The Stoney Fork Community is actually made up of a number of smaller communities ranging in size from 10 to 60 people. The smaller units had originally grown up around various deep mining operations, known locally as Shea’s Camp (or Clinchmore), Round Rock, Peewee Camp, Welsh’s Camp, and Beech Fork.
This area is in an isolated section of Campbell County. The nearest towns begin 20-30 miles away on twisting gravel roads over Caryville Mountain. The driving time for those with a car is about an hour. As a matter of fact, the roads are so treacherous that the TVA mobile health unit which travels with health fairs could not make one of the turns and had to be stationed several miles down the road at the school in Rosedale.
Some of the reference to the Stoney Fork area in this [1973] report use the name Beech Fork. It was not until the end of the summer at a meeting of the community that the name Stoney Fork was chosen for the health council.
See the 1972 and 1973 SHC Annual Reports for more information.
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