tennessee. Seeking the Republican nomination to replace him are former congressman Van Hilleary — who serves as Rose’s chief of staff — and state Rep. Johnny Garrett.

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You’re reading Threads of Life, a weekly obituaries newsletter that remembers and honors our friends and family members who made an impact on Scott County through the ways they lived their lives. Threads of Life is delivered to you courtesy of Jones & Son and West-Murley Funeral Homes. (Want to adjust your subscription settings? Click here.)

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Jo Ann Boyatt, 77

April 24, 1949 – May 2, 2026

Jo Ann Phillips Boyatt departed this life on Saturday, May 2, 2026. She was 77.

LIFE

Born April 24, 1949, Jo Ann was the daughter of the late Riley Phillips and Flora Marie Acres Phillips. She peacefully transitioned into eternal life with the Lord. She will be fondly remembered for her vibrant and radiant spirit, her unwavering faith, and her kindness.

PRECEDED

In addition to her parents:

• Daughter: Bobbi Jo Bond Copeland.

• Siblings: Elbert Lee Phillips, Harold Loyd “Teeman” Phillips, Herber Riley Phillips, Otho Phillips, James Kelsie Phillips, Judy Novella Phillips Kidd, Mildred Drucilla Phillips Neal Roysden, and Sheila Kay Phillips Sexton.

• Brothers-in-law: Doyal Kidd, Roy Neal, and Milford Roysden.

• Sisters-in-law: Katherine Phillips, Ruth Ann Phillips, and Mildred Phillips.

SURVIVORS

• Grandson: Cody Bond and wife Katie.

• Great-grandchildren: Steven and Jesse Jeffers, Hayden Chambers, and Khloe Bond.

• Brother: Carmer D. Phillips and wife Sandra.

• Son-in-law: Christopher Wayne Copeland.

• Sister-in-law: Mary Phillips.

• Special nieces: Susie Blevins and husband Tommy, Jackie O’Neal and husband Kyle, Pam Burke and husband Crestin Jeremy Burke, and Missy Foster.

• Special friends: Mae Burchfield, Alene Strunk, and Craig Free.

SERVICES

• Visitation: Wednesday, May 6, 2026, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Four Oaks Funeral Home in Oneida.

• Funeral: To follow at 8 p.m. with Bro. Crestin Jeremy Burke and Bro. Ricky Phillips officiating.

• Burial: Thursday, May 7, 2026, at 12 p.m. in the Jeffers section of Scott Memorial Gardens.

Arrangements by Four Oaks Funeral Home.

Glenna Harrell, 94

Oneida
December 16, 1931 – April 29, 2026

Glenna Daugherty Harrell, of Oneida, passed away on Wednesday, April 29, 2026, at her home. She was 94.

LIFE

Born Dec. 16, 1931, in Oneida, Glenna was the daughter of the late James Estus and Lona Thomas Daugherty.

PRECEDED

• Daughter: Teresa Phillips.

• Son: Scott Spaulding.

• Husband: Wendell Harrell.

• Sister: Joyce Smith.

SURVIVORS

• Daughters: Jackie Wright and Vicky Foster.

• Brother: Glenn Daugherty.

• Sister-in-law: Judy Daugherty.

• Nieces: Tammy Watters and Sandy Pemberton.

• Grandchildren: Marcia Mulkey, Seth Foster, Jaimi Foster, Evan Foster, Andrew Spaulding, Megan Ice, Jacob Wright, and Justin Wright.

SERVICES

• Visitation: Saturday, May 9, 2026, from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. at West-Murley Funeral Home.

• Funeral: Memorial service to follow at 12 p.m. with Bro. Kevin Terry officiating.

Arrangements by West-Murley Funeral Home.

Steve Musselman, 72

January 4, 1954 – May 4, 2026

Steve H. Musselman departed this life on Monday, May 4, 2026. He was 72.

LIFE

Born Jan. 4, 1954, Steve was the son of the late Frank C. Musselman and Virginia Lay Musselman. One could often find Steve on the side of the road selling socks and construction safety items. He was known as the “Sock Man” for many years. He enjoyed fishing and walking 60 miles a week. He was a humble and faithful servant of Jesus, loved reading the Bible, and enjoyed preaching the Word of Jesus. Steve attended The Anointed Church of the Living God.

PRECEDED

In addition to his parents:

• Brother: Randy Musselman.

• Sisters: Joann Nuller and Rose Felts.

• Sisters-in-law: Marilyn Blackburn and Mary Margaret Blackburn.

• Brothers-in-law: William Blackburn and Robert Stover.

• Great-grandsons: Xuree and Xaidyn.

SURVIVORS

• Wife of 45 years: Rosaline Jean Musselman.

• Children: Sandra Wilson and husband Coy, Randy Tony and Jelisha, Daniel Musselman and wife Anneve, Steve Musselman and wife Crystal, Cathy Musselman, and Samuel Musselman.

• Sisters: Susan Pointer, Frankie Crooks, Doris Cathers, and Catheline.

• Grandchildren: Brandon, Cameron, Courtney, James, Jelisha, Jozlynn, Randi, Darrell, Johanna, Royce, Christian, and Cryus.

• Great-grandchildren: Leo, Luna, Joziah, Mateo, Amira, Ronan, Xavier, Xarayah, and Xylah.

SERVICES

• Visitation: Saturday, May 9, 2026, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at The Anointed Church of the Living God, 231 Letner Road, Helenwood.

• Funeral: To follow at 1 p.m. with Pastor Dean Spradlin officiating.

• Burial: To follow at Cooper Memorial Gardens in the West Oneida community.

Arrangements by Four Oaks Funeral Home.

Kenneth Sexton, 82

March 20, 1944 – May 2, 2026

Kenneth Sexton went to spend eternity with Jesus on Saturday, May 2, 2026. He was 82.

LIFE

Born March 20, 1944, in Robbins, Kenneth was the son of the late Willard and Sarah Harness Sexton. He was a member of West Oneida United Baptist Church and retired from the automotive industry, where he worked as a tug driver for Ford Motor Company for more than 25 years.

PRECEDED

In addition to his parents:

• Sons: Preston Eugene Sexton and Kenneth William Sexton.

• Brothers: Talmon Sexton and Hollis Sexton.

• Two infant sisters.

• Sister: Rosie Marlow.

SURVIVORS

• Daughters: Sue Jones and husband Vince, and Trina Foster and husband Scotty.

• Grandchildren: Nicholas, Tabitha, Caleb, Madison, Tyler, Abby, and Kaylee.

• Great-grandchildren: Coker, Noah, Brady, Lana, Madeline, Olivia, Emma, Hattie, and Mabel.

• Brother: Bobby Sexton.

• Sisters: Beulah Huffman and Cinda Jeffers.

SERVICES

• Visitation: Thursday, May 7, 2026, from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. at Four Oaks Funeral Home in Oneida.

• Funeral: To follow at 3 p.m. with Rev. Scotty Foster officiating.

• Burial: To follow at Black Creek Crossroads Cemetery in the West Robbins community.

Arrangements by Four Oaks Funeral Home.

Linda Sexton, 64

Oneida

April 1, 1962 – April 28, 2026

Linda Sue Sexton, of Oneida, passed away on Tuesday, April 28, 2026, at her home. She was 64.

LIFE

Born April 1, 1962, in Jellico, Linda was the daughter of the late Lindsey and Mary Sexton.

PRECEDED

In addition to her parents:

• Great-grandchildren: Stoney Allen and Seth Anthony.

• Special aunt: Mary Hunt.

• Aunt: Janet Williams.

SURVIVORS

• Daughters: Taetta Sexton, Lakeisha Sexton, and Ashley Slaven and husband Joey.

• Grandchildren: Naten, Kaden, and Ethan Spradlin, and Dakota and Lashey Overton.

• Great-grandchildren: Paisley, LaLeigh, Laken, and Journii Spradlin, and Lispen and Sadriah Overton.

• Special friend: Paula Gross.

• Sisters: Judy Mobley, Debbie Kemper, Ella Hummel, Patty Sexton and husband Jerry, Sandra Moffit and husband Rick, Latasha Lloyd, Bobbie Stoner, and Paula Boggs.

• Brother: Jeff Sexton.

• Special aunt: Deanna Garrett.

SERVICES

A graveside service will be held Friday, May 1, 2026, at 1 p.m. in Sexton Crowley Cemetery with Bro. Jody Harness officiating.

Arrangements by West-Murley Funeral Home.

Ruthie Walker, 66

Helenwood

August 10, 1959 – May 4, 2026

Ruthie Rachel Ellis Walker, of Helenwood, passed away peacefully on Monday, May 4, 2026, at her home. She was 66.

LIFE

Born Aug. 10, 1959, in Cincinnati, Ohio, Ruthie was the daughter of the late Hurstle and Mary Kathern “Kitty” Ellis Miller, and the late Richard “Dick” Miller. She was a Christian and happiest when she was outside tending to her flowers and yard work or spending time with her animals. Above all else, her heart belonged to her family. Her greatest pride and joy were her granddaughters, whom she loved beyond measure.

PRECEDED

In addition to her parents:

• Brothers: Warren Ellis, Paul Ellis, and Donnie Ellis.

• Brothers-in-law: Jerry Gibson and Robert Lowe.

• Sister-in-law: Felicia Walker.

SURVIVORS

• Husband of 48 years: Wade Walker.

• Children: Sherri Terry and husband Jason, and Clint Walker.

• Granddaughters: Gracie Lambert and husband Benji, and Annaleah Terry.

• Sister: Sharon Kinney.

• Brother: Ronnie Ellis and wife Tammy.

• Sister-in-law: Becky Ellis.

• Brothers-in-law: Joe Walker and wife Jill, and David Walker.

• Sisters-in-law: Ranae Gibson and Velma Lowe.

SERVICES

• Visitation: Wednesday, May 6, 2026, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at New River Missionary Baptist Church.

• Funeral: To follow at 6 p.m. with Bro. David Walker and Bro. Joe Walker officiating.

• Burial: Thursday, May 7, 2026, at 10 a.m. at Hazel Valley Memorial Cemetery in Oneida.

• In Lieu of Flowers: Donations may be made to the New River Missionary Baptist Church Missionary Fund, P.O. Box 912, Helenwood, TN 37756.

Arrangements by Jones & Son Funeral Home.

Grace Wallace, 73

Oneida

December 7, 1952 – April 30, 2026

Grace Lydia Wallace, of Oneida, passed away on Thursday, April 30, 2026, at her home. She was 73.

LIFE

Born Dec. 7, 1952, in Jellico, Tenn., Grace was the daughter of the late Betty Geneva Huddleston Wallace. She was of the Baptist faith.

PRECEDED

In addition to her mother: Brother, David Perry Wallace.

SURVIVORS

• Sons: Jamie Lee Wallace and William Clyde “Poppy” Wallace.

• Grandchildren: Haley Wallace, Britney Wallace, and Courtney Wallace.

• Great-grandchild: Luka Walters.

• Siblings: Barbara Ann Fletcher and husband Leldon, Regina Faye Osborne and husband David “Buck” Osborne, Earl “Anthony” Chadwell and partner Nathan Sullivan, and William John “Billy” Chadwell and wife Frances.

• Nieces: Tiffany Chadwell, Cassie Kilby, and Melissa Osborne.

SERVICES

• Visitation: Monday, May 4, 2026, from 10:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. at West-Murley Funeral Home.

• Funeral: To follow at 11 a.m. with Bro. Joe West officiating.

• Burial: To follow at Black Creek Cross Roads Cemetery in Robbins.

Arrangements by West-Murley Funeral Home.

Threads of Life is sponsored by Jones & Son Funeral Home and West-Murley Funeral Home: Proudly serving the families of Scott County with care, dignity and trust. Visit jandwfh.com.

Thank you for reading. Our next newsletter will be The Weekender tomorrow. If you’d like to update your subscription to add or subtract any of our newsletters, do so here. If you haven’t yet subscribed, it’s as simple as adding your email address!

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• Sunday: Varsity (a weekly sports recap)

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You’re reading “Echoes in Time,” a weekly newsletter by the Independent Herald that focuses on stories of years gone by in order to paint a portrait of Scott County and its people. “Echoes in Time” is one of six weekly newsletters published by the IH. You can adjust your subscription settings to include as many or as few of these newsletters as you want. If you aren’t a subscriber, please consider doing so. It’s free!

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Today’s newsletter is sponsored by the Scott County Chamber of Commerce. Since 1954, the Scott County Chamber of Commerce has advocated for a strong community by supporting stronger infrastructure and leadership.

The slow formation of Scott County, Tennessee

Scott County was created in 1849 from portions of Campbell, Anderson, Morgan, and Fentress counties. Prior to that, residents of areas like Oneida and Huntsville were part of Campbell County, Robbins and Glenmary were part of Morgan County, and Norma and Smokey Creek were part of Anderson County. But there was a time when there was no Morgan County, no Fentress County, no Campbell County, and — while it’s debatable whether any permanent settlers lived here at the time — even no Anderson County.

Here’s a look at how it all came about.

Prior to the signing of the Third Treaty of Tellico in 1805, the lands of the Cumberland Plateau belonged to the Cherokee. With the Third Treaty of Tellico, the Indians ceded ownership of the region to the U.S. government, and it was then that settlement in this area began in earnest. Were white people already living here, in Indian territory, prior to the treaty in 1805? Perhaps. It has been written that John Reed moved to New River in 1796, and there’s nothing to dispute that. The historian Esther Sharp Sanderson wrote that Mikel Low moved to Smokey Creek in 1776, but that’s almost certainly untrue (he was still living in his native Pennsylvania when he married his wife, Maria Elizabeth Bortner, in 1794).

If white people lived in the area that is now Scott County prior to 1805, settlement would have been very sparse, simply because it was not permitted by the U.S. government. In February 1804, Col. Return Jonathan Meigs — a Cherokee agent acting on behalf of the state — sent a letter to Archibald Angel and others telling them that they were “intruders on Indian Lands on the West Side of the Cumberland Mountain,” and giving them 30 days before being forcibly removed. Angel and his father-in-law — Dennis Trammell — probably hadn’t moved to the Gum Fork area east of modern-day Winfield by that time; it’s more likely that they still lived in southeastern Kentucky, where they last appeared on a tax list in 1807. Nevertheless, Col. Meigs’ letter indicates that the U.S. government was not prepared to let wholesale settlement occur on the Cumberland Plateau prior to the signing of the Third Treaty of Tellico.

In 1763, prior to the United States’ existence, when the American colonies were still part of Great Britain, King George III issued a decree declaring all lands west of the Appalachian Divide off-limits to colonial settlers. However, that didn’t mean that white folks didn’t wander here. Daniel Boone first ventured through the Cumberland Gap in 1767, and in 1772, a group of longhunters established a base camp where Charit Creek Lodge is now located in the Big South Fork National River & Recreation Area — which is now Station Camp Creek got its name. In general, the civilization pattern in this area was extended visits by longhunters in the 1760s and 1770s, before they returned to the colonies to fight in the Revolutionary War. After the war, they returned to the frontierlands west of the Appalachian Divide — this time to stay.

In 1776, the same year the Declaration of Independence was signed, the Washington District of North Carolina was created. It included all the area of present-day Tennessee. It was referred to as “Washington County” beginning in 1777. Two years later, in 1779, Virginia sent Dr. Thomas Walker and his team of surveyors to mark the latitude line of 36 degrees and 30 minutes north, which was supposed to serve as the dividing line between western North Carolina and western Virginia, west of the Appalachian Divide — areas that would eventually become Tennessee and Kentucky. When the Walker team reached the Cumberland Plateau, the terrain was so rough that they took an easier route west and guessed at where the line was supposed to go until they reached the Tennessee River near what is now Clarksville, Tennessee. As a result, part of what was supposed to be Kentucky wound up in Tennessee. If the Walker Line had been correct, the TN/KY border would be about where the Oak Grove intersection is now located in Oneida. The “Four Lane” area of Oneida would actually be in Kentucky! For much of the early 19th century, northern parts of Scott County — particularly the Big South Fork River settlements of Station Camp and No Business — were often mistakenly referred to as being part of Wayne County, Kentucky.

In 1779, Sullivan County was created from part of Washington County, as settlement began to extend into what is now East Tennessee, east of the Cumberland Plateau. In 1783, Davidson County was created in the Tennessee River basin, encompassing all of what is now the Nashville area. It was named for North Carolina General William Lee Davidson, who had been killed in the Revolutionary War in 1781. Lands to the east and west of Davidson County — including the Cumberland Plateau — were still known as Indian lands.

In 1783, Greene County was created. There were now three counties in what is now East Tennessee: Washington, Sullivan, and Greene. The Cumberland Plateau, including present-day Scott County, was still Indian land.

The year after that, in 1784, North Carolina ceded its territory west of the Appalachian Divide to the federal government as payment for Revolutionary War debts. This territory was called “The State of Franklin,” which would have been the 14th state, but it was never formally admitted into the union. It consisted of several growing white settlements in what is now East Tennessee, which were referred to as the “Overmountain Towns.” While settlement on the Cumberland Plateau did not occur prior to the Revolutionary War, it did occur in the area that became Franklin. The militiamen who won the Battle of Kings Mountain and turned the tide of the war were referred to as “Overmountain Men” because they lived “over the mountain” from North Carolina.

It was in 1785 that several new counties were created by the State of Franklin: Caswell, Sevier, Spencer, and Wilkes counties joined Washington, Sullivan, and Greene counties. Blount County was created the following year, and Hawkins was created the year after that, in 1787. That same year, Davidson County was divided in half, creating Sumner County. The Cumberland Plateau region was still Indian land.

In 1788, the State of Franklin ceased to function. As a result, all of the East Tennessee counties except Washington, Sullivan, Greene, and Hawkins went away. Davidson County was divided again, creating Tennessee County.

In 1790, North Carolina — which had reclaimed its western territory — ceded it to the federal government once and for all, and it was called the Territory South of the Ohio River, or the Southwest Territory. Tennessee was still not a state, but the territory took on the shape of the state that would soon be created. The upper east corner was divided into four counties, and the north-middle section was divided into three counties. In between, still considered Indian land, was the Cumberland Plateau.

Knox County was created, along with Jefferson County, in 1792. Two years after that, Sevier County returned, then Blount County in 1795. In 1796, Tennessee was admitted to the union as the 16th state, and Grainger and Carter counties were created, while Tennessee County west of Nashville became Montgomery and Robertson counties. Cocke County would be created the following year. The Cumberland Plateau was still Indian land.

It was in 1798 that the First Treaty of Tellico was signed and settlement began to encroach on the Cumberland Plateau. Knox, Grainger, and Blount counties were all expanded westward, and Grainger County included part of present-day Campbell County.

Anderson, Roane, and Claiborne counties were created in 1801. Anderson County included part of what is now Campbell County, but still did not include present-day Scott County, which remained Indian land.

In 1803, although the Cumberland Plateau was still considered Indian lands, the entire region was divided into counties. Anderson County and Roane County were greatly expanded, with Anderson County extending all the way to the TN-KY border and including what is now Campbell County. Present-day Scott County fell partially into Anderson County and partially into Jackson County. To the south was Roane County.

In 1805, the Third Treaty of Tellico was negotiated by Col. Meigs. It was signed on Oct. 25, 1805, and included 7,000 square miles of land between the Cumberland and Duck Rivers in Tennessee and Kentucky. Its purpose was to create East Tennessee with Nashville, the two areas where settlement was rapidly growing. The following year, Campbell County was created from parts of Anderson and Claiborne counties and included most of present-day Scott County. Overton County was created from Jackson County, and included the northwest part of present-day Scott County. A portion also fell into Anderson County.

Counties continued to be created in Middle Tennessee over the next several years, but it wasn’t until 1817 that change came to the northern plateau region. That was the year that Morgan County. It extended all the way to the TN-KY border. At this point, none of present-day Scott County was included in Overton County. It either fell into Campbell, Morgan, or Anderson counties — mostly in Campbell County.

Regardless of when the first settlers put down roots in present-day Scott County, we know that settlement had started by 1807, two years after the signing of the Third Treaty of Tellico and a year after Campbell County was created. It was that year that a land record was entered on New River (though it was mistakenly referred to as the Cumberland River) for Abraham Goad. He lived where the Vanderpool Farm is now located along River Road. His next-door neighbor, Randolph Lawson, had moved to the mouth of Paint Rock Creek by the following year, 1808, when he was listed as a chainman for Goad’s property survey.

The exact timing of Goad’s move to present-day Scott County has been written as 1803. There is no way to dispute that, and he last appeared on a tax list in Virginia in 1802. Meanwhile, Josiah Terry — the first settler of Oneida, along with his brother, Elijah Terry — first appeared on an Anderson County tax list in 1805. Remember that Campbell County was not created until 1806, so it’s possible — if not likely — that Josiah Terry was living in present-day Scott County by this time. He eventually built a home about where Hardee’s is located today, while his brother Elijah lived near what is now Burchfield School.

Over the next several years, between this period of 1803 to 1808 and when Morgan County was created in 1817, settlement was well underway in what is now Scott County. If they hadn’t already moved here by then, Mikel Low and Richard Harve Slaven settled Smokey Creek and No Business Creek at some point in those very early years, and Michael Robbins moved to Brimstone Creek. There were several other families arriving, as well. (See the developing narrative, The Scott County Lineage Project, on the Encyclopedia of Scott County.)

When Morgan County was created in 1817, it began to become easier to pick out where these early settlers were living. At the time, Morgan County included the western part of Scott County, including areas like Glenmary, Elgin, Robbins, and parts of West Oneida, while Campbell County included the Oneida, Buffalo and Huntsville areas, and Anderson County included the Norma and Smokey Creek areas. Parts of the Big South Fork region, like Station Camp and No Business, were sometimes considered to be part of Wayne County, Kentucky.

In 1820, the states of Tennessee and Kentucky finally reached an agreement, and the Walker Line was no longer disputed. Places like No Business, Station Camp, and Winfield were now formally part of Morgan and Campbell counties, though some confusion would remain for several more years.

Fentress County was created in 1823 from parts of Morgan and Overton counties. It now included the western part of present-day Scott County, including the Big South Fork region, while Robbins and Glenmary still fell into Morgan County.

Things remained stable for many years after that. Putnam County was created — then abolished — but that didn’t impact the areas that are now in Scott County. It wasn’t until 1849 that another change came to the northern plateau. That’s the year the legislature created Scott County from parts of Campbell, Anderson, Morgan and Fentress counties. It didn’t look quite like it does today, however. Many changes to the boundary lines would be made over the next 50 years before Scott County’s current lines were finalized.

The first of those changes came in 1855, when parts of Morgan and Anderson counties were added to Scott County, and part of Scott County was added to Campbell County. It was that year that Scott County began to take on its current shape.

The last change occurred in 1920, when a portion of Scott County was added to Morgan County.

Thank you for reading. Our next newsletter will be Threads of Life tomorrow. If you’d like to update your subscription to add or subtract any of our newsletters, do so here. If you haven’t yet subscribed, it’s as simple as adding your email address!

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• Wednesday: Threads of Life (obituaries)
• Thursday evening: The Weekender (news & the weekend)
• Friday: Friday Features (beyond the news)
• Sunday: Varsity (a weekly sports recap)

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HUNTSVILLE | A poorly-kept secret was made official by regional retail chain Hammer’s on Tuesday, as the company announced that it is opening a new store in Huntsville.

“So the rumors in Scott County are true,” Hammer’s said in a Facebook post, adding that the new store will open in fall 2026.

The company will locate in the former Napa Auto Parts building on Baker Highway in Huntsville, near the entrance to Roane State Community College. The building is owned by Brewco, which is currently completing renovations to the facility.

Hammer’s got its start in Guntersville, Ala., in 1941, but is best known locally for its store in Clinton, Tenn.

In its early days, A.B. Hammer rented an empty building and began selling salvage stock. The family-owned business has remained true to its original mission of being a bargain-hunter’s paradise, and currently has stores in Clinton, Knoxville, Sevierville, Wartburg, and New Tazewell. It also has a warehouse in Oneida, at the former Tibbals site.

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HUNTSVILLE | A Scott County man awaits sentencing after being convicted by a jury Friday of reckless homicide in connection with the October 2021 shooting death of Crystal Chambers in the Ditney Trail area east of Huntsville.

Harley D. Holicki, 40, was convicted of reckless homicide on Friday, following a four-day trial in Scott County Criminal Court. He was implicated in the death of his ex-girlfriend, Crystal Chambers, in October 2021.

Chambers, who was 35 at the time of her death, was a mother of three children. According to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, she died after being shot during an exchange of gunfire between her father, Larry Chambers, and her ex-boyfriend, Holicki, at a Ditney Trail residence on Oct. 25, 2021.

The TBI sought and obtained indictments against both men in March 2022, charging each of them with reckless homicide.

Representing the state at last week’s trial were assistant district attorneys Apryl Bradshaw and Graham Wilson.

Following the guilty verdict, Judge Zachary Walden ordered a pre-sentence investigation report and set the case for sentencing on Aug. 10, 2026.

In Tennessee, reckless homicide is a Class D felony that is punishable by two to 12 years in prison.

Chambers was survived by her children, Kaydence Reign, Dominick Kaceton, and Killian McKinley.

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Good Monday morning! Welcome to a brand new week. This is The Daybreaker, the first of several newsletters that will be published this week by the Independent Herald. The Daybreaker (Monday morning) and The Weekender (Thursday evening) are our two news-first newsletters. We publish several other newsletters throughout the week, as well as our regular E-Edition on Thursday and our Varsity E-Edition on Sunday (during sports season). If you’d like to adjust your subscription to include (or exclude) this or any of our other newsletters, please do so here. If you need to subscribe, it’s as simple as entering your email address:

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Open your account online — anytime, anywhere! First National Bank makes it easier than ever to bank with us. You can open an account online, from the comfort of your home or on the go. Start now. (Sponsored content.)

Highway 27 Unity Club announces new chapter

ONEIDA | Highway 27 Unity Club has announced what it calls a “meaningful new chapter in its journey of serving the recovery community.”

The club, located on Alberta Street in Oneida, has officially acquired its building, securing a safe and welcoming place that will “continue to be available for individuals for as long as they need it.”

As previously reported, Oneida’s Jerry and Diane Slaven — the faces behind JDS Technologies in Oneida and Winfield — acquired the Highway 27 Unity Club property from a court-ordered auction and provided lifetime use of it to the club.

The club’s Amy Montgomery — who is also the owner of Recovery Ridge sober living home in Oneida — said the stability of acquiring the property “allows us to better fulfill our mission — helping people from all walks of life find support, healing, and a path toward rebuilding their lives.”

“We want to extend a heartfelt thank you to Jerry and Diane Slaven for this incredible gift,” Montgomery said. “Their generosity has made it possible for us to continue serving the community in a bigger and more meaningful way. Their belief in recovery and in people has truly changed lives.”

Montgomery called the club’s meeting space more than just a building.

“It’s a lifeline,” she said. “Every day, individuals come through our doors seeking connection, understanding, and the tools necessary to overcome addiction and life’s challenges. The impact has been powerful, with many finding hope and purpose again.”

Highway 27 Unity Club has also added a meeting. Alcoholics Anonymous now meets at the club at noon on Wednesdays, in addition to 7 p.m. on Tuesdays. Narcotics Anonymous meets at 7 p.m. on Thursdays and Saturdays.

“This ensures that more individuals have access to recovery support at times that fit their daily lives,” Montgomery said.

The contributions the Slavens have made toward recovery, meanwhile, don’t stop with the meeting space. They have also provided employment opportunities to members of the recovery community.

“These jobs are more than just work. They represent dignity, responsibility, and a renewed sense of purpose,” Montgomery said. “For many, this has been a crucial step in reclaiming their lives and building a stable future.

“The Highway 27 Unity Club continues to stand as a beacon of hope, unity, and transformation,” Montgomery said. “With the support of compassionate individuals like Jerry and Diane Slaven, we are able to make a lasting difference, one life at a time.”

Need a good rate on your auto insurance? Contact your local State Farm agent, Roger Baldwin. (Sponsored content.)

The growth chart

On Mondays, we present The Growth Chart, a look at recent and ongoing growth throughout Scott County.

Parkside Villas: Stanley Building General Contractors has begun construction on a new condominium unit near Oneida City Park. Parkside Villas will be located next-door to the Scott County Ambulance Service headquarters off Paint Rock Road and Buffalo Road, and will consist of four units with two-bedrooms and two baths that will be offered for sale once completed. There will be a monthly HOA. Amy Martin, Oneida realtor and Stanley Building representative, called it “a new style of housing here in the county. Home ownership and someone else does the maintenance.”

O&W Road: The O&W Road into the Big South Fork National River & Recreation Area is slated to re-open in weeks, following completion of a bridge over Pine Creek near the intersection with Toomey Road just outside the national park.

Niggs Creek Road: Construction of a new railroad overpass at High Point has begun, with the demolition of the existing bridge — which has been condemned by TDOT — beginning in late April.

Alberta Street resurfacing: The resurfacing of Alberta Street through Oneida is currently underway. Rogers Group is simultaneously milling the existing pavement, and laying down new asphalt along a stretch of highway from near the Boys & Girls Club on the south end to near Bear Creek Road on the north end.

Swan Hollow Brew Project: Oneida will soon have its second brewery. The father-and-son team of Jeff and Chris Swanson are planning Swan Hallow at 281 Underpass Drive in Oneida (former site of the Coffey Medical Center), according to the Scott County Chamber of Commerce. It will offer craft beer brewed on site, as well as food and entertainment. It will be Oneida’s second brewery. Big South Fork Brewing opened in the former First Trust & Savings Bank building on South Main Street earlier this year.

Long John Silver’s: A Long John Silver’s fast food seafood restaurant is being constructed at Oneida Plaza, on the south side of McDonald’s. The targeted opening date is August 2026.

Zaxby’s: Zaxby’s, the fast food chicken restaurant chain, has purchased 1.3 acres of property on Alberta Street, just north of the Oneida Municipal Services Building, and continues to prepare it for the start of construction.

Dairy Queen: Nick Patel, who owns several other businesses in Scott County, is planning to purchase a DQ franchise that will be located in Oneida. Patel told the Independent Herald in March that the property for the new store has not yet been finalized.

Polo’s Italian Restaurant: Polo’s Italian Restaurant & Pizza, which will be located in Oneida Plaza (up the sidewalk from Walmart), announced on April 3 that its new store will open soon. A grand opening has not yet been announced.

Huntsville property: Although mum remains the word — at least officially — on the potential tenant for the former Napa Auto Parts building on Baker Highway in Huntsville, Oneida-based Brewco, which owns the property, continues to make significant renovations to the building. The pending tenant is a poorly-kept secret, but the owner of the business has said he is not ready to make a formal announcement.

Dollar General: Following a failed attempt to place a store near the intersection of Coopertown Road and Cooper Lake Road in Oneida, Dollar General is in the process of constructing a store at the intersection of Coopertown Road and Smith Road in the Coopertown community, across from New Haven Baptist Church. The floor has been poured and parking lot paving is set to begin. The new DG will join other stores in Oneida, Huntsville, Robbins, and Winfield, and is likely not the last DG location in Scott County.

New Flea Market: The 63/27 Flea Market recently opened at the former mobile home retail lot on U.S. Highway 27 just south of the S.R. 63 intersection in Huntsville. Tina Reed — who most folks will recognize from Perdue’s Shell Kitchen in Huntsville — is the face behind the new flea market, which rents spaces for $25 per day.

TCAT: The Tennessee College of Applied Technology Oneida/Huntsville has opened both its new buildings on the Oneida campus, which represents a $17 million investment. The back building houses the college’s diesel and power line programs, while the front building houses industrial maintenance, building construction, and a new program that will launch soon: aviation maintenance. The existing buildings on the Oneida campus have been painted to match the new buildings. The only thing that remains incomplete is the final paving of the parking lots.

Package Stores: The Town of Oneida began accepting applications for certificates of compliance for liquor stores in May, following November 2024 referendums approved by voters of both the town and the county. Two package stores have since been permitted and are slated to open in the coming months. Lisa Meadows announced on Facebook on Dec. 2 that applications for employment are currently being accepted at one of those stores, which will be located in Oneida Plaza. Huntsville, too, will soon have a package store. Signage for that store went up at the site of the old Hickory Mill on S.R. 63 last month. A convenience store and “fast food” are also planned for the location.

Casey’s: The Casey’s pizza and convenience store chain has opened a store on Alberta Street in Oneida, located “on the corner” at the site of the former 4WD Performance, which was the home of Marcum’s Parts before that.

Mountain People’s Health Councils: Mountain People’s recently debuted its new, state-of-the-art diagnostic imaging center at its Oneida campus, located on Industrial Lane.

University of Tennessee Medical Clinic: University of Tennessee Medical Center has opened a new medical facility next-door to the Scott County Food Court in south Oneida that is currently accepting patients for University Midwives and UT Rheumatology Associates. Scott County Mayor Jerried Jeffers said in January that cardiology and high-risk pregnancy will be added later.

More to Come: There are several other businesses that are in the preliminary or planning stages, including some in Huntsville. No official announcements have yet been made, but could be forthcoming shortly. Something to add? Email newsroom@ihoneida.com.

Words of Wisdom

Each week, Preacher Johnny Polk and the Oneida Church of Christ present Words of Wisdom, short devotionals that are archived on our website. Here is the current Words of Wisdom. (Sponsored content.)

☀️ Weather: Today will be nice, but it won’t stay that way all week. We’ll be sunny and 77° this afternoon, but rain returns to the forecast tomorrow afternoon, with slight rain chances at first, and then rain will become likely tomorrow night and remain likely through Thursday. Check out our daily Eye to the Sky updates on our Facebook page — published each morning at 7 a.m. on the dot — or always available at indherald.com.

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📅 Community Calendar

Monday: The Scott Appalachian Industries Senior Center (Monticello Pike, Huntsville) offers a walking program, puzzles and games, and massage chairs every week day (Monday-Friday) from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Additionally, Bingo will be offered today at 1 p.m and Golden Grooves Exercise at 2 p.m.

Monday: Ridgeview Behavioral Health Services’ Mobile Health Clinic will be in the Walmart parking lot in Oneida from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., offering integrated primary care and behavioral health. No insurance is not a problem. Call (866) 599-0466 for more information.

Monday: The Scott County Senior Citizens Center (Main Street, Oneida) will serve lunch from 11:30 a.m. until 1 p.m. The cost is $7 for dine-in or carry-out. Phone: (423) 569-5972.

Monday: Scott County Commission will meet at the Scott County Office Building in Huntsville, beginning at 5 p.m.

Tuesday: Primary elections will be held for the August general election today across Tennessee. Polls will be open in Scott County from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m.

Tuesday: The Scott County Senior Citizens Center (Main Street, Oneida) will host exercise from 10 a.m. until 11 a.m.

Tuesday: Pinnacle Resource Center’s food pantry (1513 Jeffers Road, Huntsville) will be open beginning at 10 a.m. There are no income guidelines; however, a photo ID and a piece of mail with a Scott County address are required.

Tuesday: The Scott Appalachian Industries Senior Center in Huntsville will host Tai Chi at 11 a.m.

Tuesday: Boy Scout Troop #333 will meet at the Oneida War Memorial Building on Alberta Street in Oneida beginning at 6 p.m.

Tuesday: Wall Builders will meet from 7 p.m. until 9 p.m. at Trinity Baptist Church (1611 Glass House Road, Helenwood) for those struggling with addiction or striving to keep off drugs. There will be preaching, teaching, food, fellowship and personal counseling.

Tuesday: Alcoholics Anonymous will meet at 7 p.m. at the Highway 27 Unity Club (17737 S. Alberta Street, Oneida).

Wednesday: The Scott County Senior Citizens Center (Main Street, Oneida) will serve lunch from 11:30 a.m. until 1 p.m. The cost is $7 for dine-in or carry-out.

Wednesday: The Scott Appalachian Industries Senior Center in Huntsville will host Golden Grooves Exercise at 1 p.m.

Thursday: The Gerry McDonald Mission House, located on Church Avenue, directly behind First United Methodist Church, is open from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. You are eligible to receive food once per month. 569-8828.

Thursday: The Scott County Senior Citizens Center (Main Street, Oneida) will host exercise from 10 a.m. until 11 a.m.

Thursday: The Scott Appalachian Industries Senior Center in Huntsville will host Crafts at 1 p.m.

Thursday: The Oneida Special School District Board of Education will meet in regular session at the Central Office Training Center, beginning at 6 p.m.

The Community Calendar is presented weekly by Citizens Gas Utility District. Citizens Gas Utility District pipelines are generally safe. They can be damaged by things such as excavation, natural forces, and automobile accidents. These can potentially cause a leak.Visit citizensgastn.com.

Thank you for reading. Our next newsletter will be Echoes From the Past tomorrow. If you’d like to update your subscription to add or subtract any of our newsletters, do so here. If you haven’t yet subscribed, it’s as simple as adding your email address!

◼️ About the IH • IH Sports Network • The Encyclopedia of Scott County
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Our Newsletters:
• Monday morning: The Daybreaker (news & the week ahead)
• Tuesday: Echoes from the Past (stories of our history)
• Wednesday: Threads of Life (obituaries)
• Thursday evening: The Weekender (news & the weekend)
• Friday: Friday Features (beyond the news)
• Sunday: Varsity (a weekly sports recap)

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You’re reading Friday Features, a weekly newsletter containing the Independent Herald’s feature stories — that is, stories that aren’t necessarily straight news but that provide an insightful look at our community and its people. If you’d like to adjust your subscription to include (or exclude) any of our newsletters, do so here. If you haven’t subscribed, please consider doing so!

Today’s newsletter is sponsored by First National Bank. Since 1904, First National Bank has been a part of Scott County. First National is local people — just like you. Visit fnboneida.com or call (423) 569-8586.

Deputy sheriff was first from Scott County to ‘ride the lightning’

Moonshiners were afraid of Ben Fowler. And for good reason.

He was a lawman carved of oak and iron — a big man, shoulders like a coal barge, and a stare that could blister paint. He didn’t just chase moonshiners through the thickets of Scott County; he hunted them. Crushed more than 200 stills in three years, folks said. Killed at least two men — maybe more, if you believed the whispers that moved like smoke through the hills. Seven bodies died by his hand, the rumors claimed. Fowler denied that last part, and he’d been cleared of wrongdoing in the only deaths officially linked to him.

He wore a bulletproof vest — steel plates stitched into canvas, homemade and heavy as sin — and he claimed it had saved his life more than once. His trademark look was the vest, a set of .44 pistols at his hips, and the glint of a man who had seen too much, drank too hard, and couldn’t quit either one.

By the time March 5, 1927 rolled around, Ben Fowler was one of the most feared men in Scott County.

That Saturday night, he walked into the auditorium at the old Robbins High School to watch a motion picture. He was wearing the vest. The pistols. And, most notably, the whiskey.

People say he came in drunk, but no one could agree on just how drunk. That he was belligerent, nobody disputed. He was there to serve a warrant, or so he said. Maybe he was just there to show off — to remind everyone who was still king of the hill.

Fowler didn’t like noise, not unless it came from his own gun. So when some kids in the front row laughed too loud at the picture, he stormed down the aisle like a storm with a badge.

“You’ll hush or you’ll go to jail,” he barked.

That’s when Dr. Wiley W. Foust laughed. It wasn’t a big laugh, just enough to cut through the tension like a blade. He thought it was ridiculous — a grown man threatening to arrest children for laughing at a movie. It was ridiculous. But Ben Fowler didn’t like to be laughed at.

He turned to the doctor, face flushed, eyes wild.

“Big boy,” Fowler growled, “you will have to be quiet or I’ll get you, too.”

Foust didn’t back down. “Ben, you wouldn’t do that.”

But he would. And he did.

Fowler swung the butt of his pistol and struck the doctor in the head. As the crowd gasped and people began to rise from their seats, Fowler didn’t hesitate. He leveled one of his .44s and pulled the trigger five times.

Five bullets to the fae. Point blank. Dr. Foust never stood a chance.

Panic erupted. People dove for the floor, scrambled over benches, screamed into the smoky dark.

Another deputy, John Wesley West, had been seated in the crowd. He tried to stop Fowler, but he wound up being shot too — a bullet in the gut that would spell a slow, agonizing death. A bystander was also hit.

Dr. Foust’s wife, sitting just a few feet from her husband’s body, began to cry. Fowler demanded that someone shut her up.

Fowler didn’t flee. He didn’t hide. He stood there like he was untouchable, like the vest on his chest made him immortal.

But not everyone was afraid.

Dr. Foust’s adult son had been in the theater that night. When the first shots rang out, he drew his pistol and fired back. Five shots. Four hit the steel plate. The fifth punched into Fowler’s arm. The lawman staggered but didn’t fall.

The vest had saved him again. But this time, the end was already in motion.

Lawmen stormed the scene. Fowler was arrested on the spot, still half-drunk and bleeding from the arm. West was rushed to Howard-Henderson Hospital in Knoxville. He lasted two days before dying.

By Sunday morning, the news had already torn through Scott County like a brushfire in August. Dr. Foust was dead. Deputy West was dying. Ben Fowler — the iron-jawed still-buster who liked to consume liquor almost as much as he liked to confiscate it — had become the very monster he was supposed to protect the county from.

And the people wanted justice.

They didn’t waste time. By Monday — just two days after the shooting — a grand jury was convened in Huntsville and handed down an indictment for murder. The trial began three days after that. Justice in 1927 didn’t take long, especially when the defendant had killed a beloved doctor in front of dozens of witnesses.

Fowler’s defense? He was drunk. Too drunk to know what he was doing. He hadn’t meant to kill Deputy West — that was an accident.

But the court didn’t deal in mercy that week.

On March 14 — exactly seven days after his indictment — the jury took just two minutes to return a verdict. Guilty of murder. They recommended death.

The judge set the date: April 21. The sentence was death in the electric chair.

Fowler appealed, but the state Supreme Court upheld the verdict. Tennessee Governor Austin Peay granted a short stay of execution so Fowler’s parents could travel from Kentucky to see him one last time.

On the morning of Jan. 25, 1928, Ben Fowler walked calmly toward the electric chair. He comforted his grieving father.

“Now you go on, Pap, just like you’re going to the mill,” he said. “Tell Maw I’m just going on ahead, and I’ll be waiting when she gets there.”

He sat in the chair without resistance. Even offered tips on how to strap him in.

The switch was pulled. Ben Fowler — lawman, killer — was dead.

Fowler was 35 when he died. He became the first — and still the only — Scott Countian to be executed in the electric chair. The only other legal execution in the county’s history was Mike King, who was hanged in 1895 for killing a schoolteacher in Winfield.

Dr. Wiley Foust, age 54, was buried at Robbins Cemetery, just a short walk from where he died.

Deputy John Wesley West, 53, was laid to rest in Marcum Cemetery in Oneida. He left behind a widow, Tilitha Susanna King, and two sons — George and Fed — who lived out their lives in the quiet hills their father had sworn to protect.

Time passed. Names faded. But Scott Countians still tell the story of the night the law turned in on itself. Of whiskey and steel. Of the pistol smoke that lingered in the rafters long after the motion picture stopped.

And of a man in a bulletproof vest who finally couldn’t outrun the bullets.

Editor’s Note: This is the eleventh installment of Murders in the Heartland, the IH’s reimagined series covering particularly noteworthy murders that have been committed in Scott County through the years. In many instances, descendants of both the victims and the perpetrators still live in our community. The intent is not to reopen old wounds or to cast judgment, but to document past events that have an indelible impact on our community’s history. At the conclusion of the series, our book by the same name will be republished in a second, revised edition.

Thank you for reading. Our next newsletter will be The Daybreaker bright and early Monday morning. If you’d like to update your subscription to add or subtract any of our newsletters, do so here. If you haven’t yet subscribed, it’s as simple as adding your email address!

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• Monday morning: The Daybreaker (news & the week ahead)
• Tuesday: Echoes from the Past (stories of our history)
• Wednesday: Threads of Life (obituaries)
• Thursday evening: The Weekender (news & the weekend)
• Friday: Friday Features (beyond the news)
• Sunday: Varsity (a weekly sports recap)

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View it directly here. Download it here.

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Good Thursday evening! This is The Weekender, a final look at this week’s news from the Independent Herald. The Daybreaker (Monday) and The Weekender (Thursday evening) are our two news-first newsletters. We publish several other newsletters throughout the week, as well as our regular E-Edition on Thursday and our Varsity E-Edition on Sunday (during sports season). If you’d like to adjust your subscription to include (or exclude) any of these newsletters, do so here. If you haven’t subscribed, please consider doing so!

Today’s newsletter is sponsored by Buckeye Home Medical Equipment. Serving Scott County and several other communities in the Upper Cumberland region, Buckeye is a full-line DME providing home health equipment to its patients.

Tim Smith appointed President of TCAT Oneida/Huntsville

Tuesday, April 28, 2026 | Tim Smith has been recommended to be the next president of Tennessee College of Applied Technology Oneida/Huntsville, Tennessee Board of Regents Chancellor Flora W. Tydings announced Tuesday.

Tydings, who also recommended Dr. John M. Davis as the next president at Cleveland State Community College, said that her recommendations follow “deliberative search processes at both institutions.”

The Board of Regents will consider the chancellor’s recommendations during a special called meeting Thursday. It will be publicly livestreamed, beginning at 10 a.m.

Smith is currently TCAT Oneida/Huntsville’s vice president and has served in the TBR system since 2007. He earned Master of Science and Bachelor of Science degrees in Elementary Education, both at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville.

Davis has been vice president of administrative services at Germanna Community College in Virginia since 2017 and an administrator there since 2008. He holds a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Educational Policy, Planning, and Leadership from the College of William and Mary, a Master of Science in Higher Education and a Bachelor of Science in Criminology, both from Florida State University, and an Associate of Arts from Gulf Coast Community College.

Smith was one of two finalists for the presidential appointment at TCAT Oneida/Huntsville. The other was Noah Duncan, who is also an Oneida native and is currently vice president of TCAT Knoxville. He has served in the TBR system since 2017.

The finalists were selected by search advisory committees at each college, which spent months reviewing and interviewing candidates. The TCAT Oneida/Huntsville finalists were announced April 3, and participated in campus visits and public interviews, with opportunities for public and campus community feedback. The chancellor selected Smith — and Davis at Cleveland State — after carefully reviewing the feedback and more interviews with the finalists.

Both search committees were composed of board members and representatives of the colleges’ faculty, staff, students, and civic leaders from their communities.

Current TCAT Oneida/Huntsville President Dwight Murphy is retiring in June after a distinguished 20-year tenure. He was appointed to the role in late 2005 while holding the office of Scott County Mayor. He took over his duties at TCAT on Jan. 1, 2006, replacing Arvis Blakley as the fourth president in the school’s history.

Huntsville Post-Acute & Rehabilitation Center offers short-term or long-term care … on your terms. Learn more. (Sponsored content.)

School Board picks Marc Taylor for director of schools post

Wednesday, April 29, 2026 | By a 5-2 vote on first ballot, the Scott County Board of Education on Wednesday selected current Scott High Principal Marc Taylor as Scott County’s next director of schools.

Taylor will become the 33rd person to serve in the capacity of the school system’s chief executive officer, and the fourth person who will serve in that role after being appointed by the Board of Education. The position was elected by the public from 1924 to 2000, and appointed by County Court — a forerunner to today’s County Commission — prior to that.

Taylor was one of six candidates to apply for the position, a number that was reduced to five after Fairview School Principal Scott Cash withdrew his name from consideration prior to interviews.

At Wednesday’s special called meeting, Taylor initially received the votes of 1st District Board Member Tommy Silcox, 4th District Board Member Kim Kidd, 5th District Board Member Angie King, and 7th District Board Member Dr. Tressa Murphy. That was enough to earn him the position, which prompted 6th District Board Member Llew Stanley to switch his vote from Keith Shannon to Taylor in a show of confidence.

Second District Board Member Diane Smith and 3rd District Board Member Chris Shelton voted for Kenny Chadwell.

Chadwell is currently the principal at LaFollette Elementary School and represents Scott County’s 4th District on County Commission.

Shannon is a former principal at Robbins School and is currently the director of the Morgan County Career & Technical Center in Wartburg.

Also in the running were Campbell County principal and Scott High alumnus Daniel Sexton, and former Texas school superintendent Jerry Gibson.

Taylor was viewed by many members of the public as a long shot at the beginning of the process. Despite spending many years as a coach and administrator at McCreary Central High School in nearby Stearns, Ky., the Williamsburg, Ky. native was relatively unknown locally prior to taking the role of principal at Scott High School this school year when Jeremy Hamby moved to Central Office to replace Shannon.

However, Taylor impressed many in the community — as well as on the school board — with his interview. Educators at Scott High School have also expressed confidence in his ability to make the move to Central Office, with many privately citing his firm but fair approach to school administration.

Taylor will replace Bill Hall, who retires in June as the longest-tenured director of schools in Scott County’s history — a distinction he shares with John Lee West, who served for 15 years in the 1930s and 1940s. Taylor will assume his duties on July 1, pending ratification of his contract with the school board.

Mountain People’s Health Councils offers general practice dentistry for all ages, using the latest technology for dental imagery and digital scanning. Sliding scale fees apply! Learn more. (Sponsored.)

Oneida High School names honor graduates

Tuesday, April 28, 2026 | Six co-valedictorians, five co-salutatorians, and a total of 14 students have been named top academic achievers in Oneida High School’s Class of 2026, Principal Stacy Love announced Tuesday.

Named the class’s valedictorians, with a GPA of 4.10714, are Isabella Bullar, Brady Burke, Kobie Kidd, Mason Laftery, Kamryn Stiltner, and Mariana Wright. Named the class’s salutatorians, with a GPA of 4.07143, are Anne Cross, Jolie Duncan, Hannah Foster, Jonathan Marcum, and Ethan Shockley. Rounding out this year’s honor graduates are Maggie Hamilton, with a GPA of 4.03571, and Allie Elmore and Miley Vanhook, with a GPA of 4.0.

» Complete story

ICYMI

Threads of Life: This week’s Threads of Life newsletter is in remembrance of Bud Keeton, Eddie Howard Jr., Lourene Jeffers, Pamela Jeffers, Tina Stampler, and Kenneth West. » Read It

Echoes in Time: This week’s Echoes in Time newsletter examines the question: Is there a fourth forgotten Revolutionary War veteran from Scott County? » Read It

The Weekend

🌥️ Weather: A cool weekend is on tap for the first of May. We’ll top out around 67° with mostly sunny skies tomorrow, then a low pressure system will slide to our south on Saturday. We’ll only see a 20% chance of rain here on the northern Cumberland Plateau, but some cooler temperatures will follow. We’ll struggle to get out of the 50s on Saturday, and drop to 35° Saturday night, which will likely lead to some patchy frost. Sunday will be sunny with a high of 65°. Check out our daily Eye to the Sky updates on our Facebook page— published each morning at 7 a.m. on the dot.

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⛪︎ Featured Church

Fairview Missionary Baptist Church

Denomination: Baptist (Missionary)
Pastor: Charles Lowe
Address: 8939 Baker Highway, Huntsville

Services
Sunday Morning: 10 a.m.
Sunday Evening: 6:30 p.m.

» See the complete Church Directory, and thank you to our sponsors of the Church Directory.

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📅 Community Calendar

• Saturday: First Saturday night services will be held at Capital Hill Missionary Baptist Church (6:30 p.m.), East Robbins Missionary Baptist Church (6 p.m.), Norma Missionary Baptist Church (6 p.m.), and Black Creek Crossroads Missionary Baptist Church (7 p.m.). For more information, see our Church Directory at indherald.com.

• Sunday: Celebrate Recovery, a 12-step program designed to help with addiction, co-dependency and domestic abuse, will be hosted by Fire & Purpose Ministries from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at 27192 Scott Highway in Winfield. There will be food, fellowship, praise and worship. Childcare is provided.

The Community Calendar is presented weekly by Citizens Gas Utility District. You can help prevent pipeline damage and leaks by calling 811 before doing any excavating or demolition and submitting a utility locate request. Visit citizensgastn.com.

Scenic Sale!

This week’s sale items at Scenic Foods in Huntsville! The sale continues through Tuesday. Sponsored content.

Thank you for reading. Our next newsletter will be Friday Features. If you’d like to update your subscription to add or subtract any of our newsletters, do so here. If you haven’t yet subscribed, it’s as simple as adding your email address!

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Our Newsletters:
• Monday morning: The Daybreaker (news & the week ahead)
• Tuesday: Echoes from the Past (stories of our history)
• Wednesday: Threads of Life (obituaries)
• Thursday evening: The Weekender (news & the weekend)
• Friday: Friday Features (beyond the news)
• Sunday: Varsity (a weekly sports recap)

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We reach the halfway point of the Spring Hiking Challenge with a visit to one of the most spectacular vantage points you’ll find anywhere in this region — and that’s saying something, because there are a lot of spectacular vantage points around here.

This one is called Buzzard Rock — a name that belies the magnificence of the views that await — and it’s located in the McCreary County section of the Daniel Boone National Forest.

One of the nice things about Buzzard Rock is that it is truly a hike that is friendly for all ages — a short, easy stroll through the woods with a tremendous payoff waiting in the views at the end of the trail. We’re dialing back the difficulty after last week’s hike at Burnt Mill, just as we did after the earlier hike to O&W Bridge. You might be noticing a trend by this point, as we try to pace the challenge so that novice hikers who might be discovering the great outdoors for the first time can ease into it.

So, let’s head north up U.S. Highway 27 and get started…

Buzzard Rock
Trailhead: Buzzard Rock
Trail Type: Out-and-back
Payoff: Views
Difficulty: Easy
Length: 1.2 miles
Elevation Gain: 239 feet

Buzzard Rock is located inside the Daniel Boone National Forest north of Whitley City, Ky. The trailhead is located on Big Creek Road, near where the road turns over the hill to the Big Creek Boat Dock on the Big South Fork River. To get there, take U.S. Highway 27 north into Kentucky and through Whitley City. In the Beulah Heights community, 14.3 miles after crossing the TN-KY line, turn left onto Wiborg Loop Road. After six-tenths of a mile, turn left again onto Roberts Ridge Road (Tom Roberts Road). In about 1.4 miles, the road will turn into Big Creek Road. The pavement will turn to gravel. The trailhead can be a little tricky because it isn’t signed, and is simply a pull-off to the right side of the road that looks like the entrance to an ATV trail. It is located 1.1 miles past the last house on the road. If you come to a sharp left-hand switchback leading down the hill, you’ve gone too far. The easiest way to find it is to plug “Buzzard Rock” into your favorite maps app, like Waze or Apple Maps. It will lead you directly to the parking spot.

Mile 0.12: The first tenth of a mile is slightly uphill, as the trail climbs to the top of the ridge that separates Koger Creek from Big Creek. At this point, the trail levels out, and it’s an easy hike the rest of the way.

Mile 0.19: Notice the huge downed tree along the trail. The tree uprooted, taking a large piece of earth with it.

Mile 0.30: The drainage that is visible to the right is Koger Creek, which empties into the Big South Fork River just downstream from Buzzard Rock.

Mile 0.34: The trail begins a slight descent, dropping over small rock ledges.

Mile 0.36: Notice the light-colored ends on the hemlock boughs. The lighter green is the new growth that emerges on the hemlocks during the middle of each spring. These lighter green tips will slowly become the same darker green as the rest of the hemlock’s foliage over the course of the summer.

Mile 0.38: Mountain laurel is in full bloom now, and begins to show up along the trail. It will become quite prolific the rest of the way to the overlook.

Mile 0.45: If you look through the trees, you’ll catch your first glimpse of the Big South Fork River. The first thing you’ll immediately notice is how calm and still the river is here, compared to Tennessee, where it’s fast-moving. That’s because the river this far north is constrained by the effects of the Wolf Creek Dam on the Cumberland River. The Big South Fork is part of the backwaters of Lake Cumberland at this point, calm and still the rest of the way to where it empties into the Cumberland River at Burnside, Ky.

Mile 0.54: The trail turns downhill as it begins its final approach through the laurel to Buzzard Rock. A final step across a fissure in the earth and onto the large, flat surface of Buzzard Rock offers spectacular views of the Big South Fork valley. The stream to the right is Koger Creek. To the left, Big Creek empties in. Across the river is Cowhorn Creek. Downstream, you can see the rugged cliff lines along the edge of the ridge that separates the Big South Fork River from Straight Creek. You can’t see it from here, but just a short distance upstream, around an S-curve in the river, is Yahoo Falls Overlook, where we were just at a few weeks ago. Not visible but a short distance downstream is the mouth of the Little South Fork.

Scavenger Hunt: This week, we’re looking for mountain laurel … and you won’t have any trouble finding it, because it grows in abundance around Buzzard Rock and is in full bloom. It is truly one of the most spectacular flowers found in the Big South Fork region. Snap a photo and tag it with the #SpringHikingChallenge hashtag to be entered into this week’s drawing for a pair of Sunhauk sunglasses.

Historical Context: Although we drove through Daniel Boone National Forest to reach Yahoo Falls, this is the first time the Spring Hiking Challenge is actually setting foot in the national forest. It was established in 1937 as the Cumberland National Forest, and renamed in 1966 for the famous frontiersman who explored the area in 1769. It covers more than 700,000 acres of land in eastern Kentucky.

Make It Better: Just a short distance north from Buzzard Rock is the spectacular Natural Arch, also located in Daniel Boone National Forest. We aren’t coming back this far north simply out of respect to the drive time, but the hike to Buzzard Rock is so short you might wish to tack on the equally short hike to Natural Arch while you’re here. Natural Arch Scenic Area is located on Day Ridge Road. Back at U.S. 27 from Wiborg Loop, turn left toward Somerset and drive a few miles to Ky. Hwy. 927 (if you reach the turnoff to Cumberland Falls, you’ve gone too far). Watch for the signs to Natural Arch. After the turnoff, it’s 1.8 miles to the parking lot. The hiking trail is an easy, 1.5-mile loop.

Be Careful For: Buzzard Rock is unprotected. Use caution near the edges with pets and small children.

Please Remember: Hikers are encouraged to obey the “Leave No Trace” ethic. “Leave only footprints, take only memories.” Please do not litter! Also, remember that while all trails in the Big South Fork are dog-friendly, all dogs must be leashed and kept within six feet.

Document Your Hike: Record your participation on this week’s hike by taking a photo of you and your group and tagging it with the #SpringHikingChallenge hashtag on social media (make sure the post privacy is set to public!) or emailing newsroom@ihoneida.com.

Hike #1: Sunset Overlook
Hike #2: Angel Falls Rapid
Hike #3: Yahoo Falls
Hike #4: O&W Bridge
Hike #5: Northrup Falls
Hike #6: Burnt Mill

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You’re reading Threads of Life, a weekly obituaries newsletter that remembers and honors our friends and family members who made an impact on Scott County through the ways they lived their lives. Threads of Life is delivered to you courtesy of Jones & Son and West-Murley Funeral Homes. (Want to adjust your subscription settings? Click here.)

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Eddie Howard Jr., 49

Oneida
January 24, 1977 – April 25, 2026

Max Edward Howard Jr., known as Eddie, of Oneida, passed away on Saturday, April 25, 2026, at his home. He was 49.

LIFE

Eddie was born in Delaware, Ohio. His hobbies and favorite things to do were slinging mud in the mountains, vacationing at the ocean, and big family get-togethers.

PRECEDED

• Father: Max Howard Sr.

• Stepfather: William C. Liming.

• Brothers: Woody Howard and Ricky Howard.

• Nephew: David Royse.

• Best friend: Richie Stein.

• Lifelong pet: Mia.

SURVIVORS

• Wife of 20 years: Ashley Howard.

• Children: Seryna, Shyanne, Savana, and Kaitlin.

• Special niece and nephew: James Ressler and Arabelle Ressler.

• Grandsons: Sammy Jones and Roman Jones.

• Mother: Connie Liming.

• Brothers: Steve Howard and wife Renee, Rick Howard, Ronnie Jim Howard, and Dennis Studer.

• Sister: Lori Studer.

SERVICES

Visitation will be Thursday, April 30, 2026, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at West-Murley Funeral Home. Eddie’s wish was cremation.

Arrangements by West-Murley Funeral Home.

Lourene Jeffers, 97

Oneida
January 23, 1929 – April 20, 2026

Lourene O. Jeffers, of Oneida, passed away on Monday, April 20, 2026, at Oneida Nursing & Rehab Center. She was 97.

LIFE

Born Jan. 23, 1929, Lourene was the daughter of the late Lewis and Julia Owens. She was a member of Pine Hill United Baptist Church.

PRECEDED

In addition to her parents:

• Spouse: Tommy Jeffers.

• Siblings: Retha Partin and husband John, and Kenneth Owens.

• Daughters: Diana Jeffers and Wanda Jeffers.

SURVIVORS

• Daughter: Pat Puckett and husband Mike.

• Siblings: Judy Damron and Jerry Owens and wife Dorothy.

• Grandchildren, great-grandchildren, great-great-grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and many other relatives and friends.

SERVICES

• Visitation: Thursday, April 23, 2026, from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. at West-Murley Funeral Home.

• Burial: To follow at Hazel Valley Memorial Cemetery in Oneida with Bro. Delyn Phillips officiating.

Arrangements by West-Murley Funeral Home.

Pamela Jeffers, 71

Oneida
August 16, 1954 – April 26, 2026

Pamela Grace Barnes Jeffers, of Oneida, passed away on Sunday, April 26, 2026, at Big South Fork Medical Center. She was 71.

LIFE

Born Aug. 16, 1954, Pamela was the daughter of the late Herman Barnes and Alphene and Jay Hall.

PRECEDED

In addition to her parents:

• Sister: Wilma Stephens.

• Sister-in-law: Sue Barnes.

• Brothers-in-law: Junior Sexton, David Duncan, Roy Reagan, Bill Byrd, Jim Jeffers and wife Mary, and Bill Jeffers.

• Nieces and nephews: Gary Chambers, Scott Stephens, and Hope Sexton.

• Second husband: Melvin Slaven.

SURVIVORS

• Husband: Robert Jeffers.

• Children: Tammy Carson and husband Dana, Tim Phillips and wife Tobey, Shane Phillips and wife Danielle, Cody Slaven, Robert W. Jeffers, and Matthew Jeffers.

• Grandchildren: Carter Miller and wife McKenzie, Kylie Miller, Jarrett Lay and wife Harley, Jaelyn Phillips, Taylor Neal and husband Eddie, Dallan Phillips and wife Macey, and Darcie Phillips.

• Great-grandchildren: Jagger Morgan, Aniston Morgan, Parker Lay, Paisyn Lay, Cartlie Miller, Nakeeah Gibson, Tucker Neal, and a new grandbaby arriving in August.

• Brothers and sisters: Dean Barnes and wife Marsha, Barbara Sexton, Denzil Barnes and wife Patsy, Tony Barnes, Glennis Reagan, and Jayetta Sexton.

• Brother-in-law: Lee Jeffers.

• Sister-in-law: Faye Claiborn.

SERVICES

• Visitation: Wednesday, April 29, 2026, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Jones & Son Funeral Home.

• Funeral: To follow at 6 p.m. with Bro. Paul Dean Barnes officiating.

• Burial: To follow at Sexton Memorial Cemetery.

Arrangements by Jones & Son Funeral Home.

Bud Keeton, 87

Oneida
February 18, 1939 – April 22, 2026

Oscar Curtis “Bud” Keeton, of Oneida, passed away peacefully at his home on Wednesday, April 22, 2026. He was 87.

LIFE

Born Feb. 18, 1939, Bud was the son of the late Seamon and Mable Buttram Keeton. Bud grew up in the Huntsville area and was a member of White Rock Baptist Church. He proudly served his country as a veteran of the United States Air Force. Following his service, he dedicated 32 years to working at Huntsville Elementary School, where he made a lasting impact on generations of students. Bud enjoyed spending time in nature. He loved Jeep riding, working on and riding motorcycles, and hunting for petrified rocks.

PRECEDED

In addition to his parents:

• Brothers: Stephen Keeton, Roy Keeton, and Gaylon Keeton.

• Sister: Nola Sorrell.

SURVIVORS

• Wife of 58 years: Gloria Kay Keeton.

• Sons: Monty Keeton and wife Lynette, and Shane Keeton and wife Mary.

• Grandchildren: Hunter Matthews, Logan Martin, Audrie Vanover and husband Dalton, Kynlie Frogge, and Cam Keeton.

• Great-grandchildren: Raylee, Trooper, Everly, Boone, and Kaylynn.

• Sisters: Wanda Foust, Lorine Goodman and husband Murl, Leann Phillips and husband Jack, Eloise Byrd, Bonnie West, Frances Bruce and husband Conley, and Barbra Robbins and husband Carl.

SERVICES

A graveside service will be held Friday, April 24, 2026, at 12 p.m. at Cecil Cemetery in the Cherry Fork community with Bro. Jim West officiating.

Arrangements by Jones & Son Funeral Home.

Tina Stamper, 99

July 23, 1926 – April 25, 2026

Ernestina Elizabeth Stamper, lovingly known as “Tina,” departed this life Saturday, April 25, 2026. She was 99.

LIFE

Born July 23, 1926, Tina was the daughter of the late Ernest and Georgia Litton Chitwood. She was born in Paint Cliff, Ky., and was raised in Oneida. She later made her home in both Kentucky and Ohio. She was the heart of her family—a woman who helped raise several nieces and nephews, as well as two of her granddaughters. She was more than a grandmother; she was a second mother, a steady presence, and a source of unconditional love to all who knew her. A woman of remarkable strength and determination, Tina achieved a lifelong dream by earning her high school diploma at the age of 70 alongside her brother Richard. She retired from General Motors and went on to start and run several successful businesses, including a carry-out where she made homemade pizzas and a bar and grill. Above all, Tina loved the Lord. She sought Him daily, and her life was rooted in faith and prayer. Her life was a testament to faith, hard work, and unwavering love.

PRECEDED

In addition to her parents:

• Son: Clifford Bruce “Bud” Marler.

• Daughter: Saundra Dowell.

• Granddaughter: Virginia “Jenny” Lee Kinnamon.

• Brothers: Henry Clay Chitwood, Richard Chitwood, and an infant brother.

• Sisters: Bernette Bell and Virginia “Jenny” Autry.

SURVIVORS

• Granddaughters: Delona Cook and husband Jamall, Jessica “Lizzie” Carpenter and husband Casey, and Machell Carberry and husband Shane.

• Great-grandchildren: Tyler, Kylie, Alexis, Aliyah, Landon, Mason, Atom, Bravely, and Koleston.

• Great-great-grandchildren: Cason and Eros.

• Special nephews: Doug Chitwood and John Autry.

• Special niece: Georgia Bell.

SERVICES

A graveside service will be held Wednesday, April 29, 2026, at 2 p.m. at Chitwood Cemetery in Winfield.

Arrangements by West-Murley Funeral Home.

Kenneth West, 64

June 26, 1961 – April 25, 2026

Kenneth E. West, passed away on Saturday, April 25, 2026. He was 64.

LIFE

Born June 26, 1961, Kenneth was the son of the late Thomas L. West Sr. and Mewanna West.

PRECEDED

In addition to his parents:

• Brothers: Art West, Mike West, and Gary West.

• Sister: Kim West.

SURVIVORS

• Brother: Tom West.

• Sister: Toni Gaines and husband Darryl.

• His special family at SAI.

SERVICES

• Visitation: Wednesday, April 29, 2026, from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. at Four Oaks Funeral Home.

• Funeral: To follow at 11 a.m. with Bro. Jim West officiating.

• Burial: To follow at Marcum-Kidd Cemetery.

Arrangements by Four Oaks Funeral Home.

Threads of Life is sponsored by Jones & Son Funeral Home and West-Murley Funeral Home: Proudly serving the families of Scott County with care, dignity and trust. Visit jandwfh.com.

Thank you for reading. Our next newsletter will be The Weekender tomorrow. If you’d like to update your subscription to add or subtract any of our newsletters, do so here. If you haven’t yet subscribed, it’s as simple as adding your email address!

◼️ About the IH • IH Sports Network • The Encyclopedia of Scott County
◼️ Subscribe • Sponsor • Manage Your Account
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Our Newsletters:
• Monday morning: The Daybreaker (news & the week ahead)
• Tuesday: Echoes from the Past (stories of our history)
• Wednesday: Threads of Life (obituaries)
• Thursday evening: The Weekender (news & the weekend)
• Friday: Friday Features (beyond the news)
• Sunday: Varsity (a weekly sports recap)

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HUNTSVILLE | By a 5-2 vote on first ballot, the Scott County Board of Education on Wednesday selected current Scott High Principal Marc Taylor as Scott County’s next director of schools.

Taylor will become the 33rd person to serve in the capacity of the school system’s chief executive officer, and the fourth person who will serve in that role after being appointed by the Board of Education. The position was elected by the public from 1924 to 2000, and appointed by County Court — a forerunner to today’s County Commission — prior to that.

Taylor was one of six candidates to apply for the position, a number that was reduced to five after Fairview School Principal Scott Cash withdrew his name from consideration prior to interviews.

At Wednesday’s special called meeting, Taylor initially received the votes of 1st District Board Member Tommy Silcox, 4th District Board Member Kim Kidd, 5th District Board Member Angie King, and 7th District Board Member Dr. Tressa Murphy. That was enough to earn him the position, which prompted 6th District Board Member Llew Stanley to switch his vote from Keith Shannon to Taylor in a show of confidence.

Second District Board Member Diane Smith and 3rd District Board Member Chris Shelton voted for Kenny Chadwell.

Chadwell is currently the principal at LaFollette Elementary School and represents Scott County’s 4th District on County Commission.

Shannon is a former principal at Robbins School and is currently the director of the Morgan County Career & Technical Center in Wartburg.

Also in the running were Campbell County principal and Scott High alumnus Daniel Sexton, and former Texas school superintendent Jerry Gibson.

Taylor was viewed by many members of the public as a long shot at the beginning of the process. Despite spending many years as a coach and administrator at McCreary Central High School in nearby Stearns, Ky., the Williamsburg, Ky. native was relatively unknown locally prior to taking the role of principal at Scott High School this school year when Jeremy Hamby moved to Central Office to replace Shannon.

However, Taylor impressed many in the community — as well as on the school board — with his interview. Educators at Scott High School have also expressed confidence in his ability to make the move to Central Office, with many privately citing his firm but fair approach to school administration.

Taylor will replace Bill Hall, who retires in June as the longest-tenured director of schools in Scott County’s history — a distinction he shares with John Lee West, who served for 15 years in the 1930s and 1940s. Taylor will assume his duties on July 1, pending ratification of his contract with the school board.

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HUNTSVILLE | Tim Smith has been recommended to be the next president of Tennessee College of Applied Technology Oneida/Huntsville, Tennessee Board of Regents Chancellor Flora W. Tydings announced Tuesday.

Tydings, who also recommended Dr. John M. Davis as the next president at Cleveland State Community College, said that her recommendations follow “deliberative search processes at both institutions.”

The Board of Regents will consider the chancellor’s recommendations during a special called meeting Thursday. It will be publicly livestreamed, beginning at 10 a.m.

Smith is currently TCAT Oneida/Huntsville’s vice president and has served in the TBR system since 2007. He earned Master of Science and Bachelor of Science degrees in Elementary Education, both at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville.

Davis has been vice president of administrative services at Germanna Community College in Virginia since 2017 and an administrator there since 2008. He holds a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Educational Policy, Planning, and Leadership from the College of William and Mary, a Master of Science in Higher Education and a Bachelor of Science in Criminology, both from Florida State University, and an Associate of Arts from Gulf Coast Community College.

Smith was one of two finalists for the presidential appointment at TCAT Oneida/Huntsville. The other was Noah Duncan, who is also an Oneida native and is currently vice president of TCAT Knoxville. He has served in the TBR system since 2017.

The finalists were selected by search advisory committees at each college, which spent months reviewing and interviewing candidates. The TCAT Oneida/Huntsville finalists were announced April 3, and participated in campus visits and public interviews, with opportunities for public and campus community feedback. The chancellor selected Smith — and Davis at Cleveland State — after carefully reviewing the feedback and more interviews with the finalists.

Both search committees were composed of board members and representatives of the colleges’ faculty, staff, students, and civic leaders from their communities.

Current TCAT Oneida/Huntsville President Dwight Murphy is retiring in June after a distinguished 20-year tenure. He was appointed to the role in late 2005 while holding the office of Scott County Mayor. He took over his duties at TCAT on Jan. 1, 2006, replacing Arvis Blakley as the fourth president in the school’s history.

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You’re reading “Echoes in Time,” a weekly newsletter by the Independent Herald that focuses on stories of years gone by in order to paint a portrait of Scott County and its people. “Echoes in Time” is one of six weekly newsletters published by the IH. You can adjust your subscription settings to include as many or as few of these newsletters as you want. If you aren’t a subscriber, please consider doing so. It’s free!

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Today’s newsletter is sponsored by the Scott County Chamber of Commerce. Since 1954, the Scott County Chamber of Commerce has advocated for a strong community by supporting stronger infrastructure and leadership.

Scott County’s fourth Lawson brother?

Some months back, Echoes in Time featured a series of articles about Scott County’s three “forgotten” Revolutionary War veterans — Abraham Goad, Randolph Lawson, and Abel Peak. By “forgotten,” Echoes in Time simply meant that they were not included on Scott County’s Revolutionary War plaque when it was placed at the old county courthouse in Huntsville in 1976 as part of the nation’s bicentennial celebration. Twelve other men are. (See the list here.)

As America’s semibicentennial (250th anniversary of the nation’s founding) is celebrated this year, 50 years later, a new Revolutionary War memorial is being built at the John John Yancey Memorial Park in Huntsville. It will include the missing names that aren’t included on the original plaque at the courthouse.

But it turns out that there might be yet another missing Revolutionary War veteran not yet discussed. This week, we explore the possibility. Settle in, because all the dates and names tend to get a little tangled up.

The move to Tennessee

Randolph Lawson, one of those three Revolutionary War veterans whose name was left off the plaque in Huntsville, was actually one of three brothers who fought in the war and then moved to Scott County. Joining Randolph here were brothers David Lawson (1758-1852) and John Lawson (1755-1838). They were all the sons of Bartholomew Lawson and Susannah Simpkins, who lived in Bedford County, Va., and had around 15 children. Two other brothers, Morman Lawson and William Lawson, also fought in the war but did not move to Scott County.

Fast-forward a few years, to the early 1800s.

Sometime around 1803, give or take a year or two, Abraham Goad led a caravan to New River, setting up a farm at what we now know as the Vanderpool Place, south of Huntsville. Born in 1740, Goad was the son of John Goad and Catherine Jennings of Virginia. He was the Joannah Sevier — whose son, John, was Tennessee’s first governor, and the man for whom both Sevierville and Sevier County are named.

Goad was an old man by the time he moved to Scott County. He was in his 30s when he served in the Virginia militia during the Revolutionary War. His wife, Ann Ayers, had died in 1788. Their children were all grown by the time Abraham loaded up his possessions and made the move to Tennessee.

We know that Goad settled on the Vanderpool Place for two reasons. One, he was buried at Vanderpool Cemetery in 1816. His grave is the oldest identifiable grave in Scott County. Two, his 100-acre plot was surveyed in 1808, and the document noted that it was located on the north side of New River, “including the bend.” This was a reference to the unique U-shape that New River makes as it curves around the Vanderpool Farm — land that is today owned by Huntsville’s Steve and Marla Howard.

Listed as a chainman on that survey record was Randolph Lawson — another of the forgotten Revolutionary War veterans. Lawson had served in the North Carolina militia and later married Susannah Cross. When he moved to present-day Scott County, he purchased a small parcel of land near the mouth of Paint Rock Creek. He was Goad’s next-door neighbor, so to speak.

Making the journey

What we don’t know is whether Randolph Lawson made the move to New River with Abraham Goad. What we do know is that Lawson had two brothers, David and John, who served in the war and also wound up in Scott County. Their names were both included on the 1976 courthouse plaque.

Also making the trip to Tennessee with Abraham Goad were several people: his son, Joshua Goad, and two of his daughters, Mary and Ann, along with all their spouses.

Joshua Goad was married to Sarah Smiddy (or Smithers). They had a huge family, including son Joshua Goad Jr., who married Elizabeth Emily Robbins and moved to Brimstone Creek, where the Walker farm is located today. (Their daughter was Almira Goad, who married Daniel Walker in 1866. Almira’s brother, John Goad, served as a sheriff of Scott County in the 1890s, and their sister, Etta Tennessee Goad, married school superintendent William Lee and was the grandmother of U.S. Congressman and Knoxville Mayor John J. Duncan Sr.)

Mary Goad was married to Thomas Phillips (1768-1841). Making the move to Tennessee with them was Thomas’s 15-year-old brother, Joseph Phillips (1787-1881). Thomas and Joseph were the sons of Revolutionary War veteran Tobias Phillips (1750-1808), of Grayson, Va. Their maternal grandmother, Hannah Goad (wife of George Phillips), was Abraham Goad’s first cousin. Shortly after they arrived in Tennessee, Joseph married Elizabeth “Millie” Lawson (1786-1838), the daughter of Randolph Lawson. Joseph and Millie settled at Little Bull Creek, and so established the expansive Phillips family there. One of their children was Jehu Phillips, who served as Scott County Trustee in the 1860s and later wrote a series of articles for the Cumberland Chronicle in 1904 that provide valuable insight into early Scott County. In Jehu Phillips’ writings, he made reference to a “Reynold Lawson” building Scott County’s first grist mill on Paint Rock Creek. This was likely a reference to Randolph Lawson, his maternal grandfather. The mill was probably located about where Paint Rock Falls is.

Finally, Ann Goad was married to Robert Lawson in Montgomery, Va., on Aug. 1, 1793. The coincidence — Robert Lawson had the same last name as Randolph Lawson, who was Goad’s next-door neighbor on New River — was always striking, but it was always believed to be just that: a coincidence. Robert Lawson has traditionally been believed to be the son of William Lawson (1731-1826) and Anne Harvey (1715-1775), and not closely related to Randolph and his two brothers.

A fourth Lawson brother?

William Lawson migrated from Scotland to Virginia and is referred to by genealogists as “The Scottish Rebel.” However, modern DNA testing is casting doubt on whether he is truly the father of Scott County’s Robert Lawson.

DNA testing shows little evidence of a connection between Robert Lawson, husband of Anna Goad, and William Lawson, the man long presumed to be his father. Genealogical researchers now suspect that Robert Lawson was connected to the group of Lawsons from Virginia that they refer to as “The Falling River Lawsons” — a group that includes brothers Randolph, David, and John.

Some genealogical records list Robert Lawson as the son of Jonas Lawson (1707-1771) and Millie Lawson (born about 1710). Jonas Lawson was a brother of Bartholomew Lawson, who was the father of Randolph, David, and John. If this were true, it would make Robert and the other three Lawsons first cousins.

However, other genealogists take the connection a step further. They list Robert Lawson as the son of Bartholomew Lawson and Susannah Simpkins — a brother to Randolph, David, and John.

These assumptions are supported by tax records from Henry County, Va., dated 1789 and 1790. Those tax records place Robert Lawson with the other “Falling River” Lawsons. The records list Mormon Lawson (a brother to Randolph, David, and John) and David Lawson, in addition to Robert. Additional records list Bartholomew and his wife, Susannah, along with David, Thomas, Jacob, and Robert.

Taken at face value, these records strongly suggest that Robert Lawson was a brother to Randolph, David, and John Lawson.

Meanwhile, there are court records from Montgomery, Va., that reference a council meeting that took place on April 28, 1778. The records discuss Capt. Johnathan Isom’s company from the Revolutionary War. Among the men in the company are Abram Goad, Randolph Lawson, Robert Lawson, Robert Lawson Jr., James Goad, and James Goad Sr.

This is not confirmation that Robert Lawson served in the Revolutionary War, but with DNA evidence that he was not the son of William “The Scottish Rebel” Lawson, it’s reasonable to suspect that he was part of the Bartholomew Lawson family and served in the Revolutionary War alongside Randolph Lawson and Abraham Goad.

This record also explains how Abraham Goad and Randolph Goad wound up being next-door neighbors on New River: they knew each other from their Revolutionary War service. Given that Randolph Lawson was in Scott County by 1808, when Abraham Goad’s land was surveyed, it makes sense to assume that he was part of the Goad caravan — especially if Robert, who was married to Abraham’s daughter, Ann, and was part of the caravan — was also part of the journey.

Life in Tennessee

Robert Lawson died in 1837, some 12 years before Scott County was formed. His wife, Anna, died in 1850. It isn’t known where either of them are buried.

Robert Lawson was listed in Campbell County when the 1830 census was taken. The Huntsville area was a part of Campbell County prior to 1849. Anna Lawson doesn’t appear in the 1850 census — she may have died before it was taken — so we do not know for sure that they actually lived in Scott County.

However, there are some records to support the assumption that they did. One is an 1810 land grant for 100 acres on New River, adjacent to Randolph Lawson and “the Goads.” There was also an 1836 land entry referring to a tract of land along the “Montgomery Fork of New River.” This area would have been in Scott County when it was formed in 1849. Most conclusive of all is Anna Lawson’s court petition to request a dower of her late husband’s real estate, which was filed on April 3, 1837, in Campbell County. The court appointed a commission that included Allen McDonald and Blackburn Thompson. Both McDonald and Thompson lived in the Huntsville area, suggesting that Robert and Anna’s property was also located in the Huntsville area.

All of the evidence is circumstantial, but it supports the idea that there was a fourth Lawson brother in Scott County: Randolph, David, John, and Robert. And, if that much is true, it must also support the idea that there is a fourth Revolutionary War veteran who was “forgotten” when the courthouse plaque was placed in 1976: Robert Lawson, brother of Randolph, David, and John Lawson, husband of Anna Goad, son-in-law of Abraham Goad.

Robert and Anna had at least four children: Sophronia Jane Lawson, Lucretia Lawson, James Robert Lawson, and David Lawson. Sophia (1794-1880) married Richard Griffith, a son of Revolutionary War veteran Joseph Griffith of Brimstone Creek.

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ONEIDA | Six co-valedictorians, five co-salutatorians, and a total of 14 students have been named top academic achievers in Oneida High School’s Class of 2026, Principal Stacy Love announced Tuesday.

Named the class’s valedictorians, with a GPA of 4.10714, are Isabella Bullar, Brady Burke, Kobie Kidd, Mason Laftery, Kamryn Stiltner, and Mariana Wright. Named the class’s salutatorians, with a GPA of 4.07143, are Anne Cross, Jolie Duncan, Hannah Foster, Jonathan Marcum, and Ethan Shockley. Rounding out this year’s honor graduates are Maggie Hamilton, with a GPA of 4.03571, and Allie Elmore and Miley Vanhook, with a GPA of 4.0.

Isabella Bullard is the daughter of Eilen Slaven and Stanley Bullard and stepdaughter of Barry Slaven. She is involved in Beta Club, National Honor Society, Band, Drama, and is the School Board Student Representative.

Brady Burke is the son of Melissa and Monty Burke. He is a two year member of National Honor Society, one year member of the Beta Club, and four year member of the football team. He earned All-Region Awards three times in his high school football career and received All-Academic Team honors twice. After graduation, Brady plans to attend Tennessee Tech and major in engineering.

Kobie Kidd is the daughter of Collin and Jade Kidd. She is a three year member of Beta Club, a two year member of National Honors, and has completed over 30 credit hours of dual enrollment courses. She plans to attend college and become a Radiologic Technologist.

Mason Lafferty is the son of Chris and Christina Tucker, and the late Mark Lafferty. He is a three year member of Beta Club and a two year member of the National Honor Society. He is deeply honored to receive the Valedictorian title in recognition of his hard work over the past four years. After graduation, Mason plans to attend a four year university to pursue a degree in engineering.

Kamryn Stiltner is the daughter of Leisha and David Lowe, and Matt Stiltner. She is a four year member of the OHS Lady Indians soccer and basketball teams. Kamryn has remained active in Best Buddies, Beta Club, National Honor Society, and serving as class vice president. She has also challenged herself through dual enrollment courses. Kamryn has been accepted to East Tennessee State University where she will be majoring in nursing. She credits her achievements to hard work, perseverance, and giving all glory to the Lord.

Mari Wright is the daughter of Melisa Wright and Darek Wright. She serves as the secretary for Beta Club and as the historian for the National Honor Society. Mari is also a four year member of the OHS cheer squad and has participated in Best Buddies for three years. In addition, she is active with the youth of Little Charity Church. Following graduation, Mari plans to attend the University of the Cumberlands to pursue a career as a Physician Assistant.

Anne Cross is the daughter of Rick and Kendra Cross. She is a proud member of the BETA Club, National Honor Society, Best Buddies, and Imprints of Honor Club. She plans to attend Tennessee Tech University after graduation and major in Zoology.

Jolie Duncan is the daughter of Will and Amanda Duncan. She is a three year member of the Beta Club and a two year member of Best Buddies and a four year member of the Softball team. After high school, Jolie is furthering her education at Tennessee Tech, where she will major in agribusiness and management.

Hannah Foster is the daughter of Paul and Chasity Foster. She is a three year member of the Beta Club, secretary of National Honor Society, president of the STAND YSLI Youth Coalition Board, three year member of Best Buddies, and she has over 500 service hours. She plans to attend college and pursue graduate studies to become a juvenile court advocate dedicated to supporting youth within the justice system. She was also the recipient of the Distinguished Tennessean Award from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

Jonathan Marcum has been at Oneida High School since his Kindergarten year. He has always valued hard work and strived to do his best in whatever he does. He is honored to receive this title as a result of his hard work and dedication he has put in these last four years. Go Indians!

Ethan Shockley, the son of John and Jennifer Shockley, is a four year member of FFA, as well as a member of the Beta Club and the National Honor Society. He is a dedicated and hardworking student who always strives to be empathetic toward others. He will be attending the University of Tennessee in the Chancellor’s Honors Program, where he is enrolled in a Pre-Med program. He hopes to one day work in the field of Oncology as a Molecular Pathologist.

Maggie Hamilton is the daughter of Trace and Chris Hamilton. She is a three year member of Beta Club and Best Buddies, as well as a two year member of the National Honor Society. After high school, Maggie plans to further her education at Roane State Community College where she will study to become a radiologic technologist.

Allie Elmore is involved in several clubs including Beta Club and National Honors. She has participated in Best Buddies. She have maintained a 4.0 GPA throughout my academic career, and I now have Honor Graduate status. She plans to attend the University of Tennessee, Knoxville this fall to pursue a career as a forensic psychologist.

Miley (Olivia) Van Hook is the daughter of Jason Van Hook and Miley Michelle Van Hook. She has been involved in band, drama, Beta Club, and National Honor Society.

HUNTSVILLE | Two announcements impacting the future of education in Scott County are expected this week.

The Scott County Board of Education will meet in special session at 10 a.m. Wednesday to choose its next director of schools. The board interviewed five candidates earlier this month: Kenny Chadwell, Keith Shannon, Daniel Sexton, Marc Taylor, and Jerry Gibson. One of those five will replace Bill Hall, who is retiring in June after 15 years as Scott County’s director of schools.

Separately, the Tennessee Board of Regents is expected to hear Chancellor Flora Tydings’ selection as president of Tennessee College of Applied Technology Oneida/Huntsville when it meets in special called session on Thursday. Earlier this month, two finalists were announced for the position: the school’s current vice president, Tim Smith, and Noah Duncan, who is currently a vice president of TCAT Knoxville. The two interviewed before a community panel on April 9. One of them will replace Dwight Murphy, who is retiring in June after 20 years as TCAT Oneida/Huntsville’s president.

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