The Meeks
Adam Meek
The first
settler in Strawberry Plains was Adam Meek born in 1746. He left Derry, Ireland
at the age of 19 and came to Charleston, South Carolina. He fought in the American Revolution and
married Martha Wallace in Charlotte, North Carolina. Meek, coming from Mecklenburg County, North Carolina,
made surveys in Caswell County
in the State of Franklin as early as 1785.
He built a cabin made of round poles covered with grass and
bark. His family
settled at the mouth of Beaver Creek on the Holston River
in 1788 and built a log house. When problems with the Indians arose he
and his family hid in nearby caves for protection. He died on July 8, 1828 and is
buried along with several members of his family in the Strawberry Plains
graveyard.
Final resting place of Adam and Martha in the Strawberry
Plains Graveyard beside Rush Strong
School.
Martha Wallace Meek, wife of Adam Meek, died Nov. 21, 1831
Sarah Jane McBee
died at the age of 11. She is entombed
near her grandfather, Adam Meek.
The first white child born in Strawberry Plains was Adam
Meek’s daughter Sarah. She married
Lemuel McBee. Adam Meek also had two
sons, Daniel Meek and A.H. Meek who became leaders in the Strawberry Plains
Presbyterian Church.
McBee Ferry
The McBee family also played an important part in the
history of Strawberry Plains. In 1792
William McBee established a ferry across the Holston
River. Andrew Jackson and Davy
Crockett were frequent ferry Passengers.
From 1845-1850 his son G.C. McBee built a public toll bridge near the
ferry. This is believed to be the first bridge to span the Holston
River. The bridge was later flooded
and the McBee family resumed the ferry business. In 1902 the ferry was
purchased by Knox County.
