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Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy continues to work with partners in the U.S. Forest Service to fill in gaps in our public lands.

“This property on the slopes of Cherokee Mountain has been in the same family for four generations,” says Land Protection Director Michelle Pugliese. “The landowners reached a decision that they needed to sell the land, which tucks into a corner of Cherokee National Forest. SAHC was able to work with our partners in the U.S. Forest Service to fulfill their goals.

Last year, SAHC purchased 65 acres just south of Johnson City and Jonesborough. The tract shares a long border with Cherokee National Forest and will be transferred to become part of the national forest in the future.

and provide a means for the landowners to meet their own needs, while securing a conservation outcome for the land – a win, win, win situation. This project continues SAHC’s efforts to protect land for habitat, scenic views, and water quality in our Appalachian Trail Countryside Conservation Focus Area.”

The recently purchased tract contains steeply sloping, forested ridges with multiple springs draining to Little Cherokee Creek in the Nolichucky River watershed. Elevations on the property range from 2,100 to 2,800 feet to a ridgeline on Cherokee Mountain where it joins the Cherokee National Forest. Part of the uppermost ridgeline is visible from the Appalachian Trail. SAHC will steward the land as a nature preserve until it can be transferred into public ownership.

The property was jointly owned by cousins in different geographic areas of the nation, who came to a consensus that they needed to do something with the property before it passed into the next, more widespread generation.

“We felt good about the relationship with SAHC because the land would be preserved,” said Doug Delaney, one of the six landowners who sold the tract. “It was a mutually beneficial agreement. When the opportunity to conserve the land with SAHC came up, we felt that would be a good solution all the way around. We are happy that eventually it will be transferred to the national forest.”

 

Deep Roots in Tennessee

Although the landowners of the Union Church Cove tract are spread across the United States, they have deep family roots in the mountains of Tennessee. Former landowner Janine Delaney Sylvia harbors particularly fond memories of her grandmother and her family ties to the Tennessee mountain land.

“My great-grandfather, Arthur Shelby Hartsell, purchased the land and is buried at the church cemetery in Union Church Cove,” shared Janine. “His grandfather, Isaac Washington Hartsell, actually made the bricks for the original church building. Our family ties go back to the colonial settlement after the American Revolution and during the State of Franklin period of Tennessee mountain history.”

The State of Franklin was a proposed independent state in the post revolution period, which included eight counties in what is now northeast Tennessee. Between 1784-1788, proponents of the State of Franklin attempted – unsuccessfully – to create an independent state from land which was once part of North Carolina. The town of Jonesborough near Union Church Cove served as the first capital of the State of Franklin (1784-1785) which was once part of North Carolina. The town of Jonesborough near Union Church Cove served as the first capital of the State of Franklin (1784-1785).

Isaac Washington Hartsell’s father, Jacob Taylor Hartsell, was commissioned in the Tennessee militia in 1809 and served through the War of 1812. He kept a journal throughout his travels and experiences in the militia, and in it he penned a poem about the “Volunteers of Tennessee.”

Many decades later, Arthur Shelby Hartsell left the mountains of Tennessee to make his fortune in the financial sector. He returned and became a founding director of The People’s Bank of Johnson City in 1920, which later merged with the First National Bank of Jonesboro in 1956 to become First Peoples Bank.

“He invested in land,” shared Janine. “He was a prominent businessman who bought and sold land all over the area. However, he never sold that mountain land.”

Perhaps it connected him with the heritage of his forebears. Arthur passed in 1963, and his daughter Edna Mae Hartsell Delaney inherited the tract and managed it until the 1980s, refusing multiple offers to purchase the land and later passing it to her sons. Janine, who lived in the Northeast with her family, fondly recalls family trips to the Tennessee mountains.

“We spent every other summer visiting my grandmother and other family in Tennessee,” remembered Janine. “But, it was always warm when we visited. So, when my sister and I moved to stay with our grandmother and attend East TN State University, we were shocked to discover it snowed in Tennessee. We had not packed for that!”

“My father loved being an owner of that land,” continued Janine. “He was very proud of that, and glad that he was able to explore the land. It was dear to him. When he passed away he left his portion of ownership to me. I’ve been out on it several times. The property was landlocked, surrounded by Cherokee National Forest and other privately owned land. Mr. Taylor, who lived in a cabin at the base of the mountain, was very generous about allowing us access to the mountain through his property. I’ve enjoyed visiting there throughout my life, and each time I would stop by the church and visit great-grandfather Hartsell’s grave, and say “Watch over the land, Grandpa.”

From Rhode Island to California and in between, the family today has spread across the nation. The cousins who owned the property shared a sense of close connection and collaboratively co-owned, paid bills, and managed the land for years. However, they realized that coordinating and caring for the land would have become even more complex for the next generation.

“The mountain has always been part of our lives,” added Janine. “Generationally, it has been a big part of us. When we did put it up for sale, it was bittersweet – but time to let it go. I was one of the last holdouts. When my son was small, I would take him to visit and stop at the cemetery, and he would also say ‘Grandpa, watch over the land.’ About the land sale, he told me, ‘It’s okay mom, it’s okay.’ When it transfers to the Cherokee National Forest, our family and others will be able to go and walk there and visit it. We think we made great-grandfather Hartsell and grandmother Edna Delaney, and all our fathers proud. We are grateful that it will be part of the national forest.”