In the news: Davy Crockett replica birthplace cabin to be replaced

The place where Davy Crockett was born has been preserved at Davy Crockett Birthplace State Park near Limestone, TN in Greene County. By preserved, I mean the spot has been marked as the original log cabin is long gone. The state park has built a couple of replicas over the years and the one in the picture above was built in 1986 for the state's Bicentennial.

According to the story linked below, a new replica cabin is scheduled to be built and the one above will be preserved elsewhere in the park.

Greeneville Sun: Crockett Cabin Ready For Uprooting

Greeneville's Big Spring

The city if Greeneville started off as the juncture of two Indian trails, and the presence of the Big Spring furnished a stopping off place for the weary traveler. The Scotch-Irish pioneers made the spring the reason for the founding of Greeneville in 1783. As early as 1780, local preacher Samuel Doak preached to the settlers at this spot.

Today, you will find a historical marker noting the spring along main street. The spring itself seen here is in a small park behind the library and the waters flow from here behind the courthouse and many of the important Andrew Johnson locations.

Andrew Johnson Birthplace Replica - Greeneville, TN

Andrew Johnson was born in a small structure in Mordecai Park in Raleigh, NC. That building which was probably built in the late 1700's was part of a complex known as Casso's Inn. Andrew Johnson's father worked as a stable keeper at that hotel and his mother was a weaver.

According to tradition, Johnson was born in the loft of the Inn's kitchen. As the story goes, on Dec. 29, 1808 a wedding party was in progress at the tavern and those festivities were interrupted by the news of the birth of the baby. The bride then went to the cabin at the back of the inn to visit with the baby Andrew and his mother.

In Greeneville, TN, the town where Johnson called home most of his life, a replica of the birthplace was built in 1999. It's located next to his early home, a statue of him, and the visitor center which has encased his tailor shop. This building represents an important part of President Johnson's story and speaks of a man who began his life in humble conditions but later became the seventeenth president.

President Andrew Johnson Gravesite

President Andrew Johnson is buried at the top of the hill at the place now known as Andrew Johnson National Cemetery. It is under the oversight of the National Park Service as part of the Andrew Johnson National Historic Site in Greeneville, TN.

Johnson purchased 23 acres around "Signal Hill" in 1852 because he liked the view. Johnson died in 1875 and was buried here. In 1878, it became "Monument Hill" as the 28-foot marble obelisk was placed here.

Other family members were buried here atop the hill. Johnson's daughter suggested that it should be a National Cemetery as soldiers from many wars are also buried here.

Atop the monument is an eagle. Johnson also had requested that his burial site contain two things that he loved, and you can see them on the obelisk, the constitution and his hand on the Bible

President Andrew Johnson Gravesite

President Andrew Johnson is buried at the top of the hill at the place now known as Andrew Johnson National Cemetery. It is under the oversight of the National Park Service as part of the Andrew Johnson National Historic Site in Greeneville, TN.

Johnson purchased 23 acres around "Signal Hill" in 1852 because he liked the view. Johnson died in 1875 and was buried here. In 1878, it became "Monument Hill" as the 28-foot marble obelisk was placed here.

Other family members were buried here atop the hill. Johnson's daughter suggested that it should be a National Cemetery as soldiers from many wars are also buried here.

Atop the monument is an eagle. Johnson also had requested that his burial site contain two things that he loved, and you can see them on the obelisk, the constitution and his hand on the Bible.

Valentine Sevier home - Greeneville, TN

This is the oldest house in Greeneville, built sometime around 1795 by Sevier, who was a local political leader and philanthropist in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. At one time, the home was owned by President Andrew Johnson whose final home is just across the street down the block. Later the house was owned by the O'Keefe family where Quincy Marshall O'Keefe and Edith O'Keefe Susong became the only mother and daughter in the TN Newspaper Hall of Fame.

Andrew Johnson's Tailor Shop

Before he was President, Before he was Vice President to Lincoln, Before he was a US Senator, Before he was a US Congressman, before he was Tennessee Governor, before he was a state senator, before he was a state congressman, before he was a mayor of Greeneville, before he was an Alderman, Andrew Johnson started out as a tailor.

This is Andrew Johnson's Tailor shop, and it's located in the heart of Greeneville across the street from his early home. Of course, now there is a building built around it to protect it from the elements. This is now the central part of the visitor's center at the Andrew Johnson National Historic Site.

Tomorrow, we will look at a replica Andrew Johnson Tailor Shop.

Reeve house - Greeneville, TN

This private residence on College St. is now Jeffers Mortuary. One flickr user left this note:

This was originally a single family residence. It was built in 1890 for a gentleman named Melville P. Reeve. The architect for this house was George F. Barber, who practiced out of Knoxville. There were two other Barber designed homes in Greeneville that did not survive.

The Church with the Cannonball - Greeneville, TN

The Greeneville Cumberland Presbyterian Church building found itself in the middle of the Civil War and ended up having a cannonball lodged between some bricks. On either side of the front door are some lamps. A foot or two above the lamp on the right, or about 8-10 feet off the ground is a small cannonball which became lodged as it must have hit the brick just right. A state of Tennessee Historic Marker adds this info:

Rev. Isaac S. Bonham founded the congregation with thirty charter members in 1841. The present church was begun in 1860 on land purchased from Andrew Johnson by Rev. John P. Holtsinger. The church was shelled on September 4, 1864, the day Confederate General John H. Morgan was killed across the street. This is also the site where The American Presbyterian, Cumberland Presbyterian newspaper, was published in the 1850's by Rev. Joseph P. Dobson.

A second marker placed by the church on the front of the building adds this:

Founded 1841. The war between the states saw the church used as a hospital and stable. The cannon ball in the front wall was fired there September 4, 1864 during the skirmish in which General John H. Morgan lost his life.

State of Franklin Replica Capitol - Greeneville, TN

If you've never heard the story, before Tennessee was a state, a small region in what is now eastern Tennessee formed a state named in honor of Benjamin Franklin. This state never became an official United State and after about 4 years it disbanded. The Capitol was Greeneville and this replica is a reproduction of a building in the main intersection of town which was believed to be the Capitol Building from 1785 to 1788.

The original Capitol was preserved for many years. You can see a picture of it HERE. The building was carefully dismantled and reassembled in Nashville in 1897 for the Tennessee Centennial Celebration. However, the logs never made it back to Greeneville. That made it the lost capitol of the lost state of Franklin.

Andrew Johnson Birthplace Replica - Greeneville, TN

Andrew Johnson was born in a small structure in Mordecai Park in Raleigh, NC. That building which was probably built in the late 1700's was part of a complex known as Casso's Inn. Andrew Johnson's father worked as a stable keeper at that hotel and his mother was a weaver.

According to tradition, Johnson was born in the loft of the Inn's kitchen. As the story goes, on Dec. 29, 1808 a wedding party was in progress at the tavern and those festivities were interrupted by the news of the birth of the baby. The bride then went to the cabin at the back of the inn to visit with the baby Andrew and his mother.

In Greeneville, TN, the town where Johnson called home most of his life, a replica of the birthplace was built in 1999. It's located next to his early home, a statue of him, and the visitor center which has encased his tailor shop. This building represents an important part of President Johnson's story and speaks of a man who began his life in humble conditions but later became the seventeenth president.

Andrew Johnson Homestead - Greeneville, TN

Under the oversight of the National Park Service is the Andrew Johnson National Historic Site. In addition to his final house shown here, the National Historic Site also covers his Early home, his gravesite, and the visitors center which includes his tailor shop.

The Andrew Johnson Homestead is maintained to look as it did when he and his wife lived in the domicile from 1869 to 1875. Johnson had purchased the home in 1851. During the war years, the house was occupied by soldiers. It required renovations when the family returned to the house after Johnson's leaving the presidency in 1869. It is a Greek Revival two-story brick house.

The 1851-75 residence, built not long before Johnson purchased it, stayed in the possession of his heirs until 1942, the year the Federal Government acquired it. It had undergone considerable alteration throughout the years, including an extensive remodeling in the Victorian style in 1884-85. The National Park Service has restored and refurnished it to its 1869-75 appearance. It now consists, as it did then, of a two-story, brick main house and a two-story, brick ell at the rear.

The brickwork is Flemish bond on the front and common bond on the sides. A double veranda extends along the rear of the main section and the northeast side and end of the ell; the exposed basement level gives the effect of three stories on this side. The front of the house sits flush on the street. The structure contains 10 rooms: kitchen and storeroom (also servants' quarters) in the basement; parlor, dining room, and two bedrooms on the first floor, one of which rooms was possibly the original kitchen; and four bedrooms on the second. The rooms of the main block on the first and second floors are divided into pairs by central halls. Each floor of the ell contains two rooms, one behind the other and separated by a chimney wall; these rooms open onto the porches.

Andrew Johnson Birthplace Replica - Greeneville, TN

Andrew Johnson was born in a small structure in Mordecai Park in Raleigh, NC. That building which was probably built in the late 1700's was part of a complex known as Casso's Inn. Andrew Johnson's father worked as a stable keeper at that hotel and his mother was a weaver.

According to tradition, Johnson was born in the loft of the Inn's kitchen. As the story goes, on Dec. 29, 1808 a wedding party was in progress at the tavern and those festivities were interrupted by the news of the birth of the baby. The bride then went to the cabin at the back of the inn to visit with the baby Andrew and his mother.

In Greeneville, TN, the town where Johnson called home most of his life, a replica of the birthplace was built in 1999. It's located next to his early home, a statue of him, and the visitor center which has encased his tailor shop. This building represents an important part of President Johnsons's story and speaks of a man who began his life in humble conditions but later became the seventeenth president.

Veterans Day roundup

I suppose I should have posted this yesterday on the actual date of the day of remembrance, but today is the federal holiday and many people have the day off, so I am posting it today. We are going to look at some of the ways that Veterans are memorialized around the state.

First here is a statue on the grounds of the Stewart County Courthouse in Dover.


Here is a Hickman County marker in Centerville:



Here is the Greene County Veterans Memorial in Greeneville:



Finally, this is the memorial in Rockwood, which is located at a prominent intersection of US27 and US70.

Greeneville TN Train Depot

This depot was built by Southern Railway and is now owned by Norfolk Southern.

One of the main roads into town goes under the tracks here, but if you drive to a nearby street, you are back at track level. I got out of my car and walked a short distance to get this picture. It's the only time so far a cop asked me what I was doing, but when I said I was sightseeing, the cop was cool about it.

Dickson-Williams Mansion - Greeneville, TN

According to the historic marker:

Designed and constructed (1815-21) by Irish craftsmen Thomas Battersby and John Hoy, this house was built by Greeneville's first postmaster, William Dickson, for his daughter, Catharine (Mrs. Alexander Williams). Marquis de LaFayette, Presidents Jackson and Polk, Henry Clay, David Crockett, and Frances Hodgsen Burnett were visitors. It served as headquarters for both Confederate and Union officers. Confederate General John Hunt Morgan spent his last night here before being killed in the garden on September 4, 1864.

This is on the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Greeneville Historic District.

President Andrew Johnson Gravesite

President Andrew Johnson is buried at the top of the hill at the place now known as Andrew Johnson National Cemetery. It is under the oversight of the National Park Servce as part of the Andrew Johnson National Historic Site in Greeneville, TN.

Johnson purchased 23 acres around "Signal Hil"l in 1852 because he liked the view. Johnson died in 1875 and was buried here. In 1878, it became "Monument Hill" as the 28-foot marble obelisk was placed here.

Other family members were buried here atop the hill. Johnsons daughter suggested that it should be a National Cemetery as soldiers from many wars are also buried here.

Atop the monument is an eagle. Johnson also had requested that his burial site contain two things that he loved, and you can see them on the obelisk, th constitution and his hand on the Bible

First Presbyterian Church - Greeneville, TN

This congregation was founded in 1780 under the trees of Greeneville's Bug Spring by Samuel Doak. Originally called Mount Bethel Presbyterian Church and then Harmony Church. This building dates from 1848 and was restored after a disastrous fire in 1928. This church is on the National Register of Historic Districts as part of the Greeneville Historic District. It is located along Main St. (US321, Old US 11E"

Davy Crockett Memorial - Limestone, TN

There are Davy Crockett memorials all over the state due to the many places he lived. This one is located in the Davy Crockett Birthplace State Park near Limestone, TN.

The main part of the monument is in the center. It was placed there by the Davy Crockett Historical Society in 1890. Then, the monument was replaced at the Davy Crockett Celebration in Aug, 1965 by the Limestone Ruritan Club.

The front of the monument reads:
Davy Crockett
Pioneer
Patriot
Soldier
Trapper
Explorer
State Legislator
Congressman
Martyred at the Alamo
1786-1836

Encircling the Memorial are four curved stone wall segments. Embedded in the walls is a stone from each of the lower 48 states, with the name of the state carved onto it. For instance, Tennessee is the largest one in the middle of the bottom row.

"The Barn" - Chuckey, Tennessee

At one time, there was a marker by the barn that was either gone by the time I got there, or I just didn't see it. The sign read:

The Barn was built mid 20th century pimarily for farm use. The barn was readily visible from the old 11-E highway and quickly turned into a form of advertising for Corner and Central Drug Stores in Greeneville. Progress has moved business and traffic patterns to the new 11-E highway, leaving the barn bypassed by today's population. However, the barn continues to serve as a landmark today, preserving the history of one of Greene County's oldest towns.
Davy Crockett: Born in Chuckey 1786
Glider: Ed Huffaker, early pioneer in aviation
Steam Locomotive: Railroad and Fullens Depot
Log House: Earnest Fort House built in 1784
First Aid Cross: Dr. Annis O. Pickering, Tennessee's first lady doctor.
Tennessee Flag Pole: Battle of Rheatown 1862
Nolichuckey River: Early transportation "Earnestville"
Pointer: "Old Ted" One of the best bird dogs to hunt in Chuckey