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Weekly 150: The Carroll County Neighbors, Part VII

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Trezevant
Trezevant was founded in the year 1857. A large camp was located there to build the Louisville and Nashville railroad which was not completed until 1859. The town was first called the Trezevant Switch for a civil engineer, Mr. Jim Trezevant, from Memphis. It has been said that he drove a stake into the ground and said, “This shall be Trezevant.” The railroad company purchased the land from the Whites. The first railroad agent was Mr. Milton Hart. The first telegraph operator was A.G. Love who took office in 1889. Some of the depot agents were Bob Smith, a Mr. Holbrook, and J.J. Ryan who was followed by Frank Grimble. Grimble was the last regular agent before the depot was torn down.

The first postmaster was James B. McClaren who took office in December 1859, just after the post office was completed. The first post office was a small frame building facing the railroad.

The first business house was a blacksmith shop operated by Jimmy Newbill. It was said that he had the only well in town and everyone went to his well to get a drink of water. In the earlier blacksmith days, a Mr. Collier did the woodworking for the blacksmith on the wagon and buggy wheels.

Much of the land around Trezevant was owned by the White and Marshall families. A deed shows the land was granted to Mr. White by Governor Carroll before 1886.

One of the first businesses was the general store owned by Abe White with Bob Denton. Galloway and Burns owned a furniture and hardware store. Bailey and Richard Moore were merchants, as were Hill and Marsh. Nat Barksdale and John Abbot were merchants. Dan Smith was a blacksmith, while Charlie Smith made buggies. Jimmie Newbill also was an implement dealer.

Soon after the completion of the railroad in 1859, business houses and residences began to spring up. Also, among the early businesses of Trezevant was the U.L. Collins store, a beautiful frame building located near what is now the highway crossing where the City Hall is now located. This building was painted yellow and white and was of very ornate design and trim. The upper floor was used for dry goods and the lower floor housed a saloon that handled all kinds of liquors. Collins also built a frame home on the same lot as the store.

The Hurt Hotel was where the H.I.S. Garment Factory was located. It was operated by Isaac Argo and his wife. Near the hotel was a general store known as Terry, Patton, and Love. Moore Brothers were later merchants and owned a very large store. They later moved this store to McKenzie and were known as The Moore and Burns Store. The Adams brothers moved into the building the Moores vacated.

The Jeff J. Blanks Store was founded in 1887 in an old frame building with the front porch supported by four posts. Construction was soon begun on a single-room brick building that also faced the railroad.

The Jeff J. Blanks Store was advertised as “The largest country store in the world” and this was disputed several times. It held this title after visits by the doubters. In some cases of doubting the fact. An exchange of photographs was made and descriptions of the store brought this doubt to an end. The store’s slogan was, “We sell everything. Cash or Credit. We clothe you when you’re born. We feed you while you are living and we bury you when you die.” To carry out the slogan. The store consisted of these different departments on the ground floor, Each in separate rooms: drugs, men’s furnishings, dry goods, shoes, groceries, and hardware.

A bank was known as People’s Bank was located in the back of the shoe department with W.G.. (Billie) Quinn as the cashier. The second story was divided into three large departments which housed buggies and harnesses and furniture. The full-sized basement was used for farming implements and wagons. An elevator was at the back of the hardware department which was used to deliver the heavier merchandise from one floor to the other. Mr. Blanks also sponsored a baseball team known as the Blanks Reds. They traveled to many nearby towns in the area and were known to be one of the best baseball teams in the state.

Eddie Bryant was the undertaker for some time with Edd Green as his assistant. The two hearses were housed in the barn located near town. One hearse was used for white clients and one was used for black clients. Edd Johnson’s Livery Stable was located on the property that’s Paul’s Poolroom. He supplied the team that pulled the hearses.

Charlie Graves pumped the town’s water into an open reservoir which was located by the railroad tracks. Before the pump, the citizens used board wells. A barbershop and Hays Grocery were also located on what is now the town square. There was a three-story flour and grist mill, as well as a foundry. The foundry molded plows that were known as Trezevant Plows; John Ray Killebrew owned the business.

In 1912 the foundry’s name changed to Blanks, Hurdle, Woods, and Sparks. A chicken coop factory was owned and operated by Mr. Goodwin. It stood near the water tank and was the only of its kind in the entire south.

The first rural mail delivery route out of Trezevant was promoted and organized by. Monroe Walker, with him being the first carrier. This was Route 1 and Mr. Walker went by Republican Grove toward Hollyleaf where he met Tommy Rochelle with his mail from Bradford. They exchanged mail somewhere nearby.

The first bank in Trezevant was called The Bank of Trezevant. The bank was operated by Bill Ware and Romney. It closed in 1913. A.A. Argo had sold his store in the Hollyleaf Community when he came to Trezevant and organized in 1913 with Mr. Harmon Smith, present-day Centennial Bank. In 1932 The Peoples Bank was purchased by Argo and Smith.

In 1911 the town was incorporated and Bob Argo became the town’s first mayor. In 1913, the first water system was put into operation. Irby Albright was the first plumber.

The first school in Trezevant was taught in a small building on the southeast corner of the lot where the Mt. Ararat Baptist Church now stands. This was about 1858. After the railroad was completed and a depot was built, about 1866, the school was conducted in it. Mrs. Millie Woolens taught and was followed by Mrs. T.R. Wingo.

In 1873, Mrs. Woolens taught here again and was assisted by Mrs. Mattie Patton. Mr. Claude Bell was later principal and conducted a special school. The school ran for nine months, from September through May, and was a subscription school. The public school lasted for only three months each year, from December through February. During the free school term, the school was so crowded with extra pupils that an extra teacher was needed.

In 1879 or 1880 some leading citizens of Trezevant secured a charter for the school by a petition signed by the citizens which stated that no whiskey or alcoholic beverages were to be sold within four miles of a public school in any direction. This was called “the four-mile law.”

As the saloons were located here before the school, there was much opposition to this petition, but the charter was granted. The Rev. Silas P. Jones served also as the school’s principal. About this time the Rev. R.W. Norton, another Baptist minister, was principal.

Professor Ben Malone was principal of the school before 1888. Professor A.LG. Wells was principal. Some of the early teachers were: Mrs. Lou Jones, Miss Fay Jones, Mrs. Nola Wingo, Mrs. Fostina Wingo McMackins, Miss Maureen Hillsman.

(The research for this article came from History of Carroll County, Tennessee, 1986.)