WE BRAKE FOR SMALL TOWNS - JELLICO

We ate sandwiches on a park bench across from this view. Later we discovered the history of this town that has one foot in Kentucky and one in Tennessee. The name "Jellico" is a regional corruption of "Angelica", an herb that grows in abundance in the surrounding mountains.

In the early 1880s, a high quality bituminous coal was discovered in the Jellico Mountains, and with the completion of railroad tracks to the area in 1883, coal mines quickly sprang up throughout the area. The city of Jellico was initially founded as Smithburg in 1878, but changed its name to "Jellico" in 1883 to capitalize on the growing popularity of Jellico coal.

Throughout the 1890s and early 1900s, Jellico was one of the most productive coal fields in Kentucky and Tennessee. In 1906, a railroad car packed with dynamite exploded in Jellico, killing eight and destroying part of the town. The town quickly recovered, however, and many of the buildings we saw on Main Street area date from this recovery period.

Yes, we brake for small towns,
and this habit of ours reminds me that God "brakes" for me!
He stops and takes note of my "smallness", my weakness,
my insignificant needs when compared to His glorious richness!

"Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?'
or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'
Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.
But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness,
and all these things will be added to you." Matthew 6:31-33