Maury County TN Archives History - Books .....Entertainment, Guest Houses, Utilities 1906 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/tn/tnfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com September 23, 2005, 12:45 am Book Title: Century Review Entertainment. Every city of progress must provide for travelers; and the better the accommodations, the more it advertises the place. Jeremiah Cherry opened an inn here in 1808. Peter Cheatham, John Alderson, Perry Cohea, Mrs. Hooks, and others kept travelers prior to 1820. The Eagle House stood at 14-16 Public Square for many years, but was burned about 1845. Maj. Lewis kept tavern on East Seventh St. about the same time. Pleasant Nelson erected the hotel at 7-11 North Main, and P. D. Franklin kept the house at 6-8 South Main. This was burned about 55, when Rev. J. B. Hamilton and Hon. W. B. Wilson sold the property at 16-18 South Main to Mr. Franklin, who added the wings and continued in the business till his death. Guest House. The Franklin House, mentioned above, was purchased by J. L. Guest, and, after his death, continued by his widow and others until leased by R. B. Polk in Oct., 1902. He is a native of this county, and was in the mill business for 30 yrs. prior to engaging as landlord, 1897. The Polk House gives accommodations at $1 per day. The Cottage Hotel, at 51 West Eleventh, was opened since the war, and was purchased from Motten Conniff, 1892, by S. R. Teagarden, a native of Indiana. A. T. Sellars keeps a hotel, restaurant, and saloon on the Public Square; and a dozen good boarding houses complete the accommodations for transients. Bethell Hotel. May 24, 1880, the Bethell Hotel Co. was chartered by P. C. & W. D. Bethell, Lucius Frierson, Eugene Pillow, J. M. Mayes, and L. W. Black. The elegant structure shown herewith was opened May, 82, at a cost for the entire block of $125,000. It is three stories, fronting 170 ft. on Seventh and 200 ft. on Garden; has about 60 guest chambers; and is commodious in all departments. The Bethell is modern in its appointments, and has few superiors in this State. T. W. Keesee, Ira Witt, and L. W. Black were managers prior to its purchase May, 85, by M. C. Mayes and R. P. Dodson. Mr. Mayes died Sept., 87; and Mr. Dodson continued until R. L. Granberry bought the place, 1894. A year later it was sold to Webb Ridley, and J. M. Dedman became manager. Mr. Dedman purchased the property in 1900. In 1904 he expended $5,000 in improvements, and the Betaell under his management is kept fully abreast of the times. Joe P. and Walter Knight, from Red Boiling Springs, Macon Co., have been clerks at the Bethell for several years, and give a genial welcome to travelers. The Bethell House owns two good omnibuses; and under the management of W. J. Owen, a native Columbian, they are prompt to meet all trains. Kin Cherry has also been in the 'bus business for twenty years, transferring passengers to any part of the city. Grand Opera House was opened, 1882, with H. P. Seavy, manager. It has always sought to secure first-class troupes and the patronage of our best theater goers. J. C. Wooten purchased the property, 1898, and the following year leased it to Ashby Wilkins, who is a native of Williamson Co., kept books for Rosenthal ten years, and 1904 took charge of the Maury Dry Goods Co. countingroom. Outside of the large cities, the Grand is the best opera house in the State. Electric Light and Water Co. By reference to "County Seat" the reader may learn about the early waterworks. The present company comes from merging the Electric Light Co., chartered Jan., 1880, by T. B. Raines, Calvin Morgan, Lucius Frierson, T. B. Childers, Geo. L. Thomas, and J. M. Mayes, with the Water Co., created by ordinance Apr. 3, 83, to erect a reservoir on Mt. Parnassus. The plant was built by Travers Daniel, pumping station above the Duck River bridge, with intake above all sewer outlets, and water filtering through gravel and sand. The plant has two 100 Jip. engines, and the water tube boilers aggregate 400 hp. The duplicate pumps have a capacity of over 1,000,000 gallons each daily. The reservoir is 300 ft. above the river, capacity 2,000,000 gallons, and where the mains are of proper size gives good fire pressure; but for high buildings and emergencies the city needs a modern fire engine. The capital of the Electric Light & Water Co. is $100,000. There are 77 fire hydrants, 7 miles of mains, and the water is said to be exceptionally good for boilers. The electric plant was rebuilt spring of 1904; has one 3-phase dynamo 150 k. w., one 3-phase 200 k. w. 60 cycle, 225 hp. engine. The city uses 60 enclosed alternating current arc lights at $75 each annually; 2,100 incandescent lamps are in use, and the plant has sufficient power for many more. The Columbia Waterworks Plant, shown herewith, is kept in first-class repair throughout under the superintendence of J. S. Robinson, who was born in Texas, 1874, and has been in charge here for several years. W. B. Dobbins, manager of this company since 1899, was born in Maury Co., 1846, and has been in business at Columbia from early manhood. Columbia Gas Co. was chartered Feb., 1883, by Henry Cooper, A. W. Stockell, E. W. Gamble, J. L. Jones, H. D. Fitch. A reservoir holding 40,000 cubic feet was erected, and gas is supplied as needed, although it has been largely superseded by electric light. Additional Comments: From: CENTURY REVIEW 1805 - 1905 MAURY COUNTY, TENNESSEE A Condensation of the Most Important Events of the Past One Hundred Years, and Descriptive Sketches of the Cities and Villages File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/tn/maury/history/1906/centuryr/entertai22gms.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/tnfiles/ File size: 6.0 Kb