Willow Grove, Clay County’s second largest town, was located on the Obey (Obed’s) River in the eastern section of the county among the most valuable agricultural land in the area. The town is pictured at its height in the 1930’s, just before the federal government impounded the area for the formation Dale Hollow Reservoir. The pictured ridge is easily identifiable near the present Willow Grove Marina on Dale Hollow Lake. (Photo circa 1930’s)
Monthly Archives: January 2020
Willow Grove
The Dale
The Dale was the Overton County residence of Catherine “Bonny Kate” (Sherrill) Sevier, the second wife and widow of the State of Franklin and Tennessee’s first governor, General John Sevier. She moved to the farm near Willow Grove after Governor Sevier’s death in 1815. She lived there for several years near several of her children and stepchildren before moving to Alabama to live with one of her sons. The Dale property is now located in Clay County. This lithograph is image #1159 in the collection of the Tennessee State Library and Archives. (Photo circa 1820)
Free Hill Residents in Celina
Residents of the Free Hill Community pose in front of the office of R.R. Riley and Co. lumber dealers, which occupied what is now called the William Hull Building. This building was likely the first brick building constructed on the Square in Celina after the Courthouse. The photo and identification are courtesy of the Free Hill Historical Preservation Committee and Kenzie Adams via Facebook. Calvin “Cal” Hamilton was one of the most celebrated Cumberland River raft pilots. FRONT (BOTTOM) ROW: L-R: Vernon Bailey, Rose Page, Nard Page, Laura Burris, Ella Savannah (Page) McDonald, Ruby Elizabeth Webb, Rachel N. (Donaldson) Page, Gertie M. (Burris) Williams, Edgar Hamilton, & Walter Floyd Savage. BACK (TOP) ROW: L-R: Joseph Hardy Page, Calvin “Cal” Hamilton, Clark Hamilton, Curtis Hamilton, William Murley Hamilton, Greenie Gordan Page (holding a daughter), Frank Cook, Joseph Oscar Page, Etta (Page) Webb, and the little girl in the middle is: Lillie Bright Page Hamilton. (Photo circa 1915)
Long Hotel, Spivey (now Hermitage Springs)
The first hotel built to “take the waters” in Spivey, later Hermitage Springs, was owned and operated by Tom Long, pictured with the long beard on the far right of the photo. The tall man in the middle is Wirt Harlin. Others pictured include Irene Spivey, Erma York, Vinnie Long, Mattie York, Herman Wood, Betty Wilson, Sid Jackson, Ralph York, and Zula Pedigo. Photo and identification courtesy of Chad Comer and JoAnn Dillehay. (Photo circa 1904)