Conings Farm Market & Bridge Hunting

Large hanging basket of petunias at Conings Market

Conings Farm Market & Bridge Hunting 

Monday July  27, 2020

Dana & Kenny Koogler

Pictures are here: Bridgehunter Pix

and Here

    Kenny was still getting over his surgery and not quite ready to go back to work. I got up with all sorts of plans for Monday only to be startled by him still at home and resting on the couch.  I felt the brakes go screeching on my plans.
It was a rough day.   Finally about three in the afternoon I told him to come on with me and go for a ride.   He agreed.   I knew we wouldn't be able to do much, but I couldn't take one more second sitting round the house. I couldn't take one more moment listening to the descriptions of every bodily sensation and symptom.   I know more about my spouse's parts than I ever wanted to know.

    I wanted to ride out to Conings Farm Market.  It had been a couple years since I went out there to buy produce.  We did that first as they closed at 6 pm. 
The drive out to the market is beautiful. You have a view of Chilhowee Mountain and some of the more remote parts of our county.  Blount County is a good sized one in our state.   Bigger than you realize!

      We got out there and found the market open.  They did not have quite the selection of items they usually do, but it was still good. We bought a fresh cantaloupe, a sugar doll seedless watermelon, peaches and cream bicolor corn, and yellow squash.    The market is real pretty. 

 Above: God Bless America.. the flag of our nation and state.

 Above: View of Chilhowee Mountain in the distance.

 Above and below.. views of the market front with their pretty hanging baskets.

 Above and below-- produce that is just the best

 Above and below: plants and tomatoes and cucumbers.

   

   We had some of the bicolor corn for supper later.  We had watermelon also.

 Above: Peaches and cream variety of corn is the all time best corn ever! We love it.
Below: slicing open the seedless sugar doll melon juicy and fresh!

     Once we left the market we headed out even further into the corner of our county. Trigonia!  I think it got its name from where Blount, Loudon, and Monroe counties all come together.     It was another pretty drive on country roads.    I am ready to move out here just anytime, but I expect it will have to wait til Kenny retires. 

      I had long wanted another chance to visit Thompson bridge, but did not want to go alone.  The bridge is a remnant from where they re-routed the road and put in a new bridge... leaving the old one abandoned.   A long abandoned store sits at the Lanier Road end of the bridge.  Bars on the windows like it was in downtown New York or Miami.    Very odd sight.  The reason I didn't want to do this alone is that the bridge is thoroughly overgrown with poison ivy, kudzu, and all sorts of vegetation.   I got out of the jeep and took a look at it. I was going to have to force myself to feel the fear and do it anyway.

      I noticed that from the old store you can't even see the bridge it is so swallowed by green growth. 

 Above: old store at the end of the bridge

 You can't see the bridge from here

 above: poison ivy and weeds galore!

 Thankfully the middle of the bridge was more open

 Looking off the side

 Thompson bridge

 This is the end of Thompson bridge closer to Big Gully Road. It would be easier to visit it in Summer, by parking across the road at the pull off for Ninemile Creek and come in from the Big Gully end.  Less weeds

 Above: Kenny turns around getting ready to walk back to the jeep.

Above: Ninemile Creek viewed from the side of the bridge.


     It was not the most exciting thing to do, but it beat the heck out of sitting round the house.  Next we motored on toward Big Elm Bridge. I was wanting to finally visit the Shaddon Mill site.  I had studied up on it enough to think I was going to find it today.   Kenny wasn't interested so he called his coworker about going back to work in the morning while I climbed over the bank.

     

   
Above: Big Elm bridge is a neat old bridge way out in our county. 
Below: Ninemile Creek viewed off Big Elm Bridge--today I realized that this creek stays muddy all the time.  First visit I thought it was muddy because of the rain storm that just ended.
 

 Above: I'm down the bank and under the bridge

 It is a short distance up to the mill site.  The vegetation is not too bad. a few briars, switch cane, and vines.

 Ninemile Creek .. even though this is a rough, muddy creek I still like it. I grew up swimming in an old cow creek like this.

 Above: Shaddon Mill site is not much more than a remnant dam/rock wall and a flat spot where the mill used to sit.  It is very old. It is one of the area grist mills that floundered with the coming of technology and the construction of Tellico Lake. 

Above: Another look at the Shaddon Mill site.

  According to the National Register of Historic Landmarks.. the Shaddon Mill was active from 1850-1900 then I  guess it sat abandoned or idle.  I read a description that said it was the foundation, the wall/dam the mill turbine.  I know from reading a thesis  written by a UT student.. that the Tellico area mills were studied and excavated. The mill equipment from Shaddon Mill is in storage at Norris, Tennessee.   TVA removed and kept it.   Trigonia Mill was nearby. The two mills were barely a mill apart.

   The thesis goes on to say that the Shadden Mill was originally run by Silas Pearson as both a grist mill and saw mill.  They ground only corn here at this mill.  It was later run by Frank Shadden and at some point later began to be known as "Skeens Mill".    It says that because this mill site would not be flooded by the coming of the lake no archeological work was done.

    I climbed back up the bank and prepared to go home.  I was satisfied that I had at last visited and photographed two spots I'd long had on my mind.  Not a real exciting day.  I had Kenny pull down to an abandoned bank on the way home. 

I want to visit Militia Springs which lies behind that bank.  

It isn't a long distance into the woods, but it is very snakey.  I expect it would be best to wait til the weather is cold to do this trip.   The first spring is not far into the woods, but the second one is a bit further. 

   

  

Mill Hunting and Bridge Hunting on Back Roads

Partridge Pea  was in bloom along many back roads in the area

Mill Hunting and Bridge Hunting on Back Roads 

Dana Koogler 

Sunday August 11, 2019

Mill Pictures are here starting with frame # 27 

Bridge Pictures are here starting with frame #7

Bridgehunter.com

Mill Pictures.com

    I decided I wanted to do something different this weekend.  It was hot and I needed a change so I decided to indulge one of my other hobbies. I enjoy bridge hunting and grist mill hunting.   I had the good fortune on Saturday on the way home from hiking to locate and photograph the Belltown Mill in Tellico Plains.   

Below is a photo of that. Belltown Mill 

   I put together a route using google maps that would make the most sense. I wanted a logical progression along the roads. I did not want to have to do a bunch of back tracking.   I did not get to quite all on my list, but I got the biggest part of it.   I felt it was too hot, weedy and snaky to be trudging round the old McGhee-Carson State Park.   I will wait on that for a slightly cooler day.

I looked up info on Thompson Bridge and was fascinated by what I found.  It looks interesting on bridge hunter website, but even more so on a satellite view.   There appeared to be an abandoned building at the far end of the bridge.   I went in search of that first.  It sits at a ninety degree angle to the bridge which replaced it.     I drove back toward Trigonia only to be met with a bridge so badly overgrown in weeds and vegetation to be practically impossible to see.  The southern end is at least visible, but the norther end is not.  You can stand right beside it and not know it is there. I snapped a couple shots of the store building and the bridge's far end and realized it would have to wait til Winter to be revisited and photographed.   

 Above: This is all you can see of Thompson Bridge from its southern end.

Above: Old store building next to Thompson Bridge. Wonder what this store was called?
 I have searched the national register of historic places and done google searches, but no luck thus far.
If  I see anyone round when I am there next time I will ask.

    Once I found Thompson Bridge such as it was, I turned round and went back to highway 411 and headed south.  I passed by the old Greenback IGA building somewhere along my route. 

Below is an image of this local grocery store which is still in operation.

   Next I decided to head toward the Eve Mill site.  It looked really pretty.  I wanted to see it for myself.   It was easy to find and sits right by the road on Fork Creek in Loudon.      I also found a blog relating to it where a fellow visited it.  It was a nice read with some good photos.  It was known at one time by the name Fowler Mill.   Below are several images of the mill, outbuildings and the stream with the mill weir.  Yet another low head dam on a Tennessee river. They are deemed killing machines because they cause lots of drownings. I may be wrong, but I doubt many people if ANY swim on this stream.  

Above: Barn across from the mill

 Above: Mill building from the north end

 Fork creek and the mill weir both above and below... a closer shot of it.

Above:  Mill looks pretty under blue skies with that barn red paint.

Above:  Fork Creek is a rather pretty stream.  It looks like it is at least partially spring fed.  

   Next I plugged in the coordinates for Pond Creek Mill aka Robinson Mill.  It was five miles from Eve Mill.   It was an easy drive back over to Hwy 72 to reach it.     It is posted, but again right by the road in easy view.    I was able to pull over and snap some photos without creating any problems. No one was around.   I did not have to trespass to see it.   

Above: Pond Creek Mill viewed from the roadside on the north

Above: This must be Pond Creek. It is rather pretty and clear.

Above: Back of Pond Creek Mill toward the creek side.. south end.  Viewed from the bridge. 

        

   I was done with these mills so I headed back toward home.   A few weeks ago I had some bad information that the Clover Hill Mill near my house was still open for business.  I went by there on the way to Greenback Castle to visit and buy flour and corn meal.  I found it to be closed down and just a hang out for old fellows in the neighborhood.   It was a neat old place. I hate it that it is no longer in business.    

 Above: Grain silos for Clover Hill Mill
Below: Clover Hill grist mill

         I wrapped up my day and headed home.    I later found a former UT student's thesis on several area grist mills.  It was dated 1986 and was fully online.  I bookmarked it and read it and it has fueled more questions.  Mill Pictures and Bridgehunter are fun and interesting websites, but they are by no means complete.   I learned of several mills recently that are excluded from Mill Pictures.  I also learned that Bridgehunter claims to want updates on situations with bridges, but when I submitted some info.......... it went unheeded.    So take all that info with a grain of salt.  

  Examples: Binfield Rail Overpass is open for traffic of all kinds.  Website says it is closed to all traffic.    

   Thompson Bridge is shown as very clear and free of debris, but it is overgrown as it can possibly be.    

  Other examples of outdated or incomplete information:

Belltown mill is not listed on the mill pictures site.

Cog Hill Mill is not even mentioned.

Hawn Mill is not mentioned

Hawkins Mill is not mentioned

Kelso's mill not mentioned

Trigonia Mill not mentioned

Shadden Creek Mill (Skeens Mill) not mentioned

Barum Creek Mill 

John Hackney Mill site 

  I hope to get round to seeing the last eight on the list above.  There are so many good ones and I want to see them even if they are just a mill weir left.    I mentioned the learning of the mills and the still standing old Toqua school to which he laughed and said "Oh yes, there are lots and lots of mills around back in those days. "    I have the feeling I've only scratched the surface even now.

   Other bridges I want to see are the Howard School Road Bridge.  I was in the vicinity and still managed to miss that one.   I also want to go see a newer, more recent bridge.. the East Lakeshore trail bridge at Coytee.    

  Another neat feature I have been using is the Landmark hunter site which is connected to Bridgehunter.  I will never run out of places to snoop!  

   from Landmark Hunter and National Register of Historic Places I'd also like to see the James Gillespie House out on Lowe's Ferry Road.  It has a powerful history associated with it. 

Below is a short video of Eve Mill 

**After typing up this report I learned of Riverdale Mill in Knoxville!