Visitors and a Series of History Related Tours (#3)

One more day with our friends Gary and Belinda…and yet another day of history!  But first a bit of a diversion via scenic backroads.

I do believe that we have taken anyone who has visited us, (and who has spent at least one night at our house), to Bald River Falls in the Smoky Mountains.  A paved road crosses the Bald River via a bridge just below the falls themselves, making the scene available to anyone and everyone.  It wasn’t too crowded on the day we visited but a few folks were in the water below the falls.  For the record, Bald River Falls are located in the Cherokee National Forest in Monroe County Tennessee.

Of course, we did have to take photos commemorating the visit…this one of Belinda and Gary.

Since Gary and I are not only friends but also high school classmates, we had to take a photo for the archives…

The Charles Hall Museum and Heritage Center, with its 2 buildings and Gift Shops, is located adjacent to the Cherohala Skyway Visitor Center in Tellico Plains Tennessee.  I’m guessing that many just drive by the museum as they may think that it’s just a ‘come-on” or ploy to bring folks into the gift shops… Actually, the gift shops are secondary to the museum but they do help fund them.

The Charles Hall museum opened in 2003 with the goal of preserving regional history while specifically emphasizing the scenic Tellico Plains area.  A local historian since boyhood, Charles was born in Tellico Plains in 1924.  His mother’s family settled in the area back in 1830 and his father’s family moved here in 1908.  Among several other public service positions, Charles served as mayor for 31 years.

While it’s certainly not all about firearms, the display of guns at the museum is quite impressive.  The collection includes over 330 historical firearms, a 450 year old matchlock musket, a 1776 Brown Bell musket, an 1824 Harpers Ferry rifle, a British Sten gun and both 30 caliber and 50 caliber machine guns.

The weapon displayed in the second photo is a Lanchester 9mm Submachine gun with a bayonet mount.  It is a British copy of a German Maschinen Pistole 28 (MP-28) produced during World War II.  The Lanchester version was primarily used by the British Navy until 1970.

Sorry about the quality of the photos.  The museum has enclosed many if not most of its artifacts under plexi-glass.  Since visitors are on their own here, with no guides or guards, this method of securing the displays is the most effective and efficient. 

The first photo shows the evolution of music from old time Victrola’s down through the first transistor radios and a Sony Walkman.  Note the record player used for 45 records. 

The second photo shows just a couple of the old fashioned record players installed in their own cabinets…when we had records…and when they were an important piece of the household’s furniture. 

Included in related displays are the first 1887 Edison phonographs, Victor Talking Machines…and the first television in Tellico Plains.  It was a 1950 Zenith “Kilmer” TV, Radio and Phonograph all included in one cabinet.  The TV screen measured 165 square inches (roughly 10” by 16”) and it was ‘reflection-proof’.  

Then there is this wall of typewriters!  There are many more typewriters in the collection than this photo shows.  Many youngsters today may not even know what a typewriter is…

Other items included in the first building include Native American tools, projectile points, beads, jewelry, pottery and more.  Add in antique coins and paper currency ranging from a half cent on up to a $10,000 gold certificate.  Antique tools, cross cut saws, 1800’s pig irons from the long departed Tellico Iron Works, local historic photos, documents and maps, the first bank safe and deposit coins from Tellico Plains and a large collection of early musical instruments…including a Melodian, a Ukelin, and a 6-sided harmonica.

This Dalton Adding Machine was the computer/calculator of its time!  It was first introduced in 1902 with most of them being built in Missouri.  In 1915 these adding machines were priced between $125 and $150 each.  In today’s dollars that would be from $3,362 to 4,035 each!  In 1919 Dalton’s ads stated that the US Government had 4,000 of these units in use… The company was eventually folded in the Remington-Rand Corporation.

As the road system and communications expanded, the demands for service vehicles grew exponentially.  Ford Motor Company came to the rescue with its inexpensive Model-T body frame that could be adapted to meet many needs of the time.  This former Ford Model-T repair truck belonged to the Southern Bell Telephone Company for many years.  It’s equipped with a 4-cylinder 20 Horse Power motor!

One of the first things you see upon entering the 2^nd building of the museum, is a big wall of old time phones.  There are over400 of them!  Even if an old phone is equipped with a dial, young folk today have a tough time figuring out how to use the phone.  I can’t imagine how confused and confounded they’d be if asked to complete a call on this style phone!  This particular phone was built no later than 1903…that’s 128 years ago.

Note: As late as 1920 only 35% of American homes had a telephone.

Other phone related items on display in this second building include over 800 unique telephone insulators, 16 old manual switchboards, a cross-section of an underground cable vault, the last electromechanical dial switching station used in Tennessee, 4 antique telephone booths and about 500 antique telephone tools and test equipment. 

This was one of the motorcycles on display.  It’s a 1969 Harley-Davidson Electra Glide Police Special…the model is referred to as a ‘shovel-head’.  Formerly used by a police department in Alabama, this motorcycle’s last long trip was to Washington D.C. in “Rolling Thunder’s” Ride to the Wall.

I love old cars and that love was rewarded by this restored 1934 Plymouth Mayflower that was on display.  The hood ornament is very cool...a sailing ship leading the way!  I couldn't find one for sale on line...

Beyond what I've shown or discussed there was still so much more to look at!  This is a complete local moonshine still, lots of old tools including logging tools, log tongs, saws and blacksmithing tools… Early Appalachian homesteading artifacts include washing machines, stoves, pots, treadle sewing machines, corn grinders, a weaver’s loom and spinning wheels.

The displays continued with a USFS Fire Finder, a 1906 permanent wave machine, 1960s grinding stones from a local mill, a flip treadle dentist drill and an antique railroad inspection/repair cart from Madisonville TN.

This little museum is packed with interesting artifacts and lots of history.  It never fails to amaze me what one person can accomplish… The Charles Hall Museum and Heritage Center is located at 229 Cherohala Skyway in Tellico Plains Tennessee.  From March through December, they are open 7 days a week from 10 AM until 5 PM.  In January and February they are open on Friday, Saturday and Sundays only from 10 AM until 5 PM.  Phone: 423-253-8000.  Website: https://www.charleshallmuseum.com/. 

Did I mention that admission to the museum is Free?!  They will of course accept donations but they don’t push for them.  As I mentioned in the beginning, the gift shops help support the museum.

So…Gary and Belinda headed west…back to the wilds of southern Arizona.  We had a great time visiting…and complaining about the aging process!

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave