Clinch Mountain: Difference between revisions

Clinch Mountain
Clinch Mountain
	U.S. Route 25 on Clinch Mountain, c. 2008
Highest point
Elevation	4,689 ft (1,429 m)(Beartown Mountain summit)
Coordinates	36°26′N 82°58′W / 36.433°N 82.967°W
Geography
	Clinch Mountain Tennessee and Virginia, U.S. Clinch Mountain Clinch Mountain (Tennessee)
Parent range	Appalachian Mountains, Ridge-and-valley Appalachians
Climbing
First ascent	1775 by Daniel Boone and William Bean
Easiest route	US 25E/SR 32 in Grainger County, Tennessee

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Clinch Mountain is a mountain ridge in the U.S. states of Tennessee and Virginia, lying in the ridge-and-valley section of the Appalachian Mountains. From its southern terminus at Kitts Point, which lies at the intersection of Knox, Union and Grainger counties near Blaine, Tennessee, it runs in a generally east-northeasterly direction to Garden Mountain near Burke's Garden, Virginia. It separates the Clinch River basin to the north and the Holston River basin to the south.

Geography[edit]

Clinch Mountain is a long ridge, about 150 miles (240 km) in length, and because of its size it is sometimes called a mountain range or complex. It runs generally southwest-northeast, with numerous curves. Its north-south extent is 97 miles (156 km), and its east-west extent is 172 miles (277 km). The ridge includes the sub-range of Knob Mountain, as well as four summits above 4,000 feet (Beartown Mountain, Flattop Mountain, Morris Knob, and Chimney Rock Peak).

For its entire length, Clinch Mountain has only one true gap through which the ridge is completely sliced in half and continues as Clinch Mountain on either side, divided by Big Moccasin Creek. It is named Moccasin Gap and runs between Weber City and Gate City, Virginia. The Norfolk Southern Railway and U.S. Highways 23-58-421 utilize that gap because there is no elevation in the division of the mountain.

When U.S. Highway 25E was realigned into a four-lane highway northwest of Bean Station, Tennessee, in the 1980s, it was necessary to cut a new gap into the top of Clinch Mountain, which lowered the original gap elevation by 200 feet. That realignment, along with the lowering of Interstate 26-U.S. Highway 23 at Sams Gap on the Tennessee-North Carolina border, are the only instances of a highway gap in Tennessee actually lowering an original gap where a state or federal highway was built through. (Sams Gap was lowered by 150 feet to accommodate Interstate 26).

History[edit]

Clinch Mountain is named after the Clinch River, which was named after an 18th-century explorer.^[2] The earliest known reference to the name is in the 18th-century journal of Thomas Walker: "Clinch's River, from one Clinch a hunter."^[3] The Wilderness Road to the Cumberland Gap crossed Clinch Mountain at Moccasin Gap.

Signal Point peak situated near Kitts Point, the southern terminus of Clinch Mountain, was used to signal troops during the Civil War. The mountains along the Clinch Mountain ridge played an important role in the Battle of Bean's Station.

The mountains in Grainger County, Tennessee, had prominence in the late 19th century when the mineral springs in the area drew notable visitors from around the globe. Tate Springs, as the town and resort were named, included a hotel, golf course and mineral baths. The seasonal resort even had its own spur on the railroad, so visitors could easily make the trip from all over the country. Notable guests included the Fords, Studebakers, Mellons, Firestones and Rockefellers. Because of a devastating fire and the Great Depression, only a few buildings survive today.

In the 1970s through the 1980s, plans for a 75-mile-long hiking trail system known as the Trail of the Lonesome Pine were proposed to run along the ridgeline of Clinch Mountain from the Tennessee-Virginia state line in Hancock County to its terminus in Grainger County. The plans were met with extreme opposition from unwilling property owners, particularly those from Grainger County, as the project would be nearly complete in the Hawkins and Hancock portions of the trail system. With the unwillingness from Grainger County property owners, the trail system would be abandoned all-together in 1981 despite the completion of construction outside of Grainger County.^[4]

In popular culture[edit]

"Way Up on Clinch Mountain," a folk song based on a 17th-century Scottish ballad, was recorded by Woody Guthrie as "Rye Whiskey," and is included in Carl Sandburg's American Songbag. The song is credited by him with inspiring the legion of "Bang Bang Lulu" variants.^[5] The Carter Family immortalized the American mountain in their 1928 "My Clinch Mountain Home." A fiddle tune called "Clinch Mountain Backstep" (attributed to Ralph Stanley [1]) is in the Appalachian folk repertoire.

Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, produced an original work in 2018 based on several individuals and families from this area. Bloodroot: The Ballad of Clinch Mountain, was created by the Women's Writing Project at Liberty. The play is based on actual events ranging from the 18th to the 20th century. Characters include Mary Draper Ingles, Orelena Hawks Puckett, the Carter family, and several others of note.

Crossings[edit]

The following crossings of Clinch Mountain can be made, from southwest to northeast:

Tennessee

Joppa Mountain Road connects Joppa and Powder Springs via Powder Spring Gap.
U.S. Route 25E (State Route 32) connects Tazewell and Bean Station via Bean Gap.
State Route 31 connects Spruce Pine and Treadway via Flat Gap.
State Route 66 connects Klondike and Lee Valley via Big War Gap.
State Route 70 connects Alumwell and Eidson via Little War Gap.

Virginia

The CSX Kingsport Subdivision connects Kermit and Speers Ferry via the Clinch Mountain Tunnel.
U.S. Route 23/U.S. Route 58/U.S. Route 421 and the Norfolk Southern Railway Appalachia Division connect Weber City and Gate City via Moccasin Gap.
State Route 612 connects Mendota and Collinwood via Fugate Gap.
U.S. Route 19/U.S. Route 58 Alternate connects Holston and Hansonville via Little Moccasin Gap.
State Route 80 connects the settlement of Hayters Gap and Rockdell via Hayters Gap.
State Route 91 connects Tannersville and Maiden Spring via two-way mountain crossing in Tazewell County, Virginia.
State Route 16 connects Asberrys and Benbow via Back of the Dragon Clinch Mountain Crossing in Tazewell County, Virginia.

References[edit]

^ Coffey, Ken (October 19, 2012). "The First Family of Tennessee". Grainger County Historic Society. Thomas Daugherty. Archived from the original on March 20, 2018. Retrieved August 20, 2020.
^ Collins, Lewis (1877). History of Kentucky. p. 416.
^ Stewart, p.146
^ Brooks, David (September 30, 1984). "Opposition may doom Clinch Mountain trail". Kingsport Times-News. Retrieved May 12, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Sandburg, Carl. American Songbag, pp. 307 ff. 1927. Accessed 13 Jan 2014.

External links[edit]

"Clinch Mountain". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
"Clinch Mountain Complex". Peakbagger.com.
Stewart, George R. (1967). Names on the Land. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.

[bean-1] Coffey, Ken (October 19, 2012). "The First Family of Tennessee". Grainger County Historic Society. Thomas Daugherty. Archived from the original on March 20, 2018. Retrieved August 20, 2020.

[2] Collins, Lewis (1877). History of Kentucky. p. 416.

[3] Stewart, p.146

[brooks-4] Brooks, David (September 30, 1984). "Opposition may doom Clinch Mountain trail". Kingsport Times-News. Retrieved May 12, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.

[5] Sandburg, Carl. American Songbag, pp. 307 ff. 1927. Accessed 13 Jan 2014.

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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{Short description|Mountain ridge in Tennessee and Virginia, United States}}
 {{Infobox mountain
 | name = Clinch Mountain
 | photo = Clinch-mountain-25-tn1.jpg
-| photo_caption =
+| photo_caption = U.S. Route 25 on Clinch Mountain, {{circa|2008}}
 | elevation_ft = 4689
-| elevation_ref = ("Beartown Mountain" summit)
+| elevation_ref = (Beartown Mountain summit)
 | prominence =
 | listing =
@@ Line 15: / Line 15: @@
 | type =
 | age =
-| first_ascent = 1775 by [[Daniel Boone]] and [[William Bean]]<ref name="bean">{{cite web |last1=Coffey |first1=Ken |title=The First Family of Tennessee |url=http://graingertnhistory.com/story_2/ |website=Grainger County Historic Society |publisher=Thomas Daugherty |access-date=August 20, 2020 |date=October 19, 2012 }}</ref>
+| first_ascent = 1775 by [[Daniel Boone]] and [[William Bean]]<ref name="bean">{{cite web |last1=Coffey |first1=Ken |title=The First Family of Tennessee |url=http://graingertnhistory.com/story_2/ |website=Grainger County Historic Society |publisher=Thomas Daugherty |access-date=August 20, 2020 |date=October 19, 2012 |archive-date=March 20, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180320163029/http://graingertnhistory.com/story_2/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>
 | easiest_route = [[U.S. Route 25E|US 25E]]/[[Tennessee State Route 32|SR 32]] in [[Grainger County, Tennessee]]
 }}
-'''Clinch Mountain''' is a [[mountain]] [[ridge]] in the [[U.S. state]]s of [[Tennessee]] and [[Virginia]], lying in the [[ridge-and-valley Appalachians|ridge-and-valley]] section of the [[Appalachian Mountains]]. From its southern terminus at Kitts Point, which lies at the intersection of Knox, Union and Grainger counties near [[Blaine, Tennessee]], it runs in a generally east-northeasterly direction to [[Garden Mountain]] near [[Burke's Garden, Virginia]]. It separates the [[Clinch River]] basin, to the north, and the [[Holston River]] basin, to the south.
+'''Clinch Mountain''' is a [[mountain]] [[ridge]] in the [[U.S. state]]s of [[Tennessee]] and [[Virginia]], lying in the [[ridge-and-valley Appalachians|ridge-and-valley]] section of the [[Appalachian Mountains]]. From its southern terminus at Kitts Point, which lies at the intersection of Knox, Union and Grainger counties near [[Blaine, Tennessee]], it runs in a generally east-northeasterly direction to [[Garden Mountain]] near [[Burke's Garden, Virginia]]. It separates the [[Clinch River]] basin to the north and the [[Holston River]] basin to the south.
 ==Geography==
+Clinch Mountain is a long ridge, about {{convert|150|mi|km|-1}} in length, and because of its size it is sometimes called a mountain range or complex. It runs generally southwest-northeast, with numerous curves. Its north-south extent is {{convert|97|mi|km|0}}, and its east-west extent is {{convert|172|mi|km|0}}. The ridge includes the sub-range of Knob Mountain, as well as four summits above 4,000 feet ([[Beartown Mountain]], [[Flattop Mountain]], [[Morris Knob]], and [[Chimney Rock (Tennessee)|Chimney Rock]] Peak).
-[[Image:Clinch-mountain-25-tn1.jpg|right|250px|thumb|US-25E descending the south slope of Clinch Mountain]]
+For its entire length, Clinch Mountain has only one true [[Water gap|gap]] through which the ridge is completely sliced in half and continues as Clinch Mountain on either side, divided by Big Moccasin Creek. It is named [[Moccasin Gap]] and runs between [[Weber City, Virginia|Weber City]] and [[Gate City, Virginia]]. The [[Norfolk Southern Railway]] and U.S. Highways [[U.S. Route 23|23]]-[[U.S. Route 58|58]]-[[U.S. Route 421|421]] utilize that gap because there is no elevation in the division of the mountain.
-Clinch Mountain is a long ridge, about {{convert|150|mi|km|-1}} in length. It runs generally southwest-northeast, with numerous curves. Its north-south extent is {{convert|97|mi|km|0}}, and east-west {{convert|172|mi|km|0}}. Due to its size it is sometimes called a mountain range or complex. The ridge includes the sub-range of Knob Mountain, as well as four summits above 4,000 feet ([[Beartown Mountain]], [[Flattop Mountain]], [[Morris Knob]], and [[Chimney Rock (Tennessee)|Chimney Rock]] Peak).
-For its entire length, Clinch Mountain has only one true gap through which the ridge is completely sliced in half and continues as Clinch Mountain on either side, divided by Big Moccasin Creek. It is named Moccasin Gap and runs between Weber City and Gate City, Virginia. The Norfolk Southern Railway and U.S. Highways 23-58-421 utilize that gap because there is no elevation in the division of the mountain. Moccasin Gap is currently planned to undergo major mountain removal to accommodate a planned highway project.  The natural appearance of the gap will be altered significantly. 30 miles northeast of Moccasin Gap, in Russell County, U.S. Highway 58 Alternate crosses Clinch Mountain at Brumley Mountain, between Hansonville and Abingdon.
+When [[U.S. Highway 25E]] was realigned into a four-lane highway northwest of [[Bean Station, Tennessee]], in the 1980s, it was necessary to cut a new gap into the top of Clinch Mountain, which lowered the original gap elevation by 200 feet. That realignment, along with the lowering of [[Interstate 26]]-U.S. Highway 23 at [[Sams Gap]] on the Tennessee-North Carolina border, are the only instances of a highway gap in Tennessee actually lowering an original gap where a state or federal highway was built through. (Sams Gap was lowered by 150 feet to accommodate Interstate 26).
-All other transportation crossings, as noted below, require an elevation climb to the top of the Clinch Mountain.
-When [[U.S. Highway 25E]] was realigned into a four-lane highway northwest of [[Bean Station, Tennessee]] in the 1980s, it was necessary to cut a new gap into the top of Clinch Mountain, which lowered the original gap elevation by 200 feet. That realignment, along with the lowering of [[Interstate 26]]-[[U.S. Highway 23]] at [[Sams Gap]] on the Tennessee-North Carolina border, are the only instances of a highway gap in Tennessee actually lowering an original gap where a state or federal highway was built through. (Sams Gap was lowered by 150 feet to accommodate the new Interstate 26 highway).
 ==History==
-Clinch Mountain is named after the [[Clinch River]], which was named after an 18th-century explorer.<ref>{{cite book|last=Collins|first=Lewis|title=History of Kentucky|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F5FQAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA416|year=1877|page=416}}</ref> The earliest known reference to the name is in the 18th-century journal of [[Thomas Walker (explorer)|Dr. Thomas Walker]]: "Clinch's River, from one Clinch a hunter" (Stewart, 1967:146).
+Clinch Mountain is named after the [[Clinch River]], which was named after an 18th-century explorer.<ref>{{cite book|last=Collins|first=Lewis|title=History of Kentucky|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F5FQAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA416|year=1877|page=416}}</ref> The earliest known reference to the name is in the 18th-century journal of [[Thomas Walker (explorer)|Thomas Walker]]: "Clinch's River, from one Clinch a hunter."<ref>Stewart, p.146</ref> The [[Wilderness Road]] to the [[Cumberland Gap]] crossed Clinch Mountain at Moccasin Gap.
+Signal Point peak situated near Kitts Point, the southern terminus of Clinch Mountain, was used to signal troops during the Civil War. The mountains along the Clinch Mountain ridge played an important role in the [[Battle of Bean's Station]].
-The [[Wilderness Road]] to the [[Cumberland Gap]] crossed Clinch Mountain at [[Moccasin Gap]], which [[Moccasin Creek (Virginia)|Moccasin Creek]] flows through to join the [[Holston River]] to the south.
-Signal Point peak situated near Kitts Point, the southern terminus of Clinch Mountain, was used to signal troops during the Civil War.  The mountains along the Clinch Mountain Ridge also played an important role in the [[Battle of Bean's Station]].  Apart from battles, the mountains in Grainger County, Tennessee had prominence in the late 1800s when the mineral springs in the area drew notable visitors from around the globe. Tate Springs, as the town and resort were named, included an enormous hotel, golf course and mineral baths. The seasonal resort even had its own spur on the railroad, so visitors could easily make the trip from all over the country. Notable guests included the Fords, Studebakers, Mellons, Firestones and Rockefellers. Because of a devastating fire and the Great Depression, only a few buildings survive today.
+The mountains in [[Grainger County, Tennessee]], had prominence in the late 19th century when the mineral springs in the area drew notable visitors from around the globe. [[Tate Springs]], as the town and resort were named, included a hotel, golf course and mineral baths. The seasonal resort even had its own spur on the railroad, so visitors could easily make the trip from all over the country. Notable guests included the Fords, Studebakers, Mellons, Firestones and Rockefellers. Because of a devastating fire and the Great Depression, only a few buildings survive today.
-In the 1970s through the 1980s, plans for a 75-mile-long hiking trail system known as the Trail of the Lonesome Pine were proposed to run along the ridgeline of Clinch Mountain from the Tennessee-Virginia state line in Hancock County to its terminus in the city of Blaine in Grainger County. The plans were met with [[NIMBY|extreme opposition from unwilling property owners]], particularly those from Grainger County, as the project would be nearly complete in the Hawkins and Hancock portions of the trail system. With the unwillingness from Grainger County property owners, the trail system would be abandoned all-together in 1981 despite the completion of construction outside of Grainger County.<ref name="brooks">{{cite news |last1=Brooks |first1=David |title=Opposition may doom Clinch Mountain trail |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/77576906/opposition-may-doom-clinch-mountain/ |access-date=May 12, 2021 |work=[[Kingsport Times-News]] |via=Newspapers.com |date=September 30, 1984}}</ref>
+In the 1970s through the 1980s, plans for a 75-mile-long hiking trail system known as the Trail of the Lonesome Pine were proposed to run along the ridgeline of Clinch Mountain from the Tennessee-Virginia state line in [[Hancock County, Tennessee|Hancock County]] to its terminus in Grainger County. The plans were met with [[NIMBY|extreme opposition from unwilling property owners]], particularly those from Grainger County, as the project would be nearly complete in the [[Hawkins County, Tennessee|Hawkins]] and Hancock portions of the trail system. With the unwillingness from Grainger County property owners, the trail system would be abandoned all-together in 1981 despite the completion of construction outside of Grainger County.<ref name="brooks">{{cite news |last1=Brooks |first1=David |title=Opposition may doom Clinch Mountain trail |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/77576906/opposition-may-doom-clinch-mountain/ |access-date=May 12, 2021 |work=[[Kingsport Times-News]] |via=Newspapers.com |date=September 30, 1984}}</ref>
+==In popular culture==
-==Music==
 "Way Up on Clinch Mountain," a folk song based on a 17th-century Scottish ballad, was recorded by Woody Guthrie as "Rye Whiskey," and is included in [[Carl Sandburg]]'s ''[[American Songbag]]''.  The song is credited by him with inspiring the legion of "[[Bang Bang Lulu]]" variants.<ref>Sandburg, Carl. ''American Songbag'', [https://archive.org/details/americansongbag029895mbp pp.&thinsp;307&nbsp;ff]. 1927. Accessed 13&nbsp;Jan&nbsp;2014.</ref> The [[Carter Family]] immortalized the American mountain in their 1928 "My Clinch Mountain Home." A [[fiddle]] tune called "Clinch Mountain Backstep" (attributed to [[Ralph Stanley]][http://www.ibiblio.org/fiddlers/CIA_CNU.htm]) is in the Appalachian folk repertoire.
+[[Liberty University]] in Lynchburg, Virginia, produced an original work in 2018 based on several individuals and families from this area. ''Bloodroot: The Ballad of Clinch Mountain'', was created by the Women's Writing Project at Liberty. The play is based on actual events ranging from the 18th to the 20th century. Characters include [[Mary Draper Ingles]], [[Orelena Hawks Puckett]], the [[Carter family]], and several others of note.
-==Literature==
-Clinch Mountain is also the referenced home of one branch the [[Sackett]] family tree, a fictional family that [[Louis L'Amour]] made famous with a series of seventeen books.
-[[Liberty University]] in Lynchburg, Virginia produced an original work in 2018 based on several individuals and families from this area. ''Bloodroot: The Ballad of Clinch Mountain'', was created by the Women's Writing Project at Liberty. The play is based on actual events ranging from the 18th to the 20th century. Characters include [[Mary Draper Ingles]], [[Orelena Hawks Puckett]], the [[Carter family]], and several others of note.
+==Crossings==
-==Transportation crossings==
 The following crossings of Clinch Mountain can be made, from southwest to northeast:
 ;Tennessee
@@ Line 65: / Line 58: @@
 * [[U.S. Route 19 (Virginia)|U.S. Route 19]]/[[U.S. Route 58 Alternate (Virginia)|U.S. Route 58 Alternate]] connects [[Holston, Virginia|Holston]] and [[Hansonville, Virginia|Hansonville]] via [[Little Moccasin Gap]].
 * [[State Route 80 (Virginia)|State Route 80]] connects the settlement of [[Hayters Gap, Virginia|Hayters Gap]] and [[Rockdell, Virginia|Rockdell]] via Hayters Gap.
-* [[State Route 91 (Virginia)|State Route 91]] connects [[Tannersville, Virginia|Tannersville]] and [[Maiden Spring, Virginia|Maiden Spring]] via an unnamed crossing.
+* [[State Route 91 (Virginia)|State Route 91]] connects [[Tannersville, Virginia|Tannersville]] and [[Maiden Spring, Virginia|Maiden Spring]] via two-way mountain crossing in Tazewell County, Virginia.
-* [[State Route 16 (Virginia)|State Route 16]] connects [[Asberrys, Virginia|Asberrys]] and [[Benbow, Virginia|Benbow]] via an unnamed crossing.
+* [[State Route 16 (Virginia)|State Route 16]] connects [[Asberrys, Virginia|Asberrys]] and [[Benbow, Virginia|Benbow]] via Back of the Dragon Clinch Mountain Crossing in Tazewell County, Virginia.
 ==See also==
 * [[Clinch Mountain Boys]]
 * [[Clinch Mountain Wildlife Management Area]]
+* [[List of subranges of the Appalachian Mountains]]
 ==References==
 {{Reflist}}
+== External links ==
 * {{cite gnis |id=1269472 |name=Clinch Mountain}}
 * {{cite peakbagger |rid=16322 |name=Clinch Mountain Complex}}

v t e Mountains of Virginia
Allegheny Mountains	Allegheny Mountain Peters Mountain Reddish Knob Shenandoah Mountain
Blue Ridge Mountains	Apple Orchard Mountain Battle Mountain Broken Hills Buck Mountain Bull Run Mountains Catoctin Mountain Elk Pond Mountain Furnace Mountain Hawksbill Mountain High Knob Hogback Mountain Holston Mountain Humpback Rock Knob Mountain Loudoun Heights Maintop Mountain Mary's Rock Mine Bank Mountain Mount Jefferson Mount Rogers Neighbor Mountain Old Rag Mountain Paris Mountain Peaks of Otter Pignut Mountain Poor Mountain The Priest Purcell Knob Ragged Mountains Rocky Mountain Short Hill Mountain Smith Mountain Southwest Mountains Stony Man Mountain Turkeycock Mountain Twelve O'clock Knob Whitetop Mountain
Cumberland Mountains	High Knob Pine Mountain Tri-State Peak
Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians	Beartown Mountain Big Schloss Clinch Mountain Elliott Knob Fort Lewis Mountain Great North Mountain Massanutten Mountain Powell Mountain Salt Pond Mountain Timber Ridge
Others	Camp Rock Carpenter Mountain Cedar Mountain House Mountain Kate's Mountain McAfee Knob Nakedtop Pantops Mountain Roanoke Mountain Short Mountain Signal Knob Willis Mountain