A Day Away By Mike Steely
Just north of Knoxville, up Interstate 75, is a road that you might want to take a day to explore. If you’re not from East Tennessee, or even if you are, you may not be familiar with the Senator Howard Baker Highway, or State Route 63.
Just past Caryville, you can leave I-75 at Exit 141 and head northwest on SR 63 and come to the little community of Pioneer, on the northwest corner of Campbell County. That little historic residential neighborhood has an old and now new post office and a few residents.
It’s on the corner of the Royal Blue Wildlife Management Area.
Continuing west, you’ll pass several small communities until you reach Huntsville, the home of former U.S. Senator Howard Baker. The town of about 1,500 people was named for the “Hunt” shelter nearby, a rock shelter used by long hunters long before the American Revolution. The town became the county seat of Scott County, formed in 1849.
Scott County is unique among Tennessee counties in that, when the state voted to join the Confederacy during the Civil War, the people of Scott voted to withdraw from Tennessee and form the “Independent State of Scott.”
The First National Bank and the former three-story Scott County Jail are on the National Register of Historic Places. The historic old jail became a museum and paranormal center and is open to the public for tours. The Historic Scott County Jail’s website is www.historicscottcojail.com, and its staff can be reached at (423) 663-5353.
If you walk the trail behind the building, you’ll come to the Old Town Springs Park, a mini-park with a greenway trailhead, and a surprising gorge with a waterfall.
Scott County claims it is the entrance to the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area, a huge national preserve with towering cliffs, waterfalls, forest, rock formations and natural arches.
Huntsville’s famous Baker family began with James Baker moving here just after the Civil War. He was an attorney and newspaper publisher. His son, Howard H. Baker Sr., served in the U.S. Congress and his son, Howard Baker Jr., became a U.S. Senator, Majority Leader and White House chief of staff.
Just off the grounds of Scott County High School is the Museum of Scott County. It features early pioneer exhibits. Just next door is the U.S.S. Battleship Memorial Museum, which houses the largest collection of U.S.S. Tennessee memorabilia in the world and is dedicated to survivors of the attack on Pearl Harbor.
The museum complex has more than a dozen log and stone buildings with exhibits for ancient and modern times, historic artifacts, and learning labs for children. One of the buildings traces Senator Baker’s history with a replica of his grandfather’s law office, as well as examples of the senator’s passion for photography.
Both museums are available for public tours by calling (423)701-0168, or you may find information online at www.scottcountymuseum.com.
Huntsville hosts the Appalachian Heritage Festival each September.
After visiting Huntsville and Scott County, you could return to Knoxville by following the highway west until you get to U. S. Highway 27 and turning south. You might want a quick side trip to Rugby or a stopover in Sunbright, Wartburg or Oliver Springs before passing through Oak Ridge and returning home.
A day’s outing, even in the winter, can be fun, especially with family members.
