Imagine a cold crisp evening, the smell of gasoline, and the sound of engines echoing in the mountains. Are you with me? It was a time, when nearly every rural community of East Tennessee and Virginia housed it's very own little racetrack. Even the areas of Knoxville, Greeneville, Johnson City, Rogersville, Morristown, Maryville, Newport had one track and some even had two. The Broadway Speedway is located in Maynardville, TN. This is a small suburb of what has become Knoxville. From first hand stories of those who drove this track in their youth, it was the heart of the community and it was a pretty difficult course, of both dirt and pavement. While the racing seen survived and thrived for many years, most of its elders and contemporaries faded away and are now either gone or abandoned. Amanda and I spent a long day hunting for an adventure, following our guts. In doing so, we stumbled upon the track. It has been reopened, however, the original stands still exist. I must admit it is a creepy feeling seeing the empty bleachers and the dilapidated storage buildings, it certainly has seen better days, but there is a certain quaint beauty to it. This was a time before everyone was comfortable with just watching a race on TV, instead of getting behind the wheel themselves. Have you ever seen the movie Heavenly Kid? Imagine 50's greasers who love to wrench on cars, drive with girls and of course mess with each other. SPOILER ALERT! The main character plays chicken with the big bully at school, he can't get out of the car fast enough and crashes over the edge of the ravine falling to a gruesome and firing death? While doing some research into the drag-strip and speedway scene, I discovered that most of the locations have been turned into either shopping malls, airports or even neighborhoods, losing all trace of the past. Rumor has it some famous NASCAR names actually raced at the Knoxville Track, including someone name Earnhardt. It's sad thinking about how little is known or recorded about these places. I urge you to talk to your parents, talk to your grandparents and find out where they raced! I bet you if they didn't race themselves, they watched one! If you have any information about an abandoned Drag Strip or Speedway in your town, please reach out to us at [email protected].
0 Comments
Manhattan Project
Einstein influenced the beginning of the Manhattan Project. In collaboration with Leo Szilard, Einstein wrote a letter to President Roosevelt in 1939, warning of possible German nuclear weapons research and proposing that the United States begin its own research into atomic energy. Worried that Nazi and Fascist countries would invent the Nuclear weapons first. The Manhattan Project was a research and development program during WWII that produced the world's first nuclear weapons It was led by the United States with the support of the United Kingdom and Canada. From 1942 to 1946, the project was under the guidance of Maj. General Leslie Groves of the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers. Nuclear physicist Robert Oppenheimer was the director of the Los Alamos Laboratory that designed the actual bombs. The Army component of the project was designated the Manhattan District and Manhattan gradually followed the official code-name. Along the way, the project absorbed its earlier British ally, Tube Alloys. The Manhattan Project began in 1939, but grew to employ more than 130,000 people and cost nearly US$2 billion (about $24 billion dollars in today's estimation). Over 90% of the cost was for building factories and to produce fissile material, with less than 10% for development and production of the weapons. Research and production has taken place at more than 30 sites across the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada. The decision to build a nuclear development site in East Tennessee was made personally by General Leslie Groves on September 19, 1942. Groves had only been appointed the commander of the Manhattan Project two days prior. A number of locations for the nuclear site were considered over the summer, including Shasta Dam in California, two spots outside of Chicago, and several areas in Washington state, as well as a few other locations in East Tennessee. However, all of these potential sites were deemed either too small or too vulnerable to enemy attack. Some of the reasons Oak Ridge, Tennessee was chosen was due to it's remote location, land, water, and electricity. Under orders from General Groves, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers purchased 59,000 acres of land along the Clinch River. Originally known as Site X or Clinton Engineer Works, the nuclear site was eventually renamed Oak Ridge. With its promise of jobs, the new city drew in tens of thousands of families, becoming the fifth-largest city in Tennessee. Throughout the war, Oak Ridge was protected by guarded gates, and workers at the plants were sworn to secrecy. Few people in town were aware that the military was pursuing an atomic bomb onsite; they only knew information relevant to their specific job duties. It was not until the attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 that the true purpose of the Secret City became clear to the masses. The four production facilities were located in valleys away from the town. This provided security and containment in case of accidental explosions. The Y-12 area, home of the electromagnetic plant, was closest to Oak Ridge, being one ridge away to the south. Farther to the south and west lay both the X-10 area, which contained the experimental plutonium pile and separation facilities, and K-25, site of the gaseous diffusion plant and later the S-50 thermal diffusion plant. K from Kellex the corporation that designed the plant and 25 a WWII code designation for Uranium-235 (derived from element 92 atomic mass 235). K25 became designation for entire complex even after other "K" buildings were added. Constructed by J.A. James Construction Co. Over 25,000 workers worked the site at height of construction. Gaseous diffusion was but one of three technologies used by Manhattan Project. Enriched product from this facility was used in "little boy" the bomb used in atomic bombing of Hiroshima, Japan. A mile-long, U-shaped building, the K-25 plant was the world’s largest roofed building at the time. British scientists working on the “tube alloy,” code for the atomic bomb project, first advocated the gaseous diffusion method in March 1941. Because of the Nazi bombing of England, any production plants had to be located elsewhere. Columbia University’s John R. Dunning and Eugene Booth began working in 1941 on the gaseous diffusion process. The goal was to separate the isotopes of Uranium-235 from Uranium-238 by turning uranium metal into uranium hexaflouride gas and pumping it through a barrier material that had millions of microscopic holes. Developing an effective barrier material was the greatest challenge. SAM Labs, Kellex Corporation, and Union Carbide all pursued major programs addressing this extremely difficult problem, and all contributed to its final solution. Major General Groves ordered construction to begin and the plant was one-third complete before a solution was actually found. Columbia University’s John R. Dunning and Eugene Booth began working in 1941 on the gaseous diffusion process. The goal was to separate the isotopes of U-235 from U-238 by turning uranium metal into uranium hexaflouride gas and pumping it through a barrier material that had millions of microscopic holes. Developing an effective barrier material was the greatest challenge. Columbia University’s SAM Labs, Kellex Corporation, and Union Carbide all pursued major programs addressing this very difficult problem, and all contributed to its final solution. General Groves ordered construction to begin and the plant was one-third complete before a solution was found. After the war effort K-25 plant was more reliable and efficient than anyone predicted. After the war, the K-25 was expanded with the construction of K-27, K-29, K-31 and K-33 plants built as additional stages of the process. The plants produced the majority of the U-235 for the Cold War arsenal. The K-25 plant was the first large-scale fully automated factory in history. Because of the complexity and size of the plant, 9,000 employees working in three shifts were needed to monitor its operations at one time. Until 1985, K-25 produced fuel for civilian nuclear power reactors around the world. In addition, K-25 developed a commercially competitive gas centrifuge technology. K-25’s innovative technologies served the nation in World War II and the Cold War with great distinction. So we took the 40 minute drive from the house, found the exit and just after a few miles it was into a what seemed to be a nature preserve with side roads littered on each side but gated and warning of U.S. Property and no access, or it was TVA roads with clear signage saying no hunting. To think people would want to hunt near here? Not me. After a few short miles this large business park seems to emerge on your right and you realize this is it. Looks like an old business complex I have seen once in Florida, until you pull in and realize what the signs are saying. So we might of misread, or what you would call misinterpreted the signs. Not too long after we got on foot we noticed in the distance a Police vehicle watching us from the wood line. We snapped a few pics and within seconds I saw another vehicle coming our way. By the time we got into our vehicle, we were being asked for our security clearances. I had to kind of laugh and say “No we don't, we thought it was public access since most of it is demolished these days. We were told we were being exposed to the site and that we had to leave, he followed us out of the facility. Followed us onto the highway and made sure we exited. We then traveled through the main parts of The Secret City, saw the memorial to the Research and Development that happened there in the 1940's. This is a city with such a feeling of being watched and listened to. Almost every corner was graffiti or stenciled art of surveillance camera's. The police presence is like no other I have seen while living in the state of Tennessee. I find this state to lack a police presence compared to living in Florida where there is a police office on almost every corner or behind you in traffic. Random check points and radar traps. So in my research I found what seems to be a historic church off Bethel Valley Rd. New Bethel Baptist Church is what I was seeing in my research with a cemetery connected. I followed GPS to this location and ended up at a Military/Private security force checkpoint. Guys armed with machine guns and side arms had camo flack jackets with extra banana clips hanging off . Immediately told us to reverse and leave, I asked about this church and was given the run around and I guess we irritated this gentleman and quite possibly he thought we were a diversion or rouse from the questions etc. At one point Panda noticed a restroom to our right hand side and asked if we could use it. The gentleman at one point says “ I wouln't” and I asked “why”, he replied “ because if you stay here any longer something else is going to happen”. I popped it in reverse and got the hell out of there, 100k minimal fine and 1year in prison for trying anything or going behind any fence, gate, or inside the walls of any building or under any roof. Today was a 2 for 1 adventure. We stumbled upon the Holston Chilhowee swimming pool on a day that we had planned to search for the abanoned Mountain Dew factory. Unfortunately we didnt find the factory, but we found this amazing pool instead. We had searched for this location for a while but by now, had forgotten about it. The first stop was the Holston Chilhowee Swimming Pool. It was established in 1954 after George W Bounds donated the land that the pool sits on. It's a membership pool and always has been. It is believed the pool could accommodate 450 families or 1800 people. The pool was 50feet wide by 50meters long. The pool area offered a volleyball arena, racquet ball courts, playgrounds, a ping pong room. We also located a building with at least a ten person changing room area. Amanda and I are into all things historic and abandoned of course, we have been meaning to stop off at this site for about a year now. Sunday Dec/2/2018 seemed like the perfect day to do so, the weather in Tennessee has been miserable nothing but rain for weeks. Low to mid 30s and suddenly today it is 70degrees and sunshine! We packed the pups up for a exploration walk kind of day, we took the old sidewalk trail in and got a nice walk in with the dogs. Before you knew it you find yourself at a building with most of it's roof missing and barb wire fence surrounding it but the gate was open lol. Now I am sure that some sketchy people sleep here at night or hang out here. Seems to be the same artist at almost every site we explore with a divine passion in painting male anatomy all over the ground or walls. We toured the facilities like we were old patrons and stopped at the diving board for a photo op with my oldest Shiba Inu Mimi. We then found a playground in the tall weeds which I should of taken better pictures of. We slowly found our way around to the pumphouse and then down to the river to see where it all leads. I guess with kids and lets be honest, most of the population staring off into their phones instead of getting outdoors and living life, no one needs to be a member of a local swimming pool anymore. No one is interested in swimming lessons as young children? Is this not a necessity is life? To know how to swim? Why would such a place sit abandoned at an already established city park with batting cages, baseball fields, football field, concessions, restrooms, playground and walking path etc. I can see this place open seasonally and slides as additions to the main pool. Children still need to learn to swim those programs need to be offered, not everyone has a swimming pool of their own. What a day next we head just across the river to our next stop. Part2 River Breeze Drive-in The second location on the list for today was an abandoned Drive-In that we had been wanting to stop by for a while. We had passed it many times, but since it is not in a very great spot to pull off, we never did. It was directly across the river from the Chilhowee Pool, and you can almost imagine how a hot summer day would take you from the pool, to the movies at night. The River Breeze Drive-In opened in July 1950 and was operated by the Simpson chain. Three hundred cars could park and watch a movie on spring, summer and fall nights. Unfortunately, it would close by 1990 just like the other five drive-Ins in our area, Knoxville Drive-In, and Twin Aire Drive-In, Chapman Highway Drive-In, Cinema Drive-In. This place was used as a flea market at some point, as we noted an obvious booth and the sign also mentions it. I cannot be sure if someone lives or lived in the home adjacent to the ticket booth, so we made our stop here brief. After walking around, I couldn't help but think to myself, what generation does this culture of going out to the drive-in die off? I talked to my nine year old cousin over the holidays and she has no clue what a Drive-In is! Even I have never been to one. I have seen them, but sadly have not attended. Amanda has been multiple times in her childhood growing up in Boston. Who of my readers still remembers the car hop girls and the radios on the doors? How about when it changed to tuning your radio station to the appropriate channel and hearing the movie over your own speakers. Things these kids of the now will most likely never get to know. Not much to see here except a big open field with concrete rows. The screen was torn down some time ago and had it's back to the over pass behind it. You could see the traffic pass behind it as you watched a movie. This was one of the first drive-in's in Knox County to install radio sound. Please let's all do our part to impart the ideals of the past in the kids of the future. It is up to us to make sure that they have the same experiences, if not more than we did! Let's keep their heads, and ours for that matter out of our phones, and get out exploring! If you are local and looking for ideas, why not try taking the family to one of the Movies in the cave at the Caverns here in Knoxville? Check out the link below. https://cherokeecaverns.com/special-events Renegade Ski Mountain Resort Have you ever looked up to a mountainside with wonder, thinking of the things that have happened there? Who lived their first? What life was like there? Well this next locale certainly evokes all of those questions. The Cumberland Plateau is a treasure trove for historians like Amanda and I, its past echoing all the way back to the Woodland Native Americans where the Crab Orchard region was a palisade. Up on a mountain top near Fairfield Glade, Tennessee a local banker of the area, named Millard Oakley and a physician named Richard Evans had a vision of building a Ski resort. With his associate Jim Wilson, plans grew and took shape for a resort upon Renegade Mountain. They formed a corporation called Renegade Resort and Vacation properties. Their goal was a first class ski resort on Renegade Mountain at neighboring Crab Orchard, Tn. Now as you can imagine this was no easy feat, on top of a mountain in Tennesee. Building roads and ski lanes, lifts and etc. Lot's of determination and planning took place for this to happen. It was the early 1960's when they got started and in the winter of 1962 the owners had the chair lift fully functional. The first season was weak, and snowfall wasn't great for the resort. The snow making equipment was not that extensive at that time. They boasted, one chair lift, one J bar and two rope tows. A clubhouse was built and German food was being served year round'. People from Knoxville, Crossville, and Nashville alike were traveling to the area. There was a large ski school and practice slope. The main slope was 3,200 ft long with a total of four slopes in the 1970 season. It makes you wonder who inspired who. Were the creators of Ober Gatlinburg inspired by the grand ideas of Millard Oakley. After some fly-by-night dealings and sketchiness, the community and resort were headed for the beginning of the end. At some point in 1971 a group called American recreational services took over the property. The club was 36,000 sq ft and boast the lounge from New York's St Moritz Hotel. A lawsuit was filed in late 71' and that was it for Renegade Mountain until 1980. Four new owners would actually carry out the original plans and build the 18hole golf course, finish the club house and olympic swimming pool. They also invested over 3 million dollars into the reparations of the roads. New snow machines were purchased for use on the site, and an expanded ski program was created. New all weather tennis courts and condominums were built. 1983 Peter Schuster and Harold Dude from Hamburg, Germany took over the Renegade Mountain Ski Resort. Peter was involved in a bad Polo accident and was killed in early 80s. He was eventually replaced by his brother. Some additional bad investments went down and money was lost to investors in Florida, putting the property at risk. In 1986 the ownership shifted and the property was renamed Cumberland Gardens. The property was then taken over by Hans Seivert an ex WWII Nazi Pilot. Even more roads were built, and the golf course was under constant construction until Hans passed away in 1991. One of the main common factors for the demise of the property was the warm weather in the winters.
They had great snow making equipment but you can't make snow in warm weather and that is that. On top of the bad habit of poor management. An Ancient Cherokee Native American burial ground sits among it's summit and the Trail of the Tears starts near it's base, it is no overstep to say that Renegade Mountain has a ton of history. The 36,000 sq ft lodge was destroyed by arson fire in 2001. People have blamed everything from bad management, to bad weather for the failure of the Renegade Mountain but when asking local real estate experts they claim that infrastructure costs on the mountain are simply too high to support the price that developers can expect to charge for their lots. At 2,500 ft high, it is one of the highest peaks in the state outside of the Smoky Mountains. By 1990 DG Bank of Frankfurt Germany owned the resort and was making an attempt to operate both the slopes and the golf course. They invested heavily into the project however, 2008 was the last year the golf course was operational due to the rising costs of keeping up with the grading issues and drainage. Shallow soil layer makes the ground unsuitable for septic systems. Finally around the year 2000 the German bank sold 3,000 acres of the formerly 6,000 acre resort for $3.5million to a group that includes some of the current investors. Security has been let go, and their post sits abandoned at the front of the resort. The last plans to be brought to the attention of the present day owners was one to re-open 9holes of the 18 hole course for golfing. But that hasn't seemed to come to fruition. To add to the mystery and turmoil of this area, a horrifically superfluous murder was committed on it's grounds. On September 12, 2013 Jacob Bennett, 26; had shot and killed 4 young people, Rikki Jacobsen, 22; her nephew Dominic Davis 17;and their friends Steven Presley, 17; and John Lajeunese,16. They were found on the roadside of Renegade Mountain Rd in their vehicle dead by a neighboring resident. Jacob Bennett and his girlfriend Brittany Lina Yvonn Moser, 25, have been charged with four counts of felony murder along side Jacob Bennett. This property has been through some repeated tough times. Although very little research has been done there, Archaeologists have studied the furs, burials and tools left behind and found that the way they were left seems to give the idea of a people at war. Later in history, the year 1794 showed Renegade mountain much blood shed for soldiers, in the Skirmish of Crab Orchard. The land was then used as a source of entertainment, however all that remains are the rusted steel posts of the chair lift, a haunting deteriorating water tower and an overgrown golf course. Is it the land that is tainted? Is this community forever to be doomed? All I know is, I will most certainly be back to explore the nature trails, golf course and the swimming pool complex soon. In the midwest and south, many people have had family members who worked in mines. The Mining operations were the lifeblood which helped spawn prosperity in what would otherwise be desolate little towns. When we drove through the town of Briceville, we noted the small town feel, the little school only steps from the mining operations. These little coal towns died out, as the veins of coal ran dry, and slowly the hustle bustle disappeared, but not before killing hundreds in mining disasters. Mining operations began at the Cross Mountain Mine/ Briceville, Tn in 1888. It was here that a railroad spur line was extended up to the Coal Creek Valley and into Slatestone Hollow. Over the years, large amounts of coal dust had accumulated in the mine's shafts. On the cold morning of December 9, 1911, around 7:30am they say a roof collapse occurred near one of the mine's entrances, which released methane gas into the air. The gas and coal dust may have ignited when a miner approached the roof with an open flame. The explosion killed the 89 miners who had gone into the mine that morning. 84 had perished with only 5 being rescued. A crowd consisting of miners' families and onlookers quickly gathered at the Briceville Mine as miners and engineers immediately initiated a rescue operation. A ventilation fan was brought from a nearby mine and used to expel the volatile gases and force fresh air into the mine shafts. A rescue crew from the Bureau of Mines, which had been created the previous year, arrived in the afternoon equipped with gas masks and oxygen tanks. This team was the first mine rescue team to use caged canaries to detect dangerous changes in air quality well within the mine. If the birds didn't come back to them and died they knew not to enter. Water was piped into the mine from a nearby brook to help with the fire efforts. Around midnight, the first three bodies were brought out of the mine. and another two bodies were recovered the following day. On Monday, rescue workers followed miners' inscriptions to an area where five miners had barricaded themselves with several tubs of drinking water. Two of the miners were burned, and two had left the barricaded area to find a way out, although all five were found alive. On December 19, the last two mine Alonzo Wood and Eugene Ault were found dead behind another barricade. Before suffocating, Ault, and Wood managed to inscribe "farewell" messages to their families and loved ones on the mine wall. These inscriptions are also found on the face of their graves. The Cross Mountain Mine operation was one of the first major rescue efforts carried out by the Bureau of Mines and also an unfortunate learning lesson paid for in miners lives. Although only 5 of the 89 miners trapped by the explosion were rescued, the bureau collected invaluable information that aided later mine rescue efforts. The rescue effort also helped the bureau's public image, and ensured continued funding in the future.
The 84 miners killed as a result of the explosion were buried in several cemeteries in the Briceville-Fraterville area. At least 22 were buried in a circular memorial which became known as the Cross Mountain Miners' Circle. This circle is located at the south end of Briceville off Walden Ridge. Shortly after the disaster, the United Mine Workers of America placed a marble obelisk in the middle of the Cross Mountain Miners' Circle containing the names of all 84 miners killed in the Cross Mountain/Briceville Mine disaster. This memorial, around which a large cemetery has developed, was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2006. Others were buried at the Briceville Community Church cemetery, among them Eugene Ault, whose monument is inscribed with the "farewell message" he wrote on the wall of the mine as he lay dying. History has shown us that sometimes spirits guide our actions from beyond the grave. Sarah Winchester gave us her mystery house in San Jose, California in an effort to supposedly entertain and confuse the ghosts of those who were killed by the weapons her family created. It is the same kind of unexplained divine guidance that allowed the architect of “The Minister's Treehouse” to complete his dreams.
In the early 1990s, landscaper Horace Burgess bought some wooded property off Beehive Lane in Crossville, Tennessee. While touring the land, one of the bigger trees next to a dirt road caught his eye. He decided to build the world’s largest tree house in its branches. And just like that, construction began in 1993. He claimed that it was never a financial burden and noted how things seemed to fall together for him with ease. After a few years Horace's luck was changing, he was giving up and running out of materials. He claims to have turned to his faith in God, and became a pastor in the church. What's the New York expression, Bada bing bada boom, he had the motivation and suddenly the materials fell into his hands, he could now continue on for what would eventually be eleven years of labor. Horace started teaching sermons at the treehouse like it was it's own church. People that showed up, often wouldn't have ever attended an actual congregation, but would return to his tree house to hear the word of God. It was a way to touch the lives of people who may have never crossed the path of a godly person. On this unbiased, and level playing field Horace was able to influence masses and share the word of God. One man in particular stayed for three years. He spent his life here and eventually also his death. Horace decided to scatter his ashes from the top of the treehouse and finally buried the rest at the base. This man was just one of the many people that Horace Burgess touched in a way that he may never know. Horace had finally attained what he’d originally wanted: the largest tree house in the world. It spreads across not one, but seven big trees that grow through its floors and out its windows. It soars nearly 100 feet into the sky. Built organically without blueprints, its dimensions are a mystery even to Horace. To his best guess, it covers around 10,000 square feet. The treehouse even features a basketball court. Minister's treehouse was closed in 2012 by the Tennessee Fire Marshall, who says it’s a tourist attraction and therefore must conform to state building codes. It is the unofficial world's largest treehouse, as Guiness Book of Records does not have a category for it. Now you could be the proud owner of this property and maybe even hear the divine word of God, as the property is now for sale at $1.5 million dollars, with a listing out of Chattanooga, Tn with Keller Williams Realty. Unfortunately, it is no longer an easy adventure, because there is a newly built home in front. This home has a sensitive security system and a neighbor that likes to call the police, so unless your looking for a free ride in a police car, don't test your luck. #builtforjesus #religious #treehouse #historicarchaeology #forsale #ministerstreehouse #largesttreehouse It was an overcast day in September with a mild temperature, and summer had seemed to be lingering. Amanda and I were off together for once and we couldn't let all the recent rain keep us down! We had to sleep in, as we had been working like crazy, plus, the gloomy weather is perfect for TV and researching! Once we awoke, we decided to take a tip from a viewer, about the location of an old farmhouse with slave quarters, right up my alley. We headed out to this farmhouse with barn, slave quarters, and what could be an old blacksmith's shop. While working on our plan, we made quick note that we were only blocks from the Police station. Really, my worry was about trail cameras, snapping pics of us based motion sensor. Once we got out there, we took the long driveway down that split from a modern neighborhood. We followed it back and arrived on the left side of the Farmhouse. We pulled around back and on our left were three buildings buried in the Kudzu. For those of you who haven't battled with Kudzu, it's an invasive plant that can swallow buildings whole. Finally looking North, sits a huge barn that seems to have been through hell. Since it was a windy day, the doors on the building were swinging open and closed. I didn't want to put myself in the line of sight of anyone in the nearby neighborhood. I'm sure this isn't some secret, I am sure many people have been through this place partying, smoking pot or having a quick session on the old mattress. Gross... but you know it's true. We headed into the house from the side porch, and there were multiple doorways to enter through. The place smelled of urine to the max, but the flea level was low in this one. However, the most irritating part of the day was our technical foul ups inside this place. No camera in our possession wanted to take clear shots. They all seemed to have issues for Amanda and I. I've included those blurry shots in the slideshow as well. I have read many accounts from locals that people have come here and photograph the property as well, and they see a gentleman appear in the photographs of the main stairwell of the home. While reading some local blogs, one woman replied to people saying, "to be careful, the energies here are very strong". The home was a Gothic Revival structure with winding hardwood staircases, ornate Victorian wallpaper, and haint blue porch ceilings. It was definitely a gem in it's day. It makes you wonder what happened to the family who lived here before. How it could get lost in history, or to family members who would rather see it leveled and turned into an R.V. park for profit. It is places like this that inspire me to keep going. To keep uncovering the forgotten, the deteriorated, and the lost. To remember that these places existed, that these people existed. Due to the "issues we had with technology" we will call it, we did not get all the photographs we would have liked, I wish I would have shot the slave house, and done some evp work. We felt like we were trespassing here, even though there were no visible "no trespassing signs". We technically weren't doing anything harmful and it was pretty obvious what we are doing with the gear. I went out to check on the surrounding area and our vehicle, and to my surprise a young cow had escaped from out of the fenced in area and was acting like he wanted to play. He taunted me playfully less than twenty feet from my Ford truck. I didn't want to be responsible for this herd coming through where ever little genius cow got out from, so we scooted out of here! I hollar'd at Panda to hit the high road and we took off. Do you know anything about the history of this home? Was it a dairy farm originally? We will continue to dig and find out what happened to it, and why it has been left to deteriorate. UPDATE: People often ask how I know so much, well the short of it is that it is because I research it. I decided to scour the property appraisers website and found the parcel. On the tiny listing with almost no information, it says that it is located in the Plyley Subdivision, and that it is currently owned by Scarlett Farms LLC. After this, I searched for any connection to a Plyley in the New Market area. This brought me to a document from a 1911 parcel document incorporating the town of New Market, Tennessee. This document discussed the property line of C. M. Plyley. It is here how I was led to the grave of Charles Montgomery Plyley in the Old Gray Cemetery here in Knoxville, not far from where I live. He was born in 1868 and passed away in in 1947. I was able to uncover the following: PLYLEY, Charles Montgomery, farmer and trader; born in Ross Co., O., March 2, 1868; Scotch-Irish descent; son of Thomas Jefferson and Jennie (Montgomery) PLYLEY; father farmer and tanner; paternal grandparents William and Mary (McConnell) PLYLEY; maternal grandparents James and Mary (Edmiston) MONTGOMERY; educated in public schools of Ross Co., O., and graduated from high school; entered farming in early life; married Jennie SCHORNHOLTZ, Feb. 27, 1900; member R.A. Masons, and Past Master of same, member of Methodist church and steward in same; engaged in farming and stock raising, and largely interested in Knoxville, Tenn., city property. Source: Who’s Who in Tennessee: A Biographical Reference Book of Notable Tennesseans of To-Day. Memphis: Paul & Douglas Co, 1911. It says on the Facebook Page of Scarlett Farms, that their grandad purchased the home in the late 1940's and moved their families barn to this location after the flooding of the dam in the 1960's. I think that Old Plyley may be the one still lingering in the halls of this victorian home. I hope he is happy that his land is still being used as a dairy farm the way it has for hundreds of years. Fifty years ago this month, one of the most notorious unsolved murders of the Knoxville area was committed. It is a passionate tale of mystery and intrigue which might soon come to a cold, dead halt. The 1920's home, was designed as a utopian getaway for the affluent of Knoxville, by Farrell and Foust before the Great Depression. This historic home is slated to be demolished within the next 30 days, unless it is added to the National Historic Registry. Rose Busch, 68, was the wife of a prominent Knoxville jeweler and Pawn Shop owner named Samuel Harry Busch who resided in this 3,200 square foot home on Kennesaw Ave, previously known as Scenic Drive. It was in this historic home, that Rose Busch was murdered in cold blood.
It was in the upper 30s, a Tuesday, November 19th of 1968 and Thanksgiving was coming the following week. Rose had baked a cake and was icing it in the kitchen. The maid who tended to the property finished up around 4 o'clock and the gardener left about an hour later. Rose had the one-story 3,200sq ft ranch to herself. Harry Busch would later recall speaking with his wife around 5:25 p.m. to let her know he was heading home from downtown. Shortly after the call, Harry was made aware that he had a flat tire. But this was not just any type of flat, the valve stem had been completely removed from the tire, a major to-do. But would now be needing a ride home from a co worker, which would delay Harry's arrival to the ranch. It was during this time, that someone managed to finagle their way into the Sequoyah Hills home. Rose was stabbed 10 times with a paring knife, hit multiple times in the head with a Ruger 22-caliber pistol and was shot at least once, grazing her hand. The killer fled, apparently tossing a police officer's uniform, bloody white gloves, police rain coat, a broken silencer and the Ruger pistol at various spots in the West Knoxville neighborhood. The blade of the paring knife remained in Rose's chest, broken off in her heart. This was clearly a crime of passion. Harry found her on the floor in the hallway near the kitchen dead after being dropped off after work. Let's review a few things, Rose was a Poland native who had immigrated to the United States as a child and typically kept the home locked and secured. They even had ADT in 1968, records were pulled to see that Rose had indeed armed the alarm after the Gardener left. But on this day, someone was able to get inside, perhaps fooling Rose by wearing a police officer's uniform. The killer entered through the carport and, police theorized, which would have startled Rose, who'd been busy in the nearby kitchen with her cake. At least one shot went off from the Ruger 22 pistol. Grazing her hand. This is when investigators believe that the gun must of jammed, and instead became the tool used to fracture her skull. The gun and silencer were said to be of high quality but the thread on section of the barrel where the silencer joined had been fouled up. The attacker then grabbed a paring knife from Rose's kitchen. The killer stabbed Rose again and again until the blade broke off in her chest. Harry Busch, her husband of 44 years, found her lying dead on her back, on the hallway floor when he got home around 6:10 p.m. The blade was still buried in her left breast. The only thing missing appeared to be her wedding ring and a few hundred dollars from Rose's purse. Knoxville Police Department officers were on the scene within 5 minutes of the call, and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation eventually joined the case when the leads went cold. City workers would later find the pistol, the bent silencer, police rain jacket, the policeman's uniform and the bloody gloves as mentioned, along Cherokee Blvd as if tossed from the passenger side of a car. The uniform was an old one from the Cleveland, Ohio, police department. Authorities also traced the gun back to Ohio. It was registered to 5 different owners, and then to a gun show, where the trail fizzled to an end. Knoxville Police scrutinized Mr. Busch. In doing so, they learned interesting information, such as the fact that he'd been having an affair with a notorious Knoxville "Madame" Hazel Davidson. Ms. Davidson ran a house of prostitution that was being operated at 2306 Hoitt Avenue. But Harry passed a polygraph exam with KPD. 50 years ago that device still carried enough weight in a criminal investigation. Today they are no longer used... Davidson claimed she knew nothing about the killing. However, Police theorized that she may in fact have hired someone to kill Rose so she could have Harry to herself. Or perhaps Harry had hired someone for the killing and arranged the alibi of a flat tire to draw attention away from himself. In July 1972, some 3.5 years after the murder of Rose Busch in her Sequoyah Hills home, the body of Oscar "Buck" Hugh Willman, 58, of Andersonville was found stuffed in the trunk of his car in the parking lot of a cheap motel in Lexington, Ky. Willman had ties to carnival game operations and pornography businesses, and he too lived in the Sequoyah Landing section of Anderson County with his wife, Henrietta. In Knoxville, his wife went by "Cindy Ogle," and she was known to run a house of prostitution in the 2300 block of Riverside Drive. She was also good friends with the infamous Knoxville Madame Hazel Davidson. The highly publicized killing of Rose Busch and the less publicized killing of Buck Willman remain unsolved. Some investigators in the Willman case came to suspect that the two crimes are connected. When Lexington Police probed into Willman's death, Knoxville Police Department Detectives Bob Chadwell and Bill Pressley went to the funeral home where Willman's body was taken after the autopsy. They handed over $1,200 in cash from a stack of $100 bills, they paid for expenses already incurred and for a cremation that they ordered, funeral home officials told the News Sentinel in 1972. This would ensure, that no second autopsy could be ordered. Was this also an inside job? Corruption? Maybe Bob and Bill were clients of Hazel and Cindy? Whatever the answer, the odd incident led Lexington investigators to compare fingerprints of Chadwell and Pressley with prints in Willman's car. However they did not match, according to a letter from the Lexington Police Department to Knoxville PD. Chadwell was Knoxville's lead investigator in the 1968 Rose Busch case. And this case was his only unsolved homicide in his career. By the time of Willman's 1972 killing, Davidson was evolving into a flamboyant madame. Her friend "Cindy Ogle" operated in near secrecy, until the Riverside Drive business was made public in news accounts of her husband's killing. Bob Marshall, now retired from the KPD spoke with Hazel in recent years. She told him, "that Buck Willman was killed because he had killed Mrs. Busch and was starting to drink heavy and talk about it, Hazel said his wife was starting to get scared and killed him. She said Cindy hit him twice in the head with a big vase." University of Kentucky tested of flies and maggots on Willman's body and were able to confirm that Willman's death occurred in Tennessee, NOT in Kentucky. The leading theory was that Willman was killed at the Riverside Drive house and driven across the border to be disposed of. Willman, or Cindy Olge as she would rather be called, told Caldwell that her husband left the Riverside Drive house at 11 a.m. July 18, headed to Indiana to run a carnival game. On July 23, his body was found in the trunk of his Studebaker. His shoes were missing, but he was otherwise fully dressed. The autopsy report said that he had probably died within an hour of his last meal, and that he had choked to death on his own vomit, following blows to the head. According to a police report, items reported to be missing from Willman included his eyeglasses, car keys, yellow gold wedding ring with five inset diamonds, antique silver pocket watch, $300 to $400 in cash and a .38-caliber revolver which he always carried. Now, Rose's final resting place is in a plot meant for two off Keith Avenue in the New Jewish Cemetery in Knoxville, Tn. where she rests alone. Her "beloved" Harry moved to Miami soon after, and remarried twice, dying at 103yrs old in 2002. The Mid-century modern house where she was murdered, sits empty awaiting an unsure fate, Lexington Police Department files of the Willman case were destroyed in a flood, Henrietta Willman's (Cindy Ogle) criminal court records have all been expunged, and Hazel, who kept an oil painting of she and her "friend" Harry, has passed away in a Jefferson Co. nursing home, without sharing the story she promised to give. Below in the gallery are screenshots of our LiveEVP session at the Location. If anyone can bring peace to Buck and Rose, please reach out to the Knoxville Crime Hotline at 865-215-7212, or email me at [email protected], with any information that might be pertinent to this case, before it is truly too late. #historicarchaeology #murderforhire #affair #madame #scruffycity #mikethehikingguide #knoxville #coldcasefiles #coldcasedetective #tennessee #unsolvedmysteries Amanda and I have been researching Ebenezer Cave the last few days. I had a meeting today off Peters Rd in Knoxville and next thing we know we are on Ebenezer, funny how things work out. Amanda pointed out the old house on the corner with the Jazz Club sign which I realized was the Baker Peter Mansion from the Civil War, I had done some reading about it when we first moved into the area. We headed over to the house and proceeded to pull in, it has a awkward footprint next to an oil change business. we drove around and left. I ended up coming back to the house and told Amanda I should call or see if I could get in to take pictures, as we had seen some workers inside. I parked the suv and headed around the front to snap a few pictures, little did I know it was a doctors office and I had gained entry to the front door. Into the doctors office I went explaining that I was in fact a history nerd. They said "Great! Well then the door you want to see is right around the corner." We got a full on all access tour of the home and basement/slave quarters. Our guide today took us outside and down under the home where you could see all the windows were barred up. Obvious slave quarters, our guide showed us the old slave access stairwell, where the owner Dr. James Baker would come down to access his slaves. This stairwell leading to Baker's bedroom was the ONLY access to the slave quarters... interesting. We headed deeper under the house into a room. The guide told us " the slaves most likely lived here, when they acquired the home she said it was just a table inside no modern duct work, and one crude chain light. Walls have been blocked off which is very apparent I put my camera through the holes in the walls and saw even more rooms under the home. Couldn't imagine growing up in this home in the 1900's. Upon first entering the threshold of the door, the EVP gave us the words, James and Chest. Dr. James Harvey Baker was murdered by a bullet to the chest, just a few feet away. So the full story goes, Dr James Harvey Baker built the home sometime around 1849. Back then that area was rural farmland several miles from Knoxville, Dr. Baker's brother had a house nearby and they both lived right on Kingston Pike. Kingston Pike was the major east-west turn pike. In June 1863, Abner Baker was away at war and fighting for the confederacy. Although much of East Tennessee held allegiance to the Union, the rebels controlled the City of Knoxville and Dr. Harvey Baker supported them. At that point, the area was about to have its first brush with actual Civil War combat with an incoming raid of 1,500 Union cavalry from Kentucky focused on blowing up bridges and railroads that supplied the confederates. Many posts mention that Dr. James Harvey Baker tended to the wounded in his home, however this is simply not the case. He was one of the first confirmed casualties of the civil war in Knox County. This is confirmed on many maps including one from November 1863 that was a reconnaissance map for the Union campaign in Knoxville. If you trace the map down Kingston Pike, you come to the Baker Peters house and it is labeled "Widow Baker" referring to the fact that Dr. Baker was killed earlier that year in June of 1863. The Union Calvary headed toward Knoxville on the road directly in front of Dr. Baker's house. Dr. Baker grabbed his gun, got on his horse, and planned to head to Knoxville to warn the rebels and help defend the city. One account says he was spotted mounting up and did not get far before he was stopped by Federals. When Dr. Baker met up with the Federals that did not go well for him. We don't know shot first, but one account from a neighbor said Dr. Baker and the Union soldier who stopped him both fired to no effect. Dr. Baker ran back to his house and barricaded himself in the upstairs bedroom with family members, including his wife. Federal troops went in for the kill. A soldier shot through the bedroom door and killed Dr. Baker. The original bedroom door is now downstairs at the office of the dentist Dr. Larry Tragesser. You can still see the bullet holes where the soldier shot through the door and killed the Doctor protecting his family in the master bedroom. Joan Markel, the curator of the McClung Museum, has shed light on the fact that many blatant lies and changes have been made to the story of Dr. Baker's death and the subsequent murder of his son Abner. In 1865, 22 year old Abner Baker returned home. The Union had defeated them in battle, and they had also taken the life of his father, at his home. This is where many of the incorrect versions of the story kick in. Will Hall, whose name happened to appear on our EVP along with the word hurt, was a Union Veteran who was working at the Court House in town. After a fight about war, Abner shot Hall fatally in the head. Word spread around town about the Rebel killing the Union Veteran, and the city rang the fire bell, signalling a death knell. Bringing a mob who broke him out of jail, and hung him in the center of town. Photos of the hanging tree circulated as far as Boston, MA. Since Abner was never offered the chance of a trial, words were put in his mouth after death, and comments of an "old grudge" began to circulate. Curator Markel also mentions that in all of her readings, she has never seen any articles about revenge being a motive, but the notion of vengeance worked its way into the story more than a century later when a book published in 1976 claimed Abner killed Hall for his involvement in Dr. Baker's death. No Proof has ever been uncovered that Hall had anything to do with the death of his father, and rather just picked a fight with the rebel in the courthouse that day. To quote Markel, "Is there hostility between these two guys just after the war, remembering which side they were on? I believe so." So let's recap real fast. Some blatantly inaccurate versions of the Baker story have become solidified in many places in recent years. Specifically the historic marker which sits in front of the home. It claims that Hall was a postmaster who informed Union Forces that Dr. Baker was using the home as a make-shift hospital to treat wounded confederate troops/ The sign says the Union forces came into the house to arrest Dr. Baker and fatally shot him in 1864. The sign then says Abner Baker murdered Hall in retaliation for his role in his father's death. Again, the truth is, Dr. Baker was killed in June 1863, Hall was not a postmaster, and no newspaper accounts at the time mention Dr. Baker's death as a motive in the shooting death of Hall. Dr. Baker’s house was later sold in the late 1800’s to the Peters family. Clear Springs ( Hamilton Farm ) Step on the barb wire and come on in. Talk about a place that has seen alot of history, from slavery to civil war battles play out, and legend has it even buried Confederate treasure. Today we visit the pre 1902 McKinney cemetery that really seems like no one but the owners know about. The McKinney's from what I can tell from old maps and reading at the local library in Strawberry Plains is that they owned the Hamilton Farm prior to Hamilton Family settling there and they owned the island adjacent to the homestead. Just one hundred yards away from the McKinney Cemetery sits the Slave cemetery that we tried to locate today. We are pretty sure we were right on top of it but from lack of headstones it makes it super difficult to locate the deceased. Lots of blackberries, and raspberries to find on this land, I caught quite a few thorns in my hands Ouch! But not one damn Strawberry ironically. Strawberry Plains, Tn being named after the many fields of Strawberries growing after the Meeks settled the area. If you think thorns are to be worried about, think again the ticks are by the handfuls. I think the most common thing on this trek was walking into spider webs. Spiders and ticks uhhhh the two things I hate most ha. Cory and I had brought my H1 zoom for some EVP work, and used GHostRadar for some paranormal work. Data is still being looked at from this exploration as we are bit behind in our analysis. We did have time to roam around a little bit and we found a gully with remains of a cow and horse. How long ago were these animals deaths? Is the question in my mind just maybe 150yrs ago and washed down into this gully after so many years? Just over another ridge Cory found the bed of a truck peaking through the surface. We scattered down the ridge side without getting to far out of the way. We decided at the point it was time to head back over to the ridge we came from back to the barb wire fence. First photo in the gallery will show you the approx area where the Union crossed the Holston River towards Strawberry Plains Fort / Bridge, not too far behind them were the confederates carrying a bounty of gold. I have learned this is the site of local baptisms now for the church nearby. When the Union went to ford the river they realized the Union outnumbered them ahead, so instead of losing the gold in battle, they buried it around the rivers edge here some one hundred fifty plus years ago. It is said that the Hamilton family let people come back in the 60's and 70's and pay daily rates to search for gold. what would you be doing right now if a family member told you there might be Confederate gold hidden on your land? |
MiketheHikingGuide
Just an explorer searching for his next adventure Archives
January 2019
Categories |