Stoney Creek (Elizabethton TN) Location Living there Questions (Johnson City, Bristol: violent crime, house)

[fivekitten]

I'm confused as to what exactly the Stoney Creek area is. I'm looking at a small 1/2 acre property on Bill Nave Loop Road, off Blue Springs Road. Pretty sure Google Maps and other documents say it's Elizabethton, but I hear people refer to "Stoney Creek" and I know I drove in the direction of a Stoney Creek sign, and if I google map "Stoney Creek" it shows Stoney Creek Collision, etc., but as an Elizabethton address. According to City Data map outline of Stoney Creek, it kinda shows that Bill Nave Loop Road is Stoney Creek.

So, I guess my first question is, if I live on Bill Nave Loop Road off of Blue Springs Road, is that considered "Stoney Creek?"

And if anyone knows the answer to that question, would you happen to know where I would take my garbage if I live there, or if there's garbage pickup? Also, I like to recycle when I can, so wondering if there's a place to bring recyclables like plastic bottles and cardboard? (Currently I have convenient, free, drop off place for garbage and recyclables in Church Hill.) (It was a shocker to me to see such a lack of recycling in TN when I moved here from NY, especially considering how pretty it is here! I was always interested in the recycling vs. pollution it creates to recycle debates though. I just like to do my part when I can, but I do drink a lot of bottled water. And I drive an old truck I have a 12 year old, so sure I'd be driving to Elizabethton and/or Johnson City a few times a month. So dropping off recyclables in Johnson City or Elizabethon is feasible.

I'm very close to buying the land because I like the location to the Lake, rural setting, and decent drive to civilization, and neighbor seemed honestly friendly, although I just found out it was a 1/2 acre instead of an acre, so trying to get all my pros and cons together so I don't jump into something foolishly just cause I miss being close to a lake. (I love East TN far more than NY, but I usually lived close to a beach (Lake Erie), and I miss that more than anything.)

Also, any opinion on crime in the area? I tend to think rural areas are safer. On city-data stats page for Elizabethton some crime stats were higher and some lower than national averages, so a little confused on that. Opinions on crime in Stoney Creek area?

While I'm at it I might as well throw these questions out there! :

How far is a swimming area at the lake from Blue Springs Road? Although Bill Nave Loop Road doesn't look too far from the lake, it seems the Recreation area where Google says there's swimming is a bit of a drive because you can't cut through the mountain and across the lake. (Takes about 1/2 hour from Church Hill to Boone Lake swimming area for me now (slow old truck) and about 5-10 minutes to local pool, so I do my comparison thinking based on that.) Is there swimming at any area around Wilbur Dam which is closer? Is there only the recreation area at Wataugua Lake to swim at or are there other areas?

Also, we'd need to find a church out there. That pretty much gets determined by "gut instinct" and friendliness, but having a youth group is important. Any suggestions?

Thanks for any input to any of my questions. Any random comments on Stoney Creek area are definitely sought as well!

[jabogitlu]

My husband is from Stoney Creek (Campbell Rash Road). Your area is definitely Stoney Creek but some people will call it Blue Springs, too. I think what's confusing you is your mailing address for postal reasons is Elizabethton. I live in Horse Creek, but my post office is Afton which is several miles away.

He's not here with me right now, so I'll try to answer some questions as best I can. I'm not that aware of many swimming holes around Wilbur Dam. Have you been in the water? There are some float/boat/kayak put-ins up on Wilbur Lake and also I think on Watauga. The water is SO COLD because it's pulled from the bottom of the reservoir. I have boated Wilbur, down the river, and getting into the boat the water is super freezing. Now, you might like super cold water to swim in, but... shew, it was cold.

You'll find that it takes a long time to get places out there. Butler, Hampton, Whaley Town (the marina/Shirley's) aren't too far away geographically, but you have to drive back down and AROUND to get anywhere. Just keep that in mind. There may be trash pickup through Elizabethton Municipal or a private service like Waste Management if you want to pay for it. This link should help you get started:

Landfill - Carter County | Tennessee

As far as crime, the country is always dangerous if you hang around scuzzy people. There is a lot of meth, pillheads, pot deals out in the country. But it's not like an urban setting, you won't have to worry so much about random break ins at your house or car. Just don't hang out with the wrong people. A huge majority of crime in rural areas (at least around here) seems to involve people who know each other. Having lived in Church Hill, I'm sure you understand what I mean.

Can't help with churches. My husband's family used to go to Hunter First Baptist, but that church kind of imploded a while back.

[rccrain]

Think of Stoney Creek as a suburb of Elizabethton. It is the general area East of Elizabethton that is contiguous to Stoney Creek Rd. Your property is in Stoney Creek, although Stoney Creek really isn't defined by official boarders.

Now your physical address for your bills and such through the post office will be Elizabethton. So officially you live in Elizabethton, but locals are always going to refer to where you live as Stoney Creek.

As far as crime, I don't think you'll see much of the violent type. Drugs, theft, domestic violence, will occur consistent to what you've experienced in Church Hill.

I'd be shocked if there weren't a recycling center in Elizabethton, check at the local High Schools.

The TVA indicates 3 swimming areas on Watauga: http://www.tva.gov/river/recreation/...rec_matrix.pdf
Personally, I've never been to any of them.

When I think of swimming in Stoney Creek, I think about Blue Hole off of Panhandle Rd, a few miles East of you on Stoney Creek Rd. Stoney Creek Blue Hole Pictures

[njkee]

I live which is right near the area you're talking about. It's a similar situation...we're in the country east of the city limits of Elizabethton and our address is Elizabethton, but if anybody asks where we live I say Siam or Siam Valley.
We get our electricity from Elizabethton Electric but our water is from Siam Utility District (not Elizabethton city water). We pay a private company for garbage pickup (we use Blueridge Trash). We're pretty new here and haven't been organized enough yet to recycle, but I know there is a recycling center in town near the Tractor Supply store. I don't know what types of materials you can recycle.
We haven't been swimming, so I can't help you with that. Other posters are correct....Lake Watauga is very cold. There is a pretty beach on the south side of the lake out east of Hampton.
We attend Siam Baptist and enjoy it very much. There is a small but fun youth group there. I can't advise you about any of the other nearby churches. As you say, you'll have to visit around and see what is a good fit for your family.
We feel VERY safe in our area. From what I read in the paper it seems like the majority of crime around here is between members of the same household. Of course, there are pockets around these rural areas that are less nice, but for the most part it is very safe. I expect you could talk to somebody at the sheriff's department to get an idea of what sort of crime occurs in that specific area.

As for the Stoney Creek area, you'll have to try some BBQ at Creekers (my favorite is the pig wings and my husband likes the burnt ends). JB's is good for hamburgers, sandwiches and ice cream. Stoney's pizza is pretty good too (We've been told that Greg's pizza in town between Ingles grocery and the Hallmark store is the best in town but we haven't tried it yet.)

DM me if you have any specific questions.

[jabogitlu]

I ate at JB's tonight, on the way back to Stoney Creek from the Highland Games up on Grandfather Mountain. The turkey burger was really good!!

[Ridgerunner]

Stoney Creek is the stream which flows from the head of the valley to where it joins Watauga River on the outskirts of Elizabethton. Stoney Creek Highway (Or TN 91) generally parallels the stream for 14 miles or so before climbing Cross Mountain and continuing on to Shady Valley. All of the areas accessed by the many secondary roads that intersect TN 91 (including Blue Springs) are considered a part of the greater Stoney Creek area. Except for Elizabethton, this is the most densely populated region of Carter County. At any hour of day or night, the lower 10 miles of TN 91 carries more than twice as much traffic as the stretch of U.S. 19E from Elizabethton to Bluff City.

There are at least 3 garbage pickup services in the area. There is also a major recycling firm in Elizabethton, but I think they deal mainly in metals.

Watauga Lake is the highest in elevation of all the TVA lakes and therefore the coldest. Access to the lake is limited because much of the lakeshore is National Forest property.

There are many churches of several denominations in the area. And the few that aren't here can be found in Elizabethton, with a very few exceptions. For example, the nearest Baptist church that has not abandoned the 1689 Confession of Faith is in Bristol, over 20 miles away.

The worst crime problem here is drugs.

[Madeline4]

I live in the area too. We take our trash and recyclables to the local landfill site located on Minton Hollow rd, just off 91. A big 40 gallon trash bag is 1 dollar per bag. You can also recycle metal, cardboard, and plastic. They do not take glass. We do this once a week.

[wannabevol]

Hi All, new to this forum,been lurking for a while though. I am looking to move to East Tennessee in a few years and have been internet surfing land. Have really taken a liking to the Elizabethton area...more specifically the Siam Valley. My biggest concerns are 1) Is the Siam Valley considered a Flood Plain, 2) the crime in Tn. in general seems to be off the charts,some have mentioned that it (the crime) is mostly amongst known associates and revolves around drugs. To me that translates into house break ins and property theft. Any thoughts/opinions on the matter?

[njkee]

If you pull up a google map of Elizabethton and click on the terrain option ( https://maps.google.com/maps?ct=reset&tab=ll ) you'll be able to see that the floor of the Siam Valley is, well, sort of lumpy . If you live right along the Watauga River you might be considered in a flood plain, but a lot of the property in the area is at a higher altitude and is not in danger of flooding.
I guess most of what I know about the crime in the area comes from reading the Elizabethton Star. From reading the paper it seems a lot of the crime revolves around folks getting drunk (or whatever) and getting violent with their friends and families. Check out the online edition of the Star (Elizabethton Star ) and you can see what I mean. There's even a link at the top of the page listing all of the recent arrests.

[rccrain]

Originally Posted by wannabevol

Hi All, new to this forum,been lurking for a while though. I am looking to move to East Tennessee in a few years and have been internet surfing land. Have really taken a liking to the Elizabethton area...more specifically the Siam Valley. My biggest concerns are 1) Is the Siam Valley considered a Flood Plain, 2) the crime in Tn. in general seems to be off the charts,some have mentioned that it (the crime) is mostly amongst known associates and revolves around drugs. To me that translates into house break ins and property theft. Any thoughts/opinions on the matter?

Keep in mind the reasons why crime is "off the chart". All crimes are not created equal. I'm more concerned about whether I'm going to be shot leaving the 7-11 than I am Sally getting booked for throwing a vase at Johnie's head. If you narrow the the crime down to "random violent crime", this area of TN should score quite well.

Another thing to consider is that different areas report crime differently. Everything in this area gets reported. In other areas they often don't report the minor offenses, which makes their overall numbers look better.