Dickson Community

Side-line experts, we often complain when local politics and programs seem to run amuck. We may mutter at a news story or speak aloud our opposition to a news article, but if someone were to knock on our door and ASK our opinion about how to solve a problem or improve a situation- from the Dept of Education to Social Services, or Judicial to Health Care- could we form a functional opinion? As we sputter out a “well, um, I would, um…”, on the spot, our view may be personal, but would it be informed?

Have you ever wanted to be one of the people on the other end of a news article, giving the solution to a community problem rather than feeling inspired but unheard? Counties, such as Dickson, are always looking for enthusiastic leaders in government and civic organizations. But how do you get involved? Where do you go to learn how various entities operate? Or what if you just want to know more about Dickson County?

Leadership Dickson County is a program offered by the Dickson County Chamber of Commerce, that offers answers and instruction, for inquiring minds, on the issues and operation of Dickson County.

Candidates for the program are selected through an application process, and although the program is tuition based, participants are often sponsored by their employer or local business to participate (there are a few scholarships available).

This is not high school Civics class revisited, this is instruction, activities and events for a total emersion experience of the history and daily operation of our county. Sean Stewart, a graduate of LDC, shared that “Being a part of Leadership Dickson County was a great experience and something I’m really proud I did. By the end of each day I was always really impressed with what I learned and experienced. Leadership Dickson County gives you the opportunity to learn how Dickson runs day to day and meet those who keep it going.”

The ’09-’10 session begins in September, meeting on the 2nd and 12th for activities including personality assessments, skills games, leadership training and a low ropes course. The remainder of the program requires a commitment for one day a month for 8 months with 8 different one day sessions planned . A topic of community interest or issues will be the subject of each session and may include: education, government, health care, social services, history, judicial, skills development, and team projects. There are various field trips, including but not limited to, the County Courthouse as well as the Capital in Nashville and each session is taught or lead by someone in local leadership and may even be LDC alumni. The LDC program concludes in May with a closing session on the 13th and graduation ceremony on the 20th .

David Cole, a local Police Officer and graduate of LDC, confessed that living in Dickson since he was 13 he thought he knew everything there was to know about this county but that LDC “opened his eyes to the inner working of the county.” What really surprised him was learning about tourism in Dickson County. He thought that was going to be the most boring day, but to his surprise it was the most interesting. David ” would highly recommend to anyone in leadership to participate in this community awareness program!”

Become an informed citizen of Dickson County and make a difference in our future.

The application deadline is tentatively July 31st, 2009.
For more information and to download an application: http://www.dicksoncountychamber.com , click on “About the Chamber” and then “Leadership Dickson County”. Or call Pat Reynolds, Director of LDC, 446-2349

Old Spencer Mill is a private recreational facility offering a 4,000 square foot rustic indoor banquet and chuck wagon buffet for weddings, parties, reunions, or business meetings with on-site catering.

Musical entertainment and hayrides are available as well as grounds for camping or scouting activities. Living history programs are also available to show how pioneers accomplished many everyday chores before modern day technology came along. Tours of the old mill are conducted by appointment only.

The mill was originally built by Moses Parker. Moses had received a land grant from James Robertson of Davidson County dated August 27,1808, in payment for six months service in the late regiment. All Moses had at that time were two horses bearing the household goods, a rifle, chopping axe, hand saw, drawing knife, wife and four children. Upon arrival Moses quickly built a cabin, the mill, and “cleared a considerable farm on which he cultivated and raised plenty of provisions for home consumption”. Parker’s Creek was named for Moses after he killed a bear and cut his name in a tree in 1808. A Dickson County land deed dated 1827 refers to “the waters of Parker’s Mill Creek” in its survey. Moses’ daughter, Indiana Territory Parker, and her husband, Daniel Spencer, remained here and raised a family after Moses’ death in 1852.

The earliest documentation establishing the operation as Spencer’s Mill appears just before the Civil War in 1856. The mill was operated by Daniel and Indiana’s son, Samuel Spencer, as a water turbine driven corn and flour mill. The French burr stones which were used to grind corn and wheat for local farmers in this area were bought and shipped for $14.14 from overseas and used as ballasts for weight during the passage across the Atlantic. The mill became the center of the community where everything from rifles to coffins were manufactured. Even the first thresher in the county was constructed here. Spencer’s Mill boasted a wood and blacksmith shop, two stores, a saw mill and a post office. Mail was received semi-weekly in the community from January 18, 1878 until April 14, 1906. By the turn of the century the center of business had shifted to the nearby town of Burns because of railroad access built there during the Civil War.

Some old timers southeast of Burns say that Frank James kept a horse with saddlebags packed for a quick getaway at Spencer’s Mill following the war. Frank and Jesse James lived briefly in this area of Middle Tennessee at Big Bottom Farm on the Tennessee River while running from those that wished to kill them. Jesse went by the name of J.D. Howard but was know by locals as the “Rabbit Man” while Frank went by B.J. Woodson.

By 1919 Samuel’s son, William Spencer, Sr., was forced to sell the mill. Jeff Lampley bought the building and dismantled it. The operation of the mill was restarted ten miles away next to the tracks on Railroad Street in Burns. The mill was rebuilt as a new two-story linear structure, and passed down to his son, Sammy, then to his brother, William, Jr., and finally sold to Jewell J. Richardson. In its new building the mill ran on various power sources, including a steam engine and a diesel generator from the old Burns Electric Department until sometime in 1945. At this time Spencer’s Mill ceased operation sitting dormant and in disrepair for almost 50 years.

Trish and Tim Miller purchased the mill in 1993 and moved it back to the original mill site on Parker’s Creek where a faithful restoration began. In time, the present owners intend to operate the mill once again and preserve this as a local historical area. In the meantime cornmeal is being ground on site by a portable gasoline powered mill and complimentary bags are available – “the best cornmeal in these here parts”.
Donations to help restore Old Spencer Mill are appreciated.

By Jackie Narup

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For more infomation visit www.oldspencermill.com

Thanks to quillus for the use of his photo.

Dickson County was established in 1803 and was the 25th county of Tennessee’s 95 counties. On October 25th, 1803, the Tennessee General Assembly passed a bill creating Dickson County. Our county was formed from parts of Montgomery and Robertson counties. Dickson County was named for William Dickson, a Nashville doctor and statesman who served in Congress at that time. William Dickson was elected to Congress in 1801 and was from Davidson County. William Dickson never lived in Dickson County, but his relatives were involved in the development of our county.

Settlers in the early 1790′s were drawn to this area due to the fertile soil and abundance of natural resources. Large tracts of land were assured to these pioneers for little or no cost by Tennessee land grants. In 1793, the discovery of iron ore provided the foundation for the area’s first industrial development. James Robertson, the “father of middle Tennessee”, purchased land on Barton’s Creek on which the first iron works was built. In 1804, Robertson sold the furnace to Montgomery Bell, who became one of Tennessee’s wealthiest industrialists.

On May 10, 1864, the railroad was completed through Dickson County and the first train passed through, headed to Lucas Harbor on the Tennessee River. Andrew Johnson, the military governor of Tennessee, was a passenger on that train. The completion of the railroad brought about development and growth of other towns in the county, including White Bluff and Burns.

The building of Highway 70, then known as the “Broadway of America” because the highway stretched from San Francisco to New York, and the construction of Interstate 40 have done much to shape Dickson County over the years.

Dickson County has a history rich in industry and farming and continues to thrive today partly because of our forefather who had visions, hopes, and dreams for our communities and paved the way for progress and growth.

By Shirley Ponder

Referenced from The Heritage of Dickson County, Tennessee 1803-2006, County and Community Histories section

Cumberland Presbyterian Church

Religion is a word that almost defies any consensual definition. Most people reflect some of their own religious beliefs, or at least those of their own culture, in defining religion.

Baptist and Presbyterians both claim the first congregations in Tennessee. Dickson County played a pivotal role in the development of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. Most of the early Dickson County settles were from Virginia and Pennsylvania and of Scotch-Irish heritage. They brought with them their religion, which was primarily Presbyterian. The formal practices of Presbyterian religion failed to comfort the hardships experienced by the early pioneers. On February 4, 1810, Samuel King, Finis Ewing, and Ephraim McLean met at the home of Samuel McAdow on Acorn Creek, now in Montgomery Bell State Park, to discuss their conflicts. After a night of prayer they organized the Cumberland Presbytery, the foundation of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church.

Montgomery Bell State Park now has a replica of the home of Rev. Samuel McAdow where he, together with Rev. Finis Ewing and Rev. Samuel King founded the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. In 1953, the Trustees of Clarksville Presbytery, formerly Charlotte Presbytery, delivered the Warranty Deed to the 5 1/2 acres of land of the Birthplace Shrine. In 1956 the reproduction of the home of Reverend Samuel McAdow was constructed. The house was designed by Mr. Wells Awsumb. In 1957, 103 members of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church met at the log house and around fires had fellowship and worship. In 1958 the general assembly of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church authorized 25,000 dollars for a Chapel at the Birthplace Shrine in the Mid Century Advance Program. In 1961 the Board of Missions employed a chaplain to serve in the park and to conduct a worship service at the shrine. In 1965 the Board received 500 dollars to establish a fund for the shrine. Today there are three endowments that provide maintenance funds for the Birthplace Shrine: Birthplace Shrine, Grace J Beasley Birthplace Shrine, P.F. Johnson Memorial Endowment. Currently 1.62 percent of the 43.4 percent of the religious community in Dickson County are Presbyterian.

By Leslie Stamper

All information was gathered form TN Encyclopedia of History and Culture and www.cumberland.org

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This history report and the many more to come were all done by the class members of Leadership Dickson County.

Photo by stevent.andrews

Sylvia Market

Tennessee City, located approximately ten miles west of Dickson, originated during the Civil War in the 1860′s. Initially the area was known as Gillam and had a population of approximately fifty. A railroad was built through Gillam after the war. Routine stops were made which led to the name Gillam Station.

The name change to Tennessee City happened by urges of a northern man known as W.A. Schoenfeld. In 1866, Mr. Schoenfeld came to Gillam with an interest of growth in the area. Purchasing several thousand acres and planning a city with 20,000 lots, he formally requested the postmaster general for the name change. Mr. Schoenfeld believed the new name would draw a significant amount of settlers to the area. That April in 1866, Gillam Station became known as Tennessee City; however, the large growth never happened.

Another history highlight for Tennessee City is the Ruskin Cooperative Association or RCA. In July 1894, Julius Wayland, a Socialist, and a small group of followers purchased 1000 acres of land and formed the association near Tennessee City. RCA was named after John Ruskin a man who politically influenced Mr. Wayland. Due to their unorthodox religious views, they were widely unpopular with the citizens of Tennessee City and Dickson County. Eventually they moved to an area by a large cave near Yellow Creek, which is now known as Ruskin Cave. The colony ended in 1899.

Like many Dickson communities, Sylvia was established by the fruitions of the railroad system. In the 1890′s Sylvia became a prosperous railroad center on the Mineral Branch L & N. So much in fact, it competed with Dickson, White Bluff, and Charlotte to be the county seat.

Sylvia had many town amenities including a post office, livery stable, and many stores all located around the square. The town also had its own school. Initially it had one room but progressed to three classrooms. From 1903 to the early 1930′s three churches were formed: Sylvia Baptist Church, the Methodist Church, and finally the Church of Christ.

Sadly, several stores on the square burned down during the night when one of the owners placed a bucket of hot ashes on the porch. By the 1930′s many rail services stopped including passenger transportation. Sylvia then settled down to become a quiet community.

The Pond community was formerly known as Treswell. The name Pond came about due to an old brick mill that closed down which left huge hole where clay was used to make brick. Eventually the hole formed a pond, known as Hackett’s Pond. Treswell then became known as Pond Community.

Referred to as Rapid City by many railroad employees, Pond also played its part in the development of the railroad system when a local sawmill used to cut lumber into cross-ties. The Pond community also had one of the first hotels in the county. Owned by John R. Smith, it mainly serviced those who were traveling by the railroad. Unfortunately, it burned down in 1921. The railroad still runs through the Pond Community to this day.

By Sean Stewart

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This history report and the many more to come were all done by the class members of Leadership Dickson County.

Thanks to RandayBlaylock for the supplied image of Sylvia Market

David Hamilton came to the Town of White Bluff recently and spoke about what the Chamber of Commerce does and how it effects local business and the economy. We have an audio recording of his talk, which you can find here. Mr. Hamilton covers many talking points including tourism, events, Leadership Dickson County, G.A.M.E., agriculture, business advertising, be local campaign, and more.