Rolley hole (or rolly hole as it is described in some sources) is a three-hole variety of marbles unique to certain areas of the Upper Cumberland region. The game combines elements of golf, croquet and billiards.
The game is not played throughout the entire region. Some say that it is only played in two areas of the country, namely Clay County, Tennessee, and Monroe County, Kentucky. Additionally, the name “rolley hole” is not ubiquitous throughout the region. William Lynwood Montell in his 1983 book, Don’t Go Up Kettle Creek: Verbal Legacy of the Upper Cumberland, reports that the term originated with Hunter Reecer, Leslie Walker and Millard Plumlee during the early twentieth century.
Dumas Walker (subject of the Kentucky Headhunters’ song “Dumas Walker”) was one of the recognized kings of rolley hole marbles in the region. He partnered with Welby Lee (mentioned earlier regarding his quest for justice) in marble games from the 1950s through the 1970s. They were acknowledged as some of the best players in the region. Rolley hole is played with handmade stone marbles on a smooth, packed dirt court.
Rolley hole was so popular that marble yards were located throughout the county. The courts are typically forty feet long and twenty-four feet wide. A newspaper article from New London, Connecticut, in 1991 stated that “The hills of Clay County, Tenn., and adjoining Monroe County, Ky., are filled with carefully groomed ‘marbleyards’ built around schools, country stores and barnyards.”
Montell reports that there was even a marble yard at the Clay County Courthouse. “Whether located on the school grounds or somewhere else in the community, such as in the blacksmith shop in Burristown, Jackson County, or on the courthouse grounds in Celina, the marble yard used by youngsters was referred to as the ‘boy’s yard,’ while the men’s playground located nearby was known as the ‘big yard.’”
Rolley hole was so popular that Montell reports, “so many adult men were present and waiting their turn to play that teams typically played only one game and then relinquished the yard to two other teams.”
The use of the Clay County Courthouse yard as one of the marble yards shows the importance of the courthouse to the cultural life of the area. It also shows the Courthouse was used as more than a government space. It was a spot that local citizens used to socialize with each other.