Now that sure is a pretty spectacular area filled with some great tidbits of history!! Awesome!!

Beautiful plce

That was an amazing day you guys had! The history along the east side of the river is very interesting to say the least. It’s great to have the “Encyclopedia of Big South Fork,” Steve Perkins, to lean on. He sure knows his stuff! I’ve wondered about that waterfall for a while. I’m going to have to check it out for myself sometime. I’d seen a lot of the old coal mine remains before. They’re pretty neat! I’ve always heard John “Hawk” Smith had a mine down there. Thanks Kerry, hopefully I can get back out there in the woods again soon.

Enjoyed the video as always. Appreciate the kind words, too. But I have to give credit to Dave Smith. My great aunt married Ike Smith, so I know a bit about the family. But Dave is my “go to” when I hit a brick wall with the Smiths. An interesting backstory I discovered and shared with Dave is that John Hawk and Polly lived on a tract of land up toward Rock Creek owned by my great-great grandparents Granville and Annie Blevins Burke. Granny Ann was Polly’s aunt. When they sold that land to T R Lyons, the brother-in-law of Justus Stearns, John Hawk and Polly moved to the place down by the river. That coal mine is very interesting. According to Nip Perkins, a Stearns surveyor and land agent, Stearns had no land on that side of the river, which aligns with the maps and deeds of “The Big Survey.” I wonder who operated that mine? 🤔. Seems like H. Clay Smith had a section on coal mining in his book. I need to look at that and see if he can shine some light on that mine. You all always find the most interesting things on your hikes. Keep it up!

Are you sure that robot head wasn't named John Smith? That's a name you don't hear too often you know. Lol,that was a nice waterfall and pretty cool where the tree had grown up and over the rail. Good day y'all had.

Are the Falls just up the main trunk of Bill Branch before it gets much steeper on the topo or is it further up?