Blue Ridge Country July/August 2022 - 31

explore the cemetery. The site reputedly
lives up to its name with occasional ghost
sightings and reports of singing in the
woods. An earlier legend claims the spot
was home to Serril Broin, the granddaughter
of a woman hung as a witch in Salem,
Massachusetts. Broin purportedly haunts
the island to this day, though no hard evidence
indicates Broin or her grandmother
ever existed.
The sandy shore of Cemetery Island
has morphed into an informal camping
area. It can be reached by paddling half a
mile southeast from Oconee Point Campground.
The lake itself offers nearly 1,000
miles of shoreline, 40 species of fish and
45 public boat ramps. (visitoconeesc.com/
visit/lake-hartwell)
NORTH CAROLINA
Blannahassett Island Park, Marshall.
Not to be confused with the more
famous Blennerhassett Island in West Virginia,
the name of this island in Marshall,
North Carolina, was changed to Blannahassett
a century ago. Monster floods of
the surrounding French Broad River made
homes on the island untenable. Now the
10-acre isle is a natural area, a park with
walking paths, picnic tables, a fishing pier
and disc golf. One building remains-
Marshall High Studios, a former school
retrofitted into workspaces and a gallery.
Locals say the school won acclaim in Ripley's
Believe It or Not as " the only U.S.
school located on an uninhabited island. "
These days the island is a popular site for
recreation, concerts and outdoor festivals,
including the September Art on the Island
fest.
Island Park, Bryson City. Accessible
only by foot bridge, Bryson City's
Island Park is separated from town by the
Tuckasegee River. The five-acre park and
its surrounds have become the playground
of kayakers, anglers, walkers, birdwatchers
and picnickers. When the water's clear,
you might glimpse redhorse, smallmouth
bass, bream or trout hovering in eddies
over the sandy bottom. Near the picnic
area are steps for launching kayaks and canoes
to play in " Devil's Dip " mid-stream
rapids. This area is also ideal for fly fishing.
A popular trail marked with quilt blocks
loops around the island, past stone relics
from the town's past. A one-footed herFACING
PAGE UPPER:
North Carolina's Blannahassett
Island hosts festivals around its
remaining building.
LOWER: Osceola Island is in
one of the Southeast's best trout
streams, the South Fork of the
Holston River.
LEFT: Kentucky's General
Burnside Island State Park
features some of the best lake
fishing in the nation.
BELOW: Rumors of
supernatural activity persist
at Cemetery Island in Lake
Hartwell.
mit called Ironfoot Clarke was probably
the sole person in modern memory who
lived on the island. Ironfoot was rumored
to have travelled with robber Jesse James'
gang in the late 1800s and to have lost
his foot in a shootout. The hermit lived
peaceably on the island. During floods,
he'd climb a tree and townspeople would
slide food over to him via a wire attached
to his tree. No trace of Ironfoot's existence
remains on the quiet island today.
KENTUCKY
General Burnside Island State Park,
Burnside. This 400-acre oasis in Lake
Cumberland has the distinction of being
Kentucky's only island park. What's
more, it's the only Southern park named
for a Union general. Sideburn-whiskered
Civil War general Ambrose Burnside led
patrols along the Cumberland River, circling
the island while on the lookout for
Confederate soldiers. These days the lake
is the world capital of houseboating, and
pleasure craft and houseboats stream past
the island. A marina adjacent to the park
rents fishing boats, ski boats, pontoon
boats and houseboats. General Burnside
Island State Park also features an awardwinning
" best public " golf course and a
102-site campground.
Lake Cumberland provides some of the
finest fishing in the nation, especially for
crappie and largemouth, smallmouth and
striped bass.
While some parks go quiet as winter
begins, General Burnside gears up for
six weeks of holiday entertaining. Starting
in mid-November, General Burnside
becomes the Christmas Island, dazzling
visitors with thousands of twinkling lights
and whimsical holiday displays.
GREG WILSON, ANDERSON OBSERVER
JULY / AUGUST 2022 31
http://www.visitoconeesc.com/visit/lake-hartwell
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Blue Ridge Country July/August 2022
