Tarpon, Virginia
A Pictorial & History
 
When you visit Tarpon there are no boundaries. The name appears on both sides of the signpost. There are two popular versions of how Tarpon received its name. The first version says that when the Clinchfield Railroad was first being built, the railroad workers would collect pine tar from trees on the ridges above the railpath to soak the railroad ties in. They dug a large pit to hold the pine tar. The area became known as Tar Pond. The second version of the story goes that there was a large pond in the vicinity which was covered at all times with a thick layer of tar. The railway workers would come to the pond to skim off the tar, carrying it back down the mountain to soak the railroad ties.
 
In later years when the people in the vicinity wanted a post office, they sent the government the name of Tar Pond as the location. The government dropped the "d" and made it one word, Tarpon. A new community was born.
 
But Tarpon's history actually began in the mid to late 1800's when members of the Wright and Sykes family settled on the ridge. Other early settlers on Tarpon included members of the Mullins, Taylor, and the Newberry families.
 
Tarpon is located at 37°11'9"N 82°21'5"W; the elevation is 2,022 feet.
 
 
Children in the community attended classes in an old building, which was about 12 feet long by 10 feet wide. This building was later found to be inferior and was torn down. In 1926 the new two-room Tarpon school was built near where the old school house stood on Route 607, Newberry Ridge.
 
The school was divided into two rooms, with a "cloak" room (coat closet) on each end of the building. The backside of the building only had two windows. The frond side of the building had large windows all the way across.The room on the left was dubbed the "Little Room" where grades one through three were taught. The "Big Room" housed grades four through seven until the mid-1960's when the county started busing all seventh grade students from Tarpon to Haysi, along with the high school students. This was to alleviate overcrowding created when the Davis Ridge School closed during the 1963-64 school year and all their students were bused to Tarpon.
 
Tarpon school was in operation some 52 years, closing its doors during the 1968-69 school year. After closure of the Tarpon school the property was sold at public auction. Local resident Raymond Rakes bought the property and put in a mobile home park on the old playground lot. Sometime later the actual school building burned down.
 
 
The original post office was located inside the old People's Store building. Later a new building was constructed across the road for the Post Office. The Post Office shut down in the early 1960's when Tarpon was placed on a Rural Route system of mail delivery. Alta Rose served as the last Post Mistress for the Tarpon Post Office.
 
The original People's Store building was constructed by Alex and Caroline (Vanover) Mullins. The building was leased by Robert and Delphia (Davis) Newberrry in the 1940's. The Newberry's sold the contents of the store to Hurlin and Inis Mullins, who initially leased the structure, and later purchased the building from the heirs of Alex Mullins.
 
Various individuals operated the store through the years. In the 1950's it was run by Hobart and Dorothy Newberry, Stuart and Elva Davis, and Robert and Delphia Newberry once again leased it. In the early 1960's, owner Hurlin Mullins had a new block structure built beside the old woodframe store. In 1965 Arnie and Jesse Cantrell from Vansant picked up the lease on the new building from Hurlin Mullins.
 
In 1970, the Cantrells sold out the contents to K.J. and Dollie Mullins and Hillard and Opal Blankenship, who picked up the lease from Hurlin Mullins. In 1972 the Blankenships left their partnership with the Mullins' and bought out Turner's Grocery Store at Puckett Gap.
 
In 1975 People's Store caught fire inside and lost much of the contents. The store was out of operation from July, 1976 until January, 1977. In 1978 Richard Newberry bought out the entire store property and structures from Hurlin Mullins. He renamed the store the R & G Market. Newberry eventually shut the store down. A few years later it caught fire and burned down.
 
 
The old Newberry's Grocery building was first built and operated by Weddington and Martha Vanover. It has upstairs living quarters for the owners. In the mid-fifties Jesse Newberry moved here from Vansant and bought the store contents and building. He renamed Newberry's Grocery.
 
In 1968, Newberry bought a supermarket in Haysi and sold the small Tarpon store to Harold and Betty Stiltner, at which time it was renamed Stiltner's Grocery. They operated it for about eight years and sold it to Ed and Vern Hill in the mid-seventies. The store was then renamed E & V Grocery. The store was shut down for a number of years and sustained a fire which destroyed most of the structure. Garfield and Mary Turner bought the building and rebuilt part of the structure and operated a small country grocery store in it for a few years. This writer believes Arlie Stallard to have been the last operator of the grocery store, which was also a church at some point during the last few years.
 
 
Turner's Grocery Store was first built, owned and operated by Joe and Delora Turner. They opened the business in 1940, in an old building across the road from the Gap. They eventually sold out that store to Everett Davis and Sidney Puckett, and went on to operate a store at Dwale. In 1958 they came back to Tarpon and bought the store back from Davis and Puckett. They built a new block store building across the road and moved the business over to it. In 1972 the Turners sold out the building and contents to Hillard and Opal Blankenship who ran it for many years. This store later burned down.
 
 
Bud Deel built his Motorcycle Sales and Service Shop on Tarpon in 1961, turning his riding hobby into a part-time business. In 1967 he had to enlarge the building to accommodate his growing business needs. Again in 1971 he had to remodel the shop and add an additional room. He sold Kawasaki motorcycles, parts and accessories. Bud also serviced and repaired motorcycles in the shop. Through the years he sponsored area motorcycle races, and helped organize safe riding clubs, and sponsored various other motorcycle related events. This was a new type of business for the Tarpon area, which up until this time previous businesses were of the grocery-hardware type. The shop has been shut down for many years now since Deel's retirement.
 
 
The Tarpon Freewill Baptist Church was first organized by a planning committee who met at Tarpon School in the late 1930's. A local resident, Arthur Holbrooks, donated the land for the church, located just off East Route 607 below the old People's Store. Holbrooks and John Hen Wright were the designated sponsors. Along with many interested citizens of the community who contributed their time and money to see the church built. Their dream was realized with the completion of the church building in 1940, and the official opening on January 19, 1941. The church and grounds have undergone many positive changes over the years. The church building has been remodeled to accommodate a large kitchen and dining area in the basement. The parking area has been enlarged to accommodate a growing congregation. And a new porch and steeple was added. The old bell still rings out in the community every Sunday morning at 11:00 A.M.
 
 
The Little Sarah Old Regular Baptist Church was established in 1966 on State Route 63 between the Tarpon Gap and Puckett's Gap. The church was organized by a group of members breaking away from the Mt. Olive Church. The property for the church was donated by local resident and school teacher, Raymond Sloan. It is said the church was named for the wife of organizer and founding member, Jeemes Branham, who donated much time to the building of the church. It was so named in appreciation of his efforts.
 
 
The Tarpon Holiness Church is the oldest church ever built in the Tarpon community which is still in operation. It was established about 1932. The church was built on a piece of property donated by Robert "Bob" Newberry. It is located on West Route 607, at the end of Newberry Ridge. The church has seen many changes over the years, and the old building recently underwent a major facelift in the form of new repairs and remodeling. Some past ministers providing services at the church include Rev. Elbert Lyons, Rev. Ray Saunders, Rev. Tom Benton, Rev. Adams, Rev. Pauline Miles and Rev. Doug Smith.
 
The Tarpon Bassmasters Organization was formed in 1975 when a group of local fishermen got together to help promote an interest in sport fishing, help improve fishing conditions at Flannagan Lake, and to promote good sportsmanship in the county. They work in cooperation with the local and state game and fish officials. Some of the original members were: Bobby Sykes, K. J. Mullins, Robert Fuller, James White, Raymond Rakes, Jimmy Counts, Jack Rose, Bill Hill, Eugene Mullins, Ronnie Cochran, Gary Pat Rose, Bill Rose, George Rose, and Lowell Perry. These original members, with hep from Sebert Hilman, obtained a lease from Clinchfield Coal Company for a parcel of land on Tarpon along State Route 63. They began construction on the building in 1976. Many local residents freely gave of their time to work and donated money to help see the building constructed. As the building neared completion funds ran short, so a group of the original members co-signed for a bank loan to complete the building. Enough money was raised by special fund-raising events during the first year of operation to completely pay off the construction loan. The building is equipped with a large kitchen, bathroom facilities, banquet tables, and electric heat supplemented by a large rock fireplace. The building also serves the community as a center for special events.
 
The Civil Defense Shelter was built in the late 1970's. In the 90's some county
offices and the County Garage operations was added to the property.
 
 
 
The Animal Shelter built in the 1990's.
 
 
 
 
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This page updated September 18, 2004