The real location where Christy occurred is surrounded by the Cherokee National Forest. It’s in and around Del Rio, Tennessee on Chapel Hollow Road (Cutter Gap), and it’s more remote than the show’s filming location in Townsend. Just as a reminder Del Rio is called El Pano in the TV series and novel.
I live roughly 50 miles northeast from the town of Del Rio so I took a quick trip to check it out. Being so remote cell service drops at least 10 miles before the town. We’ve had a fair amount of wildfires and on the way a fire was running in the Cherokee National Forest from the Greene county line to Cocke county. It’s known as the Tweed Fire which has burned over 300 acres. The smoke was billowing upward and lingering upon the way passing by a row of vehicles there to fight the fire. After around 2 miles the smoke finally cleared. Since there’s a bit of a drought, strong winds could spread the fire rapidly. It’d be safe to say I wouldn’t want to be at the Christy Mission site (Cutter Gap) if that was the case. The 2016 Great Smoky Mountain wildfire is a prime example of life-threatening rapid fires.
In Del Rio you can count the number of businesses on one hand. As you drive over the French Broad River you run next to the railway that Christy rode on. It fits snugly around the long river. As you turn the bend you see the red roofed Mrs. Tatum House, which is noted in the novel where Christy stays for the night upon arrival (Christy – Chapter 2). Next in line of the railway is the post office, and finally the store. Along down the line was your old train station. It’s in this area near the post office where Christy (Leonora Wood) arrived on a cold frigid day.
It’s at this point on the track where it’s almost 7 miles to Chapel Hollow Road (Cutter Gap). As you turn right onto Old Fifteenth, the road continues to narrow. To be honest I’m surprised the road is as wide as it is. I’m sure if you’re not from around east TN or western NC you’d refute my statement immediately. If it’s difficult to pass the oncoming vehicle it’s just polite to slowly position your vehicle to the side as much as you can, but safely of course.
Before you get to the mission site where everything took place, you can stop by the Ebenezer Baptist Church on Old Fifteenth Road. This is where the original church/schoolhouse resides. If it wasn’t for Miss Opal (Fairlight), the church would be gone. She with the help of those in the area bought the original church and relocated it there in 1945. It was built in 1898, and it’s obviously been restored quite a bit and been added on to. Let’s be honest, you’d have to renovate a wooden church/schoolhouse that’s that old and been relocated. However it’s still nice to see a part of history residing there. Down another 1,000 feet on Old Fifteenth Road is where the road forks. Off to your right is a gravel road that has an incline to the right. It’s Chapel Hollow Road. This is the roughest part of the trek as really 95% of the time it’d be extremely difficult to pull to the side, and this is the final mile to the mission. As we say around here, it can be quite the washboard road.
As time goes by things return to the ashes as the Bible says. The elements of sun, wind, heat and cold have deteriorated the Christy Mission signs quite a bit. Hopefully the site won’t be completely inaccessible in the years to come. If so, for that I will layout GPS coordinates just in case these places become lost. Keep note that I may have no idea who will own the property in the future or if it would become a no trespassing land. I have added some details gathered from a flyer for the Christy mission as well as my conversation with Larry Myers (Fairlight’s son). They currently have homecomings (reunions) there every year. You can find more about these on the Christy Friends Facebook.
For now as of 2023, the land is kept up by the son of Opal Myers, Larry Myers. Opal is the daughter of Flora Corn (Fairlight) in the novel and series. There’s a foundation or two left of the buildings, specifically the Mission house. Opal who bought the mission gave Catherine Marshall (novel author / daughter of Leonora aka Christy) notes of many events that took place there. Later on she miraculously saved them when the building burned in 1962. Before Leonora arrived a minister summoned a woman from Wisconsin and came to establish the Sunday school.
It was never my expectation for Chapel Hollow to look like the series. Because a hollow or rather cove, in one instance can be defined as a narrow cavity surrounded by trees. The show’s filming area in Townsend does have some hollows, but it was predominately shot on a hill with the mountains in the background. Without those mountains, I don’t think the series would have been picked up after the first season. Because as important and enjoyable as the topics in Christy are, some people rely on aesthetics. Don’t expect to see mountains at the Christy Mission, rather prepare to be a part of mountains.
I knew there wouldn’t be much there. For the average person, they’d say nothing is there. Although I could barely picture it, there is a lot of history there. As absurd as it sounds since they were there, now I was a part of the place too. Most of all I’ve come to realize the most important part of visiting the mission is the journey itself. It’s the 7 mile journey from the railroad all the way up to the hollow. I confirmed with Larry Myers, the grandson of Flora (Fairlight), that there were no roads when Christy arrived. She walked on foot all the way back in Chapel Hollow in 1909 following along Golf Fork Big Creek. It rounds back behind the current location where the church was relocated in 1945. Leonora (Christy) was from around Barnardsville, NC. Her church was in Dillingham and it’s in Asheville where she left on the train.
As you drive about 7 miles on a one lane road you’re reminded of the early cars in 1900. Or riding a mule or horse. From Del Rio to Chapel Hollow those methods of transportation were a luxury, in fact a fantasy. Imagine Christy who walked all the way in the forest and there was not even a road in sight. It was a long, long, long journey. Part of the Christy Mission were it’s teachings and spiritual work. But I’m sure to Christy the first mission was putting one foot in front of the other, just to get there. It reminds me of the thirteenth and fourteenth verse of Matthew 7. “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”
To find addresses, GPS coordinates and more, go to the “Visit” page.