Uncle Nick Grindstaff's Grave

Along the Appalachian Trail in Shady Valley on Iron Mountain, the
dividing line between Shady Valley and Stoney Creek, there is the
chimney-shaped grave of Uncle Nick Grindstaff, a man who, as the
tombstone says, "Lived alone, Suffered alone, and Died alone."

Not much is known about Nick, and the information that is available
is often conflicting. In the 1870s, he went out west to seek a
fortune, perhaps in the gold rush of eastern Oregon. On his way back
to Johnson County, however, legend says that the age of 26, he was
coaxed into the rear of a saloon by a lovely lady, whose partner in
crime robbed him of his fortune. In another version of this story, he
was not robbed, but drank all his money away when his wife out west
died; when he became destitute he moved back to Johnson County. In
either case, he returned to Shady Valley and bought land on top of
Iron Mountain, were he lived for 45 years as a hermit with only his
dog Panter, a steer and a pet rattlesnake (said to have been killed
by a man named Sam Lowe) for company.

In 1923, a man went up to visit Nick and found him dead in bed in the
shanty he lived in. Legend has it that Panter would not allow anyone
to touch his body. One story says that the dog had watched over his
body for days and had to be overpowered and tied up to a tree so that
Nick's relatives could bury his body. Yet another tale says that the
dog had to be killed and was buried with him in the chimney-shaped
grave made out of mountain granite, which even including some of
Nick's pots and pans in the construction. The house was eventually
dismantled for the wood and tin, but the imprint is still on the
ground surrounding the gravesite, marking where this man lived and
died.

Still, some hikers believe that in this place history is more alive
than it is in most places. Tales have circulated that if someone
camps at this site, they can hear a spectral dog howling late into
the night. Perhaps Panter's grief still hangs around the old
homestead?

DIRECTIONS: Go south on 91 in Shady Valley and go to Cross Mountain
Road. There is a parking lot on the left. Park there and walk 3 miles
on the Appalachian Trial.

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