Marathon Motor Works

The historic Marathon Motor Works building was constructed in 1881 to house the Nashville Cotton Mill. The cotton industry thrived in Nashville until 1910, when the mill was closed. The building would not sit empty for long. The Southern Engine and Boiler Works company, which was based out of Jackson, Tennessee, had begun to thrive. Their greatest success had been manufacturing automobiles. By the turn of the century their success caught the attention of Nashville businessman Augustus H. Robinson. Robinson, along with a team of investors purchased the vacated Nashville Cotton Mill building, and also the automobile division of Southern Engine and Boiler Works. The investing group retained the automobile designer William Collier. In order to differentiate between another automobile company named "Southern," Collier renamed his automobiles "Marathon." He chose that name to honor the Olympic games. By 1911 five car models were offered under the Marathon name. By 1912 there were Marathon dealers in every major United States city. In that same year, approximately 200 cars per month and 10,000 cars per year were being produced. Collier successfully completed the Glidden Car Tour in 1911, by successfully driving one of his Marathon automobiles from New York City to Jacksonville, Florida. By 1914, bad financial decisions were being made, and the company was forced to sell. A small workforce continued to work in Nashville producing parts for the next four years. In 1922, Werthan Bag Company purchased the building and occupied it until 1984. During that time other parts of the building were used by Washington Hosiery. In 1986 the building was purchased by Barry Walker. Walker set plans in motion for the building to become a multi use facility called Marathon Village. He created art and music studios as well as restaurants, shops, and a museum. Today the most notable tenant of Marathon Village is Antique Archaeology of American Pickers fame. The Marathon Motor Works building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1996. The Marathon Motor Works building is another great example of historic preservation at its finest. At Moore Historical Consulting my #1 priority is historic preservation. Do you own an historic home, commercial building, or farm? If so contact me today to learn more about the historic preservation strategies I offer. These include nominations to the National Register of Historic Places, nominations for a Permanent Conservation Easement, and nominations to the Century Farms program. At Moore Historical Consulting I make exploring and preserving your past fun and easy.

An early advertisement for a Marathon Motor Company dealership in Indianapolis.

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Glen Leven Farm

Glen Leven is located approximately four miles south of Downtown Nashville and remains a working farm owned by the Land Trust for Tennessee. The land that comprises the home and farm was part of a 640 acre land grant awarded to Thomas Thompson. Thompson was one of Nashville's earliest settlers and was a signer of the Cumberland Compact. His first dwelling was a block house, and then a log cabin. Following his father's death Thompson's son John purchased an additional 950 acres of land, and in 1857 he constructed the present home. The home was constructed in the popular Greek Revival architectural style. The brick used in the home's construction was manufactured by Thompson family slaves. During the Battle of Nashville Glen Leven served as a field hospital for Union soldiers. The home and farm also served as the dividing line between Union and Confederate lines, with Thompson providing supplies to both sides. Glen Leven is considered by historians to be the best preserved Battle of Nashville site. According to Thompson family lore, John Thompson's wife Mary was standing in the gardens behind the house when a Union soldier came riding in. The soldier began to yell orders at her, but she ignored him. He then pulled his pistol and fired it at her. She refused to move and luckily the bullet missed. Following the war Mary Thompson devoted much attention to restoring Glen Leven's gardens. She had unique species of flowers and trees shipped in from all over the world, with Holland being where most of these plants came from. It took many years to reconstruct the gardens from what they had been before due to soldiers on both sides walking through them. The farm continued on as one of the state's major producers of wheat cotton, tobacco, cattle hogs, chickens, and various types of fruits and vegetables. When John Thompson's son John Thompson Jr, inherited Glen Leven he raised shorthorn cattle and horses. John Jr would go on to become a state senator and Tennessee's commissioner of Agriculture. When John Thompson Jr passed in 1919 the farm was divided between his five children. Three of those five children lived at Glen Leven until 1968. In 1968 the farm and home were sold out of the family to record producer Shelby Singleton. In 1971 Susan West, the great-great-great granddaughter of original settler Thomas Thompson, bought the home and farm back. West and her husband lived at Glen Leven until her death in 2006. From 2006 to 2012 the home and farm sat in a dilapidated state. Since West had put a stipulation in her will that the home and farm were to be left to the Land Trust for Tennessee, Glen Leven now has a Permanent Conservation Easement. In 2008 Glen Leven was nominated and subsequently accepted into the National Register of Historic Places. Today the home has been restored and is used for a variety of historical and agri-tourism purposes. Glen Leven and its surrounding sixty-five acres remains how it began, as a working farm. Glen Leven is a wonderful example of historic preservation at its finest. At Moore Historical Consulting my #1 priority is historic preservation. Do you own a historic home, commercial building, or farm? If so contact me today to learn more about the historic preservation strategies I offer. These include nominations to the National Register of Historic Places, nominations for a Permanent Conservation Easement, and nominations to the Century Farms program. At Moore Historical Consulting I make exploring and preserving your past fun and easy.

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Great Falls Cotton Mill

Located within the boundaries of Rock Island State Park, the Great Falls Cotton Mill was once home to major industry in the Upper Cumberland. Asa Faulkner is widely considered by historians as "the nestor of all Warren County's manufacturing interests." Faulkner came to Warren County in 1830, and immediately began to use the waterways to make money. He built his first grist mill on Hickory Creek. By the time Faulkner died in 1886, he owned and operated five mills, two cotton gins, and two wool carding machines. His greatest dream was to construct a large three story cotton mill. He spent the last few years of his life acquiring property on which to construct this mill. His son Clay, and business partners Jesse and H.L. Walling made sure that Faulkner's cotton mill plan was carried out. In 1892 the large three story brick building was constructed. The building was one of the largest of its kind measuring out at 23,000 square feet. The location of the building was strategically placed near the Caney Fork River. The river along with the addition of the railroad made transporting cotton very easy. At the peak of the mill's operation 4,000 sheets of cotton were produced per day. The mill employed a large number of people. Due to this fact, a town was set up. This town, known as "Fall City," was designed to house mill workers. Fall City saved workers time traveling north from McMinnville or south from Sparta. The city was home to a post office, general store, and saw and grist mill. The heartbeat of the community was the Cotton Mill. In July 1902 tragedy struck the Fall City community, when a flood came. The flood caused the Caney Fork and Collins Rivers to rise rapidly. According to accounts, Faulkner and several of his employees were trapped inside the Mill. Faulkner had been trying to rescue his employees but had gotten trapped. Citizens of McMinnville tried to come to the rescue, but the Bybee Branch had become a "roaring torrent" therefore making it impossible to reach Fall City. The Cotton Mill survived with only its mill wheel being destroyed. The same could not be said of Fall City, as it was all but washed away. Faulkner and the Wallings had had enough however and decided to sell the mill. The Tennessee Power Company eventually purchased the mill in 1912. Following the creation of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal program, the Tennessee Valley Authority was created. They acquired the old mill in 1930. In 1973 the mill was leased to the Tennessee State Parks service. It now a part of the Rock Island State Park. Sadly the Great Falls Cotton Mill has been used only for storage since its permanent closure in 1902. In 1982 the building was entered into the National Register of Historic Places. According to its National Register nomination plans had been set in place to study the building for potential uses. Among the possibly uses mentioned were a restaurant, cotton mill museum, and lodge. Sadly the results, and status of this study are unknown. The Great Falls Mill is one of the most endangered historic sites in the state of Tennessee. The Great Falls Mill is one of the best examples of an historic site that needs help. At Moore Historical Consulting I am 100% committed to historic preservation. Our historic sites do not deserve the same fate as the Great Falls Mill. Contact me today to learn more about the historic preservation strategies I offer.

The Great Falls Mill in its heyday.

Be sure to come back next week for another Throwback Thursday presented by Moore Historical Consulting. Whether your need is genealogy, business history, historic litigation, historic preservation, or anything in between, contact me today and put me to work for you. At Moore Historical Consulting I make exploring your past fun and easy!! 

Dixona

The historic Dixona home was constructed in 1789 by Tilman Dixon. Dixon had received a 3,840 acre land grant in present day Smith County, Tennessee in return for his service in the Revolutionary War. Dixon constructed his home to the north of what is now Carthage in the community of Dixon Springs. Dixon is considered one of the Upper Cumberland's first settlers. He fought at the Battle of King's Mountain and was also a member of the Society of the Cincinnati. Upon arrival in present day Smith County, Dixon became the first post master, magistrate, and tavern keeper in the area. The first Smith County court met at Dixona in 1799. It was at this court meeting that Smith County was established. Dixona's location along the Walton Road made it a popular stop over for travelers. Among notable guests to spend the night included Territorial Governor William Blount, and Duke of Orleans and later King of France Louis Philippe. According to the Duke's diary he recorded that he "had at Major Dixon's the luxury of coffee and two beds for four." Dixona has the distinction of being the oldest extant home in the Upper Cumberland. The nearby Cowen and Maddux homes were not built for another ten years, Jackson County's Carver home was not built until 1850, and Putnam County's White Plains was not constructed until 1858. Dixona, like most historic homes has seen its fair share of improvements over the years, but each renovation has preserved Dixon's original design. The original construction was simply a log cabin featuring eight rooms. Sometime prior to the Civil War Italianate style "wings" were added to either side of the original log cabin. These wings are connected by a Greek Revival style porch. Inside the original logs are visible, along with the ceiling joists and wrought iron door hinges. The two stone chimneys from 1789 are still extant as well as two from the mid 1800s renovation. When Tilman Dixon passed away in 1816 he was buried on the property. In 1973 Dixona was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 2007 Dixona was awarded a permanent conservation easement by the Land Trust of Tennessee. The home and remaining acreage is currently privately owned. Dixona is another great example of historic preservation at its finest. At Moore Historical Consulting I am 100% committed to historic preservation. Do you own an historic home or commercial building that meets the criteria of the National Register of Historic Places? If you answered yes then contact Moore Historical Consulting today to learn more and get started.

Be sure to come back next week for another Throwback Thursday courtesy of Moore Historical Consulting. Whether your need is heritage management, historic litigation, or historic preservation let Moore Historical Consulting work for you. At Moore Historical Consulting I make exploring your past fun and easy!!