This name originated in the 1870's as Dead N***** Hollow and was changed to Dead Negro Hollow in 1963 when then U.S. Secretary of the Interior, Stewart Udall, demanded that any U.S. place bearing the racial slur be changed to the less offensive (in the Civil Rights era) "negro." These are all equally offensive, so we are proposing a name change to Rhea Spartans Hollow.

"The only female cavalry company on either side during the Civil War was made up of young women in their teens and twenties from Rhea County and was formed in 1862. The girls named their unit the Rhea County Spartans. Until 1863, the Spartans simply visited loved ones in the military and delivered the equivalent of modern day care packages. After Union troops entered Rhea in 1863, the Spartans may have engaged in some spying for Confederate Forces. The members of the Spartans were arrested in April 1865 under orders of a Rhea County Unionist and were forced to march to the Tennessee River. From there they were transported to Chattanooga aboard the USS Chattanooga. Once in Chattanooga, Union officers realized the women were not a threat and ordered them released and returned to Rhea County. They first were required to take the oath of allegiance to the United States government. The Spartans were not an officially recognized unit of the Confederate Army." ~http://rheacountytn.com/about-rhea-county/history/

Honoring these unconventional, brave ladies would be a much better way to mark this tranquil valley in Rhea county, TN.