# Holston River

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Holston_River
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Holston_River.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holston_River
> Source revision: 1340606925
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

For other uses, see [Holston (disambiguation)](/source/Holston_(disambiguation)).

The **Holston River** is a 136-mile (219-kilometre) river that flows from [Kingsport, Tennessee](/source/Kingsport,_Tennessee), to [Knoxville, Tennessee](/source/Knoxville,_Tennessee). Along with its three major forks (**North Fork**, **Middle Fork** and **South Fork**), it comprises a major river system that drains much of northeastern [Tennessee](/source/Tennessee), southwestern [Virginia](/source/Virginia), and northwestern [North Carolina](/source/North_Carolina). The Holston's [confluence](/source/Confluence) with the [French Broad River](/source/French_Broad_River) at Knoxville marks the beginning of the [Tennessee River](/source/Tennessee_River).

## History

Maps by early French explorers in this area identified what is now known as the Holston River as the "[Cherokee](/source/Cherokee) River", after the tribe they encountered. The United States settlers and army fought with the Cherokee over land in Tennessee, North Carolina, and further South into Georgia and Alabama. In the 1830s the government forced the Cherokee out on the [Trail of Tears](/source/Trail_of_Tears) to [Indian Territory](/source/Indian_Territory) (now Oklahoma), under the authority of the [Indian Removal Act](/source/Indian_Removal_Act) passed by Congress in 1830.

Early Tennessee historian and [Tennessee Supreme Court](/source/Tennessee_Supreme_Court) Justice [John Haywood](/source/John_Haywood_(American_historian)) cites in his 1823 book "The civil and political history of the state of Tennessee from its earliest settlement up to the year 1796, including the boundaries of the state*"* that the Holston River was identified and named on earlier produced French maps as the "Cherokee River".[5] British colonists later named the Holston River after pioneer Stephen Holstein, a European-American settler who built a cabin in 1746 on the upper reaches of the river.[6] Similarly, [Holston Mountain](/source/Holston_Mountain) was named after the Holston River.

The North Fork of the river was polluted by the "Muck Dam" break in [Saltville, Virginia](/source/Saltville,_Virginia) on December 24, 1924, which allowed the release of a huge volume of liquid chemical waste stored there by the [Mathieson Alkali Company](/source/Olin_Corp.), taking the lives of nineteen people who lived along the river.[7] The river remained polluted and virtually dead for several decades afterward.[8][9][10][11]

## Course

The North Fork flows 138 miles (222 km) southwest from Sharon Springs in [Bland County, Virginia](/source/Bland_County,_Virginia). The Middle Fork flows 56.5 miles (90.9 km) from near the western border of [Wythe County, Virginia](/source/Wythe_County,_Virginia), joining the South Fork in [Washington County, Virginia](/source/Washington_County,_Virginia), southeast of [Abingdon](/source/Abingdon,_Virginia). The South Fork rises near [Sugar Grove](/source/Sugar_Grove,_Virginia) in [Smyth County](/source/Smyth_County,_Virginia) and flows 112 miles (180 km) southwest to join the North Fork at Kingsport.[12] The [Watauga River](/source/Watauga_River), a [tributary](/source/Tributary) of the South Fork Holston, flows 78.5 miles (126.3 km) westward from [Watauga County, North Carolina](/source/Watauga_County,_North_Carolina).

## River modifications

The Holston River valley has been greatly developed for [electrical](/source/Electricity) power generation, both with [hydroelectric](/source/Hydroelectric) [dams](/source/Dam) and [coal](/source/Coal)-fired steam plants. In the upper reaches, some of these plants are controlled by private interests; in the downstream portion, they are owned by the [United States Government](/source/United_States_Government)'s [Tennessee Valley Authority](/source/Tennessee_Valley_Authority).

The main stem of the Holston is impounded by the [Tennessee Valley Authority](/source/Tennessee_Valley_Authority)'s [Cherokee Dam](/source/Cherokee_Dam) near [Jefferson City, Tennessee](/source/Jefferson_City,_Tennessee), forming [Cherokee Lake](/source/Cherokee_Lake). Five other dams, also managed by TVA, impound the Holston's headwater streams: [Watauga Dam](/source/Watauga_Dam) and [Wilbur Dam](/source/Wilbur_Dam) on the Watauga River, and [Boone Dam](/source/Boone_Dam), [Fort Patrick Henry Dam](/source/Fort_Patrick_Henry_Dam), and [South Holston Dam](/source/South_Holston_Dam) on the South Fork Holston River.

Among the dams and associated reservoirs on the South Fork Holston River are Boone Dam and [Boone Lake](/source/Boone_Lake), named for the explorer [Daniel Boone](/source/Daniel_Boone); Fort Patrick Henry Dam and Fort Patrick Henry Lake, named for the [Founding Father](/source/Founding_Fathers_of_the_United_States) [Patrick Henry](/source/Patrick_Henry); and South Holston Dam and [South Holston Lake](/source/South_Holston_Lake).

## Recreation

All three forks in Virginia, South Holston Lake, and the Holston River in Tennessee below the South Holston Dam offer relatively easy-to-reach recreation opportunities. The North Fork in Virginia is known as an excellent [smallmouth bass](/source/Smallmouth_bass) river (because of [mercury](/source/Mercury_(element)) contamination, fish caught in the North Fork of the Holston below [Saltville, Virginia](/source/Saltville,_Virginia), must not be consumed).[13] Both the South Fork in Virginia and the first 20 miles (32 km) of the Holston in Tennessee below South Holston Dam are quality [brown trout](/source/Brown_trout) and [rainbow trout](/source/Rainbow_trout) fisheries. The Holston River is wide and open enough to allow extensive [fly fishing](/source/Fly_fishing). South Holston Lake offers a variety of fishing opportunity as well, as it contains smallmouth bass, [common carp](/source/Common_carp), [walleye](/source/Walleye), [pike](/source/Pike_(fish)), [sunfish](/source/Centrarchidae), [crappie](/source/Crappie) and a few trout.

## Crossings

### Holston River

The following is a list of major road crossings on the Holston River:

Bridge Name Crossing/Road Location Notes Boyds Bridge Boyds Bridge Pike/Strawberry Plains Pike Knoxville, Tennessee First road crossing over the Holston Holston River Bridge Knoxville J.W. Will Taylor Memorial Bridge Knoxville, Tennessee Mascot Bridge Mascot Road Mascot/Strawberry Plains, Tennessee Concrete arch bridge John K. Shields Bridge Near Jefferson City, Tennessee Olen R. Marshall Bridge Morristown/Bean Station, Tennessee The Olen R. Marshall Bridge is one of two bridges to cross Cherokee Lake Melinda Ferry Bridge near Rogersville, Tennessee Hugh B. Day Bridge near Rogersville and Persia, Tennessee William L. Jenkins Bridge near Rogersville Longs Bend Bridge Longs Bend Pike Surgoinsville, Tennessee Original bridge was demolished in 2014. Goshen Valley Road Church Hill, Tennessee Bridge does not have a name; final crossing over the main Holston River

### South Fork Holston River

The following is a list of major road crossings on the South Fork Holston River:

Bridge Name Crossing/Road Location Notes C.P. Edwards Bridge Ridgefields Road Kingsport, Tennessee Kingsport, Tennessee Two sets of bridges over the river, connected by the Long Island of the Holston Kingsport, Tennessee Two bridges over the river, connected by the Long Island of the Holston 2nd Street Kingsport, Tennessee Connects Long Island of the Holston to the mainland S Eastman Road / Ivory Street Kingsport, Tennessee Closed Bridge at Long Island of the Holston Jared Drive Kingsport, Tennessee Connects Long Island of the Holston to the mainland 13th Street Kingsport, Tennessee Connects Long Island of the Holston to the mainland Sgt. 1st Class O.B. Hickman Memorial Bridge Kingsport, Tennessee J Mack Ray Bridge Kingsport, Tennessee Directly beside of Fort Patrick Henry Dam; Concrete arch on southbound span Fall Creek Road Warriors' Path State Park No name bridge Colonial Heights, Tennessee Orville Depew "Dick" Kitzmiller and Riley Lee Milhorn Memorial Bridge Spurgeon, Tennessee Just a half mile west of Boone Dam Devault Bridge Devault Bridge Road Halfway between Blountville and Piney Flats, Tennessee Marine PFC Charles Howard Duty Memorial Bridge Enterprise Road / Beaver Creek Road Near Bluff City, Tennessee Charlie Worley Bridge Bluff City, Tennessee Reed H. Thomas Memorial Bridge Bluff City, Tennessee Near Hickory Tree, Tennessee No name bridge Webb Bridge Old Weaver Pike Near Hickory Tree, Tennessee PVT. Lawrence E. Carrier Memorial Bridge Hickory Tree, Tennessee SSGTs. James B. White, Robert S. Shoaf, and Marvin H. Helbert Memorial Bridge Holston View Dam Road Emmett, Tennessee Last crossing before South Holston Dam 421 Bridge Holston Valley, Tennessee Green Spring, Virginia No name bridge Alvarado, Virginia No name bridge Halfway between Osceola and Damascus, Virginia No name bridge Near Damascus, Virginia No name bridge Near Damascus, Virginia No name bridge near Lodi, Virginia No name bridge Bucks Bridge Between Lodi and Widener Valley, Virginia Friendship, Virginia No name bridge Wilkinson's Mill, Virginia No name bridge Elswick Bridge Wilkinson's Mill, Virginia Near Chilhowie, Virginia No name bridge Edward "Bud" Ashby Memorial Bridge Near Chilhowie, Virginia Hiler Bridge near Adwolfe, Virginia Adwolfe, Virginia No name bridge Tilleys Bridge Adwolfe, Virginia Thomas Bridge Stony Battery, Virginia Stony Battery, Virginia No name bridge near Sugar Grove, Virginia 3 different bridges Sugar Grove, Virginia No name bridge Sugar Grove, Virginia No name bridge

### Middle Fork Holston River

The following is a list of major road crossings on the Middle Fork Holston River:

Bridge Name Crossing/Road Location Notes Between Ashleys and Osceola, Virginia No name bridge Near Lodi, Virginia No name bridge Between Lodi and Glade Spring, Virginia No name bridge Prices Bridge Price Hill, Virginia Chilhowie, Virginia No name bridge Chilhowie, Virginia No name bridge Chilhowie, Virginia No name bridge Pioneer Memorial Bridge Seven Mile Ford, Virginia Seven Mile Ford, Virginia No name bridge McMullin, Virginia No name bridge Country Club Road Marion, Virginia No name bridge L.W. Kelly Bridge Baughman Avenue Marion, Virginia N Church Street Marion, Virginia No name bridge W.E. Francis Bridge Chatham Hill Road Marion, Virginia E Church Street Marion, Virginia No name bridge Marion, Virginia No name bridge Marion, Virginia No name bridge Marion, Virginia No name bridge Near Atkins, Virginia No name bridge Atkins, Virginia No name bridge Atkins, Virginia No name bridge

## See also

- [List of Tennessee rivers](/source/List_of_Tennessee_rivers)
- [List of Virginia rivers](/source/List_of_Virginia_rivers)

## References

1. United States Geological Survey, *Water Resources Data Tennessee: Water Year 1983*, Water Data Report TN-83-1, p. 123.

1. [*The Civil and Political History of the State of Tennessee from Its Earliest Settlement up to the Year 1796, including the Boundaries of the State*](https://archive.org/stream/civilpoliticalhi00hayw#page/39/mode/1up), [John Haywood](/source/John_Haywood_(judge)), 1823/reprinted 1891; available in full-text online at Internet Archive

1. Stewart, George R. (1967 [1945]). [*Names on the Land: A Historical Account of Place-Naming in the United States*](https://archive.org/details/namesonlandhisto0000stew). Sentry edition (3rd) ed. [Houghton Mifflin](/source/Houghton_Mifflin)

1. Selden, Ina Lee (March 13, 1980). "The town that would not die". *[The Christian Science Monitor](/source/The_Christian_Science_Monitor)*

1. ["The Atlanta Journal - Constitution Article on Dam"](https://web.archive.org/web/20060527013313/http://mywebpages.comcast.net/5thuscc/AJC11011999.htm). Mywebpages.comcast.net. Archived from [the original](http://mywebpages.comcast.net/5thuscc/AJC11011999.htm) on May 27, 2006. Retrieved December 7, 2011.

1. ["Roanoke Times Article on Dam"](https://archive.today/20120918070014/http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/xp-15892). Roanoke.com. Archived from [the original](http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/xp-15892) on September 18, 2012. Retrieved December 7, 2011.

1. ["US EPA Superfund Site"](https://archive.today/20120805100200/http://www.epa.gov/reg3hwmd/super/sites/VAD003127578/index.htm). Epa.gov. June 28, 2006. Archived from [the original](http://www.epa.gov/reg3hwmd/super/sites/VAD003127578/index.htm) on August 5, 2012. Retrieved December 7, 2011.

1. ["VA Department Environmental Quality"](http://www.deq.state.va.us/waste/pdf/superfund/sal.pdf) (PDF). Retrieved December 7, 2011.

1. ["Holston River - South Fork"](https://web.archive.org/web/20120926171933/http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/fishing/waterbodies/display.asp?id=152). Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. Archived from [the original](http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/fishing/waterbodies/display.asp?id=152) on 2012-09-26. Retrieved 2012-09-17.

1. ["Holston River - North Fork"](http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/fishing/waterbodies/display.asp?id=151). Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Holston River](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holston_River) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holston_River?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.