Maces Spring is a small

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either hav ...

in Scott County, Virginia, United States, along State Route 614, in an area known as Poor Valley. The settlement consists of a small number of houses. There are no longer any stores in Maces Spring; its main claim to fame is its association with the

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, o ...

group the

Carter Family Carter Family was a traditional American folk music group that recorded between 1927 and 1956. Their music had a profound impact on bluegrass, country, Southern Gospel, pop and rock musicians as well as on the U.S. folk revival of the 1960s. ...

. Alvin Pleasant Delaney Carter, also known as Doc or A.P., was born in Maces Spring and in 1914 he brought his 16-year-old bride, Sara Dougherty, to live there. They are both buried in the graveyard behind Mount Vernon Methodist Church. A.P., Sara and A.P.'s sister-in-law,

Maybelle Carter "Mother" Maybelle Carter (born Maybelle Addington; May 10, 1909 – October 23, 1978) was an American country musician and "among the first" to use the Carter scratch, with which she "helped to turn the guitar into a lead instrument". It ...

formed the Carter Family in 1927. Route 614 is now called the A.P. Carter Highway and two of A.P. and Sara's children, Joe (died 2005) and Jeanette (died 2006), opened a music hall called The Carter Fold on the

Clinch Mountain Clinch Mountain is a mountain ridge in the U.S. states of Tennessee and Virginia, lying in the ridge-and-valley section of the Appalachian Mountains. From its southern terminus at Kitts Point, which lies at the intersection of Knox, Union and Gra ...

side of the road. The community is part of the

Kingsport Kingsport is a city in Sullivan and Hawkins counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, its population was 55,442. Lying along the Holston River, Kingsport is commonly included in what is known as the Mountain Empire ...

– Bristol (TN)– Bristol (VA)

Metropolitan Statistical Area In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally Incorporated town, incorporate ...

, which is a component of the Johnson City–Kingsport–Bristol, TN-VA

Combined Statistical Area Combined statistical area (CSA) is a United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB) term for a combination of adjacent metropolitan (MSA) and micropolitan statistical areas (µSA) across the 50 US states and the territory of Puerto Ric ...

– commonly known as the

Tri-Cities Tri-Cities most often refers to: *Tri-Cities, Tennessee, United States *Tri-Cities, Washington, United States Tri-City, Tricity or Tri-Cities may also refer to: Populated places Americas Canada *Tri-Cities (British Columbia), consisting of Co ...

region. The A. P. and Sara Carter House,

A. P. Carter Homeplace A. P. Carter Homeplace is a historic home located at Maces Spring, Scott County, Virginia. It is a small, one-story, half-dovetailed log cabin, with a single room on the first floor and loft above. The house is most notable for its association wi ...

A. P. Carter Store A. P. Carter Store is a historic general store museum located at Maces Spring, Scott County, Virginia. It was built in 1945, and is a one-story, frame building with a cross-gable roof. The store is most notable for its association with the Cart ...

Maybelle and Ezra Carter House Maybelle and Ezra Carter House is a historic home located at Maces Spring, Scott County, Virginia. The original one-story, frame dwelling was enlarged by an additional 1/2-story for more bedroom space in the 1920s-1930s. The 1936 remodeling resu ...

, and

Mt. Vernon Methodist Church Mt. Vernon Methodist Church is a historic Methodist church in Maces Spring, Virginia, United States. It was built about 1895 and is a one-story, rectangular frame structure with gable roof and simple wooden steeple. The church is most notable ...

are listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artist ...

as components of the Carter Family Thematic Resource.

References

Further reading