In 1983, David and Marty Black watched as the bulldozers pulled into their side yard in Maryville. As US 321 was constructed as a four-lane road, “the price of progress” was about to run straight through town – and their home. By sheer coincidence, Marty was on the phone with a friend who told her that the Blount County Historic Trust had identified a historic, old log house in Rockford that was for sale.

The Blacks had no interest in enduring the major construction, nor in living anywhere near this soon-to-be heavily traveled road. They scheduled an appointment to see the house, walked the property, explored the uninhabitable old home, and signed a contract on it the next day. They started restoration right away, and in about nine months the project exceeded their expectations. The Blacks’ discoveries since then have favorably reinforced their decision to essentially impulse buy the house and property.

Their home is one of the earliest houses built that still stands in Blount County today. Originally constructed before 1819, and possibly as early as the 1790s, the house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The property has only been occupied by five families since 1819, a fact which clearly evidences the occupant’s love of place. The Blacks’ predecessors stated that a log building across from the main house served as a Union army hospital during the Civil War. There is allegedly a cannonball lodged in the upper gable of the house. In landscaping the property, a Civil war era pistol was uncovered.

During the Blacks’ 40 years of ownership, they have acquired an additional 35 acres from adjacent property owners. The total acreage of Hollybrook Farm is about 103 acres, of which 60 acres are in old-growth timber. It is this 60-acre woodland that is now permanently protected under an FLC easement. The woodlands present an ever-changing kaleidoscope of beauty and peaceful enjoyment throughout the seasons, from a snow-covered forest floor, which is accented in the spring by an abundance of wildflowers and supplemented by magnificent autumn leaf colors.

A six-foot-wide meandering walking trail has been developed in the woodland, complete with culverts or bridges over intermittent stream courses. The combination of mature woodland, pastures and the edges between, and ample water from a creek creates good habitat, cover, nesting, and food for the wildlife and bird species expected in the region.

Marty noted, “Our consciences would not rest comfortably if we allowed the destruction of the woodlands and permitted subdivision clutter to extinguish the beauty and environment this property provides. There is no tranquility and peace like the silence of an unobstructed view on a snowy evening walk in the woods.”