Martha Butcher Hole

Martha Butcher Hole  Named for Martha Butcher, who lived there from 1927 until 1954. Her husband, Ernie Butcher, made the only hydropower use of Birch River. He installed a waterwheel that produced enough electricity to light their home. They lived one hundred and fifty feet from the river but the 1932 flood, the largest of record on Birch, lapped under their front porch. This area of the river lies directly below the Devil's Backbone, one of the most unique of lower Birch's river loops. During one of my fishing trips in late summer of 2000, I encountered a water snake sunning itself on a recently fallen oak tree. The tree rested on the bank and in about 6 feet of water on the side of the river away from the house. Beavers had recently been cutting on its limbs. As I took the picture of this snake, it lurched and I reacted by jerking away from the snake. In the process, I tipped the canoe that my uncle and I were in. The snake made it to the bank and we ended up in water just over our heads. From this episode, it was determined that digital cameras will continue to work, after drying out, even though they have been submerged in water.