 |
North Lumpkin Co. Homesites Between Jarrard Gap and Blood Mtn. Creek Mid-December, 2025 |
All Text & Images: Copyright (2025-2026) |
|
North Lumpkin Co. Homesites Between Jarrard Gap and Blood Mtn. Creek Mid-December, 2025 |
All Text & Images: Copyright (2025-2026) |
| Our friend Isaac had come across some old home places while turkey hunting back in the spring, so Sheldon and I knew we had to get in there and find them. Our exploration yielded three sites with chimneys in varying stages of preservation. It was the usual bushwhack with plenty of laurel thickets and elevation change! |
|
 |
|
| Rock wall at spring-head below the AT We came up from Winfield Scott, parked at the gate, and went up and over Jarrard Gap. This spring is just below the Appalachian Trail crossing. |
|
 |
|
| Close-up of the stacked-rock spring-head With the drought, there wasn't much water flowing this close to the Gap. |
|
 |
|
| Descending from the Gap, the terrain eventually flattened out some and we found some rock piles. |
|
 |
|
| Another rock pile We hoped these piles weren't all that remained of this homesite. |
|
 |
|
| We widened our search around the area. With nearby water, it looked like a good spot for a home place. I spotted a deer-stand, and walking toward it, saw the remains of this chimney. |
|
 |
|
| A tree was growing out of the fireplace. |
|
 |
|
| Not a bad chimney to find nowadays... Homesite LU01 |
|
 |
|
| Rear of the chimney - fireplace |
|
 |
|
| Side view |
|
 |
|
| Sheldon at the chimney as we left for the next area. |
|
 |
|
| Remains of Chimney 2 Before we found this one, we explored around the main creek that cuts through the area. We found evidence of a lot of old earth movement; all we could figure was that maybe there had been a logging operation stationed there. |
|
 |
|
| Me at Chimney 2 Homesite LU02 |
|
 |
|
| Chimney 2 from an angle |
|
 |
|
| From the other side... The stack at this chimney had collapsed backwards. |
|
 |
|
| After a few more photos, we decided to have lunch here. It was hard to believe that this was the middle of December. We didn't know we'd pay for it with a frigid January! The next homesite we went looking for required a long climb back up toward the ridge-line. The old map showed a homesite at a flat spot on the way up, but we didn't see anything, and continued upward. |
|
 |
|
| Remains of Chimney 3 Homesite LU03 |
|
 |
|
| This seemed to be the most unlikely spot for a homeplace. |
|
 |
|
| WAY up on a mountainside... Whoever lived here led a hardscrabble existence, compared to the first two sites that were in fertile flat areas with lots of springs. |
|
 |
|
| This would have been the front of the fireplace. The rest of the rock has collapsed out of frame to the right. |
|
 |
|
| Such a remote spot... Not the original homesteaders, but members of the Tow / Towe family lived here in later years. |
|
 |
|
| Remains of a low rock (terrace?) wall below the chimney. |
|
 |
|
| The wide head of a nearby spring only had a trickle of water. |
|
 |
|
| We eventually followed an old woods road along the ridge-side back to Jarrard Gap. Here's the Appalachian Trail passing through the Gap. |
|
 |
|
| The old map showed an old homesite down below Jarrard Gap on the north side. We went looking for it but only found these concrete structures at a spring-head. |
|
 |
|
| Close-up of the spring-head |
|
 |
|
| Another nearby spring-head contained this cistern-like structure. |