History of Tennessee Illustrated

Page 798 - The Holston River enters the county from the east and flows in a generally southwest course to a point about four miles above Knoxville, where it unites with the French Broad to form the Tennessee.
This portion of the Tennessee (River) and extending to Kingston, previous to 1874, was known as the Holston (River).

Note: Thus the river that flows south of Knoxville is now called the Tennessee River, prior to 1874 it was called the Holston River.

Page 800 - James White and James Conner, earliest settlers at what became Knoxville, were neighbors from Iredell County, NC.

Question: Is this where the designation of "Iredell" came from, for the area south of the Holston? (No one seems to remember that designation now, but it appears several times in Richard G. Waterhouse's diary.)

Page 806 - A "John Miller" was a butcher in Knoxville in 1797.

Page 809 - In 1792 the first county court met in the home of John Stone in Knoxville.

"Stone's house at which this court was held stood on the southwest corner of Gay and Cumberland Streets."

Page 809 - In 1792 (I think) Alexander Cunningham obtained leave to keep a public ferry at his landing opposite Knoxville.

Page 840 - In February of 1792, Samuel and Nathaniel Cowan had "goods" (i.e. a store) in Knoxville. There were only three families living in Knoxville at that time, apparently.

Page 840 - "Nearly all of the merchants were at first located on State Street. Nathaniel and Samuel Cowan's store stood at the corner of State and Front Streets, opposite Chisolm's tavern. After a year or two the partnership between them was dissolved, and Nathaniel removed to the country. At about the same time a third brother, James Cowan, opened a store near State Street above Main."

Page 841 - "In the Gazette of December 17, 1792, John Chisolm, Alexander Carmichael, John Wood and Peter McNamee inform the public that they have opened houses of entertainment in Knoxville..."

Page 841 - Samuel Cowan was one of the Knoxville merchants in business in 1796.

Page 842 - The largest tavern (of five) that existed in Knoxville in 1796 belonged to John Stone.

Page 847 - John Webb was a tanner in 1830 in Knoxville.\

Page 883 - Section on the history of religion in Knoxville begins here.

"To assign to any one of the three denominations--Presbyterians, Methodists or Baptists--the honor of priority in the work of bringing the gospel into the frontier settlement of Knox County, is impossible."

Page 884 - Presbyterians ministered primarily to the more cultivated portion of the population; Baptists...to the poorer segment; Methodists occupied a middle ground between the two.

Jesse Cunnyngham was an early Knox County Methodist preacher.

One of the earliest Methodist churches of that area was organized in the southeast part of the French Broad River, near the Seven Islands. The Cunnynghams were a part of that group.

Page 885 - The Aults were some of the earliest Methodists in the area and the first Methodist Church "north of the river" was organized at Macedonia, near where the Aults lived.

Page 886 - Frederick Ault was one of the early Methodist church members.

Page 890 - Probably the first Presbyterian meeting of the area was held at Gilliam's Station in 1789 or 1790. Rev. Hezekiah Balch and Rev. Samuel Carrick were preachers there.

Page 891 - The Lebanon Church grew out of that meeting. It was the first Presbyterian Church of the area. Carrick became the pastor.