Man was known as the 'giant of the River Hills'

A short distance north of Abingdon, Va., there begins an area of hills that spread downward to the valley of the North Fork of the Holston River. Many locals call this area the River Hills.
Many pioneers coming into Washington County, Va., settled in these lovely hills and there carved out homesteads that still serve younger generations. There yet may be a few homesteads dating from the 1700s that are still owned by descendants of the original settlers.
Through the years, many interesting people have lived and died in these hills, some never having traveled far from them. Occasionally, some people have moved into these hills and carved out a bit of local fame for themselves.
This is true of James T. Price, who was born in North Carolina in August 1831 and who came to Washington County, Va., at an early age. He lived in the River Hills for the rest of his life. He made his mark there and still has living descendants in that section and elsewhere.
Once there, he immediately drew attention and would anywhere he chanced to go. He was what locals call a “giant.” Reports are that he stood 7.5 feet tall. When he was 19 years old, he married Maria Jane Gillenwater on June 4, 1851. She was of a prominent pioneer family of the name that early settled on the Holston River. This first wife and mother died Feb. 1, 1856.
On Oct. 30 that year, he married Leila Bordwine. She was the mother of most of his children. She died March 3, 1896. Then, on Jan. 19, 1897, he married his third and final wife, Margaret E. Smith.
This giant of the River Hills is usually credited with the founding of the yet thriving village of Greendale. This village occupies the prominent area where the old Russell/Abingdon turnpike crossed the Rich Valley. Highway 19 now follows the approximate route of the older road.
Far back, this area was known as Smiths Cabin, and the never-failing stream that flows across the valley at that point was called Cabin Creek. Later, it was called Hearls Creek, and now is just commonly called Greendale Creek. That stream and what it could do was the cause of the founding of Greendale.
Mr. Price realized this stream was ideal for the operation of water-powered mills. It is told that before the Civil War, he built the first gristmill in what is now Greendale. It stood near the present Fellowship Hall of the Greendale Chapel Church.
Being of tremendous strength, he handled many of the large stones that went into the building of the mill dam, the remains of which may yet be seen a short distance above the aforementioned fellowship hall.
During the Civil War, Price enlisted in the service of the Confederacy and served under Gen. Early. He then returned home and resumed his milling operation.
He then erected a furniture factory on what is now the upper parking lot of the Greendale Chapel Church. Later came a burial factory, then a box factory. He then established a funeral service for the area using caskets made in his furniture factory. For a few years, the fast-developing village around him was called Price Factory.
In the early 1870s, Mr. Price led a move for the establishment of a post office. He named it Greendale (simply meaning a green valley). At some point, he served on the Board of Supervisors in Washington County, Va.
In his final years, he moved down to Holston, Va., near where Highway 19 now crosses the north fork of the Holston River and continued to operate mills there.
After an illness of three years, he died there on Aug. 15, 1904. About 1867-68, he had built himself a super-sized casket and stored it in a barn.
By the time it was needed, Mr. Price had become even larger so another had to be built especially for this giant of the River Hills.
Truly his life’s works matched his size.

BUD PHILLIPS is a local historian and author. He can be reached at (276) 466-6435. For more about Bristol’s history, visit www.bristolhistoricalassociation.com.