Reedy Creek Road

     Reedy Creek Road [Bloomindgale Pike] joined the Great Stage Road [West Sullivan Street] at the south boundary of Woodlawn [ Lovedale].  The old Reedy Creek Road, built in 1773, followed Reedy Creek from this point to Virginia [near Bristol].  Some families living east of Woodlawn on this historic road were: Everett, Simpson, Miller, Soper, Catron, Cleek, Gardner, Crump, Snapp, Myers, Shaver, Beason and Rice.
     The Henry M. Myers family lived in their Red House Plantation house on Bullock Run {later called Red House Branch, then Miller Branch].  This large two-story frame house still stands on Bloomingdale Pike.  It was built between 1809 and 1820 by John Thompson who sold it to David Ross' agent, Thomas Hopkins for $1500.  The David Shaver Sr. place adjoined Thompson.  It was a stage stop at the busy cross roads of Reedy Creek Road and the Kentucky Road [Wadlow Gap Road].  In 1806, Shaver built a large home, stable and many out-buildings.  In the early 1900s, the old home burned destroying wood panels over the fireplaces painted with landscape scenes by David's famous son, Samuel Shaver.  Samuel was one of Tennessee's earliest landscape and portrait artist.  In 1835 two of the Shaver log buildings were joined together and became the home of the stuffles, Captain Welsh's descendants.  It stands across Bloomingdale Pike from the Red House Plantation House.  Welsh was a successful farmer, lawyer, militiaman, and county justice of the peace.  Another Welsh-Stuffle home located next door, is a two-storied log house with a center chimney.  It was built in 1840 by the Benjamin Crump family.  Mary Snapp also lived there and sold the house in 1869 to Elizabeth Welsh.  Descendants occupy the house today.

From: Kingsport Heritage, The Early Years, 1700 to 1900, 
By Muriel Millar Clark Spoden
Background map  ~ Louis T. Ketron