Hidden Gem: One-Of-A-Kind Landmarks

A number of landmarks across the Mountain Empire define the region’s character. A few, actually, are one-of-a-kind classics.

THE BRISTOL SIGN
Bristol’s famous welcome sign stands over State Street, forming an arch about 60 feet high.
Listed on both state and national Historic Landmark registers, it was constructed in 1910 and was, at first, placed atop the Virginia-Tennessee Hardware Co. building.
In 1915, the metallic structure – now simply known as the “Bristol Sign” – was moved near the railroad tracks crossing State Street.
Today, the sign proclaims the Twin City as “A Good Place to Live.”
Originally though, this steel sign’s slogan said: “Push-That’s Bristol.”
Sounds odd, of course. But, at the time, that phrase was meant to represent the city’s growing pains.
Turns out, it provided some comedy.
Every once in a while, a light would burn out, resulting in the lights burning bright to proclaim such embarrassments as “Pu-That’s Bristol” or “-sh-That’s Bristol.”
Then came a contest in 1921 to create a new slogan.
Ultimately, James T. Cecil provided the current wording of what has been the Twin City’s catchphrase ever since: “BRISTOL VA-TENN-A GOOD PLACE TO LIVE.”

HIGH KNOB FIRE TOWER
For nearly 30 years, forest officials marked High Knob in Wise County, Va., with a fire tower.
Then, last Halloween, that tower succumbed to its own fire – what many believe to be arson – when the stone and wood structure was reduced to rubble.
The circular tower, built in 1978 at a 4,162-foot elevation, stood about 40 feet high and attracted plenty of lovers who carved their initials into the wooden walls like it was an open slate for love-struck graffiti.
Since the fire, plans have been announced to rebuild it in the Jefferson National Forest to mark High Knob once again with a lookout point, where visitors can look in the distance to see Tennessee, North Carolina, Kentucky and sometimes West Virginia.

GREAT CHANNELS
Of all the well-known landmarks in Southwest Virginia, the Great Channels may be the most mysterious and least visited.
Reason: It’s not easy to get to.
Another: It’s not always allowed.
These sandstone rock formations stand atop Clinch Mountain, forming what seems like a maze of rocks, perhaps even what resembles a cave with the top cut out, just to let sunshine in.
The late Jack Kestner wrote about the formations in “Fire Tower,” a recently republished book of juvenile fiction telling an adventure story set atop Clinch Mountain.
A few years ago, the Great Channels nearly became part of a real-estate development.
Yet, ultimately, after a period of public outcry, the natural landmark was rescued when purchased in a large tract by the Nature Conservancy.
“We played the front-end role of protecting the property from development,” said Brad Kreps, director of the Nature Conservancy’s Clinch Valley Program. “We were able to move in quickly to purchase and protect the property.”
Then, in early 2008, a deal was finalized to transfer the property to the state of Virginia, establishing the new Channels State Forest, spanning about 4,800 acres.
At times, the forest will be logged, said Ed Stoots, a regional forester for the Virginia Department of Forestry, based in Abingdon.
“We normally do timber harvesting on all of our state forests,” Stoots said. “We basically are managing the timber on a sustained basis.”
The actual formation called the “Great Channels,” will become part of a 720-acre natural heritage area administered by Virginia’s Department of Conservation and Recreation.
“Essentially, it will be managed as a natural area within the state forest,” Stoots said.

BACKBONE ROCK
At just 22 feet long, Backbone Rock might be the shortest tunnel ever used by a railroad.
Built circa 1900, when Johnson County was the site of huge logging operations, Backbone Rock is now used as a passage on state Route 133, about four miles south of Damascus.
Backbone Rock is part of a small recreation area in the Cherokee National Forest and includes a creek for swimming, hiking trails and picnic facilities.
Nearby is a small waterfall, offering a cool respite on hot summer days.

THE GRAND GUITAR
From Bristol to Nashville to Memphis, the state of Tennessee is known for its music.
So what better way to introduce people to Tennessee than a giant guitar – no, actually, make that “The Grand Guitar.”
The structure is along Interstate 81, across from the Tennessee Welcome Center. It was built in the early 1980s by the late Joe Morrell.
The music store owner thought of everything – right down to the ropes – when he fashioned The Grand Guitar, stretching two sets of six ropes to span nearly the entire length of both sides of his beige-colored building near the Tennessee-Virginia line.
Each rope is a different size, just like a real guitar string.
Morrell’s guitar-shaped building is only for looks.
Even so, The Grand Guitar, standing 35 feet tall and stretching 70 feet long, is a fitting landmark at I-81’s gateway to Tennessee.
Morrell, who loaned his name to a chain of Morrell Music Stores in the greater Bristol region, claimed this as the world’s only guitar-shaped building – and possibly the biggest guitar replica in the world.
The guitar sits on a cinder block foundation. The upper levels are constructed with wood and metal.