Highway Heritage: Adventures in Local History, Newport TN

Goodbye, peaches. Hello, pumpkins. Apples, here all the time, get ready to be remarketed for holiday en tourte. The pies of Fall are on the way. Here is a good way to celebrate and enjoy the season outdoors.
Choose from a variety of pies with lunch at Tucker's on Main Street in downtown Newport, Tennessee and, then, find your way to this 1936 observation tower.


Tucker's is located at 265 Main Street, across from the railroad tracks, in Newport. It was formerly a drug store and built in 1903. The food is excellent and, most importantly, can include pie, chosen from a late summer selection of chocolate, butterscotch, banana split, and a variety of fruit when I was there.

For a unique experience, try to be there when the train passes.

While your pie settles, stroll down the street to see what else you can buy at Newport Dry Goods. I found everything from material by the yard to motor oil.

They have layaway.






Spend the remaining hours of the afternoon appreciating the Fall scenery on your way to the tower.





I suggest dry weather and four wheel drive.







Newport is located along US 70 between Dandridge, Tennessee and Hot Springs, North Carolina (sites of later adventures). From downtown Knoxville, take Magnolia Avenue onto Asheville Highway, US 11/70. Go right onto US 70 at the fork. You will need to turn right before Dandridge to stay on the highway. Visit or pass by Dandridge. Continue on US 70 into Newport.

You will come into town on Broadway, lined with brick buildings of the early and late twentieth century, as you enter. Take a right on McMahan Avenue to the intersection with Main Street. The Pigeon River and railroad are parallel to Main Street. West of town, along the river, is an industrial area. East of town is a Con Agra facility.

Interested in architecture? You can take McMahan Avenue (continuing onto North Street) across the river and make a right turn onto Clifton Heights Road to see an older style residential area. Other older style homes are on the south side of town. Elm Hill, built for a merchant in 1890, is among them. It is visible on the right at the intersection of Broadway and Wall Avenue as you enter town from Knoxville. You will also find the remarkable Newport Grammar School building, built in 1917, on College Street on the south side of town.

History: Early settlement in the Newport area began, roughly north of the current town, with the completion of ferry service across the French Broad River in the early 1780 decade. Soon, the area developed into a flatboat trading center with traffic to New Orleans and the Gulf of Mexico. In 1867; the Cincinnati, Cumberland Gap, and Charleston Railroad built a line along the Pigeon River. Along that line, the current town of Newport, at that time a town known as Clifton, developed. The history of industrial development in Newport includes the A.C. Lawrence Leather Company, beginning in 1895 and becoming the world's largest tannery; the Stokely Brothers Company, beginning in 1898 to can vegetables; and moonshining, big business in Cocke County after prohibition until the 1960 decade.

Statistics: According to 2000 U.S. Census information, the population of Newport was 7,242. The median income of it was $20,539 (in 1999). The density of it was an average of 1337.8 people in each of the 5.41 square miles of the town.

Directions to the Tower

From the corner of Main Street and Mims Avenue, take Mims Avenue to Broadway. Turn left on Broadway.

On Broadway, you will likely notice the Rhea-Mims Hotel on your way to the tower. It was constructed in 1925. It is now being used for senior citizen housing. I was able to visit the common areas without an appointment by talking with one of the residents. A view of the impressive Arts & Crafts interior was worth the effort to be friendly.

You may also notice the Stokely Memorial Library on the way. I found nice librarians with good local history reference material there.

You will surely notice the Con Agra facility on your left as you travel Broadway. The business started by the Stokely brothers is now a division of Con Agra. The small white brick building facing Broadway was the Stokely Brothers Company office.

Cross over the river. Turn right on TN73-W. Turn left onto Sweetwater Road. Turn right onto Halls Top Road. Look for the orange painted rock. Go left of it. The road becomes unpaved soon after it. Near the tower, the unpaved road forks. Stay right at the fork.


http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=Newport,+TN&daddr=Halls+Top+Road,+Newport,+TN&hl=en&geocode=FUHQJAIdNqgK-ynr9R-D1sVbiDGkhsJCYohCJg%3BFemyIwIdPXML-ynbpPWhJttbiDGD1n_vQvzLhg&mra=ls&sll=35.950774,-83.167963&sspn=0.015842,0.038409&ie=UTF8&ll=35.901079,-83.14539&spn=0.031704,0.076818&z=14



Let me know if you go!Next Adventure to Dandridge, Tennessee November 3.
I do not recommend climbing the tower. I did; but I do not recommend it. The first six steps are missing. Apparently, other people do not recommend climbing the tower. For that matter, follow any directions contained in this blog at your own risk.



Resources:

Smoky Mountain Heritage Tour by the Newport/Cocke County Tourism Council Heritage Committee
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newport,_Tennessee
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Del_Rio,_Tennessee
http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/SAFFFacts?_event=Search&geo_id=&_geoContext=&_street=&_county=newport&_cityTown=newport&_state=04000US47&_zip=&_lang=en&_sse=on&pctxt=fph&pgsl=010&show_2003_tab=&redirect=Y
http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/GCTTable?_bm=y&-context=gct&-ds_name=DEC_2000_SF1_U&-mt_name=DEC_2000_SF1_U_GCTPH1_ST7&-CONTEXT=gct&-tree_id=4001&-geo_id=04000US47&-format=ST-7ST-7S&-_lang=en