The land that lies east of the Sharps Fort settlement (1783-86) and the later developed community of Lead Mine Bend (1825), is a vast area that is known as the Katie Meyers Ridge. Katie Meyers purchase 200 acres, more or less, from the Stiners for less than $50 in the early 1900s. The property was later acquired by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) in the 1930s as part of the Norris Dam project. At the foot of the ridge is a cemetery containing the graves of Henry Stiner (Jan 3, 1796-May 11, 1872) and his wife Sarrah (1798-Oct 2, 1896), noted on the headstone are the words "First Settler." The grave of Katie Meyers is there along with 100-150 other graves some of which belong to miners killed at the New Prospect Mine. C[he New Prospect Mine began operations under the supervision of Peter F. Blow in 1869).
Although the Sharps and other families owned hundreds of acres in the Big Valley, the community at Lead Mine Bend was not settled until much later by Sharp relatives named Stiner, Graves and Russell.
William H. Thomas' notes and letters record that the late Squire William Fletcher Nash was accustomed to visits to converse with him about the old settlers in Big Valley. On one such occasion Squire Nash related a couple of interesting stories regarding Henry and Elizabeth (Mosier) Sharps tenure as members of the early Sharps Fort settlement, and their efforts to stay in touch with new relatives who were moving into the valley. One of Squire Nash's stories revealed the following:
"Henry Sharp had a close bonding with his slave named Black Harry who was a skilled stone cutter and an adept workman in may trades. Henry gave Harry his freedom, and accepted a promissory note to pay for the freedom of his wife and children. Henry Sharp died in 1848, and some of the money owed by the ex-slave had not been paid. The family agreed that to liquidate his debt to the estate, Harry would cut limestone and erect a suitable monument for his old master. Harry cut the limestone and carved: "Henry Sharp the old pioneer who opened this farm in 1797. Beside him rests Elizabeth Moser, the wife of his youth and mother of his children 1762-1848. His home was a refuge to the weary traveler and to Methodist ministers." On the base of the stone, Harry carved: "This monument was erected by his beloved freed slave Henry Sharp.
William H. Thomas wrote that within his own recollection, "that Colonel Bob Sharp of LaFollette, son of Casper, saw this inscription wherein the slave not only took honor for what he was paid to do, but also took the name of his late master. It irked colonel Bob, and he dismantled the slave's work and erected a marble marker. The old monument to Henry Sharp II is located outside the rock fence that surrounds Irwin's Cemetery in the Sharps Chapel area of Union County. Another of Squire Nash's stories has one wondering if the mineral deposits in this area were thoroughly investigated by geologists presumably following the acquisition by TVA. Their findings will be revealed later.
Some years before the death of Henry Sharp, he sent Black Harry on a mission to Lead Mine Bend to visit some of the Sharp relatives. Accompanied only by his hunting dog, the pair set out on the journey that took them across Katie Meyers Ridge. While crossing the ridge, the dog "treed" some wild animal in a rock covered hole and Black Harry stopped to investigate. Upon removing some of the stones, the slave discovered the mouth of a cave. After removing additional stones, he entered the cave and found the walls to be of a rich ore, almost, as he thought, pure silver. The slave covered the cave entrance with logs and brush intent on returning with his master to further examine his treasure. Although the area was searched repeatedly, the lost silver mine was never again found by the Henry Sharp family.
It is thought, however, in later years, that a gang of counterfeiters including Nicholas Sharp, Kirk Sharp and Ben Allen, did find the cave and removed ore from the mine in order to mint dollars of pure silver.
Over many years Professor Thomas remembered this story as related by Squire Nash, and following his retirement did some research regarding silver deposits in the Big Valley area. On September 20, 1964 he wrote the United States Department of the Interior, Geological Survey, in Knoxville, Tennessee, regarding the story and requested information of possible silver deposits in what is now Union County.
In reply to Mr. Thomas' query, Robert A. Laurence, Geologist with the Resources Research Branch, wrote the following reply:
"Many thanks for your interesting letter of September 20, with information on early history of mineral deposits in Union County. "I was particularly interested in the account of Black Harry's lost silver mine on Katie Meyers Ridge. While studying the zinc-lead deposits of that area, in 1934, I searched all over Katie Meyers Ridge for a reported deposit-- presumably this one--because of its probable zinc-lead content. I finally concluded that this must have been the same as the Braden lead prospect, on the north side of the ridge in Braden Hollow. Two prospect pits were dug there many years ago, and about 1917 New Jersey Zinc Company drilled a hole about 1,000 feet deep. No mining was ever done, so far as I know, and the only metals present were zinc, lead and iron, in the common sulfide minerals sphalerite, galena and pyrite.
'The silver story, however, must be taken with a large grain of salt. There is no authentic report of silver in the Valley counties of Tennessee or adjacent states, and the geologic environment is unfavorable to its occurrence there. It is quite probable that early settlers, including Black Harry, mistakenly considered the shiny, silvery-colored galena crystals to be silver. It is also probable that Harry's dog opened up a crevice containing galena. This mineral is quite common in the hills along Powell River, and in 1869 Dr. James M. Safford wrote, 'The ore occurs in buttons from the size of buckshot to that of a walnut, but occasionally large enough to weight. several pounds. At points where the masses are more abundant than usual, the hunters have been in the habit of digging in the soil near the rock, or in the clay filling crevices, for pieces of ore which have become detached. Frequently their labor is rewarded by the discovery of several pounds of ore, supplying them well with the lead they need'."
Another early site I have been unable to locate precisely is that of a forge on Mulberry Creek, either in Claiborne or Hancock County, which probably used red iron ore from a thin seam in Wallens Ridge, and was abandoned long before 1850.
"I certainly agree with you that the history and folklore of the Norris Reservoir area is a fascinating subject that should be preserved in print. I hope that you, or others if there are any, who have a long familiarity with the area and its residents, will do so. WGT
For more information on this article or any article or publication of the Union County Historical Society please write them at:
Union County Historical Society
P.O. Box 95
Maynardville, TN 37807
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