David Hall Cabin
After two months of full-timing, we have discovered the downside to RV living - rain! For the past couple of weeks, it has rained on and off, and of course, we only have a motorcycle for our 'get-around'vehicle. We did manage to get to the grocery store without getting soaked, but got caught in a downpour on the way back.
Finally, the forecast said it would be sunny so we took a trip to Clinton, stopping first at the David Hall Cabin. (Notice how we have managed to resist making any puns on this blog about having cabin fever. Log that as a first!).
David and Samuel Hall were twins that fought at King's Mountain in the Revolutionary War. David Hall later built a log cabin in 1799 along the Old Emory Road. Back then, there were two main wagon trails to Nashville, the Walton Road and Old Emory Road (sometimes called Avery Trace).
Old Emory Road was originally part of the Native American Tollunteeskee trail, and was one the the earliest wagon trails that ran through the Tennessee River Valley.
The cabin was connected by a dogtrot to a two-story cabin, which served as both an inn and a tavern. Passengers from the stagecoach to Nashville would stop here for the night.
In 1868, Walter Thomason was born in the cabin. When he was a kid, he would take care of the horses for the stagecoaches.
Walter married Nannie Williams in 1902. He worked for the railroad, so Nannie raised 11 children in the cabin, mostly on her own. You can see Nannie and her family, above.
Libby, one of Walter's great-granddaughters, bought her grandparent's house in the '90s. While removing clapboards, they realized that the house was actually a log cabin. Further research revealed that it was the oldest house in the county.
You can hear Libby talking about her family's cabin and it's history here. Libby and her husband Harry have been working to preserve the cabin and it's contents. They have also saved several other local cabins, by dis-assembling them and moving them to the property.
This is a cabin they rescued from Campbellsville. If you look to the right, you can just see three trees in the background, where the springs are. The family had to haul water from the springs to the cabin.
We arrived just before 10am, and Harry offered to give us a personal tour of all of the cabins. This cabin was originally at Oakridge. When Oakridge was selected by General Grove to be part of the atomic bomb project in WW II, it was moved to Lenoir City.
Eventually, it had to be moved again, so Harry and his son dismantled it and moved it again - piece by piece.
All the cabins are decorated with family heirlooms and donated pieces, mixed with antiques. The table in the middle was Walter and Nannie's and probably dates to the 1920s.
Looking across the dogtrot porch toward the old tavern. The family still has many of the old receipts for the tavern, including how much guests were charged for whiskey and brandy!
The top floor of the inn. Guests slept two to three to a bed, so it was probably a little warmer than it looks 😉
Know before you go: Address 830 Old Edgemoor Ln, Clinton TN
Phone: 865-945-3807
The cabin is still owned by Libby and Harry, so parking is limited to their drive, or you can park down the road at the Valley View United Methodist church, and walk to cabin.
The family generally has two open house events a year, one in June and another one in September, which this year will be on Sept 9 and Sept 10th. We didn't have time to check it out,but the historic Arnold-Hall Cemetery is just around the corner from the cabin.
0 comments:
Post a Comment