The John Messer Barn is a historic structure within the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee. Located along the Porters Creek Trail in the Greenbrier valley, it was constructed in 1875 by Pinkney Whaley. The Whaleys later sold their farm to John H. Messer, who was married to Pinkney’s cousin, Lucy. In the 1930s, the Smoky Mountain Hiking Club, which constructed the Smoky Mountain Hiking Club Cabin nearby, leased the barn from the National Park Service. The barn was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976, and is the last surviving structure from the pre-park Greenbrier Cove community. This barn should not be confused with the Messer Barn in Cataloochee, which was built by John’s cousin, Will Messer.

The Messer Barn is a type of double-cantilever barn unique to East Tennessee, and rarely found outside Sevier, Blount, and Cocke counties. The barn is one story with a hayloft, and measures 25 feet (7.6 m) by 45 feet (14 m). The gabled roof, as with all double-cantilevers, has considerable overhang, allowing livestock shelter in inclement weather. Unlike the reconstructed double-cantilever barn at the Tipton Place in Cades Cove, the Messer Barn’s overhang is supported by poles along the outer edge.

The barn’s foundation is dry field stone, and is higher on one end to compensate for the hillslope. The barn interior consists of two pens, each divided into two stalls, with a “drive-through” in the middle. While the barn walls are built of wooden boards, the pens are built of hewn logs. The barn’s hayloft consists of poles set on two-foot centers.

Photo Gallery: Smoky Mountains

Knoxville’s First Presbyterian Church, the city’s first church, was organized in 1792 and is still located on its original site.  James White, Knoxville’s founder and a devout Presbyterian, came from North Carolina to the Fork of the River, where the Holston and French Broad Rivers meet to form the Tennessee River. He later moved downriver and settled near First Creek. He built a fort and a mill and planted his garden — for turnips in the fall and corn in the spring. When he asked his son-in-law, Charles McClung, to lay out a town, part of White’s instructions were “to reserve my turnip patch for a church and a burying ground.”

Although 1800 is the earliest death date inscribed on a tombstone in the church cemetery, the site may have been used by the pioneers as a community burying ground as early as 1786 when James White’s fort was built. Among those buried in the church graveyard are James White, the founder of Knoxville; Rev. Samuel Carrick, our first minister; Hugh Lawson White, a candidate for U.S. President in 1836; territorial governor William Blount; and Col. John Williams, a member of Congress. The graveyard is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

The Ross Marble Company purchased the land that is now Mead’s Quarry for one hundred dollars and began mining operations in 1881.  The company merged with the Republic Marble Company in 1892 to become the Ross-Republic Marble Company.  The company employed 150 workers and cut 25,000-35,000 cubic feet of marble annually. The marble was cut and polished at the marble mill that was located next to the railroad 200 yards to the north.  Trains shipped the light-pink and gray marble to construction sites throughout the East.   Statues carved from this marble are in government buildings in Maine, New York, Ohio, and Indiana (Div of Geology, 1924).

In 1929, the demand for marble decreased due, in part, to the Great Depression.  Due to fractures in the marble, many of the blocks from the lower levels of the quarry were of low quality or were not useable.  Eventually, after 48 years of quarrying, the company closed Mead’s quarry.

In 1945, Herald Williams purchased the quarry and started the Williams Limestone Company.  Herald later gave the company to his brother J.P. Williams.  The company employed 70 workers and operated 7 kilns using white gas.  The kiln was closed after the death of Mr. Williams in 1979.

On March 3, 2001, Knox County purchased the property, which had been vacant for 22 years.  The County leased the property to Ijams Nature Center to manage for use as a public park.  The park was opened to visitors on May 17, 2005. Frank S. Mead was the first President of the Ross-Republic Marble Company and the quarry was named in his honor.

Photo Link: Mead’s Quarry

The Knox County Courthouse is a historic building at 300 Main Street in Knoxville, Tennessee. It is on the National Register of Historic Places. The Knox County Courthouse was built in 1885 by the Knoxville firm of Stephenson and Getaz, reportedly from plans prepared by Palliser & Palliser, Architects, of New York City. The cost of construction was approximately $82,000.00, with $1,278.20 paid for the plan of the building. The Courthouse committee was directed in 1886 to employ someone to keep the new clock in order, and a 2,500 pound bell was installed in the same year. New wings were added to each side of the courthouse when the Court voted to make funds available for that purpose in July of 1919.

Photo Gallery: Old Knox County Courthouse

The Southern Terminal is railway passenger and warehouse depot located at 306 W. Depot Street in Knoxville, Tennessee. The present depot was constructed in 1903, although previous structures are documented in the city from the 1850s. The 1903 depot was designed by Frank P. Milburn, who had designed train stations throughout the south. It is on the National Register of Historic Places, and lies within Knoxville’s Jackson Avenue Historic District.

The depot is notable for it’s signature corbel-stepped gables. It also has arched windows and coffered ceilings in the former waiting rooms and restaurant. The clock tower was removed in 1945, apparently due to structural problems. The dining rooms, baggage check, and mail rooms were located on the lower level of the facility. Ticketing and waiting rooms were on the upper level.

Photo Gallery: Southern Railway Depot

This Friday’s photo is of the L&N Depot in downtown Knoxville, TN. You can see the gallery of photos by clicking on the photo above or this link.

Along the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail stands the Alfred Reagan Place and the Reagan Mill. The Reagan mill is a standard tub mill, with a flume redirecting water from Roaring Fork to power a tub-wheel turbine. The turbine turns a grindstone which breaks down corn and wheat into cornmeal and flour. Reagan’s mill was well-designed and well-positioned. It is said that when other mills lacked sufficient water power due to low water levels, Reagan’s mill would continue to operate.

Last week during our anniversary vacation, my wife and I decided to hike to Grotto Falls in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Grotto Falls is on the Trillium Gap Trail off the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail. It is the only waterfall in the park that a person can actually walk behind. The 25-foot high waterfall offers a cool, shady, moist retreat for summer hikers and provides an ideal habitat for salamanders as well.

Related link: Hiking in the Smokys – Grotto Falls

The East Tennessee Veterans Memorial is a magnificent formation of 32 granite monuments bearing the inscribed names of more than 6000 veterans from 35 East Tennessee counties who have died in military service to their country, whether in training or in combat, during the following declared wars and conflicts: World War One, World War Two, Korean War, Vietnam War, Persian Gulf War, Operation Enduring Freedom-Afghanistan, and Operation Iraqi Freedom. The Memorial is located on an 8000- square foot plot at the northern edge of Knoxville’s World’s Fair Park. A Veterans History Center will  be developed adjacent  to the site, at the historic L & N Railroad Station.

Related link for more information: East Tennessee Veterans Memorial Association

The Loudon Cumberland Presbyterian Church was established in August 1853. The first church building was located on Town Lot #77 on the corner of Church Street and Grove Street. From 1877 until 1882, the congregation worshipped with the Methodists in the Masonic Hall on Whart Street. On August 2, 1881 Elders T.J. Mason, J.T. Blair, A. Howard, B.F. Hambright, and S.A. Rogers represented the church in the purchase of a lot on the corner of College Avenue and Atlanta Street from Mrs. Mary C. Blair. The present building was erected in 1882 and dedicated, free of debt, the fourth Sunday in July. In 1916 a single story addition was constructed on the back of the church for Sunday School rooms. In 1929 the santuary was remodeled and the memorial stained glass windows installed. In 1939 a second story was added to the back of th church. A donation of land by Mrs. Beula Kollock resulted in the construction of the education building. Phase One was completed in 1960 and Phase Two in 1968.