East Tennessee > Misc. Blount County History
Found today while reading at the Blount County Public Library.
Notes from The History of Blount County, Tennessee and its People, 1795-1995 by the Blount County History Book Committee.
Painting of Alleghany Springs Hotel.
Photo of Chilhowee Inn.
Photo of Parkins-Frazier House, Blount County's oldest house, built on plans suggested by William Penn, America's best-known Quaker and founder of Pennsylvania.
There's an entry on Millennium Manor - the curious stone mansion built by an Alcoa man for religious reasons - which it calls Stone Heaven. I don't believe I've ever seen it called that.
Notes from Blount County, Tennessee 1795-1995, edited by Jane Kizer Thomas and published by the Blount County Bicentennial Task Force.
Painting of the county's third courthouse, built in 1838-40. It was shelled by Confederate forces when the Union Army occupied it. The courthouse survived the shelling, but later burned in 1879.
Photo of the more commonly seen fourth courthouse. (The source at that link refers to it as the third courthouse. I'm not sure which is correct. I'm aware that the first courthouse was near Hall Road and Alcoa Hwy. I don't know of any others besides the current courthouse.) The brick courthouse was located in downtown Maryville at the current site of the First Tennessee bank building. An historical marker at the bank notes that Sam Houston joined the army at that location. A 1906 fire at the Badgett Store (currently the site of National School Products) jumped the street and destroyed the courthouse.
Photo of the Fort Craig Hotel in its final, dilapidated state. I was unclear on its location before, but the description made it clear that the hotel was located on Washington at the current site of the Blount County Chamber of Commerce, which means it was inside the area originally enclosed by James Craig's pioneer fort. Pistol Creek runs behind there, and a marble monument marks the spring where the settlers drew water. In Blount County Remembered there's a photo by W.O. Garner from the turn of the century showing James Craig's son's clapboard house at the top of the hill and a horse and rider stopped at the spring at the bottom of the hill.
I'm friends with some Gregories and knew that Gregory's Bald in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park was named for their family, which grazed their sheep there before the creation of the park. I didn't realize that another park bald called Russell Field was named for Russell Gregory.
Many good photos of downtown Maryville. The earliest photo from 1900 shows unpaved streets and horse-drawn carriages.
Photo of the "Mule Barn" which once stood at the intersection of Hall and Lincoln roads in Alcoa, at the current site of the post office and First Tennessee bank. Originally used for livestock, it was renovated for use as a school for North Maryville, which later became the city of Alcoa.
Fascinating photo of the recently-completed Alcoa company houses on Lincoln Road - all identical in appearance - looking from the Calderwood Road end.
Photo of Montvale Springs hotel that I've never seen anywhere else. It was taken as the road enters the property and turns left towards the current Camp Montvale swimming pool, so it looks down slightly on the inn. In the picture you can see that the building is L-shaped. The main inn with its two story, wrap-around porches forms the long stem of the L, while the plain, rear projection forms the short foot. I'd guess the rear section contained the kitchen and other housekeeping functions.
Photo of West Side Elementary School, "razed in 1956 to make way for Maryville Municipal Building. West Side students were transferred to Sam Houston Elementary School when it opened in 1953, then West Side housed Fort Craig students while their school was rebuilt. Pride Mansion at same site was also private Quaker school, Maryville Normal Institute, and later a Maryville school when city purchased property." I've mentioned before that Pride Mansion became a teacher's academy with funding from the Baltimore and Philadelphia Friends (Quakers), and that the current site of the McAmmon-Ammons-Click funeral home in downtown Maryville was originally the East Tennessee Masonic Institute for Women.
Scenic photo of Walland in 1909. Like Alcoa, Walland was a company town, created by the WALton-EngLAND tannery.
Photos of Porter Academy on Wildwood Road.
Painting of Dr. Isaac Anderson, who founded Maryville College in 1819 as Southern and Western Theological Seminary.
Photo of Ewing-Jefferson College in Louisville. "Built in 1852 by Concord Cumberland Presbyterian Churce, Knox County, this brick building was used for both a church and a college. It continued in use as Holston College Presbyterian Church and later a community center long after the college closed in 1899. The building was torn down in 1950."
The Maryville Friends (Quakers) Cemetery is located on Lamar Alexander Parkway near North Houston Street.
Numerous photos of area schools and churches.
Posted by lesjones
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