The schools of the county have their base ball parks, football fields, and gymnasiums for basket ball and other sports for exercise and pleasure. The mountains have an attraction for the local people who ride or work over them, and for the tourist who comes into the country occasionally. The great wide open forest spaces do much for the health and happiness of the people generally and afford a vision of beauty and ruggedness for the tourist. In a general way, the people of Bell County get plenty of exercise in working on their farms and in tramping over the hills. They amuse themselves in hunting and fishing, the playing of base ball, in shooting matches, and in an occasional trip to town to see a circus or hear a political speaking in the county seat. They find much pleasure in playing jokes on each other. For instance, I was seining for fish in Little Clear Creek with a bunch of my cousins on one occasion, and, just before we got to a certain bend in the creek, they had me change sides of the creek in order to tail the seine. I though nothing of making the change, wanting to be agreeable. Pretty soon my head was near a hornet's nest and I was ducking under the water after having been stung in the forehead two or three times. The boys were laughing fit to kill themselves. They knew the hornet's nest was there and had skillfully steered me into it. They got the kick of their lives out of this incident. Again, the boys had caught me, when I had just landed in the neighborhood from the city with my best clothes on, or had maneuvered to catch me and I caught onto it, and intended to carry me down to the creek and put me in clothes and all. I had to get even with them for this maneuver in some way. So we went fishing on Big Clear Creek at the Shelton Hole. The bank on one side of this hole is about 8 or 10 feet high and straight up from the water. James Blaine Fuson was standing on the edge of this bank and I was a few feet behind him. I lunged at him, hit him about the shoulders and he landed fifteen feet out in this hole of water. He swam to the bank, but, in the mean time, I had put some distance between us.      

        One more instance of the recreation of the Bell County boys through this sense of humor and spirit of fun, I will relate here to illustrate this trait among our people. This story is copied from a paper I wrote for the HISTORY OF THE FUSON FAMILY, and as told to Jack Fuson, who lives at Smithville, Tennessee. "There is Jack Fuson and his wife and family. I can never forget the first meeting with them and the tales we told that night. We broke up the feast of conversation after twelve o'clock and I can yet hear Jack as he went up the stairs laughing and repeating, "Fire pop in my shoe, fire pop in shoe.' I had told him the story of a hunting experience we had when boys. My brothers and some of our cousins went possum hunting about the time of frost. We caught no possums, but found some fine 'roasen' ears in the top of one of Uncle Shelt Evans's cornfields. Mose Jones was working at our house and was about the same age as the rest of us. We pulled up a lot of corn, took same rails off the fence and built up a fire. We roasted the corn, ate all we wanted and then laid down before the fire to sleep. About an hour or two before daylight, Jim Fuson roused up and noticed that Mose Jones had on brogan shoes and that they were unusually flared at the top. Jim got a red hot coal between two sticks and dropped it into Mose Jones's shoe. Mose laid there for a few seconds, still asleep. Suddenly he jumped up and ran through the fire scattering coals everywhere, and hollering, 'Fire pop in my shoe, fire pop in my shoe.' This was the story that was ringing in Jack's ears as he climbed the steps that night."

        Recreation through fun might be a new idea to the sophisticated, but to the boys of Bell County it was, and is, as common as chestnuts falling on a frosty morning.

        There were other means of recreation: chestnut hunting, peeling birch bark and eating the sap, gathering hickory nuts, gathering services (sarvices), hunting bees in the forest, chasing wild hogs, collecting in walnuts, the party plays, corn-huskings, house-raisings, corn-workings, and many other forms of play work, fun and frolic. It is not all work and no play on the farm. Of course, the work is hard on the farm, but these other things form an outlet for recreation and fun.

        The chestnut trees are nearly all dead now, but I can remember the time, when a boy, that we used to take our horses into the woods and bring out loads of chestnuts in sacks. We used to cut down a birch sapling, peel the bark off of it, see that it was sloping down hill, and take a section of the bark for a saddle and slide down the pole. There were some risks to this play, but a lot of fun where there was a big crowd.

I. NEW FORMS OF AMUSEMENT

        The old rough and tumble plays of the mountains are giving away to new forms of amusement. Road house dancing, drinking parties and sports take up most of the spare time of a lot of our people now. The shooting match was popular of old and is still popular. Our people have multiplied to such an extent that it is necessary to find new means of amusement for them. Clear Creek Springs, the Pine Mountain State Park, the Lake at Middlesborough, the Skyland Highway and the Pinnacle, the golf course at Middlesborough, the Park to Park Highway, and the proposed Cumberland Gap National Historical Park, have come in for their share in the entertainment of our people.

  II. CLEAR CREEK SPRINGS

        Clear Creek Springs is situated at the junction of Big and Little Clear Creeks, and is about three miles from Pineville. It is reached by a good road, which leaves the Pineville-Middlesborough road just south of the mouth of Clear Creek. It is in a small valley surrounded on all sides by hills which tower above it. Pine Mountain extends along one side of the valley and foothills of the Log Mountain on the other side. In the center of this valley is the spring, encased in concrete, which gives this place its name. This spring has medicinal properties, with healing qualities, which are said to aid in digestion.

        The Springs are now owned by the Baptists of the state of Kentucky, but many organizations have the use of the Springs each year. Training schools, outings and lecture courses, are had each year at the Springs, and then others come to remain there for the water and the outing. there is a large auditorium on the ground, a hotel is now in the process of construction, and many other smaller buildings dot the ground. There is also a large dining hall.

        This is one of the oldest places of recreation in the county. When I was a boy it was going as a health resort, owned and operated by J. M. C. Davis, father of Judge W. T. Davis. He and his good wife Sally (Peavler) Davis ran the place then, and continued to do so until the death of Mr. Davis. At that time they had a main residence and dining room together and several small buildings scattered over the grounds. J. M. C. Davis must have started this health resort during or just after the Civil War times and operated it until some time after 1900.

        A story has gone the rounds of how this spring was found. It is said that a hunter, who was hunting in the Pine Mountain nearby, got his leg cut pretty badly and came down the mountain to a marshy place, where later this spring was found, put his leg down in the water to cool it and stop the burning, and, to his surprise, it healed in a short time afterwards. From that it was known, and talked among the neighbors, that it had medicinal properties.

        The following notice appeared in the PINEVILLE SUN in regard to the election of officers and the work under construction at the Springs (February 4, 1939):

        "The Rev. L. C. Kelly, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Pineville, was re-elected Chairman of the Clear Creek Board of Control at the board's regular semiannual meeting Friday at the Continental Hotel (January 27, 1939).

        "The other officers elected at the meeting were: the Rev. H. C. Chiles, Vice Chairman, and R. R. Atkins, Straight Creek, Secretary-Treasurer.

"After discussing the progress made on one wing of the new dormitory, the board voted unanimously to have the entire building completed as quickly as possible in order to use in 1939. "This building will be three stories high when finished, have 84 rooms, a dining room, lobby, kitchen and be fire proof and steam heated. It is being built from native rock and cinder blocks. "About $75,000.00 has been invested in the project to date, according to Rev. Kelly, of which about $45,000.00 was for the building alone. the completed building will serve as a mountain preacher school during the winter months. "Board members present at the session were: Dr. R. P. Mahon, London; the Rev. Byron C. S. Dejarnette, Louisville; the Rev. Clyde Wydick, Greensville; The Rev. W. F. Kendall, Jellico, Tenn.; Dr. Thomas Eugene West, Williamsburg; Miss Helen Royalty, Hopkinsville; the Rev. C. L. Hammond, Corbin; T. B. Grissom and H. C. Rakestraw, Burnside; the C. F. Barry, Louisville; the Rev. Marvin Adams, Middlesborough, Kentucky; the Rev. H. G. Ghiles, Barbourville; and Dr. J. M. Brooks, Pineville."

III. PINE MOUNTAIN STATE PARK

        Some enterprising citizens, of Pineville, among them Judge M. J. Moss and J. J. Gibson, gave to the state some Pine Mountain land at the upper, or south, end of the Narrows at the mouth of Clear Creek. then, too, the county had a Poor Farm in the bottoms at the mouth of Clear Creek and these lands were deeded to the state. Some 1500 or 2000 acres were brought together to form the Pine Mountain State Park. The state then took over the area and have been developing it since.

        A dam was built near the mouth of Clear Creek and a lake formed for boating fishing, and bathing. Laurel Cove, the meeting place each year for the Mountain Laurel Festival, is one of the attractions of this park area. A large cliff, fifty or sixty feet high, forms the background for the Cove, with a large open grass plot in front, with a stream running in front of it through a stone culvert. Out in front is the rising ground where the seats are arranged around the hill in rows beneath the trees. Over a hundred thousand dollars have been spent in developing this Cove already. There is a shelter house on the grounds, built of stone, and running water can be had at different places on the grounds.

        A road has been built up through these grounds, passing by the entrance to the Cove, and going up the mountain to the parking lot. This lot takes care of 500 cars. A larger parking lot at the foot of the mountain takes care of about 1,000 cars. Each year 5,000 to 10,000 people came to this festival where the governor of the state crowns the Queen.

        Walking and riding paths have been built all over this park area, and the park is fast becoming a playground for this section of Bell County and the tourists coming into the county. The principal part of the work on this park area has been done by the government as a W. P. A. project. The director of the work lives in a fine stone building on the grounds, which he and his men built with their own hands.

IV. THE LAKE AT MIDDLESBOROUGH

        Fern Lake at Middlesboro nestles among the hills about three miles south of Middlesborough. The lake is formed by a dam built across Little Yellow creek, and was built to furnish a water supply for the City of Middlesborough. It has ever since been so used. It is owned today by the Kentucky Utilities Company, which company furnishes water for the city. The lake is used for boating and fishing. In the past, more than at present, it was used as a picnic ground. From the Pinnacle this lake looks like a mirror in the hollow of the hills.  Photo Fern Lake

V. THE SKYLAND HIGHWAY

        The Skyland Highway Company bought 250 acres on the north side of the Pinnacle, including the Pinnacle, a few years ago, and started into development of the Pinnacle area immediately. A winding road was built up the mountain to the Pinnacle, a house was built near the top of the mountain, a parking lot was constructed near the top, the Gap itself was widened and leveled, and a cabin for headquarters was built in the Cap.

        For a century, this Pinnacle has furnished one of the best scenic views in all this area. Five states can be seen, through a glass, on a clear day, from this peak. More people visit the Pinnacle each year than any other point in the county. It is famous as a sight-seeing place and picnic ground.

VI. THE GOLF COURSE AT MIDDLESBOROUGH

        This golf course is said to be the second oldest course in America, and some of the most prominent men of the state and nation have played upon its green.

VII. PARK TO PARK HIGHWAY

        The first link in the park to park highway is now under construction between Pineville and Middlesborough. This is to be a three-lane highway of the most modern construction. It follows, in a general way, the route of the old road, but at the foot of Little Log Mountain near the Tunnel it crosses Yellow Creek, and runs along the foot of the hill on the opposite side of the creek from the present road, and comes into Middlesborough at the end of Cumberland Avenue. This is a part of the road that will eventually connect up Mammoth Cave, Cumberland Falls, Cumberland Gap, and the various parks of the state, with the Smoky Mountains and other park areas in the country. Bell County has the distinction of getting the first link in this road, the park to park highway of the East.

VIII  PROPOSED CUMBERLAND GAP

NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK

        A recent account of this proposed park appeared in the COURIER-JOURNAL, of Louisville, written by Lorenzo Martin, which account is given herein: "Replete with pioneer associations, equivalent to those of Harrodsburg and Boonesborough; ranking high in historic importance as the mountain gateway through which settlement of the nation's vast western empire first became possible, and also, later, as a strategic military point in the War Between the States; endowed with richest scenic beauty of the Kentucky highlands, and having a group of large caverns described by Federal experts as being comparable in interest and more varied in character than the Luray and Endless Caverns of

Virginia, an area about Cumberland Gap is finally being given its chance to enter the Federal park system. "Through this famous mountain pass, adjacent to the spot where the westernmost corner of Virginia meets the Kentucky and Tennessee lines, Daniel Boone made numerous trips, including that one which resulted in the founding of Boonesborough. Judge Richard Henderson, founder of the Transylvania Company, whose treaty with the Cherokee Indians is depicted in one of the two murals adorning opposite ends of the State Capitol at Frankfort, followed Boone's party through Cumberland Gap. "About a year later George Rogers Clark, accompanied by Capt. Gabriel Jones, made a memorable journey through Cumberland Gap to Richmond, the result of which was the creation by Virginia of the County of Kentucky, with present-day Kentucky boundaries. Through Cumberland Gap three years later went James Robertson to found the City of Nashville, Tenn.

        "Dr. Thomas Walker of Albemarle County, Virginia, however, was the first white man known to have entered Cumberland Gap. With a party of five others, he arrived at 'Cave Gap' in 1750 and named it Cumberland Gap in honor of the Duke of Cumberland. But Dr. Walker's journal records the observation of cross-marks, blazing and figures carved on some of the trees, indicating that he was not the first white man to reach this spot, where, a score of years later, westward the course of empire would wend its ways. "Charles W. Porter, assistant historian of the National Park Service, who has prepared a most interesting report on the history of the Cumberland Gap area, says: 'At the time of the founding of Boonesborough there were from 100 to 300 white people in Kentucky. By 1783 the population is said to have been about 12,000, in 1784, eight towns had been laid off and were building. With the conclusion of Peace, the tide of immigration across Cumberland Gap increased rapidly.For instance, the United States census, 1790, credits Kentucky with a population of 75,000. By 1800 Kentucky had 220,000 people, nearly as many as Connecticut, two-thirds as many as Maryland, and more than half as many as Massachusetts.'

        "While many of the pioneers came into Kentucky by the Ohio River route, it is generally agreed by historians that the greater portion came in over the Cumberland Gap which remained the favorite gateway to the West until 1795. Indeed, until Wayne's victory over the Indians and until the Treaty of Greenville, 1795, the Ohio route was so difficult and hazardous that large numbers of immigrants from Pennsylvania and the North preferred to come into Kentucky by way of the Great Valley of Virginia and Cumberland Gap, strange as that may seem to us today.

        "Moreover, as late as 1792 the Cumberland Gap route was the only practicable way to return from Kentucky. A military order issued in May, 1792, to Capt. Van Cleve at Fort Washington (Cincinnati) directs him to proceed from that point with all dispatch to Philadelphia by the most direct route, which is specified to be by way of Lexington, Crab Orchard and Cumberland Gap.

        "In the very southeastern corner of Kentucky lies this area of mountainous wooded land, sometimes called the 'Valley of Parks,' where, because of its outstanding historic, scenic and geological attractions, there is now being advocated the establishment of a national historical park. The area under consideration, which includes the tri-state corner marker, lies mostly in Kentucky but overlaps the state boundaries of Virginia and Tennessee. Nearby are the towns of Middlesborough, Ky., and Cumberland Gap, Tenn. "Included tentatively in the proposed park area would be: Cumberland Gap, together with twenty miles of the Wilderness Road from Cumberland Gap, Tenn., to Pineville, Ky., because of superlative historical value.

        The Pinnacle, adjacent to Cumberland Gap, both because it is outstanding in scenic attraction and because of the historical importance of the remains there of fortifications built during the War Between the States.

        "Saltpeter Cave, as an educational example of early saltpeter workings. King Solomon's Cave and Soldiers Cave, which underlie the Pinnacle, because of the wealth of 'formation' contained therein as a scenic and educational attraction and because of some historical importance attached to Soldiers Cave. The Devils Garden, with its unusual rock formations, as a scenic attraction. Sand Cave, with its scores of Varicolored sands, as an exceptional geologic phenomenon. The ridge of Cumberland Mountain toward the northeast, which included the Devils Garden and Sand Cave areas. Powell Mountain, the Doublings and Fern Lake, together with its watershed. Mingo Mountain, toward the

southwest, because of need of perpetual care and protection of scenic values as viewed from the Pinnacle, and for conservation of wild life. "Advocates of the proposed park estimate that all of these features could be included within an area of approximately 50,000 acres, which is the minimum requirement for national park status. Some of them believe, however, that from the viewpoint of long-range planning, particularly regarding future recreational development, the proposed park might be extended to cover an area approximately of 200,000 acres, which would include the Pine Mountain State Park, the Kentucky Ridge Development Project of the Farm Security Administration, and the wilderness area lying between Pine Mountain and the Cumberland Range. Some large land donations for the project are reported in prospect. "The general elevation of the Cumberland Plateau in this region ranges from 1000 feet in the river valleys to an average of from 2,000 to 2,500 feet on the ridges. The highest point in the proposed area is along the Cumberland Mountain at an unnamed point which reaches 3841 feet. The Cumberland Gap is at an elevation of 1650 feet. The Pinnacle is about 2,500 feet, and White Rocks are about 3,450 feet in elevation. "Forest coverage is typical of the section, being a mixture of hard and soft woods, with a predominance of deciduous material. Former lumbering activities have moved most of the virgin timber and only occasional large trees are found in the most inaccessible places; large hemlocks are found in the sheltered coves. "Foremost features of the proposed National Park, second only to Cumberland Gap itself, is the Pinnacle, from the peak of which may be viewed to the north, east and west dense forests, steep, jagged cliffs, deep ravines, and clear Fern Lake. This overlook is an abrupt promontory rising almost vertically on the north side of the Gap. It can be reached by a spur automobile road leading from the Gap, ascending the west slope of Cumberland Mountain, and terminating in a parking area adjacent to the overlook. Here also are the well-preserved remains of Fort Lyon, the battery on the Pinnacle, during the War Between the States.

        "King Solomon's Cave and Soldiers Cave, which have their openings on the Virginia side of Cumberland Gap, are now the property of Lincoln Memorial University. Both of these are described as 'A-grade caverns,' with an impressive display of limestone formations.          

        "The Devils Garden lies along Cumberland Mountain about four and a half miles northeast of Cumberland Gap, and is perhaps the least accessible of the proposed features of the suggested National Park area. It can be reached, however, by an existing trail along the ridge of Cumberland Mountain which has been dubbed the 'Garden of Gazes' because of the numerous inspiring vistas along its route. "Topographically, the Devils Garden is a chasm or yawning hollow, ranging in elevation from 1,500 to 2,900 feet, and a little more than a half-mile long. The jagged rock masses in this area take odd shapes and have given rise to such names as Umbrella Rock, Kettle Rock, Sleeping Bear Rock, Plow Point, Rhinoceros Rock, Anvil Rock, Pagoda Rock and the Devils Monument. The last lies directly in the Garden on the Kentucky side and is an upright slab of immense size. There are three waterfalls on the Kentucky side in the Devils Garden proper, but for lack of good trails they are hard to reach. There are also three waterfalls on the Virginia side.

        "Still farther north of the Kentucky side, approximately fifteen miles from the Gap, and located across the mountain from Ewing, Va., is Sand Cave, a large water-eroded 'rockhouse' cut in the sand- stone of the west mountain slope and running back almost 300 feet from the base of the cliff. The countless tons of colored sands that it contains have been described as an awe-inspiring and spectacular sight calculated, however, simple the explanation may be to the geologist, to stir the marvel of the average visitor and tourist. Fifty colors and shades of sand have been collected at Sand Cave.

        "Although proposals for the establishment of a National Park in the Cumberland Gap area have been discussed from time to time, and although a legislative bill with that objective, sponsored by Representative John M. Robsion, Ninth Kentucky District, passed the House but did not reach a vote in the Senate, as far back as 1923, definite steps recently were taken for accomplishment of this purpose. At a meeting in Harrogate, Tenn., last August, at which delegates from the three states discussed the proposal with the officials of the National Park Service, plans were made for formation of the Cumberland Gap National Historical Park Association and the group designated Tom Wallace, editor of the Louisville Times, as chairman of the organization committee. An organization meeting met at Lexington, Ky., Wednesday, October 26, and similar meetings were later held at Bristol and Knoxville.

        "At the Lexington Meeting officers were chosen and an executive Committee was elected. Robert L. Kincaid, Executive Vice President of Lincoln Memorial University, Harrogate, Tenn., was elected President; W. I. Davis, Tazewell, Tenn., T. B. Fugate, Ewing, Va., and Tom Wallace, Louisville, Ky., were elected Vice Presidents; and Howard J. Douglas was elected Secretary and Treasurer. Directors were elected as follows: J. H. Bailey, Pineville, Ky., Henry R. Bell, Louden, Tenn., C. F. Connelly, St. Charles, Va., W. B. Fugate, Middlesborough, Ky., H.H. Fuson, Harlan, Ky., Walter Johnson, Marion, Va., H. E. Jones, Bristol, Va., George Fort Milton, Jr., Chattanooga, Tenn., Lloyd M. Robinette, Jonesville, Va., Guy L. Smith, Knoxville, Tenn., Thomas R. Underwood, Lexington, Ky., and Herbert Walters, Morristown, Tenn.

        "Substantial donations of land already have been tentatively promised and as soon as the new Congress convenes in January, the necessary authorizing legislation will be sponsored jointly by Representative Robsion and Representative Carroll Reece. "Perhaps of greatest importance from a utilitarian standpoint would be the conservation value of the area. It would afford a protective watershed for streams in Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia that conservationists consider of outstanding value. But, above, all a park at Cumberland Gap would provide a recreation center for many thousands who probably would like to visit the mountain pass through which their fore parents reached the west."