Blount County TNGenWeb

 

Chapter Two

In this chapter we will take up the physical features of the town, consisting of its streets and alleys that were laid off and dedicated to the public by the original land owners, and who sold the lots to persons who were seeking homes here in the first settlement of the community. Later on we will compare these physical features with the ones existing at this date. We also tell of some of the different kinds of occupations that the early settlers engaged in.

The town seems to have been laid off at different periods of time. In the first period there were only four streets, running east and west. The main street, which was the stage road, was sixty feet wide, and began at a point near Arthur Kennedy’s mill on Lackey’s Creek at the east end of the town, and ran in a westerly course to a point near the Samuel Saffell home at the west end of the town and was called Main Street; the first and only street south of Main Street was a thirty foot street and ran parallel with Main Street, from a point near the old W. T. Johnson house, to a street running north and south, between the properties now owned by R. J. Parsons and C. C. Quillen; the first street north of Main Street was also
a thirty foot street, commencing at the B. F. Wilkinson lot (Now owned by Mr. Lawson) to a western terminus, at the land of Learner B. Saffell (Now Quillen’s property); the second street north of Main Street was a twenty foot street, called Church Street, and it’s eastern terminus was at the Asken property just east of where the Presbyterian Church used to stand. Its western terminus was River Street, near where Mrs. Emma Johnson once lived.

Now between these streets was a space left of one hundred and fifty feet, which was cut up into building lots of approximately one half acre’ each, with a sixteen foot alley between each two lots. A thirty foot street running north and south between each two lots (two lots constituting a block), excepting between the Masonic Hall and the Colburn property (now belonging to Mrs. Adria Richmond) and the Cox and Wallace property, now owned by Mrs. S. H. Wilkinson, was a sixty foot street, running from Church Street to Hill Street, near where the depot now stands.

The second addition or subdivision of the town begins at the branch that runs down through the L. B. Saffell property in a north course to the Williston Cox land, known at the present time as the “Love Subdivision of the town of Louisville”. The streets in this addition are three in number and run in a northwest direction to the river. The main street known as River Street was sixty feet wide and terminated at the river wharf; the street to the northeast of the River Street was a thirty foot street, commencing at Church Street and ending at H. C. Saffell’s mill on Lackey’s Creek, near the river and was known as Gillespie Street; the street to the south west of River Street was also a thirty foot street and ran from the said branch to the river and was known as Saffell Street.

Now another important asset of the town was it’s river wharf and this was the most valuable asset it possessed. Here, over this wharf, nearly all of the shipping business was transacted in steamboat days, and the trade was something immense and will be dwelt on ter. It belonged to the people of the town and was made use of by the people for pleasure, recreation, and profit. A town’s riparian rights are indeed it’s most valuable asset, and most towns having those rights are very jealous of them.

Now the comparison, and comparisons are odious we know, but we are writing history now and the truth must be told. Take the street known as Hill Street, running east and west near the depot, it’s western terminus is closed for nearly five hundred feet, take Gillespie Street running in front of the Church, it is closed to the public for it’s entire length; then Saffell Street running be tween Kittrell’s and Kennedy’s, half of it is closed to the public; then River Street, it’s north terminus running down to the Wharf, closed to the public, and the wharf which we should prize so highly, we have no privilege there except as they are guaranteed by private parties. The writer would like to examine the abstract of titles by which the above property is held. Now someone may say these things should not be included in the history of the town (and the history would look better if they were not there), but coming gen erations are entitled to this information and this history is for them as well as for the present generation..
Now to bear me out in what I have said regarding the streets, alleys, and wharf of the town, I will quote from the record book pf the Town Council back in the days when the town was incorporated. On Page 29, at a regular meeting of the Council on the 10th day of February 1854, there were present H. Foster, Mayor; M. L. Feffe teller, W. T. Johnson, R. S. Cummings, Abram Heartsill, and W. M. Steele, Aldermen. Among the business that was transacted at this meeting was an order to open up the street from the Methodist Church to the river. This was done and the street remained open and in public use until after the bi^ flood of 1875, when all the fences in that section of town were swept away. On Page 31 of the records of the Town Council is the following report of the Street Committee:

“We, the undersigned committee, beg leave to make the
following report. Having obtained the services of J. D.
Wear, County Surveyor, he proceeded to run and ascertain
the correct boundary of the street running from Cox’s
store to the river, beginning at Forster’s brick shop,
thence fifty feet northwest to a stake-on the bank near
a slab house, thence same course to the river to a stake
immediately below the mouth of Lackey’s Creek; thence
sixty feet southwest to a notch in the wharf (giving the
width of the street); thence a parallel line with the first
line to a stake on the top of the bank; thence a continued
parallel line, immediately in front of L. B. Saffell’s
brick house near the tan yards to Streele and Bro. Store
House. All of which is respectfully submitted this 29th
day of April 1854.

Wi M. Steele, M. L. Teffeteller, R. S. Cummings

Committee

In the year 1828 the first steamboat that ever navigated the Holston River came up and created a wonderful sensation throughout the entire country.’ It was named the “Atlas’.’ and was the pathfinder for the other steamers that soon commenced to operate on this, then almost unknown, river. Now this was a very important event to the people of Louisville. It meant they were connected with the markets of the outside world and that they could ship their products, that theretofore was almost an impossibility, and that the merchandise that before this time had to be hauled in wagons from Baltimore, Maryland could be bought in New Orleans and brought to the Louisville wharf by boat. There was great rejoicing among the inhabitants of the town and surrounding country when it became known that the upper Tennessee and Holston Rivers were navigable streams. Many other boats came up for a share of the trade of this rich, new country, and regular lines were established between Knoxville, Tennessee and Decatur, Alabama, at the head of Muscel Shoals. From 1835 to 1845 Louisville enjoyed a wonderful boom and some of the citizens of the town even bought a boat to run’in the interest of the town, but this venture was not a success. The steamer “Jim Williams” was sunk on Little River Shoals and only her machinery was salvaged and was stored in the Saffell warehouse for many years and we have no knowledge of what finally became of it.
Louisville was now in communication with the markets of the outside world, and soon became by far the most important town on tne south bank of the Tennessee and Holston Rivers and by far the most important town of Blount County; being the seaport town of all the country between Little River and Little Tennessee River and back into the western part of North Carolina. The farmers brought their products from all over Blount County to Louisville and exchanged them for merchandise at one of the large stores that did business here in those days. There were several large stores here that did a very large business. Among them being -H. T. Cox & Bro., Gilbert Bros., Henry Bros., Byerley & Owens, Finley Bros, Steele & Bros., had a wholesale store here in a brick building that stood on the corner of the lot now owned by Dr. Kittrell, this corner was at the crossing of Saffell and Gilbert Streets. Byerley & Owens store was on River Street where J. L. Smith’s shop now stands; Finley Bros., store was on the corner lot now owned by John R. Kennedy; and Cox’s store was in the building now occupied by Miss Kitty Cox, daughter of H. T. Cox and grand daughter of N. H. Cox, the first merchant to sell goods in Louisville.

The reader will understand that this part of Tennessee was comparatively a new country and there were large number of furbearing animals roaming over it and the fur trade back in those days was very large. Trappers brought in large quantities of pelts. Other articles brought to the store were hides, tallow, beeswax, dried fruits, and last but not least, dogwood forks to be used in manufacturing saddle trees. There were three or four saddle tree factories in operation here at one time and dogwood forks were quite an article of commerce. All these different things found their way to the outside markets through the merchants and warehouses and furnished a good business for the boat lines. The tanning business was another important thing, there being three tanyards in operation at one time, two in the town and one on the B. L. Warren farm, now owned by Mr. Clyde Onks. Learner B. Saffell’s tanyard was on Saffell Street, on one of the lots now owned by J. L. Harper and another yard was on the lot now owned by Mrs. Adria Richmond, on the branch running from the town spring. The farmer brought hides to these yards and had them tanned and made into leather for their shoes, harness, etc. The owners of the yards god half of the leather for his part of the work. This was generally put in bundles and shipped by boat to other markets.

Another business that is now almost obsolete was blacksmithing. In olden days the farmers had to depend on the blacksmiths for all his farm tools. The wagons were made in the wagon shops by the black smiths. Even the fire shovels and tongs which were used by every family were made by them. There were several shops here in the town limits. B. F. Wilkinson, father of Captain S. H. Wilkinson, operated one of the northeast corner of the lots he owned, and at this writing this lot belongs to Mr. Lawson. Mr. Wilkinson operated four forges and did a fine business. Another shop was operated by Joseph Brown, a Canadian, on Cillespie Streed, on the lot now owned by Mrs. Sherrod. Mr. Wilkinson and Mr. Brown were among the very best citizens of the town. Another shop was owned by Miss Nancy Cox on Main Street where the colored church now stands. This shop was in charge of Jo Cox, a slave belonging to the owner of the shop. He was a good smith and got his share of the work. The writer well remembers Jo Brown and old Uncle Jo Cox.
In 1840 John Sparger came from Virginia and built a large wagon shop on Main Street opposite the W. T. Johnson residence in the east end of the town. Among his workmen was James George, who in after
years went into the wagon business for himself on a lot at the corner of Main and River Streets where Ephraim Dunlap now lives. Page 10 Another one of Sparger’s hands was Houston Bailey, who lived in Louisville for many years. Sparger did a large business building wagons and also ran a saddle tree shop in connection with his wagon shop. C. M. George and James K. Orr also worked for Sparger. Then the cooperage business was of no little importance. H. Foster ran a cooper shop in the brick building where James Jeffries now has his machine shop. L. D. Skinner and George Ramsey had a shop on Main Street near where Mrs. W. H. Love now lives. These shops made barrels, tubs, water buckets, churns, etc., to supply the town and surrounding country. There were several distilleries operated in the vicinity of Louisville and demanded a large supply of barrels for their output. The tubs, buckets and churns were
readily sold to the people of the vicinity. Red cedar was used for the buckets, churns, and tubs; and a brass band red cedar bucket was considered a necessity of every family. Shops for shoe making was another business carried on in the town and was largely patronized. Every one wore homemade shoes and anyone wanting a pair, of shoes or boots would go to the store or one of the tanyards, buy the leather and take it to the shoemaker to have them made. The writer only remembers three of these old time shoemakers, Obediah McKenzie, Riley and Bart Milligan.

Another vital necessity of the people in Ante-Bellum days was their clothing and, like most everything else, was homemade. The men wore jeans and the women wore linsey and cotton checks. Even their stockings were knit at home and spinning wheels and looms were in almost all of the country home. The wool to make the jeans \<!as put in shape for the spinning wheels by the women using wool cards to do the work. Also the cotton yarn was worked in the same way. For the linsey and the checks and for the chain for the jeans, dogwood, madras, and indigo was the coloring matter used to make the different colors, and a man was fortunate indeed if he could obtain a suit of store clothes.
In later years the cotton yarn could be bought at the cotton mills at Rockford owned by Dick Wilson, or at Lenoirs, Now Lenoir City.
Now before closing this chapter, the writer wishes again touch on the shipping business on the river and ober the wharf at the river front. There were, as stated before, two large warehouses on the riverfront. One was owned by Henry C. Saffell, the other by Arthur Kennedy, who owned the flour mills at the east end of town. There was a splendid wharf made of large hewn timbers bolted to each other, extending almost one hundred feet along the water’s edge, and some of the old timbers can yet be seen, but great changes have taken place. The wharf and warehouses are gone; the steamboat business is a relic of the past and the people of the town hardly realize the fact that their people owned the riverfront and all riparian rights thereunto pertaining. We have the railroad, but what benefit have we derived from its coming? We won’t say the railroad caused it, but our town is not the town it once was by several hundred percent, and we are led to wonder if things will be again as it once was.