Fort Southwest Point – Kingston Tennessee

While Dawn Marie was in town visiting us, I decided to go for a drive one day…with the goal of locating and photographing historic landmarks or places along the way.  I’d worked out a relatively short route over to Kingston, then Rockwood and Harriman Tennessee.

Our first stop was just south of Kingston off of TN Hwy. 58…

Laurie and I had driven this road several times over the last few years but we’d never stopped to explore this site.  Fort Southwest Point is an historical reproduction that sits on 30 acres that are owned and operated by the City of Kingston.  The site itself is called Southwest Point Park.  This attractive visitor’s center greets those who stop by to learn about the Fort…

Our photos of the interior of the Visitor’s Center didn’t come out too well.  Historic items cover the walls and fill several showcases.  This photo just covers one little corner of the exhibit area.  Note the pottery, furs, manikins dressed in Cherokee garb…and the huge collection of stone tools, spearheads and arrowheads.

There also are a few taxidermy mounts, some old time tools and implements plus artifacts recovered from the site of the Fort itself.  In addition, there is a scale model of the original fort.  It provides visitors with a past and future look at this fort… The staff was very helpful and informative…and they encouraged us to watch a short film about Fort Southwest Point before we went up to the Fort itself. Very interesting.

This is the view of Fort Southwest Point from the base of the hill near the Visitor’s Center.  This is the only fort in Tennessee that is being reconstructed on its original foundation.  Currently, the completed sections of the fort include a barracks (left), the blockhouse in the center, 250 feet of palisade walls and some ancillary structures.

Fort Southwest Point was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972…

This is the view from the fort looking out over Watts Bar Lake.  The construction of the Watts Bar Dam on the Tennessee River back in 1942 caused the formation of this lake/impoundment.  Back in the late 1700’s when the fort was built, the river bottom was far below the level of today’s lake…and the fort on this hill dominated the area and it provided great sight-lines for the soldiers stationed here…

Isn’t this little chapel beautiful?  It sits on the hillside just below the fort overlooking Watts Bar Lake.  Apparently, there was some evidence that there may have been a chapel near or in the fort… In any case, one of the Kingston park employees told us that he’d built it.  He was proud of his accomplishment…and he should be too!  I suspect that it can be rented for weddings…but I couldn’t find anything about it on the Internet.

Once inside the stockade walls, we approached the back of the blacksmith’s and tack shop with the barracks in the upper left of the photo.

Constructed in 1797 and garrisoned by federal soldiers until 1811, the fort served as a major point of interaction between the Cherokee and the US government as well as a way station for early migrants travelling between Knoxville and Nashville.

Although there are no records and few contemporary descriptions pertaining to the fort's design and structure, archaeological excavations conducted in the 1970s and 1980s have determined the fort's layout.

 

Historical Footnote:

·       In 1803, 8 soldiers from Fort Southwest Point were recruited to accompany Lewis and Clark on their expedition to the Northwest and the Pacific Ocean.  Only 4 of the recruits qualified for the mission.

This photo is of the inside of the blacksmith’s shop.  The tack shop is right next door. 

The early records regarding the fort's construction were destroyed in a fire but historians have determined that the fort was completed by federal troops under the command of Captain John Wade and Captain Richard Sparks in July 1797.  The fort was originally referred to as "Fort Butler" after Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Butler (commander of federal forces in East Tennessee), but the name had been changed to "Fort Southwest Point" by 1798.

Based on the map of the fort, we believe that this is a second barracks under construction…

Lieutenant-Colonel Butler moved his headquarters to Fort Southwest Point in 1799, when nine companies (7 infantry, 1 artillery, and 1 dragoon) totaling roughly 400-500 troops were garrisoned at the fort.  Around the same time, nearby lots had been sold for what eventually became the city of Kingston.  It was named for Major Robert King, an officer stationed at the fort.

This shelter with an old time outdoor oven is just one more feature of the fort.  When special events are staged at the fort, history comes to life with interpreters dressed in period costumes. 

Historical Footnote:

·       One might assume that the primary mission for the fort and its garrison was to protect settlers.  Actually at first it was more to provide escort service across Cherokee territory.  A prime portion of the mission was to ensure that travelers did not illegally settle on Cherokee owned lands.  In addition, the troops began to further protect Cherokee rights by forcibly removing white settlers who had illegally settled on Cherokee lands.  Much to the sorrow of the Cherokee, that mission for the troops didn’t last long…

This is a frontal view of the tack shop (left) and the blacksmith shop (right) with the palisade walls in the background.

Historical Footnotes:

·       Fort Southwest Point was Roane County Tennessee’s first post office.

·       The first Indian School was located at the fort.  In the late eighteenth century, reformers starting with Washington and Knox, in efforts to "civilize" or otherwise assimilate Native Americans (as opposed to relegating them to reservations), adopted the practice of educating native children in current American culture, which was at the time largely based on rural agriculture, with some small towns and few large cities. 

·       In 1801, Fort Southwest Point’s importance increased when the roles of Agent of the War Department for Tennessee and Cherokee Indian Agent were combined with Fort Southwest Point being chosen as headquarters for this dual function.  Colonel Return Jonathan Meigs was chosen for this important role.  By all accounts he was a fair-minded man, who took his responsibilities seriously.  In response to the Cherokee’s complaint that their annuity for the lands they seceded had been paid in relatively useless luxury goods, Meigs ensured the payments took the form of tools, livestock and goods to help their economic situation. 

Fort Southwest Point is located at 1226 S Kentucky Street, (TN Hwy 58), in Kingston Tennessee.  Phone: 865-376-6584.  The fort’s website can be found at http://www.southwestpoint.com/.

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for a short history lesson!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave 

Market Square and Old City – Knoxville Tennessee

While Dawn Marie was visiting us in September, we decided to explore downtown Knoxville, focusing especially on Market Square, and the longtime social nexus of the city.  Of course, a nice lunch was part of the plan…but that will be the subject of a subsequent posting…

  

These photos were taken from one end of Market Square… The square is lined with restaurants, music venues and shops.  There is also a water play park for children.  The fact that parking is free after 6 p.m. at the 3 nearby city-owned Market Square, State Street and Locust Street garages is a real plus.

Market Square gets its name from the Market House that once stood in the center of the square.  Farmers from Knoxville’s surrounding areas would bring their wagons into the Market House to sell their wares.  The southern end of the square holds the bell from the old Market House and also features a statue commemorating Tennessee's role in the fight for women's suffrage. 

It’s significant to note that TripAdvisor.com ranks Market Square as the second best attraction in Knoxville!  1,720 reviews rank the square as Excellent or Very Good vs. 18 rating it as Poor or Terrible.  Only the Tennessee Theatre is ranked higher than Market Square!

The northern end of Market Square is anchored by these 2 restaurants…but these 2 are only a sample of the variety on the square itself or within a radius of 3 or 4 blocks.  Although we haven’t eaten at either location, for your convenience websites for these 2 dining options can be found at http://www.markethousecafe.com/sample-page/ and at   http://www.bluecoastgrill.com/.  However, the restaurant that we chose for lunch is located at the south end of the square.

The entire Market Square area serves as an important venue for various activities, special events and live entertainment.  Featured events include the Concerts on the Square series, Shakespeare on the Square and, in the appropriate seasons, a huge Farmer’s Market and Ice Skating on the Square.

The Market Square Farmer’s Market is a project of Nourish Knoxville.  The open-air farmers’ market is a “producer only market”, with all products being made, grown or raised by our vendors all within a 150 mile radius of the market.  Products vary by the season and include ornamental plants, vegetable and herb starts, produce, dairy, eggs, honey, meats, baked goods, jams/jellies, coffee, and artisan crafts.

This covered concrete and brick platform at the south end of the square is actually the stage that’s used for plays, music offerings and other presentations. 

This past weekend, Market Square was transformed into a free outdoor movie theater.  In addition, during the day on Saturday the Farmer’s Market was offering fall season produce and many other items.  At the same time, the square was the center of HOLA, a celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month…    

Laurie and I took turns taking photos of each other with Dawn Marie at the foot of the Tennessee Women’s Suffrage Memorial.  Note the fierce look projected by the ladies!

This life-size, bronze statue featuring three Tennessee suffragists was completed in 2006.  It features Lizzie Crozier French of Knoxville, Anne Dallas Dudley of Nashville, and Elizabeth Avery Meriwether of Memphis. 

Focusing on the Knoxville member of the trio, Margaret Elizabeth "Lizzie" Crozier French (1851 – 1926) was an American educator, women's suffragist and social reform activist.  Among other accomplishments, she was one of the primary leaders in the push for women's rights in Tennessee in the early 1900s, and helped the state become the 36th state to certify the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution, which gave women the right to vote, in 1920.  Tennessee’s ratification put the amendment over the top to become the law of the land!

To learn more about these Tennessee women's suffrage pioneers, go to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lizzie_Crozier_French, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Dallas_Dudley, and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Avery_Meriwether.

Located at the south end of Market Square, Krutch Park brings a little bit of nature to the downtown Knoxville’s landscape!  Winding walking trails take visitors past a small cascading waterfall, a gentle stream, gardens, art sculptures and benches where you can just relax. 

Art in Public Places is an annual exhibition featuring large-scale sculptures that are displayed in Knoxville’s downtown public spaces as well as at McGhee Tyson Airport and in Oak Ridge Tennessee.  Every year new sculptures are chosen for display…

Laurie took this photo of a happy Dawn Marie in Krutch Park… 

As we wandered along beyond Market Square itself, we stopped into this little coffee and chocolate shop.  Unfortunately we were too full to partake of any of this luscious looking chocolate…but Dawn Marie did pick up a cup of coffee.  We will have to re-visit this little nook of comfort!

Cleverly, this coffee and chocolate shop has been named “Coffee and Chocolate”!  Website: http://www.coffeeandchocolate.com/.

The first building that I noticed as we came out to Gay Street was the Riviera Theater.  It looks like it might be old…but then again it looks a bit too ‘clean’ to be old. 

As it turns out, the original Riviera Theatre was opened here in 1920. It was operated by Paramount Pictures Inc., but it was closed in 1976 and then demolished in 1988.  This ‘new’ Regal Riviera Stadium 8 was built on the original site, opening in August 2007.  The fact that a downtown 8-screen movie theater exists is proof that people are moving downtown and that the center of Knoxville is alive!

Just down Gay Street from the Riviera Theater is the Number #1 TripAdvisor.com attraction in Knoxville…the Tennessee Theatre. 

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places and honored as the Official State Theatre of Tennessee, "Knoxville's Grand Entertainment Palace" reopened in 2005 after a $25.5 million restoration process.  With its magnificent architecture and stunning décor, the Tennessee Theatre offers visitors the rare opportunity to step back in time.  The original opening day for the Theatre was on October 1, 1928.  I’m embarrassed to admit that after living in the area for more than 7 years, we still haven’t made our pilgrimage to the Tennessee Theater.  

With acts as varied as Bonnie Raitt, ZZ Top, Bob Dylan and the Moscow Ballet, the Tennessee Theatre is on our ‘bucket list!

This is a partial street view north up Gay Street.  The Theaters are both south on Gay Street from where we walked over from the south end of Market Square.  With its restaurants and shops, Gay Street is an integral part of what’s happening in downtown Knoxville. 

Since its development in the 1790s, Gay Street has served as the Knoxville’s principal financial and commercial thoroughfare, and has played a primary role in the city's historical and cultural development.  The street contains Knoxville's largest office buildings and oldest commercial structures. Several buildings on the street are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  To learn more about the interesting history of Gay Street, you can go to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gay_Street_(Knoxville).

The Skybox Bar and Grill on Gay Street is pure Knoxville!  This is a hangout for ‘Vols’ fans… If you live anywhere in East Tennessee, you are a University of Tennessee Volunteer’s sports fan.  Especially during football and basketball season, Vols fans are everywhere and our local newscasts are full of team news and projections.  A losing season or even the loss of a big game casts a pall over the city…especially if the teams are beaten by a Southeastern Conference rival!  

Skybox Bar and Grill’s website is at http://www.skyboxknox.com/.

How many cities have a wall painting honoring a famous moonshiner?!!  In Artist Alley just east of Market Square before Gay Street, there is an alleyway full of different wall paintings or murals.  Popcorn Sutton’s tribute was close to the entrance to the alley.  To see other wall art in the alley, go to http://insideofknoxville.com/tag/artist-alley-revamp-project/.  

Marvin "Popcorn" Sutton, (1946 – 2009) was an American Appalachian moonshiner who was born in Maggie Valley, North Carolina and was raised, lived and died in the rural areas around Maggie Valley and nearby Cocke County, Tennessee.  He wrote a self-published autobiographical guide to moonshining production, self-produced a home video depicting his moonshining activities, and was later the subject of several documentaries, including one that received a Regional Emmy Award.

Sutton committed suicide in 2009 rather than report to federal prison after being convicted of offenses related to moonshining and illegal firearm possession.  Since his death, a new company and an associated whiskey brand have been named after him.  To learn more, go to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Popcorn_Sutton.

From Market Square and Gay Street, we drove over to and through Knoxville’s Old City area.  Like downtown, it is burgeoning with activity with shops, restaurants, galleries and the like popping up everywhere.  The ‘Old City’ is located at the northeast corner of the city's downtown area.

Originally this neighborhood was part of a raucous and vice-ridden section of town known as "The Bowery."  The Old City is not the oldest section of Knoxville...but was given that name in recent history.  Most of the neighborhood was not part of Knoxville until the 1850s, when the arrival of the railroad encouraged the city to annex the area. 

This is the former Patrick Sullivan’s Saloon in the Old City area.  Patrick Sullivan, who lived in this building with his family, converted it to a saloon in 1888 after the family moved out.  At the time, Sullivan’s Saloon was an anchor of a saloon district called the Bowery, which included as many as 20 saloons along a half-mile stretch of Central.  The area catered mostly to travelers and working-class men.  

The saloon operated from 1888 until 1907, when the city banned saloons. After that, the building hosted other businesses, including a boarding house, a bordello, an upholstery business, and most notably Armetta’s Ice Cream, which flourished here in the 1920s and ‘30s.  The building was once again reborn as Sullivan’s Saloon on St. Patrick’s Day 1988.  That operation has since closed down. 

This classic old building has been refurbished and it’s now The Lonesome Dove Western Bistro, an upscale restaurant serving gourmet cuisine to include a variety of wild game, steaks, seafood, etc.  Website: http://lonesomedoveknoxville.com/.

One more photo of a couple of buildings in the old town area… It’s hard to visualize now but by the early 1900s, Central Street was lined with saloons and brothels.  Violent crime and prostitution continued to be a problem into the 1960s and that caused many of the neighborhood's businesses to flee the area.  Today many buildings are being refurbished and converted into businesses, apartments and lofts…

In 1985, most of the Old City neighborhood's historic buildings were listed on the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Southern Terminal and Warehouse Historic District.  Website: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Terminal,_Knoxville,_Tennessee.

Here is one last photo of an iconic Knoxville landmark…the Sunsphere.   Laurie took this picture as we headed out of downtown via a short detour through World’s Fair Park.  The Sunsphere was constructed for Knoxville’s 1982 World's Fair and during that time, it served as the symbol for the Fair. The Sunsphere was also home to a full service restaurant and an Observation Deck, the latter still being open to the public today. 

FYI… The 1982 World's Fair was formally known as the Knoxville International Energy Exposition; with the theme of the fair being "Energy Turns the World."  The Fair opened on May 1, 1982 and closed on October 31, 1982…after receiving over 11 million visitors!  To learn more about the Fair, go to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1982_World%27s_Fair.

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

If you’ve actually read all the way through this long posting, congratulations!  Thanks for stopping by and learning a bit about Knoxville!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

A Boat Ride to Dinner…

What a great way to spend an evening!  Dawn Marie came up from Miami and was visiting us for almost a week.  Our friends Charlie and Karen invited us to go out on their boat for a ride over to a local restaurant for dinner.

Here we are pulling away from the dock at Karen and Charlie’s home on Tellico Lake.  From the left: Charlie, Karen, Dawn Marie and my better half, Laurie.  It was a beautiful sunny day!

Although Tellico Lake has numerous developments along the shoreline, the northeast side of the lake is mostly wooded and pristine.  The lake is really a dam impoundment formed by Tellico Dam and connected directly to Fort Loudoun Lake and its hydroelectric dam.

Along the way to the restaurant, we passed a ‘raft off’, a situation where a number of boats/houseboats anchor and tie off together for swimming and/or a party.  It’s a common sight on Tellico Lake in the summer and early fall.

The bridge in the photo above carries US Hwy. 321 over the channel that links Tellico Lake to Fort Loudon Lake.  Between the 2 lakes, boaters can explore over 700 miles of shoreline!

The construction equipment on the bridge is part of a major construction project on the highway that will result in US 321 being redirected over a new 4-lane bridge that will cross the Tennessee River below the Fort Loudoun Dam as well as over a second 2-land span over this channel.  US 321 is a direct gateway from I-75 through Lenoir City Tennessee to Smoky Mountain National Park.

As we eased into the Fort Loudon Marina in Lenoir City Tennessee, we passed a number of larger boats including this rather spectacular houseboat, the “Little Palm”.  We were told that this houseboat was featured on a TV presentation about luxury houseboats.  To check out what life could be like on a very upscale houseboat, you can view photos at: http://us.houseboatky.com/cgi-bin/md/M10019/s12.pl.

Another huge houseboat at the marina was pointedly named “His Idea”.  I believe there might be a story involved…or at least there was a dubious spouse who questioned someone’s judgment.  Unfortunately, my photo of the houseboat was too dark to publish.

While there are hundreds of boats and houseboats moored at the marina, there were a few easily viewed watercraft that really stood out.  Keep in mind that not only are there miles and miles of waterways just in these 2 adjoining lakes, but an intrepid boat or yacht owner can go from Knoxville to New Orleans if they are so inclined!

This was our destination for dinner.  This is Calhoun’s at the Marina in Lenoir City Tennessee.  Note the outdoor dining to the left of the photo.  Charlie pulled up and moored right next to those other boats.

   

This is an aerial photo of the Fort Loudon Marina in Lenoir City Tennessee.  The Fort Loudon Dam is at the right of the photo with the old/current 2-lane bridge that crosses over the top of the dam.  Fort Loudon Lake is in the foreground and tellico Lake is at the upper right beyond the bridge at the upper right center of the photo.  Calhoun's Restaurant at the Marina is located on the shore almost at the dead center of the picture.  

To learn more about the Fort Loudon Marina and the services offered, you can go to http://www.fortloudonmarina.com/.

Calhoun’s at the Marina is a large restaurant.  However, we opted to eat in the cozier bar area.  It has that ‘north woods’ rustic pine feeling that we like...

There are 9 Calhoun’s locations in East Tennessee.  Calhoun’s is part of the Copper Cellar Restaurant Group.  Other restaurants in the group include Smoky Mountain Brewery, Cherokee Grill, Cappuccino’s, Chesapeake’s and of course, Copper Cellar Restaurants.  To learn more about this restaurant group, go to http://copperfoods.com/.

FYI…This was our view of the marina from our table.  Even though it was after Labor Day, it was a Friday and it was still quite warm out so we had a bit of boat traffic to view as we dined.

Our waitress started us out with this basket of garlic buns and corn bread muffins.  The garlic buns were very nice and the corn muffins were better than average…

Karen ordered the Chicken Teriyaki Dinner, one of her favorites. ($13.00)  The chicken was basted with teriyaki sauce.  Normally it’s served over rice but Karen ordered hers with a baked potato.

I went for the 10 oz. version of the “Ale” Steak Sirloin. ($18.95) This steak was marinated in olive oil, mustard, garlic and Calhoun’s Cherokee Red Ale.  Before serving it was topped with Worcestershire butter.  The steak was very flavorful and tender.  In addition, it was cooked medium rare as I’d requested!  My 2 sides were just fine.

Dawn Marie decided that she’d order the Southern Fried Salad ($11.00) for dinner…with a side of Macaroni and Cheese. ($3.00) There was plenty of fried chicken, bacon, egg and cheese on her salad and she liked the mac ‘n cheese. 

Dawn Marie pulled a ‘sneak attack’ on Charlie and me… When she excused herself to visit the restroom, she’d cornered the waitress and told her that she wanted the bill after dinner.  Thanks Dawn!  Talk about an enjoyable dinner…!

Charlie went for the more modest 7 oz. “Ale” Steak Sirloin and he chose rice for one of his sides. ($14.95) He had corn pudding as his second side and he really liked it.  His steak was also cooked properly and he enjoyed it very much…

Laurie decided that she’d go for the Prime Rib Sandwich. ($16.75) Her sandwich was served on a toasted bun and it was served with au jus and horseradish sauce.  For a side she chose the Spinach Maria.  She really liked her sandwich and her spinach side dish! (Note: The Prime Rib Sandwich is available only on Friday and Saturday)

In conclusion, we were a happy bunch of boaters!  Service was just fine and the food was very nice…certainly above average.  I will note that Calhoun’s is ‘known’ for its BBQ.  However BBQ comes in many different styles and everyone has their favorites.  No one in our group cares for Calhoun’s BBQ but we were happy to find entrees that we could enjoy…

Calhoun’s by the Marina is located at 4550 City Park Drive in Lenoir City Tennessee.  Phone: 865-988-9838.   The specific website for this Calhoun’s location is at http://calhouns.com/loudon-4/.

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for joining us for a boat ride and dinner.  When we got back to Karen and Charlie’s we played a rousing and highly competitive game of Mexican Train Dominoes… A good time was had by all!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave