Tannersville is associated with Freestone Valley and a rural landscape of old roads, family cemeteries, and churches. Historical references to community and school life add to this cultural aspect. Geological features of the Tannersville–Tumbling Creek area offer another perspective on the region. Those looking to understand Tannersville can consider its local history alongside its landscape features.
Freestone Valley and the Rural Cultural Landscape
Freestone Valley lies in the southern part of Tazewell County, between larger mountain formations. The valley is considered narrow and lies on the south side of the county. Tannersville is associated with Freestone Valley; the rural landscape includes old roads, family cemeteries, and churches. The valley and cultural landscape provide a regional context for local history that goes beyond individual dates: alongside the place name, family and church connections also come into view.
Historical Traces of the Community
Tannersville was in use as a place name by January 25, 1900, at the latest. An August 1939 newspaper item mentioned the Tannersville Home Demonstration Club. An article dated August 23, 1940, listed Tannersville among the county’s school districts. These dates point to different aspects: the early use of the place name, a club in community life, and the county’s school organization at the time. Together, they form a timeline of community and school connections in the early 20th century.
The history of Tannersville (Poor Valley) Church can also be understood through a connection between congregations: it included members of Little Valley Church. Little Valley Church was founded by J. N. Harman, J. R. Sparks, and C. Mitchell about 35 years before the early 1920s. This approximate timeframe and the founders’ names add specific connections between the two congregations to the local history.
Two cemeteries point to different family connections. Mitchell-Asbury Family Cemetery is associated with Tannersville. Crabtree Cemetery is near Tannersville and includes family names long associated with the area. The first is notable for its connection to the place; the second is described in terms of its proximity and the family names linked to the area over a long period.
Geology and Geographic Orientation
In the Tannersville–Tumbling Creek area, groundwater circulation is concentrated in large cavities formed by dissolution in the Tonoloway Limestone. Silurian Tonoloway Limestone lies along the southeast flank of the Flattop Mountain anticline. These details describe two related aspects of the geology: the rock’s location and age, and the cavities in which groundwater circulation is concentrated. This also provides a way to understand the landscape through its geological connections.
Little Tumbling Creek runs upstream from the Tannersville area to a power line crossing, then continues to the outflow of Laurel Bed Lake in the Clinch Mountain Station Wildlife Management Area. The crossing and lake outflow are successive reference points along the described route. Tannersville lies at an elevation of about 1,942 feet above sea level; this figure adds a concise indication of the town’s location.
Discover more destinations: Pounding Mill, Cedar Bluff, Tazewell.
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