Traveling along State Route 506

If one was going to the Piney Fork area you would take S. R. 506 from Marion.  Many of us locals still call this the Piney Fork Road, for if you travel on for about 7 miles you will come to the Piney Fork community.  The Piney Fork Presbyterian Church is still active today, and many of the families that live in the area had family living here many years ago.  The grocery store, blacksmith shop, tannery and gristmill have been gone for many, many years.

Before you get to the Piney Fork community you will pass a lone cemetery marker standing along side the highway.  It belongs to John A. Andrews, 1815-1891. It's such an unusual sight to see it standing there and it makes you wonder about its history.  

Rev. James Boone, now 100 years old, told me the story.  He said years ago, the only road to get to Piney Fork, was actually the creek bed that ran along the foot of this hill.  When it rained and the creek was full, it cut off the only way to get to Piney Fork.  At this time the spot where the Andrews stone is was a field. 

It was decided that a road should be built up on the hill and away from the creek so that it wouldn't be flooded every time it rained.  The land chosen for this road cut through the Andrews farm and was made very  near the monument.

Perhaps the Andrews family at one time had intended for this to be the start of their family cemetery, as many family cemeteries were made on the family's land, but after the road was built and was located so close to the monument, they later buried family members in the near-by Piney Fork Cemetery.  So the monument was there before the road was.

These  little store buildings are still standing at the junction of S.R. 506 and Copperas Spring/Flynns Ferry Rd.  Although empty for many years they are still a reminder of the once active little community of Piney Fork.

The small store on the left was the first store that was there.  It was a wooden frame building.  As the needs of the community grew, so did the need for a larger store, so the block building on the right was built.  All the needs of the community were available at these country stores.