W. L. Coker New River General Store, Tennessee Highway 116

 W. L. Coker's New River General Store, TN Hwy. 116, Anderson County.

In 1937 (the year of my birth!) W.L Coker and his wife Belle built a two-story brick building on a remote stretch of gravel road in east Tennessee's mountainous Anderson County. The first floor was a general store, and the Cokers had living quarters on the second floor.

I can't imagine how the business survived, but there was a great deal of coal mining activity in the area in those day, so the store apparently did okay. It's still very much in business, now operated by a Coker grandson, although he does supplement his income by driving a school bus.

 The Blue & White Service Station next to Coker's Store.

The Blue & White Service Station, located beside the Coker store, is kinda dilapidated these days, but the pair of gas pumps between the two buildings are still very much in use.

That stretch of gravel road where the store is located is now paved and designated as Tennessee Highway 116, also known to some motorists as the Devil's Triangle because of the way the road winds around challenging curves and over steep mountains.

The Devil's Triangle is not as well-known as the Dragon, that stretch of U.S. Highway 129 between Maryville, Tennessee and Robbinsville, North Carolina, but I've driven them both and I believe the Triangle is even more challenging -- and dangerous, with sharp, winding curves, narrow shoulders, loose gravel and minimal guardrails. But of course, all that makes the road even more attractive to adventurous motorcyclists and sports car drivers.

Both photos were made with a Fuji X-T3 camera and the Fujinon 16-80mm f4 lens.

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Photography and text copyright 2025 David B.Jenkins.

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Tags:   photography     digital photography     travel photography     east Tennessee      Fujinon XF 16-80mm lens     Fuji X-T3 camera     Tennessee Highway 116     Anderson County     Devil's Triangle     The Dragon     U.S. Highway 129