EPILOGUE
What remains of the Saltville saga in today’s world
could be viewed in either the smaller or larger views.
Taking the smaller view first, the Town of
Saltville is only a shadow of its former self.
The massive industrial plants up and down the
river are all gone.
Of the railroad, only two steam engines remain.
The housing is aging.
The Madison-Preston-Palmer House is gone.
The King-Stuart House
But the King-Stuart House
remains, though not open to the public.
The Elizabeth Cemetery and
the William Alexander Stuart House remain, though the
house is in poor condition.
The Madam Russell log house
has been reconstructed, but is not open to the public.
George Palmer’s mill has
been rebuilt, and is open to the public on selective
occasions.
The EPA’s sludge pond
reclamation site runs seemingly forever along the
northern bank of the North Fork of the Holston River.
The section for the
Confederate dead from the Battle of Saltville still
silently sits on its hilltop within the Emory and Henry
Cemetery.
There, too, lying somewhere
nearby are the bodies of the Black Union soldiers that
were murdered in their beds in the hospital at Emory and
Henry.
The Methodist Church and
the Episcopal Church built by Mathieson are still
worship centers.
... Continue
to PAGE 58
