Kingsport Spirit

By Jeff Fleming
March 29, 2023

I can summarize my familiarity with Big Stone Gap into six things: (1) the legendary football legacy of the Powell Valley Vikings, now merged with the Appalachia Bulldogs to form Union High School, (2) the presence of Mountain Empire Community College, (3) interaction with LENOWISCO in transportation planning across state lines, (4) my family’s attendance at Trail of the Lonesome Pine outdoor drama, which is celebrating its 60^th year, (5) the book by Adriana Trigiani, which was made into the 2015 movie starring Ashley Judd and Patrick Wilson as the main characters, and (6) my interactions with Leton Harding, President of Powell Valley Bank, which has a presence in both Big Stone Gap and Kingsport. By reputation, it seemed much larger than its 5,000 or so residents.

Late last year, I ran into a friend who introduced me to the town manager. He said, “They’ve got some really cool things happening there.” He firmly grabbed my hand and looked directly into my eyes, “Seriously, you need to go see.” I knew it was more than an exchange of pleasantries.  As a retired city manager myself, he knew I loved this kind of stuff. He also knew that I have a special place in my heart for Southwest Virginia (my dad was 4^th generation) and the annual treks we made to the family reunions in Clintwood. The town manager extended a warm invitation that I never followed up with–until a couple of weeks ago.

Sometimes a place is caught on the wrong end of a national narrative. I’ve battled it my whole career in Kingsport. The negative connotations drawn by outsiders of the term, “Appalachia”, are as strong as the passion of those who love it from the depths of their heart.

If only they could see things with a fresh set of eyes, a new perspective.

Sometimes it takes an unexpected, catastrophic series of national events for that to happen. The pandemic of 2020 stopped the world in its tracks. Americans were too busy with the daily grind to reflect on their ‘why’. Suddenly we all had plenty of time—in isolation—to think about our priorities, our family, and our life’s purpose. And they realized they weren’t as happy as they thought. Many yearned to be outdoors, surrounded by natural beauty. They wanted to feel connected to a community of caring people. They wanted to socialize, enjoy live music, and walk along a riverside trail. And for the first time in American history, they weren’t chained to a desk—they could work from a home office. 

The script was flipped.  Small towns with big-time fun are all the rage. In fact, that’s Big Stone Gap’s tagline.

A lightbulb went off when I drove up to the visitor’s center. My mind was suddenly transported to the mining towns of Sonora, California, and Telluride, Colorado—small towns like Big Stone Gap—none of whom are interested in becoming overpopulated tourist towns. Leave the crowds and traffic to the metro areas. They just want to be the best version of themselves. Each of them has been recognized in their own right. Sonora is one of the “12 Lively California Gold Rush Towns You Must Visit”, Telluride is listed in “12 of the Most Charming Small Towns in Colorado”, and Big Stone Gap is listed in “11 Charming + Nostalgic Virginia Mountain Towns.”

If you don’t already know, Big Stone Gap, Virginia, is 34-miles from the city limits of Kingsport, Tennessee. That’s the same distance as Nashville-to-Murfreesboro or Norfolk-to-Yorktown. Just like Telluride is to the Rockies, or Sonora is to Yosemite and the Sierras, Big Stone Gap is to the Cumberlands. Big Stone Gap is an hour closer to Knoxville, Tennessee, or Asheville, North Carolina, than it is to Roanoke, Virginia.

It’s nestled along the Powell River at one of the few natural gaps (Cumberland Gap, Pennington Gap, Big Stone Gap, Pound Gap, and The Breaks). The mountain rises 120 stories over downtown Big Stone Gap. The World Trade Center was only 110 stories. Let that sink in.

Nowadays, the gap has been bypassed by U.S. 23 in an engineering feat that is eerily similar to the Linn Cove viaduct on the Blue Ridge Parkway in western North Carolina.

And the outside world is beginning to take note. Cardinal News reported that, “data crunched by the Brookings Institution shows that over the past two decades the Big Stone Gap micropolitan area has succeeded in building a tech-based economy that, on a percentage basis, is bigger than that in the Roanoke Valley. This certainly runs counter to a lot of stereotypes, but data is data and there it is. In 2002, Big Stone Gap was tied with Danville and Martinsville for last place in Virginia — just 4% of its jobs were considered highly digitalized. By 2020, Big Stone Gap counted 22% of its jobs in that category, higher than eight other areas (including Roanoke, where the figure is 21%).”

In January 2023 Britalians TV, a British broadcaster made its way to town and Big Stone Gap will soon be on view to the entire world. They plan to return three more times in the spring, summer, and fall to shoot a two-hour special. It’s that special.

So I took the short 40-minute drive to meet Steve Lawson, Town Manager, and Ked Meade, Director of Tourism and Economic Development. I’m accustomed to giving tours of Kingsport and I’m often told that my passion for the town makes for a more impactful visit. But I can attest that their passion for their town met or exceeded mine. Both are natives. Steve returned to his hometown after serving as Assistant County Administrator in Macon/Bibb County, Georgia (population 157,350). He brought the experience of a much larger place back to his hometown. Ked came from the private sector and began as a town volunteer, never dreaming it would turn into a full-time job. They said many of the big ideas began on Ked’s back porch as likeminded town advocates gathered informally to dream about the future. Inevitably, the creative juices flowed and the results are self-evident.

We met at the Visitors Center, which is a converted vintage Gulf service station. Every detail was carefully considered in the remodel. The garage bay is now a state-of-the-art meeting space, and the roll-up doors create a seasonal venue for community events. Bright red diner booths line one wall and are pre-set with checkerboards inviting you to sit a spell. Mountain bikes line another. I even got to meet the “town jerk” and his Chocolate Lab working the front. Their awards and accolades are well-deserved.  

For the sake of time, we jumped in the truck (although it was very walkable). We saw the Harry Meador Coal Mining Museum, the Southwest Virginia Museum, Bullitt Park (stadium, little league fields, and 7000-seat concert venue), disc golf, dog park, Greenbelt, farmers market, music venues, outdoor amphitheater, and future pump track. For the unindoctrinated (like me), a pump track is a closed loop bicycle course that allows bike riders to pump their legs to maintain speed, without pedaling. We didn’t get up to Big Cherry, but it’s a 250-acre lake and 3200-acre park that reminds me of Kingsport’s Bays Mountain (3550 acres).

I had a chance to listen to the pride and passion for THEIR town. I heard about the priority of a clean, crisp first impression. An unkempt appearance can grow like a cancer. For example, the fence around the little league fields had deteriorated, they explained. The taller grass along the fence lines needed some attention and the fields freshened. They looked a little tired and to be honest, it had become so ‘normal’ that it took a fresh set of eyes to point it out. The town got to work and installed new fence as much as they could fit within budget, and disassembled the rest, painted, and re-installed. The grass was manicured, and any patches were filled. Where there’s a will, there’s a way. And this visitor noticed the difference.

Public art and murals filled blank walls—even on the side streets. At every turn I saw shops selling ice cream, coffee, baked goods, bikes, brick-oven pizza, craft beer, local pottery, country cooking, mani-pedi treatments, nutrition drinks, fitness, fajitas, steaks, pork, shrimp, seafood, wraps, tacos, burgers, and chicken (boneless in honor of Elizabeth Taylor—if you know, you know). There’s even a walkable downtown grocery store!

And I realized what my friend was talking about. Slowly, but surely, this town that many assumed had fallen by the wayside with the setbacks of mining, is now experiencing a second chance. COVID shined a light on places like this. People were forced to pause and re-evaluate their lives. What matters most? Where do you want to raise your family? Are there still places with real neighbors who build a community and help each other? And suddenly places like Big Stone Gap became very desirable again. Throw in high-speed internet and Amazon deliveries to supplement locally available wares, and it’s a pretty-compelling case. There’s never been a better time to live in a rural place.

I’m a student of cities. I look for best practices and evidence of success (not just lip service). When I met the mayor of Greenville, South Carolina, he said, “We’re the 30-year overnight success story.” He meant they’d been working a long time, but only recently had anyone noticed. Then the awards and accolades started flowing. That’s how it feels in Big Stone Gap. There’s an energy and excitement that’s palpable. I’m especially fond of places that were handed a death sentence, but politely declined. Big Stone Gap was once the headquarters of Westmoreland Coal and enjoyed the lavish benefits of the burgeoning coal industry. But that’s long gone. The town could accept its fate or double-down to reinvent itself. It chose the latter. Kudos to all involved from your friends (and family) just down the road in Northeast Tennessee.

Big Stone Gap is as endearing and eclectic as its name. And I can’t wait to see what comes next.

In 2019, Jeff Fleming retired as Kingsport, TN City Manager after 35 years of service. He is a local history blogger for KingsportSpirit.com and chief ambassador for MoveToKingsport.com. You may write to him at jeff.fleming.kingsport@gmail.com