Lawrence County History Trivia

Merry Christmas? For most of Lawrence County’s Amish people, today, January 6, is Christmas!

With some 1,500 adherents, Lawrence County is home to one of the largest Old Order Amish communities in the South. The Old Order Amish observe some holidays that the rest of us may not celebrate. One of those holidays is Old Christmas.

When European nations began switching from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar in the 16th century, 11 days were lost to make up for discrepancies in the old system. At that time, some felt that it was sacrilegious to move the celebration of Christ’s birth, and those people continued to celebrate Christmas on January 6, as it fell on the old lunar calendar.

Lawrence County’s Old Order Amish continue this centuries-old tradition. Today, those who celebrate Old Christmas in Lawrence County will awaken early and fast from breakfast. They will then spend time praying and reading the Bible with their immediate family. Around noon, the fast is broken and they will eat a meal together, oftentimes while visiting with extended family members.

Although traditionally no gifts are exchanged during Old Christmas, it is permissible for Amish teachers to give some candy to their students for the occasion.

Merry Old Christmas, Lawrence County!

A century ago, Lawrenceburg got its very own version of Dr. Quinn: Medicine Woman in Dr. Ivadell Rogers.

As can be seen from this front-page story from the March 4, 1914 edition of the Lawrence ‘Democrat,’ Dr. Rogers, who came here that spring, was Lawrence County’s first female doctor.

An 1898 graduate of the Eclectic Medical Institute of Cincinnati, Dr. Rogers was a well-respected physician in her own region when she decided to relocate to Lawrence County that spring.

Eclectic medicine was a movement that was extremely popular in the United States in the mid-to-late 19th century. It relied heavily on botanical and herbal remedies, many of which were learned from Native Americans in the late 18th century and taught from one physician to another. Its preference for herbal remedies over the older traditions of bleeding and mercury-based remedies made eclectic medicine a forerunner to modern homeopathic treatments.

To give you an idea of how Dr. Rogers practiced medicine, she reported to the North American Journal of Homeopathy in 1920 that she successfully treated a 70-year-old woman who had contracted erysipelas. Dr. Rogers’s primary treatment in this case was apis, which is dried and powdered honey bees. Dr. Rogers also treated the patient with “full strength iodine” and “ichthyol combined with flexible collodion.” Dr. Rogers recorded the treatment as a “good success.”

Dr. Rogers’s expertise as a physician was well-established among traditional physicians as well as practitioners of eclectic medicine. In 1907, Dr. Rogers was elected the chief of staff of the Delaware County (Ohio) Medical Society, which was comprised of every doctor in that county. Her position as such was recognized by the Ohio State Medical Journal.

Dr. Rogers did not stay in Lawrence County for very long. From the large farm north of town mentioned in this article, she moved to the W.H. Neal House on Pulaski Street in Lawrenceburg in 1916 (the house is still standing to this day, just east of the railroad, on the north side of the street). Dr. Rogers sold the house in 1917, and by 1920, she had moved to Pryor, Oklahoma.

Despite her brief residence in Lawrence County, Dr. Rogers was here long enough to shatter barriers that had been in place since the county’s founding. The city’s welcome to Dr. Rogers as a serious practitioner speaks well to the progressive attitude of Lawrence Countians of that period.

The following is a portion of an article called ‘Around the Square, 1918-1922,’ by Mrs. Docia Spann Richardson (many of you may remember our previous posts about Mrs. Richardson, as she was the second woman to vote in Lawrenceburg’s history).

The article was published in the ‘Democrat-Union’ on May 7, 1981, and it contains Mrs. Richardson’s reminiscences of what the Lawrenceburg Public Square looked like in the year immediately following World War I. The image attached is an insurance map of the Square drawn in 1916. Many of the businesses mentioned in the article appear on the map.

“…Beginning at the corner of Pulaski Street (north side) and the Square was Bell’s Harness Shop. George Bell and son made and sold harness. North of Bell’s was a grocery store–Allgood and Anderson’s.

Next to the grocery, according to Raleigh Vernon Beckham, a Mr. Hass had a jewelry store. Adjacent to it was the Crowder-Beckham-Finley drug store, and next door the three Stockard brothers–Dr. Tom, Dr. Charles, and Parkes–operated a drug store. In the corner, R.W. Caldwell had a men’s and boys’ ready-to-wear shop called the Toggery.

A small barber shop was attached to the building just around the corner from The Toggery. It was open both to the Square and to a large hitch yard that was adjacent to this northwest corner of the Square.

In the first building directly on the Square, just around the inside corner from The Toggery, was Jim Giles’ office. He bought and sold cotton, and later he and Mrs. Giles opened a ready-to-wear and piece goods store at this location.

I cannot remember who was in business next door, but I do recall that W.S. Dustin and James T. Dunn had an office somewhere along here. They sold insurance.

(Prior to 1918, possibly around 1914, a large auditorium was located on the second floor of the building now occupied by White’s Department Store. On its stage local high school societies–the Atheneans and the Striblings–would present variety shows, such as lively debates and oratorical contests. Only young men participated in those activities; the young women presented recitations and choral numbers.)

The First National Bank was on the corner. J.H. Stribling was president and continued this post until his death in the early 1950s. James T. Dunn, James E. Spence, and Villard Richardson were some of the early cashiers.

On the second floor of this building was several offices. Among them was that of H.D. Derrick, attorney. His secretary was Miss Lurline Freemon, who was considered to be the best legal secretary around. The office of Robert B. Williams was adjacent to Derrick’s, and next to it was the office of Jerome Boynton and Warren Short, realtors.

Across North Military Street, on the corner, Tom S. Springer had a grocery store. Next to it was A.B. Sidowey’s Department Store.

Adjoinging it was M. Richardson Hardware Co. The store’s slogan was “Everything for the home and farm.” The writer of this article was assistant bookkeeper and stenographer with the firm at this time.

At about this time, probably in 1919, Kuhn’s opened its doors as Lawrenceburg’s first “5-10-25” store. To the south of Kuhn’s, Alec George had a general merchandise store.

Next to George’s was Comer’s Dry Goods, with J.F. Comer as owner and manager. Will Harvey and Elizabeth Bell North were clerks. (Later, in 1925, C.W. Moore, Sr. and sons C.W. Jr., and James Y. went into business at that location; the latter is still in business there.)

At that time Sherman Kelly had a store on the corner of the Square and Waterloo Street. He sold ready to wear and piece goods. When Kelly retired, A.B. Sidowey moved his business to this place. Two of the clerks were Mary Gaither and John Hendrix. (Later, Kuhn’s moved to this location, and for many years the Hovelmeir sisters, Kate and Annie managed the store with great dedication and efficiency.)

Dr. J.W. Danley had his offices on the second floor of this building. He was a general practitioner as well as an ophthalmologist. His wife, genial and personable “Miss Nettie,” joined him and Ed McNeal, receptionist, as assistant.

Memory fails me with respect to the building across Waterloo Street on the corner. It is likely that several businesses were in and out of that building. Next door, to the south, was McClanahan & Wall, funeral directors.

At this time, the Post Office was on the west side of the Square, next to McClanahan & Wall. Inside, the walls were plastered, painted white. Long desks, about three feet high, were placed along the walls for the convenience of patrons, and above them dates were inscribed.

Locke and Webb Hardware adjoined the Post Office, and in the corner was Dwiggins’ Grocery, owned by S.M. Dwiggins. When the owner’s health failed, Dolph Clayton bought the business and operated a flourishing grocery store until his health forced his retirement.

Another large hitch yard opened onto the Square at this point. Just around this inside corner, in a small frame building, Miss Eula McAdams had a millinery shop. Next door, Mr. and Mrs. W.R. Lewis had the Racket, selling such items as china, cut glass, crystal, silver and figurines.

At that time there were two buildings where the parks-Belk store is now located; C.W. Moore, Jr., recalls that Locke and Webb sold heavy farm equipment in the one next to the corner building, where the Stockard brothers had a drug store. Stanley Tinin, Sr., was the pharmacist.

On the second floor was, to the best of my knowledge, the first hospital in Lawrenceburg and possibly in Lawrence County. Dr. W.P. Bowen was the surgeon and Miss Bessie Keeling the nurse. When this building burned, Bowen went to another city and the drug store was moved to the east side of the Square as has been mentioned earlier.

Across South Military Street, the rudiments of vocal music was taught at Vaughan’s School of Music. A print shop published gospel song books, featuring shaped notes. Each year, a new book was published.

The east part of this building (which later became the Coffee Shop, an extension of the Lawrenceburg Hotel) served as headquarters for the Lawrence News, a weekly newspaper published by James D. Vaughan from 1919 until it was discontinued in 1938.

In 1922, Vaughan founded radio station WOAN, the first radio station in Tennessee. The broadcasting room was over the print shop.

Farther east, adjacent to the Vaughan building, was the Lawrenceburg Hotel, owned and operated by Mrs. Dora Robertson. A two-story porch ran the length of the front of the building, and hotel guests enjoyed sitting out on summer evenings, just talking and watching the comings and goings around the Square.

At that time the dining room was in the main building, back of the lobby. Waiters would bring in large trays of food in small individual bowls and platters. Mrs. Robertson served simple wholesome foods such as beans, cabbage, and potatoes, and for dessert, mostly fruit cobblers.

In the corner, Dr. Bill Gallaher had an office. Adjacent to it was Mrs. Flora Harvey’s tea room. Her hot chocolate was a special treat for us young ladies who worked in the various stores and offices around the Square.

Louis Rhulander notes that around 1922, this building housed Tripp’s Pool Room.

Next door was the Jitney, which showed silent movies, and at times presented local musicians, one of whom was Harry Gilmore. Movie stars appearing on the Jitney’s silent screen included Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, and Pearl White. Lurline Freemon comments that she and her friends never missed an installment of “the Perils of Pauline.” Other entertainment featured traveling groups such as “The Lyceum,” which presented musical programs.

A grocery store was next to the Jitney. It was owned by Jim Crews and carried what then was an up-to-date line: staples, vegetables, some fruit, but no fresh meat since that was before the time of proper refrigeration.

Upstairs, over the grocery store, were law offices. Tom Helton specialized in researching deeds, and W.H. (Bid) Lindsey was a trial lawyer.

Another poolroom was next door to the grocery, and directly north of the poolroom was a café owned by Taylor Bentley. When he left to open a general store just beyond the Shoal Creek bridge on the Waynesboro Highway, C.A. Freemon and his nephew Oscar opened a funeral parlor and furniture store there.

The Lawrence Bank and Trust Company had been on the corner of the Square and Pulaski Street since 1909, having vacated the building on the corner of the Square and south Military bought by James D. Vaughan. One of the bank officials was Hart Phillips, who built the big frame house on the northwest corner of Pulaski Street and Locust Avenue (U.S. Highway 43).

The Square of sixty years ago was the business center of the community. And although today’s square is beautiful with its corner plantings and brick walkways, the old Square had its own uniqueness and appeal.”

Happy New Year, Lawrence County! It’s cold and mild outside tonight, but the New Year holiday marks two very memorable weather anniversaries in Lawrence County history which were anything but mild. On New Year’s Day 1947, Lawrence County was struck by a massive ice storm.

Although electricity at that time was mostly limited to those who lived in or near town, the electrical lines snapped under the weight of the ice, much as they did in the 1994 ice storm.

During the 1947 storm, the old water tank north of the square in Lawrenceburg went completely dry, depriving the city of running water. As roads iced over, some motorists were stranded in their cars overnight.

The ice storm created an especially dire situation at the Lawrence County Hospital, where the nurses successfully cared for 20 patients and several newborn babies without any heat, water, or electricity. Miraculously, despite the extreme conditions, the county escaped the 1947 ice storm with no reported casualties. Damages were estimated at around $25,000 (with inflation, that would be damages to the tune of around a quarter-million dollars today).

Seventeen years later, Lawrence County endured similarly frigid conditions on New Year’s Day. On January 1, 1964, Lawrence County rang in the new year with a new single-day snowfall record, one which still stands to this day. A major winter storm dumped 16 inches of snow on our area, with some drifts, according to Joe Baxter, the official county weather observer, reaching a depth of nearly 3 feet.

Although the heavy snowfall shuttered many businesses for the duration of the week, and many New Year’s Eve party-goers were forced to spend the night at the homes of their hosts, Lawrence County once again braved the storm with no reported injuries or fatalities.

Lawrenceburg resident Ellen Kerr was a senior in high school during the 1947 storm. She recalls that the city was littered with the shattered branches of trees, so much so that the streets were full of limbs and ice, and no one could move about with any ease at all until it began to thaw. Have you heard any stories of the 1947 ice storm? Do you remember the 1964 blizzard? Let us know in a comment, and everyone please have a safe, happy, and prosperous new year!

The Lawrence County Courthouse during the 1947 Ice Storm.

The following editorial by Irl Cloud, about Lawrence County High School, appeared on the front page of the Lawrence ‘Democrat’ on February 14, 1912. Our county is still blessed with hard-working, professional educators.

“…[Lawrenceburg] is inhabited by intelligent and progressive people who are enthusiastic as to the success and welfare of their schools. They assist and encourage the progress of all school movements in every possible way.

Lawrenceburg has ten churches of the various denominations, and there are no saloons. The town is equipped with a splendid system of electric lights and water works, supplying the town with pure free stone water and splendid lights.

The High School building is regarded by many prominent school men as one of the finest County High School buildings in the state. It is built of brick and trimmed with Kentucky stone; it is three stories high, and of modern architectural design, and has all the equipment of an up to date high school.

The laudable aim of both town people and the faculty is to develop the moral, as well as the intellectual natures of every boy and girl entrusted to their care.

The advancement of the present High School has been remarkable. It was organized in September of 1908 with an enrollment of twenty seven students, Prof. D.C. Stunkard with a corp of able and energetic assistants has continued the work and brought it to its present prominence. The High School at present has an enrollment of about two hundred fifty, second only in number to the largest County High School in the state and equal to any in morality and efficiency. Without undue arrogance we may hope that in the near future our High School will make Lawrenceburg the Athens of Tennessee.”

Merry Christmas from Lawrence County History Trivia!

This week marks the 150th anniversary of General Nathan Bedford Forrest’s final battles in the State of Tennessee. His final engagement in Tennessee occurred in Lawrence County, on Sugar Creek, near the town of Appleton.

After the devastating Confederate defeat at Nashville in December 1864, the Army of Tennessee beat a hasty retreat into Alabama. General Hood ordered Forrest to act as the army’s rear-guard in order to keep it from being destroyed by pursuing Federal forces. On Christmas night, 1864, after a day of fighting south of Pulaski, Forrest’s men encamped at Sugar Creek. The next day, December 26, a heavy fog enshrouded the area, giving a tactical advantage to Forrest’s waiting Confederates. Forrest halted the Federal advance at Sugar Creek, and his men pursued the fleeing yankees from the battlefield for two miles before returning to their position on the creek. Here is Forrest’s account of the engagement, from the ‘Official Record of the War of the Rebellion.’

“I halted my command at Sugar Creek, where it encamped during the night.

On the morning of the 26th the enemy commenced advancing, driving back General Ross’s pickets. Owing to the dense fog he could not see the temporary fortifications which the infantry had thrown up and behind which they were secreted. The enemy therefore advanced to within fifty paces of these works, when a volley was opened upon him, causing the wildest confusion. Two mounted regiments of Ross’ brigade and Ector’s and Granbury’s brigades of infantry were ordered to charge upon the discomfited foe, which was done, producing a complete rout. The enemy was pursued for two miles, but showing no disposition to give battle my troops were ordered back. In this engagement [the Federals] sustained a loss of about 150 in killed and wounded; many prisoners and horses were captured and about 400 horses killed. I held this position for two hours, but the enemy showing no disposition to renew the attack, and fearing he might attempt a flank movement in the dense fog, I resumed the march, after leaving a picket with orders to remain until 4 o’clock. The enemy made no further attack between Sugar Creek and Tennessee River, which stream I crossed on the evening of the 27th of December.”

Do you remember having to ask the operator to connect your phone call, ‘Andy Griffith Show’-style?

On this day 47 years ago, that became a thing of the past in the city of Lawrenceburg.

On December 17, 1967, direct-dial telephones first went into operation in Lawrenceburg.

What are some of your favorite telephone memories?

Lawrence County has a rich tradition of interesting place names. Some community names such as Barnesville, Henryville, Bonnertown, and Alexander Springs were named after individuals or families who lived in those areas.

Other community names were inspired by Biblical places, such as Mars Hill, Mount Zion, Ramah, Antioch, and Mt. Nebo. The names of St. Joseph and St. Mary’s were inspired by Biblical characters who are also Catholic saints.

But some of our county’s place names are a bit more unusual.

We have mentioned before that Revilo, in southeastern Lawrence County, is ‘Oliver’ spelled backwards, after the Oliver double-shoveled plow.

It is said by some locals that Copperas Branch, the name of both a creek and a road east of Leoma, was named for the great number of copperhead snakes that live in and around the creek.

Insurance Bluff is the name of a 200-foot drop near West Point, so-named because many vehicles have been pushed from the top of the bluff’s steep ledge to the creek below in order for the owner to collect insurance money. Many wrecked cars remain at the bottom of the bluff, today.

According to Mrs. Ethel Young Benson, the community of Marcella Falls was named for Marcella Paine, the daughter of an attorney from Columbia who, during a bout of ill health, acted as governess for the children of A.O. Williams in the years before the Civil War. Williams, who operated one of the cotton mills at the base of the massive waterfalls, liked the name, and decided to name the falls after her.

Leoma, according to ‘The Heritage of Lawrence County, Tennessee,’ was named after the the daughter of a railroad clerk when the post office was reestablished in the place in 1911. Prior names of the community were ‘Dean Switch’ and ‘Shade.’

What is your favorite unique place name in Lawrence County? If you have heard where the name of a place originated, please let us know in a comment.

Just a few days after fighting their way through Lawrence County in the fall of 1864, the Confederate Army of Tennessee suffered a horrific loss of manpower and leadership at Franklin, Tennessee.

November 30 is the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Franklin. Sam Watkins, a Confederate infantryman from Maury County, had this to say about it in his book ‘Co Aytch:’

“Kind reader, right here my pen, and courage, and ability fail me. I shrink from butchery. Would to God I could tear the page from these memoirs and from my own memory. It is the blackest page in the history of the war of the Lost Cause. It was the bloodiest battle of modern times in any war. It was the finishing stroke to the independence of the Southern Confederacy. I was there. I saw it. My flesh trembles, and creeps, and crawls when I think of it to-day. My heart almost ceases to beat at the horrid recollection. Would to God that I had never witnessed such a scene!

“I cannot describe it. It beggars description. I will not attempt to describe it. I could not. The death-angel was there to gather its last harvest. It was the grand coronation of death. Would that I could turn the page. But I feel, though I did so, that page would still be there, teeming with its scenes of horror and blood. I can only tell of what I saw.”

It should be noted that Watkins was a participant in every major campaign of the Army of Tennessee during the Civil War, and yet even as a battle-hardened veteran, Watkins remembered the Battle of Franklin as especially horrific.

To read Watkins’s memories of Franklin–and the rest of the War–follow this link:

https://tinyurl.com/yyhdmfsh

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope you all are having a pleasant holiday, surrounded by those you love, and with plenty to eat. We all have much to be thankful for! But did you know, that, in the county’s early days, the Thanksgiving holiday had less to do with family, food, and shopping, and was instead observed more by community gatherings and interdenominational public worship services?

As can be seen in this entry from the journal of William T. Nixon, Thanksgiving 1879, which happened exactly 135 years ago today, was observed with short notice by the people of Lawrenceburg. Students were excused from school, and a group of leading citizens organized an impromptu public worship service, which was probably held at either the Cumberland Presbyterian Church on South Military Street or First Methodist Church on Waterloo Street, although Nixon does not specify where the service took place.

To prepare for the worship service, the men warmed the church by building fires in the church’s stoves, and rang the church bell to let the community know that a special service was about to be held. With practically no notice, Bro. Comer agreed to preach a special Thanksgiving sermon to the crowd. His sermon text was Philippians 4:6, which says: “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.” (King James Version).

Excerpt from the Journal of W.T. Nixon, 1879