This past falI I set out on a quest to find a place called Fiddler’s Rock. After a lot of research, some map reading, and a little time in the forest near the Tennessee - Kentucky State line; I found the rock and took these pictures.
There are many legends about Fiddler’s Rock, too many actually to mention them all. These are the ones I found the most interesting.
#1 According to one local lore, there was an old man who came through this area with a fiddle. He would stop at houses to play for them in hopes that they would feed him. One day, he supposedly walked into a cave and was to never be seen again. The story goes that the locals could still hear him playing but never were able to find where the sound was coming from. Some say on a still night, you can occasionally hear a fiddle playing near Fiddler’s Rock even after all these years.
#2 Another legend is that there was a moonshiner who lived nearby who played the fiddle. This legend explains that the carvings on the rock were a secret sign to let people know the direction to his cabin if they wanted to buy his moonshine.
#3 This story says that the rifle is pointing in the direction of Johnathan Swifts’ long lost silver mine. Most people who know this story all agree the long lost mine has never been found and is most likely in Kentucky, Tennessee, or South West Virginia.
#4 This local lore is the one that I believe more and seems to be the most true.
According to some this was a place members of the surrounding communities from both Tennessee and Kentucky would gather for dances and to court much like a barn dance without the barn.
The old road itself served as the dance floor. Evidence of the old road bed can still be seen by the rock today. The fiddler would stand on the rock facing the crowd. This would explain why so many names, dates, and initials are etched into the stone. Among these is a nearly full size outline of a man wearing cowboy boots, a rifle, and a fiddle with its bow. All of which could play a part in any of these legends.
The mystery of Fiddler’s Rock may never be solved. But at least now we know the place is real !