A Brief History of Ceres,
Ceres High School Junior
Class developed most of this material in 1961
Lying in the western portion of
and in the eastern portion of Rich Valley is a small rural community, Ceres, bounded by Brushy Mountain
to the North and Big Walkers to the South.
1880 when Captain H. C. Groseclose was appointed postmaster of their newly
organized community, he named the post office located at the crossroads of the
Blue Grass Trail, “Ceres” meaning “the
goddess of grain and agriculture.”
to the establishment of the post office and before white men settled here, this
territory was known as Bear
Garden. Cherokee Indians came from the South to this
fruitful game area to hunt their food for the winter. The Indians resented the white men’s taking
their hunting grounds. History indicates
that a Major Lewis passed through this valley on his way to Burkes Garden in
1756. He commanded a company of soldiers
marching against the Indians.
1749 James Burke passed through this community as he traveled to Burkes Garden,
named in his honor.
the late 1700’s after peace was declared with the Indians, white settlers began
to move into the valley, some coming up Walkers Creek from the New River settlements.
It may be assumed that a larger majority migrated up the North Fork of
the Holston River.
A James Anderson settled on the North Fork of the Holston River
as early as 1770. Some of the familiar
names of the earliest settlers in the Community were Sluss, Harmon, Groseclose,
Foglesong, Crabtree, Cassell, Hudson, Lambert, Bruce, Umbarger, Repass, Tilson
one-half mile South of Ceres on the West bank of the Holston River
the early settlers built Spangler’s Fort.
The fort was located near the intersection of Routes 625 and 622. Some
current residents of Ceres can remember seeing the remnants of the fort after
the fort was torn down and used to build a barn nearby.
post offices were established at Effna, Tilson’s Mill and Olympia.
These have been discontinued and the Ceres Post Office now serves all
early as 1848 settlers boasted a turnpike that extended from Rural Retreat in Wythe County,
through Ceres to Sharon Springs and across the mountains into Tazewell County.
This turnpike was used by various stage lines.
the Blue Grass Trail, Route 42, extends the length of the County and is a much