Blount County TNGenWeb

 

In this chapter we will confine ourselves to no certain period of time but talk in a rambling way of people, conditions, and events, from the beginning, even down to the present time, 1922. By this we will be able to correct errors and fill in omissions in the previous chapters. We will endeavor in this chapter to tell some­ thing of the Churches, Sunday Schools, day schools, and of the people who conducted them. Also of the state officers, who at different times administered the affairs of the state and county in the 10th Civil District. There has only been two organized Churches in Louisville in the past – the Presbyterian and Method­ ist. The Presbyterian Church has long been discontinued and it’s place of worship was burned down a few years since,·caused by lightning. At that time it was owned by the Northern branch of the Methodist Church. In the old pre-war days there was a large shed on the lot just south of the Church and used by the Presbyterians for meeting services.

We have no information as to any of the preachers of the old time church. The Methodist Church came with the beginning of the town and is the only organized body here to­ day. The present brick Church built in the year 1853 is standing on the site of the old original wooden church, built in the early part of the 19th century. This old church house was moved to a point just aouth of where the present Church now stands and was used for many years as a school house and a public meeting place for entertainment. There were some grand old preachers in charge of this class in olden times, such as the Rev. Geo. Eakin and Rev. Axley, fondly called Father by their congregations, both men of wonderful power. Then Rufus M. Stevins, R. N. Price and William Rodgers, also, were preachers on the Louisville circuit in Ante­ bellum days.

 

A circuit rider had no easy joy in those days, I assure you, only making their rounds once a month, during the war period. There was only an occasional service held. The first official preacher of the present Church after the war was the Rev. H. C. Neal, who went through many Then Jacob Smith, who likewise bore many heavy burdens in those troublous days. Then Rev.’s George Gray, George Stewart, G. I<. Green, John C. Runyon, and many other good men had a hand in helping to build up the Church that had been so ruthlessly trampled down during the war and imm­ ediately after. We will not forget John Hunt, a grand old preacher of the Baptist faith, who often preached in Louisville and spent a lifetine working in the cause of Christianity. The Sunday Schools like the Churches were shut down a short time during the war. But shortly after the Methodist School was opened again under the leader­ ship of Joseph Brown, Superintendent and Henry C. Saffell, teacher of the Bible Class; Miss Mary Finley, C. M. George, Kern Heartsill, C. Love, and others as teachers. This school has been in operation ever since and very successfully. C.R. Love was Superintendent of this school for 28 years and was very much attached to it, as well as to the Church. The evening Union Sunday School in the Presby­ terian Church was organized after the war by the Rev. Issac Emory, the old Sunday School Missionary with John J. Faulkner, Supt.;W. Cummins, J. T. Cummins, Nathan Coker and others as teachers.

 

The first Justice of the Peach of the 10th District that we have knowledge of was Wm. Rankin and Wm. Colburn and from then on down as well as we ,can remember , ere – James Henry, Wm. Henderson, Wm. Anderson, Wm. Brickell, I. W. Kirby, Dr. J. C. Gillespie, Elwood Harold, A.H. Love, E. Goddard, P. P. Miser, Squire Maxey, C. M. George, Geo. Laking, and A. N. Jackson and probably others of which we have no information. Some of the constables we remember were as follows – Jack Brown (Long Hollow), Hugh Jenkins, W. T. Heart­ sill, Nelson Bond, Jim Singleton, Wm. Morton, and Jim Smith. Some of the doctors were – Madison Cox, J. T. Love, G. H. Chaffin, J. C. Gillespie, 0. D. Laird, S. H.. ault, A. B. McTeer, N. T. Krous, Wm. Douthitt, and others. School teachers were Dr. John Parker, James Cox, Miss Rachel Cox, Miss Mary Ernest, Miss Narcissus Finley, F. c mmins, Hugh M. Binham, George W. Ja kson, Wm. Bowman, and others.

 

As some of the readers are enthusiastic baseball fans (as is also the writer) we want to tell something of the now National game as it was played in Louisville in the olden days. Baseball evolved from the old game of Town ball. We will not undertake to de cribe the game of Town Ball, but will say it was similar, to an extent, to baseball. The first club of baseball organized in Louisville was called the “Hunkedories” and consisted of a 1st and 2nd nine, and when a match game was to be played with another team the best players of both nines were selected. I don’t fully remember all the players or where they played; but W. F. Cummins was the Captain of the 1st nine and was the catcher. Tom Gideon was pitcher. Other players of the 1st nine were Shug McCullough, Hugh and Harve Gideon, George Phelps and others. Ike Preston was Captain and catcher of the 2nd nine. Jack Brown was pitcher; Dick Love – 1st Base, Jo Heartsill – qnd Base, Tobe Rhea – 3rd, Bill Barnes – Short Stop, Bob Snapp – L.F., Jim Warren – C.F., Little Sam Saffell – R.F. , (there were two Sam Saffells, designated as big and little Sam and were cousins). In those days of baseball no gloves were worn by the players. The catcher didn’t even have a mit or a mash. The ball was pitched and not thrown as today. If the batter missed the ball and the catcher caught it on the 1st bound the batter was out, the same if a foul ball was caught on 1st bounce. When a player came to bat and called for a certain ball, the pitcher did his best to give him a good slow ball right where he wanted it and a pitcher that gave balls that the batter couldn’t hig soon lost his job, and home runs were a very common occurrence. I remember so well how we got out of the habit of pitching good balls. We had a match game with a team from the University at Knoxville and we felt very con­ fident that we could win from the city boys, but they didn’t follow out id as of pitching good balls. Their pitchers was a small man by the name of Jim Lowry and he pitched a swift ball – anywhere from the knee to the shoulder and their umpire would call a strike on our batter even though it wasn’t where he wanted it, and of course we were not trained to hit that way.

 

They gave us a good dubbing. We were very indignant that they played so unfair a game, but it put us wise to the way other clubs did. We commenced to train Jack Brown, the pitcher of the 2nd nine.

 

Jack was a big strong fellow and soon came up to requirements and when we played the return game at Knoxville. We beat them with seven runs to spare. This game was played between Gay and State Streets, where large business buildings now stand. What a change there has been since 50 years ago and baseball has kept step all along. The old name “Hunkiclories” alone remains, and even today there is a team in Louisville with that name. The writer of this is the only one of the old original Hunkidories living in Louis­ ville at this time. Most of all of them are dead.

 

Fifty years ago the vicinity of Louisville was a veritable hunt­ sman’s Paradise. Wild geese, wild ducks, and pigeons were in ab­ undano:e during the fall and winter months. Wild pigeons were as plentiful as black birds are now. The writer has seen them flying over the town so thick that they would make a shadow:.on the ground, and large droves of them going to roost in the woods often would break imbs off the trees. Squirrels, rabbits, and partridges were in abundance. The river and creeks were full of fish of all kinds. Fishmen had no trouble in catching all they needed. Some of them were old time fishermen, namely, Andy Dunn, John Titlow, Jack Allen, Shade Tow, Bill Good and Jess Smith.

 

The building of the railroad through Louisville was an event of no little importance to the people of the town. A great future was predicted for the town and surrounding country. When it was learned that a railroad was to be constructed from Knoxville to Marietta, Ga. and that the route was being surveyed, a committee of citizens from Louisville and Friendsville were appointed at a mass meeting held in the Methodist Church and instructed to interview George R. Eager, the promoter of the enterprise, and c’all his attention to the Louisville and Friendsville route. Mr.Eager told his committee that they would get a competent engineer to go over the route and if his report was favorable he would have his engineers survey it.  K. Payne was/selected and agreed to by all concerned. Prof. Payne went over the route and reported thst it was all right and a good route. The railroad engineers then surveyed it and the route was adopted by the promoter and work commenced. Every one was jubilant over our future. The writer with some other parties took a two mile grading contract – commencing at the mill pond and end­ ing two miles below. The day work was begun here in the town was a holiday and everyone turned out to do honor to the occasion. Squire Alvin Logan, Daniel Dyer, and H. T. Cox did the first work. Mr. Logan digging up the first wheel barrow of dirt. Mr. Cox shoveling it in the wheel barrow, and Mr. Dyer rolling it off. After the ceremonies were over there were 40 to 50 men put to work on the cut near the pond. This was in the year and the road was completed in the next year.

 

The steamer ”Walter Love” was built in Louisville in the year 1890. The lumber was bought from local mills, and local workmen did the work, except the foreman, W. H. Rothe, who was brought here from Kingston to superintend the work. Louisville was the home port of this boat until sold to Alabama parties and taken to that trade.

 

The machinery of the Love was taken off the old steamer “Water Lily”, whose home port was Louisville, also, as was the steamer “Tellico” and “Clinton B. Fisk”. In olden days it was no uncommon sight to see large rafts of logs and flat boats going by on every tide. The boats were loaded with salt, grain, hay, lumber and almost every­ other commodity, destined for southern markets, and steamboats pass­ ing almost daily. The warehouses of the stores and at the river loaded to capacity with corn, wheat, oats, baled hay, bacon, and in fact with almost everything raised on the surrounding farms, and even for many miles back in the country, brought by the merchants of Louisville and paid for in cash or merchanidse.

But all this is as a “tale that is told” and we are still in hopes that “Dame Fortune” will again visit us and tha-t our town will once more get in step with the rest of the business world.