Appalachians All: East Tennesseans and the Elusive History of an American Region

350 Pages·2010·2.89 MB·English

by  Mark T. Banker

Appalachians All

Appalachians All
East Tennesseans and the Elusive History of an American Region
Mark T. Banker
The University of Tennessee Press (cid:116) Knoxville
C
Copyright © 2010 by The University of Tennessee Press / Knoxville.
All Rights Reserved. Manufactured in the United States of America.
Cloth: 1st printing, 2010.
Paper: 1st printing: 2011
The paper in this book meets the requirements of American National
Standards Institute / National Information Standards Organization
specification Z39.48-1992 (Permanence of Paper). It contains 30 percent
post-consumer waste and is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Banker, Mark T., 1951–
Appalachians all: East Tennesseans and the elusive history of an American
region / Mark T. Banker. — 1st ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
eISBN 13: 978-1-57233-772-5
eISBN 10: 1-57233-772-9
1. Appalachians (People)—Tennessee, East—Ethnic identity.
2. Appalachians (People)—Tennessee, East—History.
3. Tennessee, East—History.
I. Title.
F442.1.B365 2010
976.8'8—dc22
2009045367
In Memory of
Luke Eugene Banker (1913–1986)
and
Katherine Thomas Banker (1919–1997)
Dad’s passing and Mom’s needs thereafter brought me home to East
Tennessee—making this book both possible and necessary.
Hear what the Lord Says: Arise, plead your case before the moun-
tains, and let the hills hear your voice…. He has showed you, O man,
what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice,
and love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.
—Micah 6:1 and 8 (Revised Standard Version)
If what I have to say, then, does not entirely satisfy your desire for
intimate knowledge, the severity of your criticism may be minimized
somewhat by the admission that I now make that I do not claim to
have compassed the whole truth. I do assert, however, that what I say
seems true to me at present writing and necessary to be known.
—John C. Campbell, The Southern Highlander
and His Homeland
Contents
Preface xi
Acknowledgments xv
Prologue: East Tennessee Insights into ElusiveAppalachia 1
Part I.
Before There Was an Appalachia, 1750–1880 17
1. East Tennessee Beginnings: Cherokee and Pioneer Legacies and the
Births of Three Representative Communities 25
2. Mid-Nineteenth-Century Crises: From Mainstream to Margin in
East Tennessee 49
Part II.
Appalachia Discovered: Insights from East Tennessee, 1870–1930 73
3. Queen City of the Mountains: Knoxville and the Vision of a New
South 83
4. New South Realities: East Tennessee’s Hinterlands as Resource
Producer for Industrial America 109
5. Appalachia on Their Minds: East Tennesseans and the Discovery
of an American Region, 1875–1925 133
Part III.
Appalachia, East Tennessee, and Modern America, 1920–2006 161
6. East Tennessee from Bad Times to Good Times (for Some), 1920–1965 171
7. Appalachia (Slowly) Awakens: A Regional Overview, 1920–1975 193
8. Coming Home to a New Appalachia: The Awakening in East
Tennessee’s Hinterlands, 1970–Present 205
9. The AwakeninginEastTennessee’sLeadingCityandan Ongoing
Homecoming, 1970–Present 223
Epilogue: Reimagining Appalachia and Ourselves 247
Notes on Sources 257
Bibliography 303
Index 319

Illustrations
1597 Map with “Apalche” Label 2
Map Endorsed by Appalachian Regional Commission 3
Map of East Tennessee Showing Three Representative Communities 9
Nicholas Gibbs Homeplace in 1910 20
1926 Gathering at Mitch Thomas Dwelling 22
Sketch of Eighteenth-Century Cherokee Warrior Cunne Shote 28
Blockhouse and Barracks at White’s Fort in 1792 36
Original Layout of Knoxville 37
Elijah Oliver Home in Cades Cove 43
Roane County Native Joseph Walker, Fur Trader 54
Troops Moving through Cumberland Gap in 1862 67
Thomas Smiley’s 1859 Photograph of Knoxville 68
May Gibbs in 1911 Graduation Photo 78
Nelle Brumit in 1912 Graduation Photo 78
G. Tollie Thomas with Sheep in Arms, ca. 1910 79
Luke H. Banker 79
Paul Webb’s “Mountain Boys” 81
1906 Pamphlet Promoting Knoxville 86
Prophet of Smokies, 1916 103
Main Entrance, 1911 Appalachian Exposition 105
Mountain Cabin, 1911 Appalachian Exposition 105
Overhead Skidder Used by Little River Lumber Company 118
Mountain Locals Roasting Hog for Visiting Tourists 122
Eagan Coal Camp, ca. 1925 131
Emma Bell Miles 146
John C. Campbell 150
Horace Kephart 151
John C. Oliver Carrying Mail in Late 1920s 155
Tourists at “John Oliver’s Lodge” in August 1930 157
Katherine and Tollie Thomas in 1922 164
Vendors at Knoxville’s Market Square in 1928 165