When famous surveyor Merriwether came through Pike County in the 1830s, he came upon a hill that was full of briars.

According to John F. (Jr.) Sanders, the story handed down to him of Merriwether’s visits was that he said, “My, what a briary hill.”

Thus, Sanders’ lifelong community got its name—Briar Hill.  Sanders’ parents, John F. and Mary Tillery Sanders, were “born and raised right here,” Sanders said.

Right here is the area in northwest Pike County.  Briar Hill starts from the Shellhorn Road and proceeds to the Montgomery County line.

Briar Hill was described by Sanders as a quiet community.  “It’s just a quiet, peace-loving, working-people community,” Sanders said.  “Not too much activity here.  All are church loving people.  People go to church, go to work, and come home.  And if a dog don’t bark at night, you won’t hear nothing from anybody in Briar Hill.”

The community has not always been that way.

Sanders said that at one time, 200-300 people lived in Briar Hill.  “Briar Hill used to be a flour-fishing community, “ Sanders said.  They had a lot of logging here.  The Hyatt-Giddeons Logging Company employed several people in Briar Hill at that time.  They were farmers, raising cotton, which was the mainstay.”

Along with cotton, Briar Hill farmers raised peanuts, corn, and a few cattle.

At one time, the community had four churches and a schoolhouse, known as the Carter Schoolhouse.  Some students went to the school housed in the Methodist Church, there also.

The schoolhouse was a place of sports and entertainment.  The community also had volleyball courts and horseback riding, Sanders said.

Sander’s mother attended Carter School House.

“It was a one-room school,” he said.  “It wasn’t too many children, maybe 20-25.  But they were all in different grades.”

Briar Hill General Grocery, though closed, stands as evidence that the community once budded as a small town.  At one time, there were two stores in operation.  He said the Briar Hill store was originally owned by the Giddeons.  Then, Briar Hill residents, O. L. Russell and his wife, ran the store for 40 years.  After that, ownership passed on to Sanders, and he sold it to his niece, who renamed it Briar Hill General Grocery.

The store was a place where neighbors gathered.

“They would go there and sit, even at night, and talk,” he said.  “I’ve known it to be open until 10 o’clock just for people to sit around and talk.”

Families in the community include Russell, Sanders, Giddeon, Carter, Tillery, Hattaway, Newman, Hueys, Walker, and Ray.

All of these articles can be found in previous editions of The Troy Messenger.  Stay tuned for more.  Dianne Smith is the President of the Pike County Historical, Genealogical, and Preservation Society.