Where the Crooked Road Bends
Town of Pound, Virginia
Coordinates: 37°7′26″N 82°36′28″W
Interesting Information
Pound High School was known as Christopher Gist High School for many years until the name was changed. CGHS also fielded several championship teams in the state in Girls Basketball. Pound and the surrounding area routinely served up basketball teams of strong championship calibre and state championships. The fact that girls basketball was allowed to be played in rural Appalachia during the 1930s and 40's, is a testament to the area's sports driven persona and lifestyle.
Actor Tommy Lee Jones was arrested in this sleepy country town for intoxication and disorderly conduct. Jones was in the area filming the Michael Apted film Coal Miner's Daughter. The movie starred Sissy Spacek and was filmed in around Wise County and neighboring Letcher County, KY. Jones was allowed to cool off and returned to filming the movie but giving law enforcement officials a handful during his incarceration.
Notable residents
Glen Roberts (1912–1980) was a basketball star who played for Emory & Henry College, Emory, VA and held the national college scoring record from 1935-1949. He averaged 19 plus points per game in an era when game scores only averaged 30 to 35 points per game. Roberts was an All-American with his scoring featured in Ripley's "Believe It Or Not." His prolific scoring was in great part attributable to his being the first known basketball player to use a "jump shot." He played professional ball for Firestone of the "National Basketball League."
Former U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers and his family originated from Pound VA. Much of his family still resides in Pound. Born in neighboring Kentucky (due to proximity of hospitals) Francis Gary's early years were spent living in Pound VA. His family moved for the sake of employment, to Michigan and then finally back to Grundy, VA.
Napoleon Hill (1883–1970), the American personal-success author of 'Think And Grow Rich' was born and grew up on the Pound River in Wise County, Virginia near the town of Pound.