Pleasant Shade - Aerial View
ABOVE PLEASANT SHADE, TENNESSEE
This aerial view of Pleasant Shade was made by Tom Dickerson in April 1989. The view is to the south toward
Carthage with Highway 80 extending diagonally across the picture. Highway 80 north extends to Macon County
and the Russell Hill community. Near the bottom left is the Sanderson Branch and Sanderson Branch Road with
the white building at the extreme left being the old Sanderson Presbyterian Church. Sanderson's Cemetery is
located about one quarter mile east of the old church building and across the Sanderson Branch. Paralleling
Highway 80 and intersecting the Sanderson Branch from the north is the Boston Branch. The road between the
Boston Branch and Highway 80 is old Highway 80. Left center is the Sloan Branch and Sloan Branch Road
which ends at Highway 80. The Sloan Cemetery is located on this road a few hundred yards from the Highway
80 intersection. The Sloan Branch Road east crosses the Green Hill and later ends in the Difficult community.
Peyton's Creek enters Pleasant Shade from the northwest and is shown in the right center of the picture where
it crosses under Highway 80. Little (Peyton's) Creek Road parallels Peyton's Creek and ends at Highway 80.
Little Creek Road extends northwest from Highway 80 into Macon County and the Ebenezer community.
Scabtown lies in the right center of the picture where Porter Branch and Towtown Road run side by side.
At that point, Porter Branch empties into Peyton's Creek. Calvin Gregory resided for about fourteen years
(1916 -1930) in Scabtown. Towtown Road begins at Little Creek Road, crosses Porter's Hill and extends west
to the Mace's Hill community.
With so many of the streams converging in Pleasant Shade, it is no wonder that it has seen some significant
flooding in the past. See the Cal's Column article of February 16, 1956 about the freshet of 1842.
school, three churches, a resident doctor, three or four general stores, a blacksmith shop, three garages, a sawmill,
two cabinet / furniture shops, a restaurant and pool hall, a barber shop and even a dance hall in the early 1950's.
Over the years, however, Pleasant Shade arrived at the same fate that many small rural communities have suffered
- it dried up! Only one grocery store remains in addition to the school, post office and Cumberland Presbyterian Church.