Wytheville - Black Lick - Rural Retreat - New Hope - Max Meadows - Piney - Ivanhoe - Driving Tour Home
Rural Retreat
From Wytheville, take I-81 south to Exit 60, turn left into town. Rural Retreat is about 13.6 miles west of Wytheville.
The roots of Rural Retreat go all the way back to 1833. The area
was mostly settled by Germans
who recognized good farmland. The railroad that runs through town
was first constructed in 1856, and the depot was named Mount Airy
for the town located near the Smyth County line. The Town of Rural
Retreat was incorporated in 1911. Through the years, Rural Retreat
has been known for its ability to produce an abundance of produce,
especially cabbage and apples.
Points of Interest:
10 High Point Baptist Church
About 1-1/2 miles on Parsonage Avenue (1101)
No photo available.
11 Mount Olive
U.M. Church
Parsonage Avenue (1101) to Sage Road (689). Turn left on Sage
Road, church will be on the crest of the hill.
12 Old Murphyville
School
Follow Parsonage Avenue (1101) to Sage Road (689), turn left on
Sage Road; school is about 300 yards from Mt. Olive U.M. Church
on the right (privately owned).
13 Murphyville
Cemetery
Follow Parsonage Avenue (1101) to Earles Road. At the dead end
of Earles Road, about
1/4 mile, is the Murphyville Cemetery.
No photo available.
Annie Lucille Miller Cook
Annie Lucille
Miller Cook (1901-1946) was born in Wythe County the daughter
of Charles Miller and Sally Harriston. At the age of 18 she married
James Timothy Cook, Sr. (1893-1979). She is pictured here with
her first born son James Timothy Cook, Jr. (1918-1980).
Bessie Dyla
Bessie Austin Dyla (1883-1961), born in Washington County, Virginia, was the daughter of William and Emma Austin. She was the wife of Price Dyla (1879 - ?) born in Smyth County, Virginia. Price was the son of Jefferson Dyla (1835-1913) and Ellen Porter (1845-?). Jefferson was one of a few former free persons in Wythe County to have a certified certificate of marriage.
William E. and Harriet
S. Johnson
William Elbert
Johnson (1877-1938) was the son of Moses S. Johnson, Sr. (1858-1942)
and Laura Evans Johnson (1857-1913). He was the husband of Harriet
Stuart Johnson (1871-1962). A carpenter and cabinet maker, William
and several other carpenters built the old Bailey Lumber Company
on Main Street which was later destroyed by fire.
Mary Campbell Mitchell
Mary Campbell
Mitchell (1871-?) was born in Wythe County the daughter of P.
Mitchell and M. Mitchell. At the age of 22 she married Blake Mitchell
on May 31, 1893. Two years later in 1895 she was the mother of
a sixteen-month-old child and was in a failed marriage. She soon
filed for divorce in Wythe County Circuit Court and won. She later
found a new life in Johnson City,
Tennessee.