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19th Century General Store in Elbridge

19th Century General Store in Elbridge, Tennessee

Elbridge Community, first known as Beech Point, was settled in the 1830’s and 40’s long before the War Between the States. Running a ridge north and south between Clover Creek and Little Clover Creek in District Nine, Elbridge is eight miles west of the town of Obion in the lower western section of Obion County. This area appears to have been in District Four prior to the 1870 county and district re-structuring.

The name, Elbridge, was chosen to honor Dr. Elbridge Richardson in the 1870’s after Beech Point was notified that another Tennessee post office existed with that name. During the years the Post Office was located in the stores of Jack Wortham, Walter Via and Wm. Stover, Hardy Davidson, George Worley and King Brothers. At one time, Joe and Una Fleming combined the post office in their home and Mrs. Fleming was Postmistress. The last location was the V. G. Hailey building. Other postmasters were Mr. Stover (William?), Talmadge King, Ivie Lippard; Hardy Huffstutter and Odie B. Stover were rural mail carriers.

Pioneer settlers included George Davidson, George W. King and C. Theodore Lippard. Joining them later were Peter Bradshaw, J. T. Call, Esq. Barker, Charley Strain, Ed Carrol, J. A. Jackson, C. N. Shires and J. A. Buchanan (father of Wilkes Buchanan).

Jack Wortham had the first general store; his stock was later sold to H. C. Davidson. Walter Via, son of William Via of the Minnick Community, and William Stover also had general stores. The tanning yard was operated by Ed Carroll and John Hailey, crippled in the Civil War, opened a custom-made shoe and boot and repair shop. Corn was ground at Chris Shires’ gristmill. Farm and livestock operators included H. C. Davidson and Talmus King. Other residents included the William Morris’s.

The Elbridge Telephone Company, Inc. was chartered in the early 1900’s and Kirk Barnes is probably the best remembered operator. A newspaper, The Enterprise, was owned by H. C. Davidson and later the Elbridge Pioneer was published by Tom W. Cunningham.

W. T. Call was the first president of the Bank of Elbridge, organized in 1910, with N. I. Manly as first cashier. L. E. Maloney succeeded him and remained cashier except for the years 1927, 1928 and 1929 when E. A. Watson was cashier. Other businesses through the years were H. T. King General Store, V. G. Hailey Grocery Store and Notions, J. P. Wells Grocery Store, H. P. Roddy Grocery Store and H. P. Hailey Restaurant. W. T. Shires had a garage and service station. Fred Bennett made sorghram molasses and Ed Hughes was the barber. Another Hailey, Pinkney, operated King Mercantile and W. T. and Allie Stover boarded teachers. Then there was the Lane Cotton House, don’t know if this means they were buyers or that they stored cotton or something. And if I’m interpreting the articles correctly, R. C. Sanford had a rural route grocery business. Dr. J. P. Cunningham was the local physician and the Robert Fleming Grocery Co. was in CLOVERDALE.

Other doctors: Elbridge Richardson, Merridith Carroll, John Wright, Dr. Boals and C. S. Morrison.

First cars owned by Virgil Morris, John King, Dr. Wright and Jack Call (1917-1924).

Businesses in 1981: Bank of Elbridge, Bill Coker Grocery, Post Office, Clemens Harrell Repair Shop.


Sources:

  • Obion County History, Union City, Tennessee, Volume One, 1981, Pub. Obion County Historical Society, Taylor Publishing Company, Dallas, Texas.
  • Obion County History, Union City, Tennessee, Volume Two, 1985, Pub. Obion County Historical Society, Taylor Publishing Company, Dallas, Texas.
  • Marshall, E. H., History of Obion County, Reprinted, 1970, 1974, by H. A. Lanzer Co., Union City, Tennessee

Comments

Elbridge — 9 Comments

  1. My son owns the old Tom Howell place built in the 1900…would like to know more about it…location is 6086 Minnick Elbridge,Who built this house…

  2. My grandfather was RC Sanford of elbridge,tn. The article states he had a rural route delivery business.are there any land records that show where his home or farm were located? He also had a business that made brooms and mops called Sanford Broom and Mop elbridge tn. Thanks

    • Curious on how we could be related as I would need to find info I may have or my cousin has it. My father was Robert Ivie Sanford, son of Rev. Marshall and Ruth Sanford

    • I’m guessing my first comment didn’t go through. Curious if we could be related. My father was Robert Ivie Sanford, son of Rev. Marshall and Ruth Sanford. Not sure if I or my cousin have these records on hand

    • I’m trying to find out some information about my grandfather who passed away in New Bern Dyer,Tenn. His name was Thomas Alexander Abbott and he passed away on January 5,1942 and is buried at Zion Cemetery.What I don’t understand is why he died in your town, while his wife and and son were in Elora Lincoln County Tenn. I haven’t found a death certificate. Can you help me find out what happened to him? Was he working there,was he in the hospital there I don’t have any idea. Please can you give me any information please. Thank you for your time

  3. My great-great grandfather arrived in Elbridge, TN in the 1800’s from Ireland; I feel because of the Irish potato famine. I am not sure why he came to Elbridge; possibly, he had other relatives who had arrived earlier. He married Elizabeth Hailey, from the Elbridge community.

    A few years later, he purchased an 80 acre farm west of Elbridge. I retain the original deed for that farm. My grandfather, Herman Erwin, owned that farm at the time of his death in 1983. It was earlier recognized as a Century Farm. He was beloved by me and now lies in the Elbridge Cemetery. I called Elbridge home until my father was offered a job in Lake County, TN. Phillippy, TN was a beloved community by me; I wrote a book about the community several years past, but, for many years, we retained our ties to the Elbridge community. I, now, do not have relatives living in that community, but, I feel a closeness to the community when I visit the Elbridge Cemetery.

    • Also curious if we could be related since I have Hailey’s in our family. My great grandmother Littly Hailey married Ivie Lippard.i see one Elizabeth Hailey listed at the Elbridge cemetery. Who was your great great grandfather

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