Wes Davis Greenway

Bristol, Tn / Aug 2021 / RWH

Before 1852, what is now the heart of the City of Bristol Tennessee / Virginia was part of the vast plantation of Rev. James King. Rev. King had a son-in-law, Mr. Joseph R. Anderson, then a merchant of Blountville, Tennessee, who when learning that two railroads would meet upon the King land, foresaw that the site would be ideal for the founding of a city. On July 10, 1852, Anderson contracted for 100 acres of the King plantation: forty-eight acres in Tennessee and fifty-two acres in Virginia. On July 16, 1852, he chose the name "Bristol" for his planned city, narrowly edging out the name "Paradise" by only one point.

Bristol, Tennessee

wdg_state The Wes Davis Greenway is a short rails-to-trails project located in the railroad city of Bristol, Tennessee. The recreation trail was developed in 1996 along a 2800-foot stretch of former Southern Railway secondary trackage, from Anderson Street to Melrose Street. The line was originally the Virginia & Southwestern Railway's Tennessee Division: trackage from Bristol through Elizabethton to Mountain City. The VSW was absorbed into the Southern Railway system. The Greenpark includes the former Southern Railway coach "Bristol" and a retired bay window caboose, situated near Anderson Street along Volunteer Parkway.