Rogersville - Part 1

Our day trip to Rogersville, Tennessee, yesterday was wonderful. The scenery was absolutely gorgeous even though most of the leaves have fallen, there was a little color. As we drove from Asheville, NC, to Johnson City, TN, the mountains were just jaw dropping. I didn’t remember how high the mountains actually are. I think this drive was one of the most beautiful ones I have ever seen. I took a few pictures from the moving car, but none of them let you see the majesty of those mountains. I wish the pictures I took of cows grazing on almost vertical pastures were better. It looked as if the poor cows took one false step they would have fallen “out” of their grazing areas.


My fear of heights only kicked in a few times. All the roads (except, of course, city streets and country roads) were multiple lanes so I wasn’t forced to look into the abyss.

There are many working farms in that rugged, hilly area. They appeared to have lots of acreage. The farms have a different look than the ones here.

Rogersville is still a small town. I would guess that the population is less than 5,000. I didn’t see a population sign. I saw some things I recognized, but it has changed greatly. It’s seems to be a mirror image of every other small town with its McDonald’s, Wal-Mart, Pizza Hut, Auto Zone, and Burger King. Franchise businesses and chain stores, I suppose, have been a boon to the economies of small towns, but those businesses have also caused the loss of the charm and individuality of small towns. All look the same now.

Rogersville is the second oldest town in Tennessee. It was founded by Joseph Rogers and his wife, Mary, and the grandparents of Davy Crockett. It was settled in 1775. It boasts the oldest courthouse, the first newspaper, and the first post office in the state. I remember some of that from being in school there.

One thing I noticed was the lack of diversity of the population. We were only there for a short time, but we didn’t see any black people. I saw no Near Easterners, no Middle Easterners, no Far Easterners, no Mexicans, or other Latinos. The only accents I heard were Mr. Fixit’s and the southern accents of the locals.

Even with their shoddy service at McDonald’s and the lack of diversity in their citizenry, if I had to choose another place to live, Northeastern Tennessee would be at or near the top of my list.

More to come.