Uncle Bob's Travels

Places I've hung out in, sometimes briefly.

Archive for the category “Photography by Bob Lawrence”

01 Apr 2018

Cox Mill

coxmill

This is Cox Mill or H. L. Cox Mill, a pastiche of old, 19th century, and newer, 20th century, pieces. Parts of the foundation look old, with a worn grinding stone embedded in one area of the stonework. It’s in Scott County on Hwy. 619 (Alley Valley Road) about a quarter mile north of the intersection with 664.

I have read that the big wheel came from a mill further up Alley Valley Road, so the millstone may also have come from there. In 1973, this mill was listed as in operation, with the owner, a Cox, living there. It’s hard to see in this picture, but on the building side of the big wheel is a smaller, geared wheel that appears to have been the one that sources note as proving electricity to the home.

The place is totally abandoned and trashed. A shame, really, since the home must have been comfortable; albeit damp…and cold as Great Claus’s nose in the winter.

Posted in Photography by Bob Lawrence and tagged Alley Valley Road, Cox Mill, H. L. Cox Mill, Hwy. 619, Hwy. 664, Scott County Va

01 Apr 2018

Dickenson County VA

dickenson

If possible, I always read these signs. This one got me because I was intrigued that the writer described W.J. Dickenson (who otherwise remains shadowy on the net) as a “prominent public man”. He actually served as a delegate to the Virginia General Assembly in terms from 1854 to 1882. He sponsored the bill to establish Dickenson as Virginia’s 100th county and to name it (blush) in honor of himself.

Posted in Photography by Bob Lawrence and tagged Dickenson County VA, Virginia General Assembly, W. J. Dickenson | Leave a comment

17 Mar 2018

Thing on 17th Street

bristol

This is on 17th Street in Bristol. I don’t have any idea of what it represents.

Posted in Photography by Bob Lawrence and tagged Bristol TN, sign | Leave a comment

26 Feb 2018

Bristol VA, Two Hotels

hotelbristolfront hotelbristolback

This one is the older of the two, built, according to a Bud Phillips article in a 2105 issue of the Bristol Herald Courier, in 1910-12. The card was printed in 1950.

hotelshelbyfront

hotelshelbyback

This card was also printed in 1950. The article mentioned above states that this hotel was built in the 1920s.

Coincidentally, both hotels went away in the 70s. Hotel Bristol, abandoned by then, burned down. The Shelby was demolished.

A couple of notes: The sign “Hotel Bristol” has been enhanced by a retoucher, as has the sign for the Shelby. All the windows have shades. All are exactly at exactly the same level. Retouching, again, I’m sure.

Posted in Photography by Bob Lawrence and tagged Bristol Herald Courier, Bristol VA, Bud Phillips, Hotel Bristol, Hotel General Shelby | Leave a comment

13 Feb 2018

Sexco!

sexco

This is in Eastern Kentucky, west of Whitesburg. There were several trucks there with this company name on them. “Sexco” used to be a trademark of a telecommunications company, a provider of dial-up equipment, but the mark was abandoned in 2001. Guess what the name is used for now. Time’s up. You got it.

Posted in Photography by Bob Lawrence and tagged Sexco, telecommunicatons company, whitesburg ky | Leave a comment

11 Feb 2018

Dixie Tannery/Columbian Paper Mill

Recently, my buddy and I were allowed to take pictures at the sites of Dixie Tannery and Columbian Paper Company in Bristol. Dixie Tannery got its start around 1894 and Columbian Paper Company arose in the 1900-1901 time period. Both were hot numbers, in their times. Dixie Tannery went under in 1952; Columbian Paper Company, which had been sold first to Mead Paper Company, then moved over to the Wheelwright Company, went on for a few more years.

Before WWI, many of the better postcards were litho printed in Germany. The Dixie Tannery card, which had a “Made in Germany” line on the back (it’s postally unused), still bothers me. It looks too new to be over a century old, but, otherwise, looks authentic.

The Columbian Paper postcard reeks of authenticity. It’s postmarked November, 1914. The card itself dates to around 1910.

dixietannery

columbian

Here’s part of Dixie Tannery today:

This is what’s left of Columbian Paper Company. The stack is still complete, the structure to the left is a 1931 railroad access ramp at the end of a spur. The gray unit in the background isn’t part of this complex.

columbian

Posted in Photography by Bob Lawrence and tagged Columbian Paper Company Bristol VA, Dixie Tannery Bristol VA, Mead Company, Postcards printed in Germany, Wheelwright Paper Company | Leave a comment

28 Jan 2018

Heading up to Uz?

Turn here:

uzsign

Interesting story, Uz. Pronounced: “you-zee”. Rennick says in Kentucky Place Names that the Louisville & Nashville railroad was having such a time acquiring the right of way from obstinate landowners that they decided to name the station Uz, after the Land of Uz, where Job endured such difficulties. Don’t look too hard for Uz, though. It’s mostly not there anymore. You can still see the foundations of the old freight station, if you look hard enough…

Posted in Photography by Bob Lawrence and tagged Jobv, Land of Uz, Louisville & Nashville Railroad, Uz, Uz Kentucky | Leave a comment

04 Dec 2017

Snow on the Mountain (Who Shot Sam?)

Sorry for the title…that reference to an old George Jones song just crept in.

This is up near the top of Powell Mountain on the Orbie Cantrell Highway (U.S. 23) on November 19. The overlook is just behind me. That’s snow blowing in over the mountain. It wasn’t a significant snowfall, just flurries, but it was the first I’d seen this season.