Seven islands wildlife refuge boarders the French Broad River with 360 acres of forests and fields, and natural trails.
Lots of wide maintained trails.
Buildings from the Kelly family farm.
This turtle took a moment to stop for a photo
and then resumed his daily walk.
Next year we’ll have to stop by in July to catch the sunflowers in full bloom.
More historic building photos. This week I visited the Hamilton-Lay store and the Booker farm in Union County.
Known as the Hamilton Crossroads Store, or the Hamilton-Lay Store at Hamilton Crossroads.
Built by Alexander Lafayette "Fate" Hamilton in the mid 1800s.
From an article in the KnoxNews I learned that Hamilton and Lay were settlers from Wilkes County, N.C. area, before Tennessee was a state and before Union County was even established.
I can just imagine old men playing checkers by a pot bellied stove in there.
Trying to find these places can be tricky ‘cause it’s all private property. I haven’t gotten shot yet, though it looked like things could get ugly for a second there. Once he realized we were interested in the old buildings on the property he invited us to come in and look.
He told us the farm house was in the middle and they made sheds off both sides for the horses.
John Booker II traded a rifle for approximately 500 acres of rich bottom land. He and his sons built the The buildings in the early 1800s.
Around 1822
George Booker, son of John II cut out more logs and doubled the size of the Booker house by adding two more rooms of about the same size.
The original part of the barn can be seen on the right.
I also found a little bit about the Booker farm from oocities.org
