Have you ever wondered where the name ‘Granddaddy Creek’ and ‘Granddaddy Road’ came from? We may never know for sure, but early Lawrence County newspaper writer W.P. Oliver had a fanciful explanation for it in 1906.

That spring, Oliver (who wrote under the pen-name of ‘Fleetwood’) wrote that a great tragic love story lay behind Granddaddy Creek and the naming of it. According to Oliver, in about 1749, a Scottish hermit came to the rough frontier country that would one day become western Lawrence County.

As the story goes, the hermit made his home in a large cave at the head of a beautiful stream. At the time, this area was deep in the heart of Indian territory, but the hermit was friendly with the Indians, and he never caused anyone any trouble. He often went north for weeks at a time to get supplies and ammunition, and two or three times a year, he would go west to trade his furs at a trading post in the modern location of Clifton.

One day, the hermit brought a beautiful young woman back with him from his trip north, presumably to be his wife. The hermit told the young woman to call him Granddaddy, and he said that one day the stream which flowed near his cave would be known as ‘Granddaddy Creek’ in memory of him.

The couple was happy, and the woman loved Granddaddy. But one day, while he was gone to get supplies, a wicked Indian chief named White Eagle rushed the cave with his warriors and kidnapped the beautiful young woman, taking her far away, telling everyone he passed that he was going west to find gold.

When Granddaddy returned to find his young bride had been taken, he vowed revenge, left all of his goods behind in the cave except for his rifle, and rode west to rescue the young woman. He never returned, and no one ever heard from either of them again, but the cave is still in Lawrence County. In 1906, it was “near the Kelso farm,” presumably in Deerfield, and, sure enough, the creek–and now the road that crosses the creek–still bears his name.

How much of this old legend is truth and how much came from the mind of Fleetwood is subject to interpretation. However, he claimed that he heard the tale from some of old folks of the area. Regardless of its accuracy, it makes for a great story!