DOCUMENTATION & INTERPRETATION: Hidden Gems!

Today, Telford is a census-designated place.

As an unincorporated community, it has never had a town charter, thus it has never been an actual town. However, Mrs. Edna McFeature shared a documentary artifact with me which suggests that as late as 1868, (ten years after the ET&V Railroad was completed), Telford Depot was known as a place within the midst of the Millwood community that together later became generally known as Telford, without any known ceremonial recognition. The particular artifact loaned for research by Mrs. McFeature is a log of meeting minutes from a student debate club referred to as the Athenian Society which regularly met at “...the usual time and place...” referred to as the Athenian Hall of a nearby collegiate or preparatory school then known as the Franklin Academy (Athenian Society, 1867-70).

According to the Watauga Association of Genealogists of Upper East Tennessee (WAGS), via their publication of the History of Washington County, Tennessee, 1988, the Franklin Academy was “...located about one mile below Telford near the community of ‘Paynetown...’” on the ET&V Railroad, and in 1863, Colonel (Col.) George W. Telford is noted as then being the school secretary (63). The WAGS book also indicates that after the Civil War, the school became known as the Franklin Institute (64). However, the minutes of the Athenian Society strictly refer to the school as an “academy,” and never as an “institute.” This may have simply been due to habit, rather than unintentional oversight. This habit of reference could also explain why lists of local students have Millwood, rather than Telford, annotated as their residence. “Telford Depot” is only used once in the log of minutes in association with the receipt of goods for the school.

I reached out to several regional schools—Milligan University in Elizabethton, TN; Tusculum University in Greeneville, TN; and Washington College Academy (WCA) in nearby Limestone, TN—in hopes of locating archival information about Franklin Academy, as all three institutions were established well before Franklin Academy’s known operation period (1867–1870), based on the Athenian Society debate records. Milligan and Tusculum promptly responded that they had no relevant records, while WCA staff are still investigating, despite having no prior knowledge of Franklin Academy.

The record book, which was retained by Mrs. McFeature’s grandfather, J.K. Byerley, (who was then a student at the Franklin Academy), indicates that there was a second debate club formed in August of 1869 known as the Spartan Society. There were private debates at the school between students and public debates between the Athenian and Spartan Societies, attended by locals and guests. The minutes list various reoccurring debate topics, as well as some unusually interesting questions such as: “Is the white man a more rightful owner of this continent than the Indian was? (January 30, 1868);” “Was it right to drive the native aborigines from their native soils? (February 18, 1869),” and “Are the present possessors of America the rightful owners of the soil? (February 3, 1870).” These and other such morality issues were often debated throughout the school’s academic year.

Meanwhile, thanks to Mrs. Janette Guinn of the Washington County Archives, I learned that WCA offered only intermittent classes between 1856 and 1875, primarily due to disruptions caused by the Civil War, which severely impacted its infrastructure and staffing (Carr, 1935, 28-39). Interestingly, in early 1871, Col. Telford—who served as Secretary of Franklin Academy (WAFS, 1988, 63)—protested the lease of WCA “...to W.B. Rankin and E.G. McClure on condition ‘that they would conduct, or cause to be conducted, a school suited to the wants of the patrons, male, female, or mixed, as they might prefer’(Carr, 44-45).” Rankin and his associates operated the WCA for only two years before returning it to the board, which left it unused for another two years until it reopened as a coeducational school on September 1, 1878 (Carr, 45-47). Given that Col. Telford was involved with both institutions and that WCA is located just three miles from the suspected site of Franklin Academy, it is unsurprising that the two schools might be connected. Yet, surprisingly, no clear records or local knowledge confirm any formal association between them. As of this research publication, no other primary documentation has been found to substantiate the existence of this all-but forgotten institution of higher learning in our contemporary Telford. There is no proof on the ground that it ever existed, and its exact location is still a mystery. Thanks to J.K. Byerley, and his granddaughter, we may have the only evidence available to support its existence.

The McFeature collection also holds a freight logbook from the Telford Depot from 1891 to 1892, (with a few later notes from 1897). It lists shipped goods by quantity, where they were shipped from, and to whom they were shipped. The most common family names recognized among the recipients are Maloney, Campbell, and Byerley. J.K.’s son Calhoun (AKA “Hoon”) Byerley worked at the depot, and most likely retained the logbook for posterity, according to Mrs. McFeature. During our second interview, she also shared with me that the McFeature family moved from the Del Rio, Tennessee community to work at the old knitting mill in the 1930s, and that the Byerley’s had already been well established in the area by that time (McFeature, Banks, 2024).

According to the 1988 WAGS book, family names of early Telford, as maintained by the United Methodist Church as of 1860, were: Cloyd, Reed, Byerley, Cox, Henley, Patton, Angel, May, Way, Campbell, Hickman, Craigmile, Brown, Tucker, and Carson (82). About earlier European families, who started settling the area about 1780, the 1988 WAGS book lists: Burleson, Fain, Stinson, Barkley, Greene, Embree, Willson, Campbell, Starnes, Moore, Pearce, Brown, Bayless, McCray, Calvert, and Nodding (211-213). Again, contrary to the Athenian Society minutes, the WAGS book states that Millwood was changed to “Telford Depot” in 1855, and that “...at a date sometime after 1876 the word ‘Depot’ was discontinued... (211).” It has also been referred to as “Telford Station” (Anderson, Vol 2, 23). Today we call this place "Telford," and I would wager that many residents thereabouts do not even know why. During our interviews, Mr. Bob Shanks shared with me that he thought Col. Telford had a vision of bringing folks to Telford for tourism purposes, and that this may have been his greatest contribution to the community (Shanks, Banks, 2025). While Col. Telford was appointed postmaster of Millwood in January of 1861, later succeeded by Luke Bayless, it was not until August 19, 1878, that the name of the post office was changed to Telford, according to Cox, et al. (2001, 859). By then, it would have been possible to ride the rails from Telford coast to coast across America and back (Figure 18), thanks, not only to Col. Telford, but at least one other enterprising young man who grew up in the area along Little Limestone Creek.  

According to a newspaper clipping pasted within the scrapbook collection of John Fain Anderson, noted local historian (housed in the Archives of Appalachia), “Dr. Samuel B. Cunningham...,” who grew up “...lower down the creek...from the old Embree House...,” “...was known throughout East Tennessee as one of the leading physicians and surgeons of his day...” and “...will also be remembered...as the prime mover and the first president of the...” ET&V Railroad (Anderson, 1901, Volume 2, 46). “In fact,” according to Mr. Ned Irwin of the Washington County, Tennessee Department of Records Management and Archives, “he was perhaps the most influential figure in the economic development...” of our area in the 19th Century (2024, 1). In 1849 he became president of the ET&V Railroad which eventually became Southern Railroad, which had an immeasurable impact on the livelihood of the entire region of Southern Appalachia (Irwin, 2).

Another local boy named John Blair may have been born in 1790 at the Blair farm which was, according to Anderson, “...close to the old Cunningham farm...,” near the Earnest Chapel (Volume 5, Page 80). He grew up to serve as a "...member of the State house of representatives 1815-1817;” and “...in the State senate 1817-1821;” was “...elected as a Jackson Republican to the Eighteenth Congress; reelected as a Jacksonian candidate to the Nineteenth and to the four succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1823-March 3, 1835), according to the online Biographic Directory of the U. S. Congress (accessed July 3, 2025). His online bio says that he was “... born at Blairs Mill, near Jonesborough...”—yet another place I have been unable to exactly pinpoint on any area map.

A few years ago, I aided the owner of the old Wassom House in Telford (found near the Embree House; across the road from the Earnest Chapel Cemetery), with the removal and organization of several boxes of material from storage which had unfortunately been infested by mice. Silverfish insects had also fed on the starchy paper among the materials. Most of the material had seemingly been hoarded by one former resident known as Miss Ida Wassom, who was a local schoolteacher and former Telford Postmistress. She kept quite a collection of teaching materials and many unorganized newspaper clippings. After organizing and cleaning the materials, the owner kept what he wanted and left the rest for me to dispose of as I would. Among the papers I kept was a news article from the front page of the Jonesboro, Tennessee Herald and Tribune by Sam M. Russell titled "Present Highway the Logical Tourist Route Thru County,” dated October 1, 1930. The article bemoaned a proposed new highway that would bypass many tourist attractions in Washington County, Tennessee. Telford is specifically mentioned as having “...the site of the first flour mill west of the Allegheny Mountains....” Perhaps this is a reference to the mill mentioned by Fink as having been proposed by Michael Baines, (as shown in the Minutes of the Washington County Court in 1778), as mentioned in Chapter 1 herein. In addition, Cox, et al, note that “Michael Baines...built a mill on Little Limestone Creek (2001, 348).” Russell also mentions the Embree House, “...the first abolitionist newspaper in the United States...,” and several other points of interest along the then-present Old Highway 34, which coincidently follows (roughly) the Old Stage Road between Abingdon, Virginia and Knoxville, Tennessee. This phenomenal finding illustrates that community anxieties about infrastructure changes have been part of its story for nearly a century. Russell ends the article with an appeal to maintain the old highway to allow tourists “...a breath, a cool drink, and a look at our historic spots...” rather than racing a straight shot through Washington County.

About the Embree House, much of our local Telford history is associated with this structure and its grounds. The Embree family moved to the area from New Jersey in 1769 or 1770, according to historian John Fain Anderson as quoted in a 1935 newspaper article written by one Vivian Larkey. As of the date of the article, the Embree House was owned by Mr. & Mrs. Horace M. Hartman (Figure 19). It has had many owners and occupants over the years. Mrs. Edna McFeature shared with me that her family lived there when she was about three years old, which was during the early 1930s (McFeature, Banks, 2024).

Figure 20 is an image found online through the Heritage Alliance of Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia labeled as the Embree House; however, the same image was found attached to a newspaper article from 1913 saved in Volume 5 of John Fain Anderson’s Scrapbooks held by the Archives of Appalachia at ETSU. The article identifies it as the Gillespie-Klepper Stone House of Limestone, Tennessee (Figure 21). They were both built by a stonemason named Seth Smith near the end of the 18th century, so that explains the similarities. If I had not found the article in the scrapbook, I would have unknowingly used it as a representation of the Embree House.

Figure 22. Telford Community Club Postcard to Miss Ida Wassom (Banks Collection)

Thanks to the watchful eyes of Mrs. Janette Guinn, who volunteers her time sorting through documents for the Washington County, Tennessee Department of Records Management and Archives, we have a few more details about both the Ladies Aid and the Junior O.U.A.M of Telford. In State of Tennessee v. Bank of Telford (1930), case documentation reveals that the name of the Treasurer for the Ladies Aid Society was Mrs. F.H. Wagner and that the Junior O.U.A.M. Council #139 Treasurer was Mr. N.M. Self. The discovery of these names is significant, moving beyond anecdotal evidence to provide a concrete record of individuals in leadership roles. This detail not only enriches the historical record for posterity but also offers valuable leads for any future genealogical or community research into these influential local organizations.

According to yet another court case found by Mrs. Guinn, Mrs. McFeature’s recollection of the “hosiery mill” is given precise historical context by a 1938 court case, Maloney, Keys, and Miller v. W.W. Ricks. The case documentation reveals the official name of the enterprise was Ricks Hosiery Mills, Inc. of Greeneville, Tennessee, which was subsequently transferred to our Telford Hosiery Mills. This finding is significant for several reasons. First, it provides legal names for a key local industry previously known only through oral history. Second, it establishes a direct business link between Telford and the nearby industrial center of Greeneville. Finally, the involvement of the Maloney and Keys families in the lawsuit further cements their central role in Telford’s 20th-century economic life, connecting the hosiery mill to the same families associated with the Eureka Roller Mill and Keys' General Store.

And finally, according to yet another newspaper clipping dated December 7, 1925, of an obituary pasted within the scrapbook collection of John Fain Anderson, about a civic-minded individual (Volume 6, Reference #238):

Isaac A. Campbell, 68 years of age, one of the prominent merchants and citizens of this section, died...at his home in Telford after an illness...with influenza. The deceased was    one of the prominent merchants of Telford, where he has been in business for more than thirty-five years. He was an influential man in public affairs, and one of strong influence   for community betterment.... He was one of the pioneer business men of this section; with    a wide circle of relatives and friends.  

Please refer to Figure 14 of an “I.A. Campbell Trade Token” good for 25 cents in merchandise. Mr. Bob Shanks told me that when he was working at the Hickman House, he found an I.A Campbell trade token good for three cents in merchandise that later disappeared from his toolbox where he had placed it upon discovery (Shanks, Banks, 2025). When Mr. Campbell passed away 100 years ago, according to the obituary, he started his business in 1890. Apparently, the family kept the same name for the business since it was advertised as the location for the Ladies’ Aid supper in December of 1930. But again, not many people know exactly where this pioneer business was specifically located. This loss of specific, tangible history underscores the urgency of the central question this research now seeks to answer: How are we to make sense of a past that is felt so deeply, yet documented so sparsely?