'Old Man River' On Rampage
In' the pictures above and Ixelow, it's the Little Tennessee at Franklin on
rampage. Since older people here can first remember, the river has occasionally
flooded the lowlands. This photo is of what is said to have been the worst flood
in the Little Tennessee's history, in the fall of 1N9S. (Picture above loaned by
Mrs. .Belle Liner).
^ . 1
Xote the Indian Mound, almost covered. and telephone pole with only a few
feet above the water. (Photo loaned hv .Mis?" Lassie Kellv).
_____ : T . ? _i _ _ ? I
The 85-year old Masonic Hall on Church Street is pictured above. The struc
ture was completed in 1N70 ? 15 years after Franklin was incorporated as a
town, and 19 year:- alter the organization of Junaluskee Lodge. The building
was put up jointly by the Masons and the local Sons of Temperance, to be used
in two capacities ? as a Female Academy and as a Masonic meeting place, ac
cording to (i. L. Houk's history of the local lodge.
The building cost $541.74. according to Mr. Houk. A second contract, for
$150. was let for seats, desks, and the building of a privy. But whereas the build
ing itself was completed within a few months after the lot was acquired from W.
M. Addington. it took two years' prodding to get the second contractor to build
the young ladies.' privy !
The hall, one of Franklia's older buildings, is to be replaced bv a new Ma
sonic Hall.
Out Of The Past... Today
(.-/A* EDITORIAL)
"THIS is not primarily a progress edition ? though
progress is implied by the contrast the recital
of Franklin events and customs of 40, 50, 7?, and
1(X) years ago suggests.
Xor is it history, in the usually accepted meaning
of that term. It is not w ritten like formal history ?
there is overlapping, and much of it is fragmen
tary: furthermore, with so many persons contribut
ing. most of them from memory, it \yould be re
markable if there were not a few misstatements of
minor fact, and remarkable indeed if there were no
inaccuracies about the se?ptence-of events.
What this edition seeks to do is to capture and
get 011 paper, through text and picture, something
of the way of life, the spirit, the flavor, of thlj
Franklin of long ago.
:Jt :|e :|c
This Franklin Centennial Hdition of The Press
was made possible by the cooperation and efforts of
many persons, to all of whom the management of
the newspaper is grateful.
We express appreciation, first of all, to those
who entered the contest for the best articles on the
way people lived herfc in the long ago. and even
more to those, like Mr. James Robinson Daniels,
who wrote voluntarily, not as contestants: Quite
as important as the written word is the wealth of
old pictures ; we thank all who took the trouble to
look up and bring us photographs of scenes and ac
tivities so unfamiliar today. While it was not pos
sible to use all the articles submitted and all the
pictures loaned, we are grateful for those unpub
lished, as well as for those that appear in these
pages. We also thank those who offered sugges
tions and ,he'l)ed with verification of fact: the
advertisers, who made this edition financially prof
itable; and, last but not least, members of The
Press staff who worked, hard and effectively, on
the week-ends, after the regular issue of The Press
had been published.
* * * ii
Whatever the achievements of any society, any
community, any individual, they are possible be
cause *01 achievement in the past ? they grow cvtit
of the character and the faith and the labors of
those. who went before.
Which one of us. in the Franklin of 195", can
escape the consciousness that we owe a great debt
to those courageous and dedicated men and women
of the past whose vision and faith and work laid
the sure foundations on which we build today? 1c.
those who dared the dangers and the hardships of
nnt isolated wilderness?; to the pioneering -pint
that later gave us, in the face of what seemed im
possible odds, the material (improvements ? a 1>ank,
roads, electricity, telephones, and a score of others
? that make easy today's progress? and, most of
all, to the character and intelligence and virile rit
tue that still are so potent in Franklin?
Among the first things the early settlers did were
to build a courthouse, for the orderly conduct of the
public business and the administration of justice,
erect churches to minister to men's spirits, and
organize schools for the enlightenment of the new
generations. t v
But of all the things bequeathed to us by the r?ld
Franklin, the most important were intangible ? a
sense of honesty and of honor, the courage to -face
and overcome obstacles, and thirst for knowledge
and re-pect for the free mind. From the very first,
parents here have sent their sons and daughters to
college. And always there have been among us
tho<=e who questioned, those who refused to accept
a thing just because somebody said it was true.
# * ?
In travail, yesterday gave birth to today. And
today is the parent of tomorrow.
The first of those truths inspires gratitude.
The second carries with it responsibility.
This picture shows the removal, about 1907, of a boiler from a clay mine on Green Street to the r-jl
road station to be shipped away. It was moved by a steam engine, loaned by Mr. Guerney, who was ? f er
a-ting a clay mine elsewhere in the county. Among those in the photo, made in front of the courthouse, who
are identifiable: Center, wearing white shirt, suspenders, and dark hat, George J. Conley (who loaned the
picture): to the lei t of Mr. Conley is Frank Love: to his right, John S. Trotter (in white cap), just ' ack
ol Mr. Love is Jim Palmer, who was operating the eng ine, and his brother, I "red. Sitting on the wheel, at
right, is Sam L. Rogers, Jr.
Travel by steer-drawn wagon once was the rule rather than the exception here, Mrs. Fred Wood, owner
of this picture, places the date at about 1875. In the wagon are Mrs. Wood's father, M. P. Cri^p. left, and
Charlie Wat kins.