Lerona

Three small unincorporated communities are located on Route 20 between Athens and Hinton. Settlers to the area probably arrived in the late 1700s and early 1800s.

The closest community, Speedway is located about 2.5 miles from Athens. It is mostly residential and farm land with no major industries or major shopping areas. The community most likely got its name from the relatively straight highway, Route 20, that runs through it.

One of the earlier settlers in Speedway was John Keatley (1809-1893). He married Susan Harvey.  One of their sons was George Washington Keatley (1853-1932). He married Cynthia Mary Jane Martin. George was a farmer and a merchant. He operated a store called "Grab Nickel" and his brother Henry was a blacksmith in "Pride Village," now called Speedway, on old Camp Creek Road. After Henry died in 1918, George built a store in 1921 on Route 20 called "Swayback Country Store." George gave the land for Painters Chapel Church to be built.

Next, Lerona is located about 5.5 miles from Athens. It is a residential and farming community. The first post office in Lerona was established in 1894 and more recently it became the home of Sun Valley Elementary School. Early settlers in the area included the Austins, Andersons, Farleys, Hopkins, Cooks and Neelys. The Neelys owned a 3000 acre farm along Route 20 in Lerona and Cornelius Cook bought a 1000 acre farm in the same area. These were two of the largest farms in the area in the 1800s. Cornelius Cook built a large two-story log home on the farm where he and his wife Anna Pettry raised 13 children. Cornelius, two of his sons, Cornelius Ward and Daniel P., and two of his grandsons, Bowden and Giles all died within a few days of each other in 1884 from a disease called flux which was endemic at that time. One of Cornelius’ grandsons, son of Daniel P., was John Matthew ‘Matt’ Cook who owned and operated the J. M. Cook & Company store in Athens.

Both the Neely farm and the Cook farm have been divided into smaller farms and residential lots and sold many times over the years. The Cook home was turned into a barn by one of the many owners. It was eventually demolished. Some of the original sandstone foundation is all that is left of the home where Cornelius and his wife Anna raised their children. The present owners of the tract the house was built on have abandoned the property.

Third, Pipestem is located about 7.7 miles from Athens.  Its main attraction is the Pipestem Resort State Park. The park offers camping, rental cabins, two lodges, swimming, boating, and many other types of recreation. It gets its name from the native pipestem or meadowsweet plant. Native Americans and early pioneers used the hollow twigs as shafts for tobacco pipes.

Drewry Farley, Sr. (1760-1851) and his wife Mary Atkins were the first white persons to make their permanent home in the area, about 1800. They were the parents of at least 11 children.

Daniel Cook (1763-1823), and his wife Rosanna Wilhoit were the second settlers to make their permanent home in the area. Their son David married Nancy Farley, daughter of Drewry Farley Sr.  about 1829.

Sources:

Wikipedia.com

1984 Mercer County History

Findagrave.com obituaries 

Family search.org

Ancestry.com birth, death, wills and census records