John J. Smith

John J. “Hawk” Smith (1866-1949) was a notable settler in what is now the Big South Fork National River & Recreation Area, originally from Station Camp Creek and eventually settling near the mouth of Bill Branch about five miles up-river from Station Camp. Among other things, he was known for the moonshine whiskey that he made.

See Also: Noteworthy Settlers of the Big South Fork Region

Biography

Born John J. Smith on Dec. 9, 1866, John Hawk Smith was the son of Sam Smith and Sally Smith, and the second of at least six children. He was a grandson of Anderson Smith, who was the first person to settle the farm at the confluence of Station Camp Creek and Laurel Fork Creek, and a great-grandson of Richard Harve Slaven, the first white settler in the Big South Fork region. Anderson Smith married Sarah “Sallie” Slaven, one of Richard Harve Slaven’s daughters.

According to David Smith, a great-grandson of John J. Smith, the nickname “Hawk” was given by an old woman at Station Camp in the 1800s, Betty Smith, who had a habit of assigning nicknames to everyone who lived in the river valley. She named John and his brothers after birds: John Hawk, Jim Raven, Bill Crow and Anse Buzzard.

Years later, people called Smith’s grandsons “Hawks” when they were in school.

John Hawk Smith married Polly Ann Blevins, who was a great-granddaughter of Jonathan Blevins, one of the Big South Fork’s earliest settlers. Her parents were Dianthus and Sarah Blevins. John Hawk and Polly Ann were married in 1886, when he was about 20 and she was about 18.

John and Polly had at least 12 kids: Jacob, born about 1887, was the oldest, followed by Nancy, Alfred, Canada, Elizabeth, Henry, Anderson (Anse or Ance), Fred, Samuel and Cornelian. There were also twins, Jessie and Sally, who died in infancy.

Professional Life

Like many of the river settlers, John Hawk Smith wasn’t known to have many formal jobs. Rather, he made a living off the land. Perhaps is biggest legacy is moonshining. He was known to have several still sites in the craggy hideaways near his home, on either side of the Big South Fork River.

According to historian H. Clay Smith, in Dusty Bits of the Forgotten Past, Smith grew beef cattle. Around 1920, he opened a store in Oneida, where he sold the beef from the cattle, which he slaughtered himself after being unable to sell them for a price he thought was fair. Once the meat was sold, he closed the store, and it was later rented by the Oneida Fruit Company. It was later purchased by George Shoemaker and used as a general store.

Smith also had a fish trap in the river by his home, which he built of stone. Remnants of the fish trap can still be seen when the water is low during the dry season.

Legacy

The road through Angel Falls Village, a subdivision on Leatherwood Road just outside the Big South Fork National River & Recreation Area, is named John J. Smith Road.

The multi-use trail that connects Angel Falls Village to River Trail East near Angel Falls in the Big South Fork National River & Recreation Area is known as John Hawk Smith Trail.

Locals still call the area where Smith lived the John Hawk Smith Place.

A descendant of John Hawk Smith, country singer-songwriter Anthony Smith, announced during a 2015 episode of the Discovering Lucy Angel reality show that he was going to build a moonshine distillery and brand it after John Hawk Smith. Anthony Smith is John Hawk Smith’s great-grandson. 

John Hawk Smith had a vision for a family cemetery on the ridge overlooking his home on the west side of the Big South Fork River, where the Big South Fork’s Grand Gap Loop Trail is currently located. His grandson, Archie Smith, was buried there in 1932. However, that grave, which is located along the hiking trail, is the only grave there. Hawk Smith’s great-grandson, Dave Smith, described it thusly:  “John Smith had carefully plotted out what he hoped would be the Smith Family Cemetery there before Archie died. He wanted to be buried there someday as well as anybody else in the family that wanted to. Dad never knew why he chose that spot on the ridge, but in the coming years, many of the Smiths began to leave the river valley to get work wherever they could. Many of John’s grandsons joined the Army and served when World War II came along. Archie’s parents, who lived about a mile away from here, also moved to Oneida in the 1940s. So that’s why little Archie was left here by himself.”

Death

Smith died on Nov. 23, 1949, at the age of 82, after suffering from a form of heart disease. He was buried at Hazel Valley Memorial Cemetery in Oneida. 

Polly Ann died on May 4, 1942, at the age of 74. She was also buried at Hazel Valley.

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