Footprints of Our Forefathers

Footprints of our Forefathers

Footprints are symbols of our interconnection with the world around us. They can be physical or spiritual. God, our Creator, tells us in Isaiah 51: “look to the rock from whence ye are hewn”. I see this wisdom on display each time I hike along the Mine Lick Creek bed and behold these old rock walls still standing. Rock walls that our ancestors stacked over two hundred years ago in the early 1800s. Still standing strong as a reminder of the connection between God and our ancestor Joseph Roberts. We know that Joseph was assigned by the White County Court to lay off this road in 1816.  He was later appointed to be the supervisor of a work crew that built the road. See the attached record in the gallery below.

Joseph Roberts, our pioneer settler, was one of many who built these magnificent stone walls. There are many of these dry stacked (no mortar used) walls along Mine Lick Creek area where Joseph and Rachel (Carter) homesteaded around 1815. These limestone rocks (called Tennessee marble) are abundantly found in our area of Tennessee. So much so, they were designated the official state rock in 1979. The settlers found the practice of clearing the rocks from their fields, and stacking them along the creeks, served two needed purposes: cleared fertile farm land and controlled the flow of the creeks.  These great “footprints” still stand as reminders in many sections along Mine Lick Creek  that our forefathers once walked these grounds.

There are other footprints in our area, if one knows where to look: old foundation stones, wells, springs, lost cemeteries, large patches of day lilies and buttercups, old abandoned farm equipment, and of course official government documents like marriage bonds , deeds, wills and other official records.  Attached are photographs of a few of the wonderful finds from over the years.