Sue Crockett and I were off to find "Lovelady Gap."
I had printed off a photo from the Internet of what we were looking for.
It's an overlook. Our quest to find "Lovelady Gap" overlook
took us WAY UP on the mountainside on an unpaved, but well-maintained road in
the national forest. You go up on
Wallens Ridge to find Lovelady Gap. Now
I know!
Every stop in Lee County has some history behind it. In these rugged mountains, our history is always
related to our geological formations and topography and such. It’s all about mountains and gaps, which have
always then translated into trails and passes.
It started back when those buffalo and other big animals found their way
across and through the region, finding gaps, going from one big mineral lick to
another. The Native Americans found
those trails. The long hunters found
those trails. The frontier settlers
travelled those trails. For the most
part, those trails became today’s roads.
As an introduction to Lovelady Gap, I’ll first offer up a link to
a website about The High Knob Landform. Lovelady Gap and Lee County are part of The High Knob Landform. This first link
includes maps, introductory information and an EXTRAORDINARY collection of photos. This collection includes photos of many
sites, scenery, flowers, plants, and birds taken in Lee County by Lee County
resident Harold Jerrell. His photos include
Cumberland Gap National Historical Park, Wilderness Road State Park, Keokee
Lake, the Powell River, Martins Creek, Cowan Mill, and Stone Face Rock. Folks, if you want to see hundreds of
stunningly beautiful photos of The High Knob Landform, including Lee County, go
here, and just KEEP ON scrolling down and down and down for a beautiful and
informative tour of The High Knob Landform: http://www.highknoblandform.com/2009/09/high-knob-landform.html. I stand amazed.
And
here is a recent photo of Lovelady Gap on the same High Knob Landform website: http://www.highknoblandform.com/2013_09_01_archive.html
Lovelady
Gap was named after Thomas Lovelady. He
was born in 1750. He outlived two wives
and survived numerous battles. First, he
got drafted and fought the Tories in the Revolutionary War. Then he re-enlisted. Then he volunteered for
the Chickamauga Campaign against the Cherokee.
Next he was chasing the British and the Tories again in the battle of
Cowpens. He marched against Lord Cornwallis. He fought in the battle at Guilford
Courthouse. At some point, he settled in
Lee County (while Lee County was still a part of Washington County) and he was
doing some friendly trading with the Shawnee.
Once upon a time, he was camping on nearby Black Mountain with five men
who were ginseng diggers. He warned them
that the owl sounds they were hearing were really Indians. The others ignored his warnings, so he snuck away
from the camp and hid in a nearby hollow log.
The others were all massacred by the Indians. He was quite the survivor and lived to at
least 90 years old. An article titled “Thomas
Lovelady and the Origin of Lovelady Gap” was written by Emory L. Hamilton and published
in “The Historical Sketches of Southwest Virginia Publication 10 – 1976.” The article is located at http://vagenweb.org/lee/HSpubl56.htm. Here’s a link to the Revolutionary Pension Application
of Thomas Lovelady: http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~varussel/other/thomasloveladypen.html
There
is a trail called “Wallen Ridge Trail” which is accessible at Lovelady
Gap. Here’s a description of “Wallen
Ridge Trail” at http://www.mountaintravelguide.com/Hiking%20Trails/virginia/lee/WallenRidgeTrail.htm
Spearhead
Trailblazers, a volunteer organization, has a guide available upon occasion, who
has spent time horseback riding on Wallen Ridge Trail. Her contact information is available on the Spearhead
Trailblazers website at http://www.spearheadtrailblazers.org/TrailGuides.html.
Spearhead
Trailblazers facebook page is located at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Spearhead-Trailblazers/192660537419111 One of her facebook posts stated, “Spent the day riding the Wallen Ridge Trail in Lee
County, Va. Looking for a great ride with views of the highest point in
Kentucky to the north and Clinch Mtn. to the South?” Looking through the facebook posts,
they have organized horseback rides in other Lee County locations in the
national forest as well, at Lake Keokee and Kane Gap. A post explained, “Riding Kane Gap… It’s
on the Wilderness Road where Daniel Boone crossed Powell Mountain near
Duffield, Va. Kane Gap is the only part of the Wilderness Road that is still a
trail in the mountains.”
And
last, but not least, here’s another photo of Lovelady Gap: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dmott9/3409317012/
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