Candies Creek Ridge


Candies Creek Ridge, also known as Clingan Ridge, is a geographic feature ridge located primarily in Bradley County, Tennessee.

Geography

The ridge, one of a series of paralleling ridges that are a continuation of the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians, is one of the tallest, averaging approximately 997 feet of elevation. The highest point, in Cleveland, Tennessee, is 1,014 feet. It is also known as Lebanon Ridge south of Cleveland. The ridge stretches from Tunnel Hill, Georgia to the Hiwassee River at the Bradley/McMinn County line in Tennessee. Several highways cross the formation including GA SR 2, TN SR 317, APD-40, US 11/US 64, SR 312, Interstate 75 and SR 60, Paul Huff Parkway, and SR 308.

Nearby

To the west is a ridge usually referred to in Tennessee as Mount Zion Ridge, and in the valley between the ridges in Tennessee is Candies Creek. To the east is a ridge referred to in northern Bradley County as Mouse Creek Ridge, and in the valley between is South Mouse Creek. This ridge is called Lead Mine Ridge in the southern part of the Bradley County and in Georgia.
In Cleveland, the ridge has become a popular site for businesses and land development.

History

Candies Creek, historically Candy's Creek, in the valley west of the ridge in Bradley County, was named for Henry Candy, who located along the creek after the Cherokee Treaty of 1817. Prior to that it was called Little Kiuka Creek by the Cherokees. The Candy's Creek Cherokee Indian Mission Station, organized in 1824 by Samuel Worcester and five others, stood along the creek a short distance north of the present day location of the intersection of SR 60 and Paul Huff Parkway. The station, which closed in 1838 after the Cherokee Removal, has the distinction of being the first organized church and post office in Bradley County, and also contained a school. A historical marker, commemorating the mission station was installed along SR 60 in 1959 near the present-day intersection of Paul Huff Parkway, and unknowingly disappeared, reportedly around the time Paul Huff Parkway was constructed. A nearby elementary school, opened in August 2019, was named for the mission station.
In Bradley County, the ridge is named for the Clingan family, who lived on it in what is now northern Cleveland. A.A. Clingan, one of the family members, was Bradley County's first elected sheriff, serving from 1837 to 1838 and 1840 to 1846. The family of his wife, Martha Blythe, founded Blythe Ferry on the south side of the Tennessee River in Meigs County, Tennessee 1809. The Clingan family cemetery, located on the western foot of the ridge off of SR 60, was rediscovered in 2014 and restored in 2016.

Counties

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