Kingsport Spirit

Yesterday’s post explained the evolution of Sevier Avenue and noted that Broad Street is the break point for east-west demarcation in Kingsport.

A current firefighter astutely observed that the streets in Nelsontown along today’s Gibson Mill Road have east-west monikers–Gibson Street, Millpond Street, and Windsor Street–and asked if Broad Street used to extend to Stone Drive. The answer is “yes”.

When 911 started in 1988, a concerted effort was made to eliminate duplication, confusion, and overlap. Many names were changed. That could be a future blog post itself!

Many longtime Kingsporters will remember “Broad Street Hill”. In dry weather it took your breath. In wet weather, it took your ability to stop at the bottom near Gibson Mill Road. Think Crescent Drive at St. Dominic’s School, only much worse.

When the northern part of Broad Street was changed to Gibson Mill Road in 1988, it became the new norm for 22 years. In 2010, Holston Valley Medical Center announced plans to connect the campus to Stone Drive, which resulted in the improvement and realignment of Gibson Mill Road and Ravine Road.

And that’s how the spaghetti soup of Gibson Mill Road became a proud northern entrance to midtown.