Bell County

We were on the road and traveling towards Bell County by 9:00 am Monday morning.  We headed east out of Williamsburg (Whitley County) on Hwy 92.  We decided to spend the last day of our vacation trying to hit as many counties as we could.  So, we opted to start in Bell County, run north on US 25, catch I-75 in Corbin and head north towards home from there.  There is a TON to do in Bell County, but first a touch of history:

BELL COUNTY BACKGROUND

Bell County was formed in August of 1867 from parts of Harlan and Knox Counties.  The county is named after Joshua Frye Bell a former Congressman and Kentucky Secretary of State.  Pineville is the county seat, but Middlesboro is the largest city in the county with a population just over 13,000. 

Large amounts of county records were destroyed in fires in 1914 and 1918.  Again, more records were destroyed in 1977 during a flood.  Pineville is located on the Cumberland River were it passes by Pine Mountain.  Middlesboro is located just on the Kentucky side of the Cumberland Gap.

Middlesboro has a claim to fame that no other city can claim.  It is built completely in a meteorite crater.  The other unique bit about Middlesboro is, it does not have a Main Street.  It's equivilent is Cumberland Avenue.

As with most of the counties in the area, early industries included coal and timber. 

The Cumberland Gap was first discovered by Dr. Thomas Walker in 1750.  The Gap had long been used by Native Americans and was widened by a group of loggers led by none other than Daniel Boone.  It is estimated that between 200,000 - 300,000 immigrants passed through the gap before 1810.

The Cumberland Gap Tunnel was complete in 1996 under the gap, at which time, the original trail was restored.  The Gap was added to the National Historic Register on May 28, 1980.

Bell County is also home to Pine Mountain State Resort Park.  Pine Mountain has the distinction of being named Kentucky's first state park in 1924.  Originally named Cumberland State Park, it's name was changed in 1938, so it wouldn't be confused with nearby Cumberland Falls.

As you leave US 25 headed towards Pine Mountain, you pass by Clear Creek Bible College.  Clear Creek was founded in 1926 by Dr. Lloyd Caswell Kelly, pastor of the First Baptist Church in Pineville.  Clear Creek's objective is to provide theological preperation for adults called of God to Christian Service.

OUR VISIT

We bypassed everything and headed straight for The Cumberland Gap Tunnel.  We drove through the Tunnel into Tennessee and immediately turned around and came straight back.  Once we were back in Kentucky, we stopped at the Cumberland Gap National Historical Park.  While we were there, we spent some time looking around the Visitor's Center and gathering information for the rest of our Monday excursion.  Browsing through some of the local informational pamphlets, that we learned that the City of Middlesboro is built completely inside a meteorite crater.  Once the 120 in 12 is finished and time allows, we will plan to revisit the Park to hike some of the over 80 miles of trails they have mapped.

After we left the Park, we stopped off in Middlesboro at the Bell County Historical Society Museum.  When we walked in the door, we were welcomed  by the most pleasant man with a strange accent.  He told us his name was David Thompson and that he was originally from Russia.  We explained to him our 120 in 12 project and that we didn't have much time, but we were interested in the fact that Middlesboro was built inside a crater.  He was so helpful and accomodating, showing us the information we were looking for.  We thoroughly enjoyed talking with him and could have stayed and chatted all day, but time was ticking by.  He had such a wide range of knowledge that went beyond the call of the Bell County Museum.  If you ever get the chance, we highly recommend stopping in.

Jumping back on US 25 North, we were on our way to Pine Mountain.  Once we made the turn and were headed towards the park, we realized we would be going by Clear Creek Bible College.  We couldn't wait to stop since we have a friend who graduated from there.  But, just like every other college we've been to the last two weeks, it's summer break.  So there wasn't anyone around except for a few administrative and maintenance people.  We got out, took a few pictures and moved on.  If you look real close, that's Roadkill sitting on top of the wall.

Driving just around the bend and up the mountain, the next thing we knew, we were at Pine Mountain State Resort Park.  Knowing we were short on time, hiking the trails were not going to be an option today, so we drove on up to the lodge, looked around, took a few pictures and moved on.  But the facilities looked extremely nice.  They were completely remodeled in 1999.  On the corner of US 25 is the Wasioto Winds Golf Course.  Wasioto was ranked as the 4th Best New Affordable Golf Course in 2004, by Golf Digest.

We wrapped up our tour of Bell County, by driving through Pineville.  Pineville seems to be a great little mountain town.  It reminds me of other communities in the area I have visited in the past.

Time was against us and we had over a hundred miles to cover and four more counties to see, before the day was over.  We stayed on US 25 North and were on our way to Knox County.  See you there!