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Near Buffalo Valley, TN

The welcome mat is out at the Parker-Hickman farmstead along the Buffalo National River.

Standing on the front porch at the log home of this pioneer farm, one can almost hear a shout of "Come on in," sounding from the living room long ago. While other historic homes don't allow entry, a small sign on the porch of this log house encourages people to step through the front door and explore.

Same with most sheds, barns and the outhouse. The creaky outhouse door is unlocked, but a sign inside says "not open for business." Hint hint.

[Don't see the video above? Click here to watch: https://www.youtube.com/embed/rWCwKeqouxE]

A couple of barns don't permit visitors inside, but it's fine to marvel at the weathered cedar logs notched by hand so they fit together.

The farmstead is one-half mile west of Erbie campground on the Buffalo near Jasper in Newton County. From Jasper, follow Arkansas 7 north for about three miles. Turn left at the sign for Erbie campground and river access. Follow the gravel road seven miles to the Parker-Hickman farmstead.

An interpretive sign at the front gate tells some of its history.

[GALLERY: Outdoors 4-27: https://nwamedia.photoshelter.com/gallery/Outdoors-4-27/G0000rXPMl0uqVx4]

"In the late 1830s, Alvin Parker and his brother, Greenberry, arrived here from Tennessee and built a home using the nearby red cedar trees. Joining the hand-hewed logs with dovetail notches, the Parkers built one of the finest log houses in the Ozarks.

"Over the years, later owners built additions on to the original log house. The last owners, the J.D. Hickman family, occupied this farm from 1912 to 1978 and constructed most of the outbuildings visible here today."

There's plenty of nature to go along with the history. A small creek flows between the farm house and a couple of barns. There's a larger stream that flows with scenic beauty near the front gate. People drive across this stream and steer into the parking area.

It's an easy walk to the Buffalo River, or visitors can enjoy it at Erbie campground. There are plenty of riverside picnic tables for a tasty lunch outdoors.

A small cadre of hikers, including Gene Williams of the War Eagle area, took a road trip to the farmstead in mid-March. Williams strolled across the old wood planks of the home's front porch, opened a screen door and stepped into the living room. The cinema of the mind conjures visions of a family hunkered around the fireplace on a cold winter night.

Additions to the log home are obvious. They're made of planks, not cedar logs. Log barns built by hand, sweat and simple tools amazed the visiting hikers.

"You really see the history of this area, the wood, how the buildings are set on rocks to level them," Williams said. "You can reflect and wonder how these people lived, how they stayed warm and all.

"And the outhouse. Think of below zero and running 50 feet to an outhouse."

Backpackers traveling the Buffalo River Trail get a glimpse of the farmstead. The long-distance hiking trail passes near the front gate.

If the Parker-Hickman place raises your farmstead fever, the Villines family farmstead at Ponca is worth a visit. It's located near the south end of the low-water bridge over the Buffalo River at Ponca.

Park in the lot on the north end of the bridge, walk across the bridge and follow a trail about 100 yards to the Villines farmstead.

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Beautiful Buffalo River

The Buffalo River was designated in 1972 as the first National River in the United States. The Buffalo is 153 miles long. The lower 135 miles flow within the boundaries of an area managed by the National Park Service, where the stream is designated the Buffalo National River.

Source: National Park Service

More than half a year later and still city leaders in Johnson City in limbo on what will happen to the Buffalo Valley Golf Course property.

City leaders decided to close the golf course in December and since then it has been up for sale. The only official offer coming from the town of Unicoi has now been taken off the table.

People living in that community say they want answers.

“It would be a shame to lose the beauty of this place,” Carol Billheimer said.

For nearly 40 years Carol Billheimer and her husband Carroll have been surrounded by that beauty here at the Buffalo Valley Golf Course.

They remember the land during its hey day. Now abandoned, those memories are all they have left of the once thriving community.

“I’m going to lose a lot of property value because I’ve been here quite a few years and knowing that were going to be closed down it won’t be a beautiful golf course anymore it will just be mountains and trees,” Carol Billheimer said

City leaders say right now they are exploring any possible offers that could lead to a purchase of the property.

“We have got an asset that we have got to explore completely the most efficient way to dispose of that or re-purpose it,” David Tomita said.

Johnson City Mayor David Tomita says as it stands right now there are no formal offers on the property. The town of Unicoi had initially made a $400,000 offer to buy the land but pulled the offer off the table after Johnson City leaders went months without responding.

We recently spoke with the president co-owner of the Johnson City Otters soccer team Micheal Balluff. He says he made an offer to buy a portion of the land at Buffalo Valley and had plans to convert the land into a playground and sports facility to benefit the community.

His last un official offer to the city was in June. He says that offer has now been taken off the table, saying in statement: “We continue to have an interest in investing in this project but until we receive some feedback from the city on direction we are at a standstill. We hope the city chooses to explore this option with us in the future.”

“We appreciate the offer but I understand the offer is off the table but we would be more inclined to I don’t want to speak for the entire commission but I’d be more inclined to look at offers for the whole thing,” Tomita said.

Carol Billheimer said,”You just wonder why they would let something this pretty go to nothing almost.”

For now, the Billheimers and others in the community wait, hoping that the decision makers consider those who call this community home.

Snakes and overgrown brush and grass are just some of the concerns people living on the abandoned Buffalo Valley Golf Course have with city leaders in Johnson City.

For months now Andy Landers says he and others in the community surrounding the abandoned Buffalo Valley Golf Course have been clueless about future plans for the property.

“We have no idea what is going on and we feel like we have been left in the dark and we would just like to know what is going on,” Landers said.

That’s only part of community concerns, others say their yards have been infested with snakes that have take up residence at the golf course and slithered onto their property. Landers says this partly due to some areas of the green that has not been kept up.

“Also a main concern of ours when it rains hard which is a public breeding ground for mosquitos,” Landers said.

That water standing in a crater that Landers says crews from Johnson City dug months ago while removing top soil from the property. He says that he and others in the community simply want to kept in the loop.

“We have been trying to get some information from the city, we have a vested interest in the golf course, it completely in circles my house. We would just like to know what is going on,” Landers said.

David Tomita said, “We will do the best that we can to be a good neighbor and do everything we can to see that it gets into the right hands and be the least bit disruptive to that neighborhood as possible.”

Johnson City mayor David Tomita says city leaders are still exploring possible options for the Buffalo Valley Property. As far as the upkeep and concern of snakes goes. He says the city does maintain the property but not to the same standard as when it was an open golf course.

“We are private property owners in Unicoi County, just like you are a private property owner of your house here, if we are doing something that is not to code, we will fix it,” Tomita said.

City leaders say they are still trying to figure out the best options for the future of Buffalo Valley Golf Course.

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Contributed, City of Clarksville

Three newly built homes in Clarksville are complete and available for rent to low-income families, with first priority going to U.S. military veterans, especially those with disabilities.

Clarksville Mayor Kim McMillan helped cut the ribbon Monday morning on the three homes built by Buffalo Valley Inc., in the Providence Pointe subdivision.

The Tennessee Housing Development Agency provided Buffalo Valley with a $500,000 grant toward the construction of these homes, as well as four others in the Chattanooga area.

“Being able to live in stable, supportive homes like these, in the middle of a beautiful new neighborhood like this one, helps give the American Dream back to some of the veterans who proudly served our country and are now struggling to get by,” said Buffalo Valley CEO Jerry Risner.

Buffalo Valley, a Clarksville-based nonprofit housing provider, will rent these homes to residents who earn less than 30 percent of the local median income and meet other eligibility requirements.

“Bricks and mortar are important, but so is creating a sense of home and community, and that’s exactly what Buffalo Valley has succeeded at doing here so beautifully,” said Denise McBride, Middle Tennessee Liaison for THDA.

The City of Clarksville donated the property where the homes were built, and additional funding was provided by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The City is also completing another affordable home in the neighborhood using the federal HOME program.

“Amid our growth and progress, I’m also proud of our efforts to make sure that Clarksville’s prosperity is being shared with all of our citizens, especially senior citizens and low and moderate income households, and our large number of service veterans,” Mayor McMillan said.

“A big part of this is our work to battle homelessness and to promote maintaining and building affordable and workplace housing in Clarksville.”

Much of the City’s work on affordable housing flows through its Office of Housing and Community Development, headed by Keith Lampkin. Since 2011, the Community Development office has completed 137 projects to build, rehabilitate, and provide emergency repairs to homes. Another 85 households have benefitted from down payment and closing-cost assistance. This totals more than $4.5 million of CDBG and HOME funds administered through Clarksville Community Development.

Also since 2011, the City of Clarksville has been involved in construction of 400 units of affordable and workforce housing using federal low-income housing tax credits administered by THDA. Another 192 units are approved and construction will start in Spring 2019.

More information about THDA can be found online at THDA.org .

Unicoi County has two new residents that former Town of Unicoi Mayor Johnny Lynch is proud to welcome to Farmhouse Gallery & Gardens, which he owns with his wife, Pat.

Lynch welcomed two baby buffalo calves to his herd earlier this month.

“We had two calves born a little over a week ago,” Lynch told The Erwin Record.

Centuries ago thousands of buffalo journeyed through the valley and created most of the paths that are used as roads today throughout East Tennessee. As they did in most areas, the large but agile animals gradually disappeared from the eastern half of the United States.

“Originally the buffalo roamed free from the Eastern Seaboard all the way to the Rocky Mountains,” Lynch said. “There were an estimated 60 million buffalo. By 1901, there was something like 700. They almost became extinct.”

However, the American buffalo, also known as bison, roams in the Buffalo Valley once again after the arrival of several buffaloes to the area thanks to Lynch’s efforts.

Lynch said he brought the first buffalo back to the Town of Unicoi several years ago.

“We now have 14 buffalo here,” Lunch said. “Overall in the United States, there are about 500,000 buffaloes today.”

One of the biggest obstacles he faced when relocating the buffaloes was getting a fence that could hold the wild animals.

“Not only are they large and wild, but buffalo are extremely fast and agile,” Lynch said. “They can outrun a horse and stop on a dime.”

Once the fence was in place, the buffalo followed. The females were brought in from Paint Bank, Virginia, and the bull was brought in from Wolcottville, Indiana. Lynch stated that it is currently mating season, which can run up until October. If the mating takes, then in nine months there may be new additions to the Unicoi herd.

Due to the size of the buffalo, the birthing process occurs naturally with no outside help. Lynch said that the mother will separate from the herd to give birth.

After the calf is born, the mother will keep the calf away from the herd for a few days to allow it to get acclimated. The calves are cinnamon colored when they are born and eventually become a darker shade of brown.

The proud father, Sammy, is happy to pose for photos while the cows and calves are a little more reserved. Buffalo live to be around 30 and the oldest ones on site are about three years old.

There are many other features besides the main attraction to see while visiting Farmhouse Gallery & Gardens. Roaming around the grounds are numerous peacocks, bees, otters, rabbits, groundhogs and other wildlife that live in or around a series of ponds on the property.

Classes from all over the region, including East Tennessee State University, come to study the ecosystem cultivated at the local attraction.

“The students love seeing the buffaloes,” Lynch said.

Not far from the pond is a bakery, complete with an earthen oven. Pat Lynch bakes fresh bread and other items in the bakery, often filling the air with the scent of cinnamon.

For more updates and a schedule of events at the Lynch Farmhouse Gallery & Gardens, please visit the Facebook pages of both the Town of Unicoi and Farmhouse Gallery & Gardens.

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(Left to Right) Smith County Mayor Jeff Mason, Park Ranger Luciana Arena, Park Ranger Brad Potts, Cordell Hull Lake resource manager Kenny Claywell, Natasha Deane, owner of Wildwood Resort & Marina and chairperson of Friends of Cordell Hull Lake, and Jackson County Mayor Randy Heady cut a ribbon to dedicate Periwinkle Hiking Trail March 25, 2023, at the Indian Creek Archery Range Trailhead in Granville, Tennessee. (USACE Photo by Lee Roberts)

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GRANVILLE, Tenn. (March 28, 2023) - The communities of Smith County, Jackson County and the “Friends of Cordell Hull Lake” dedicated Periwinkle Trail March 25, 2023, at the Indian Creek Archery Range trailhead. The newly constructed trail provides hikers a new path to experience the outdoors and creates a bond between the two counties.

Periwinkle Trail is 2.5 miles long and spans across Smith and Jackson Counties. Additional trailheads are accessible at Indian Creek Campground, and near Wildwood Resort & Marina at Highway 53. The trail experience includes a variety of fauna and flora for the public to enjoy, including wildflowers, carpets of cedar moss, and lichens.

The “Friends of Cordell Hull Lake” organized the dedication ceremony with additional help from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District, which manages public lands on the shoreline, as well as the many volunteers who blazed the new trail.

In her opening remarks, Natasha Deane, chairperson of “Friends of Cordell Hull Lake,” expressed her gratitude to the group, its board members, USACE, volunteers and the public that gets to recreate on Periwinkle Trail.

“This trail is for you to enjoy and maintain for many years to come,” said Deane.

When the Corps built Cordell Hull Dam 50 years ago, the trail crossed over farmlands and generations where several communities began. Scenic views on the trail reveals old stone fences, country roads, and an old well pipe on the creek.

Cordell Hull Lake Resource Manager Kenny Claywell voiced his appreciation for all the hard work and dedication that the Friends Group put into the Periwinkle Trail.

“My main focus for this trail is the partnership between the Corps, the Friends Group, and the communities of Smith and Jackson County,” Claywell said.

Claywell added that the origin of the trail connecting Indian Creek Campground with Wildwood Marina started when the Marina held its grand opening in 2020. Marina visitors and campground campers requested the trail and volunteers ultimately put in a lot of sweat equity in 2021 and 2022, working on National Public Lands Days and numerous days and weekends.

Claywell said, “This trail has brought together the two lease areas, USACE, and the Friends Group of Cordell Hull. It is outstanding that we were able to make this possible.”

Mayor Jeff Mason of Smith County and Mayor Randy Heady of Jackson County also spoke at the dedication, and both were very glad to be a part of the event.

Mason stressed that the power of volunteers and desire of the people can achieve many goals, and he is honored to have a trailhead in Smith County.

“It helps both of the communities of Smith County and Jackson County,” said Mason.

Mayor Randy Heady noted that he had the opportunity to witness the Friends Group begin to form in 2021 and is so excited to see how far this group has come. He said the “Friends Group of Cordell Hull Lake” will have a lot of opportunities to make similar impacts around the lake as a non-profit organization.

“I’m really glad the trail begins in Smith and ends in Jackson, that shows a true partnership that you see through the whole thing,” Heady said.

Following the dedication, ribbon cutting, and photographs marking the occasion, more than 80 people set down the path of the trail together. After the hike, Wildwood Resort & Marina supplied transportation back to the starting point to those who didn’t want to make the return hike.

Park Ranger Brad Potts said the public gave positive feedback that the trail was beautiful, a must hike, amazing, and a lot of fun!

In addition to the Periwinkle trail, Cordell Hull Lake offers a six-mile Bear Waller Gap hiking trail, 18-mile Holleman Bend Horse trail, half-mile Turkey Creek Nature trail and over six-mile Bear wheels Mountain Bike Trail for public use.

The park ranger staff plans to host another community hike in celebration of Earth Day 8 a.m. April 22 at the Bear Waller Gap hiking trail at the Defeated Creek Recreation Area Trail Head.

The Corps of Engineers park rangers at Cordell Hull Lake manage 381 miles of shoreline, which includes 22 boat-launching ramps, two campgrounds, and three recreation areas with plenty of opportunities for wildlife viewing, water sports, picnicking, hiking, fishing, biking and boating.

(The public can obtain news, updates and information from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District on the district’s website at www.lrn.usace.army.mil, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/nashvillecorps and on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/nashvillecorps. The public can also follow Cordell Hull Lake on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/cordellhulllake. Follow us on LinkedIn for the latest Nashville District employment and contracting opportunities at https://www.linkedin.com/company/u-s-army-corps-of-engineers-nashville-district.)