Roane County TN Archives History - Books .....Post Oak Springs 1927 ************************************************ 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@gmail.com November 6, 2005, 8:59 pm Book Title: The History Of Roane County Tennessee 1801-1870 PART THREE POST OAK SPRINGS Though now a settlement of only four or five houses and one church it was at one time a very important village. It was on the public highway that was constructed in 1800 between South West Point (Kingston) and "Beans Lick" (near Nashville,) crossing Walden's Ridge over the present tunnel of the Tennessee Central Railroad. It was called Walton's road for Capt. William Walton who constructed it by the authority of in act passed by the Legislature in 1799. Another road leaving the Walton road at Post Oak Springs went in the direction of Ross' Landing. Captain McElwee, in writing of Post Oak and its people, has given some very interesting things of the locality. George Gordon got a charter from the State to construct a road from Post Oak Springs to White's Creek, crossing the mountain by way of Sparta and on to Nashville. The two roads were rivals for public travelers. Agents were engaged all along the road from Knoxville to Kingston to advertise each of these two routes. Each agent would furnish the traveler with a ticket: this ticket would be taken up by the first toll gate keeper and the agent paid a percent on the ticket. But the test of rivalry was at Post Oak Springs. Immense sign boards were erected for each road. The board on the Gordon road read: "Gordon's Turnpike, Nearest and best road across Cumberland Wilderness. Fire and provender at each stop. Ordinaries and taverns every ten miles." Joshua Moore was agent and drummer for the stage road. One night he tied a brush to a long pole and blackened out the sign board of the Gordon road. Gordon did not have it re-lettered but put up another board below with this: "The above blackboard to be kept for erection over the grave of Joshua Moore upon which the devil will write his doom. Amen." This board attracted much attention and turned a large amount of travel to Gordon's road. Gordon died and Moore moved away but the old sign post still stood during the 60's as a silent reminder of "things that." Some of the early citizens of Post Oak Springs were: Thomas Hindman, Joseph Rentfroe, Thomas Brown, Eldbridge G. Sevier, John S. McMeans, Major John Smith, Mathew Allison, Edward Owings, Samuel Kendrick, Capt. Thomas McMullen, Capt. Samuel Walker. The Post Oak Springs Christian Church was organized in 1812 by Major John Smith and the earliest members were the Smith. Owings (Owens) and Acuff families. The Post Springs Academy stood across the road from the Christian Church near the home of Mathew Allison (now Staple's home). One end of the building was used for the boys and the other for the girls. Some of the teachers were Dr. Campbell Cawood, Martin Matlock. Dr. B. F. Davis, Rev. Nelson Roberts, R. P. Bayley, Col. John R. Neal, W. W. Millican, Miss Nannie Depew, of Amsterdam, N. Y., Maston Green, of North Carolina. The War Between the States terminated school teaching in the Academy. It and the woodland to the south of it was occupied by Soldiers during war times. The building was used by the Federal Army as a Courier post, where the bearers of war dispaches changed. A fight occured here between the Federal and Confederate in a successful attempt of the Confederates to capture dispatches. Four couriers were killed and others captured. Within a year after this fight the Academy was burned and Post Oak Springs ceased to be the educational center of a large territory. On the South of the same tract of land on which the Academy was located, stood the Methodist Church, and West of it the graveyard where lie the remains of several Revolutionary soldiers. The building and graveyard were badly abused during the War Between the States and afterwards was used as a school building. Among those who were members of the church were the families of: Thos. A. Brown Charles Haley John Tedder William Haley John Pyott W. L. Brown Isaac Eblen Maj. L. L. Thomasson William McElwee Esq. Kimbrough Mathew Allison Jacob A. Work Jno. N. Moore Dr. B. F. Davis W. F. (Frank) Brown Wm. C. Eblen Col. Hembree's daughter Jno. W. Brown (Jack Brown) Occasional attendants were the families of: White Alex Montgomery Lincoln Robt. Cravens Sewell Phillips Sherman C. Doughty John A. Winton Oscar Hampton Elbert C. Montgomery Shorts, and many others. William McElwee, Franklin Brown, Maj. L. L. Thomasson, John Pyott, John Teddler, W. C. Eblen and others were official members, being Trustees and Stewards. The sacramental unleavened bread was for a long time prepared by Mrs. Lucinda McElwee and the pure grape wine furnished or kept in custody of Steward William McElwee for many years. Additional Comments: From: Part Three The History of Roane County Tennessee 1801-1870 by Emma Middleton Wells Printed by The Lookout Publishing Company Chattanooga, Tennessee (1927) File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/tn/roane/history/1927/roanecou/postoaks34nms.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.net/tnfiles/ File size: 5.5 Kb