YOU'VE NEVER BEEN TO BRUSHY MOUNTAIN STATE PEN?

Couldn't believe it, but Judy, born and raised in Harriman, had never been to Petros to see the old Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary! So, on Thursday, that gloriously gloomy day, we took a little road trip from the house up Bitter Creek way, and turned onto Coal Creek Road and went to Coalfield, Tennessee.

In Coalfield we turned back toward Wartburg, Tennessee on 62 and then off onto 116 to Petros. The prison sets against the farthest mountain you can see driving back through Petros and is still guarded, but there is no public access.

I talked to the guard and an old gentleman standing at the main gate for a bit. The guard said there were a few tours just after the prison was closed, but nothing was being allowed in at this time. I told them of my 70's visit, when the prisoners had been moved to Nashville, and about Geronimo, the whitetail buck that was once a pet of the inmates. The older fellow remembered the deer and we enjoyed reminiscing about that little known fact, and the guard added that there were currently about 6 deer living within the fences at Brushy.

Even though the light was not perfect for photography, it was a good day for a circuit through Roane and Morgan Counties. It seems we look for more and more things to get us out of the house lately. The weather has locked us away much too long. After all, there is just too much beauty in our East Tennessee backyard to stay in all winter!

We passed the prison and rode up a way on Bald Knob Road, past three sandstone cones of rock just on the side of the road. Apparently these piers of rock are capped with a much harder layer of stone. After the road was cut by them, the elements have eroded them from the side facing the road. They make a very colorful addition to the area's beauty.

I didn't stop to take any photos, but we did notice that this hollow has a great abundance of Rebel Flags and Camaros!

Leaving Hwy 116, we turned back west toward Wartburg and then made a southerly turn onto Liberty Road over to Mossy Grove, and on back down Hwy 27/29 to Bitter Creek, completing the circle.

GERONIMO - BRUSHY MOUNTAIN'S INMATE PET

I recently came across these and other shots of Brushy Mountain Correctional Complex I took sometime in 1973. "Brushy" shut down for about 4 years in 1972 and the local paper I worked for sent me on a photo shoot of the deserted prison.

I was really impressed by the lonely cramped cells, with pictures taped to their walls, and thought about the men and stories that passed over this barber's chair.

As I walked the bases of the baseball diamond, which had a shear bluff for a backstop for home plate, contemplating the history and silence of the place, Geronimo, a deer brought to the prison by one of the guards and kept as a pet by the inmates, walked up behind me and nudged my arm innocently. Thinking I was all alone in the deserted facility, I was so startled I almost fainted from fright. He had no fear of me. He was used to lots of attention and was starved for a little companionship and a treat.

The cell blocks consisted of 4 caged tiers, the cells contained 4 steel bunks, one toilet, and all the walkways were caged.

Since I could find only brief mentions of Geronimo in long since shut down servers, I thought I would post these shots as proof he lived and spent his life bringing some enjoyment to the inmates of "Brushy".

Maybe someone who was there will see this post and verify and possibly provide more details.

Incidentally, this is where James Earl Ray began is prison experience, and once escaped from for a day or two!