Natural Outdoor Attraction in Smyth County VA

Sallie's Crying Tree

The “The Crying Tree” marker relays the story of Sarah Elizabeth “Sallie” Adams (1841-1913), a young girl of about five when she, her mother, and other family members were sold at a slave auction at the Smyth County Courthouse. The results left the enslaved Sallie alone and a “body servant” to the sickly wife of Marion resident Thomas Thurman. Over the years, Sallie would express her grief by crying next to a white oak tree in the Thurman yard and “sometimes hug the tree and tell it about her burdens and sorrows.” The community named the oak “The Crying Tree.”

CONTACT

231 Main Street, Marion VA 24354

See More of Smyth County

Choose Your Smyth County Adventure!

Please provide the following information with us so that we can mail you the requested visitor guides and brochures. Your information will never be sold to a 3rd party. 

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.