About five miles out from Abingdon and well worth the drive down the country roads to get there,…read moreWhite's Mill and mercantile is a restored/working 18th century water mill that produces the best coarse ground yellow grits I have ever had (my first taste was the White's Mill Grit Cakes served at Abingdon's Bone Fire Smokehouse and I've never looked back/had better since). The goodness of those yellow grits are the main reason I'm writing this review, but the mill itself and the adjacent "mercantile" country store (where you can find said grits available for purchase stored within a chest freezer alongside other White's Mill milled grains (like cornmeal, flour, white grits etc.). I've never seen anyone attending the mill any time I have visited thus I cautiously wander around inside with at least one buddy in tow as the interior looks every bit as old as it's 1790 establish date (the 1866 restoration notwithstanding). From the entrance level there are rooms both upstairs and down, the lover level revealing a cool living room type of space complete with a hearth/fireplace and a lot of huge, aged and complicated-looking gears and other oddly quiet antiquated mechanics in motion. It feels like entering a portal to another time; braving the creaking stairs within the mill is an adventure in and of itself. The mercantile is an old house-turned-store next to the mill stocked windows-to-walls with goods, wears, and--let's be real--junk. If you like being overwhelmed with multiple rooms full of stuff and sifting through troves seeking treasures, get thee to this out-of-the-way country store. Aside from grain, jellies, and jams, you can find all kinds of antiques and other random oddities that only rural bric-a-brac magnets like this place can accrue. As a final testament to the boss quality of White's Mill yellow grits: when I moved to Japan I brought two bags with me that I keep squirreled away in the freezer for days when I have a fever for the flavor. To cook coarse yellow grits: boil 4 parts water and add 1 part grits. Stir every few minutes for about 25 minutes until they reach a naturally creamy consistency. Experiment to find your flavor by adding seasoning, cream/milk/water, cheese, other stuff etc. -or- let them cool and make polenta-like grit cakes :)

Toured the Carter Mansion today ($7 per person) Tours are not everyday. Call Sycamore Shoals, or…read morecheck their Facebook site for tour days, and time. We got to see every room in the house, except the basement, which has wood floors. A painting over the fireplace was pretty cool. It was painted over with white paint years ago, and while the restoration group was taking paint "samples", they realized something was under the white paint, which turned out to be a painting. Only one piece of furniture was original to the house, which was a chair. We checked out the family cemetery, and walked down to the Watauga river which is actually in front of the house. This is the oldest framed house in Tennessee. Interesting piece of history.

This marker stands on a street corner next to a brick home that is unrelated. The marker recalls an…read moreimportant structure that dates back to the Revolutionary War. It reads, "The fort, built in 1776, stood a short distance to the south. Here the first court of Washington County was held, January 28, 1777." Online, there is more information. Named for Captain Joseph Black, it was erected on the west bank of what was then known as Eighteen Miles Creek, alias Castle's Creek. The fort was built by the settlers living in the vicinity, with the aid of about five hundred other settlers who fled their homes west of Abingdon upon the outbreak of the Indian War that same year. Abingdon itself was incorporated in 1778. The name has been variously attributed to Lord Abingdon, Daniel Boone's home in Pennsylvania, and Martha Washington's hometown. During the American Civil War it suffered severely at the hands of Union troops under General George Stoneman. [Review 14972 overall, 474 of 2021, number 1272 in Virginia.]

So they give tours about every hour or so. I think it was about 45 minutes. They had 2 tour guides…read morewhile we were there . But our tour guide complained alot about his life. We did joke around about some things, but at least pretend you enjoy your job. They had a couple cute doggos that greet you while you are there. They also have a little store with a lot of different kinds of rocks if that is your thing.

Had great time at this cavern. We were greeted warmly by the staff.. walk inside building and…read moredecent sized gift shop with lots of gemstones and different things to see. We were only ones there at time and we had great conversations with staff before we started our journey into cave. I think we paid 13-15 a person fairly cheap for cave. So our guide took us thru a door down a ramp and into the start of cave tour. Even saw a salamander under some of rocks at start of cave. Lots of walkways and formations to see.. lot of history too. On way back our guide have us each a flashlight and let us see cave our way with lights off. It was so cool! There is different types of tours where you can crawl thru holes in caves and thru water but I just wanted easy walking tour lol.. definitely a must see.. glad we came!

While visiting in the area we stopped at the Fort Watauga replica at the Sycamore Shoals State Park…read morein Elizabethton, TN near Johnson City, TN. It is located along the Watauga River. Fort Watauga, more properly Fort Caswell, was an American Revolutionary War fort that once stood at the Sycamore Shoals of the Watauga River in what is now Elizabethton, Tennessee. The fort was originally built in 1775-1776 by the area's frontier government, the Watauga Association, to help defend Watauga settlers from Native American (primarily Cherokee) attacks, which were in part instigated by the British. Fort Watauga was originally named Fort Caswell after North Carolina Governor Richard Caswell Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Watauga Sycamore Shoals State Historic Park 1651 W. Elk Avenue Elizabethton, Tennessee FREE Park. Free to view and tour the Fort Watauga, and FREE to tour the Visitors Center. The visitors center was not open when we stopped there but we did walk around the Fort.

The Lincoln Theatre was opened in 1929 and its history is quite fascinating. My friends live in…read moreMarion and wanted me to see the local offerings. We went into the theater shop midday and they asked the lovely woman running the theater if we could have a tour? She was in the middle of getting ready for that night's Rocky Horror Picture Show, but in true sweet Southern hospitality, cheerfully let us in so we could look around and she could talk to us about the establishment. The theatre was lovingly restored in the 1980s by locals who turned it into a nonprofit. PBS broadcasts its Song of the Mountains show here monthly. The woman we spoke to was working on grants to bring in movies and other performances to the theater. It would be a great venue for all of the above. As I had an early flight home the next day, we didn't come back to see the show, but I truly believe this is a gem to be checked out in Marion.

Perfect venue in a small town, have seen great entertainment here! All seating has great views,…read moreprices are reasonable

This thing rocks......literally....side to side as you walk on it. I walked about 1/4 of the way…read moreacross, and wondered if I was going to fall in the Clinch River. Makes me wonder how often these things are inspected.

I little piece of history spanning a beautiful river. Great photo op and my kid loves it.read more

Before driving through the area I had looked prior to starting the drive if there were any…read moreinteresting places to see that I may never have the opportunity to see again - this covered bridge is one I had booked marked so why not. I consider these types of structures interesting and definitely qualifies as a roadside attraction and oddity in my opinion. We arrived mid-day to find a few visitors mulling around snapping a few photos and taking advantage of the free access. The Doe River below was filled with ducks and geese swimming and looking for a free handout, apparently they have become accustomed to the generosity of the visitors here. This is a well built bridge that reminds you of how things used to be built there aren't many projects now days that are built to last 143 years, although this covered bridge hasn't been in service since the Federal Highway Administration and the Tennessee Department of Transportation funded a $400,000 bridge rehabilitation in 2003-2004 at that time, it was closed to vehicular traffic and converted into a pedestrian-only bridge. It's definitely a survivor having withstood major flood events in 1901, 1940, 1998 and the horrific flooding in September 2024 and she still stands as beautiful as ever...

Me and my wife recently stopped by here today to see what this bridge had to offer. Ground screw…read morethat work with the city were installing Christmas lights around the area. This Bridge very historical and it features plenty of information nearby across the river. This bridge is an easy walk though there are no Scenic views at all inside . Though there are paths to walk through there is a area for pedestrians on the narrow side where everyone else gets to have the larger section.

April, 2025. Abingdon is a small town (population was only 8,325 in 2023) in the far southwest…read morecorner of Virginia, near the point where Virginia, Tennessee, and North Carolina meet. We had a quick visit here many years ago, and promised ourselves that we'd come back as it seemed that there was much to be explored in this small town. Abingdon boasts 20+ landmarks, 30+ restaurants, and 34+ miles of trails. USA Today named Abingdon as "Best Small Town Food Scene" (4 years in a row), as well as awarding its small town arts scene. Blue Ridge Outdoors also named it a top 10 small adventure town. On our first half-day in Abingdon, we started by walking down Main Street and around the charming 22-block historic district, checking out the 7' x 15' LOVEwork sign and adjacent fountain by artist Charles Vess, inspired by Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. ** This site is across from the Barter Theatre. Still open and thriving, this theatre opened in 1933, proclaiming "with vegetables you cannot sell, you can buy a good laugh." The price of admission was 35 cents or an equivalent amount of produce. Four out of five theatre goers paid their way with vegetables, dairy products and livestock! ** We then admired the grounds of the Martha Washington Inn and Spa. This hotel, dating back to 1832, combines history, Southern charm with modern elegance. ** The Abingdon Visitor Center is the next "must-stop." Also housed in a historic building, the very friendly and helpful staff member gave us customized suggestions of things to do, and a bagful of brochures to get us there. There's also a small gift shop where we picked up some reasonably-priced t-shirts. There are also nearby photo-op signs, including one depicting a postcard of Abingdon. Also, be on the lookout for the red English telephone booths, which have been turned into information kiosks. ** Next stop was the Abingdon Farmers Market, which is a farmer-run market featuring locally-grown produce, baked goods, as well as arts and crafts. ** we also browsed a few of the local boutiques and antique shops along Main Street, buying a new dress, just because. ** our final stop was the Sweetbay Brewery, a comfortable, laid-back brewery serving excellent craft beers. On many nights, there is a food truck on site and live entertainment. Sweetbay participates in Harvest Hosts, for those RVers who participate in this program. On day 2, we headed to the Virginia Creeper Trail with our bikes. The Creeper is a nationally-acclaimed Rails-to-Trails that extends for 34 miles and over 47 trestle bridges. It's a smooth, hard-packed, shared-use hiking, biking, and equine recreational trail. In the past, the trail started near Whitetop (about 3,500'), went about 18 miles to the midpoint near Damascus (1,900'), and ended in the charming town of Abingdon (2,050') (or vise versa). Unfortunately, Damascus was hard hit by Hurricane Helene, with 18 trestle bridges and many portions of the trail destroyed between Damascus and Whitetop so that portion of the trail is currently closed. We decided to bike the 8.5 mile segment from Abingdon (2,020') to Alvarado Station (the old train stop at 1,750') and back (so, 17 miles total). This "lower" section is considered an easy to moderate stretch through rolling farmland and forests, and over beautiful trestle bridges. As mentioned, our turning point was Alvarado Station, where we enjoyed our picnic lunch on a bench river-side. The stop also had drinks and snacks available for sale, a water refill station, and clean restrooms. We enjoyed our visit to Abingdon, but will need to return yet again as there is still more to explore -- for instance, more mileage on the hiking and biking trails, Abingdon Vineyards, Abingdon Muster Grounds, the Southwest Virginia Cultural Center & Marketplace, and more.

This traffic back up for roadwork is ridiculous! You guys going to figure out how to get people…read moremoving. Took 20 minutes to go two blocks

Love the history. Knowledge is power. Showed off the area to West Coast visitors. ThEIR…read morecomments: Lovely small town. Great weather when we (Group 1) were there in the late Spring! (Group 2) All Leaf views extraordinary (last) Fall. (Both Groups) People unbelievably friendly! Smiles everywhere! Safe place, no lunacy! Quite inexpensive compared to other places around the country.

Installed in 2014, this historical marker was placed by the Sons of Confederate Veterans. It is not…read morean official Commonwealth of Virginia marker. It is located on the Bristol border of Tennessee and Virginia next to where the rail line crosses State Street. The marker is in excellent condition. It reads, "On this site was formerly located the Bristol general Confederate Hospital. it was housed in the former Exchange Hotel erected in 1858 (later known as the Nickels House). The building was demolished in about 1898. Sick and wounded soldiers were brought here by train for medical and surgical treatment. Bristol was approximately halfway between the battlefields of Virginia and the south. Over 100 men who died in this hospital are buried in East Hill Cemetery six blocks east. This marker placed by James Keeling Camp 52. Sons of Confederate Veterans." From to a news article https://heraldcourier.com/news/local/bristol-civil-war-hospital-finally-gets-honored/article_fda0d902-ce72-11e3-b891-001a4bcf6878.html, "Confederate injured were thus transported from battle via the era's "interstate highway" and to Bristol's Confederate Hospital. They were then quickly taken to a ramp of entry at the hospital... Exact numbers of patients served and soldiers who died within the hotel, which operated from 1862 until the end of the Civil War in 1865, are not known." "As the guys died," Hawthorne said, "they were put on the back porch (of the hospital), loaded into a wagon that went up the dirt trail -- about straight up the steep bank, to East Hill Cemetery." East Hill Cemetery is nearby: https://www.yelp.com/biz/east-hill-cemetery-bristol?hrid=SpdF3SgglzNChTsdrCXqxA [Review 15002 overall, 504 of 2021, number 1281 in Virginia.]