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Historic Maryville, 404 West Broadway, Maryville, TN (2026)

06/11/2026

This colorized image of the A.K. Harper Memorial Library (now Dandy Lions Gifts) under construction has been animated using AI. The original photograph used for comparison appears in the comments below.

Dating from 1930–1931, the colorized image depicts workmen constructing the A.K. Harper Memorial Library, a project made possible through the generosity of Dora (Reagan) Harper (1859–1936), widow of Andrew Knott Harper. Mrs. Harper donated both the building site and $15,000 toward construction of the library, while George Hammontree was awarded the building contract. The structure measures 42 feet 7 inches by 50 feet 8 inches.

A memorial tablet located in the rotunda honors Andrew Knott Harper (1853–1929) and his two sons, Fred Harper (1891–1918) and Lieutenant Milton Lee Harper (1886–1918), who was killed during World War I. In 1919, the City of Maryville renamed Austin Street as Harper Avenue in memory of Lieutenant Harper.

Visible to the left of the library is Second Presbyterian Church, which served an African American congregation from approximately 1871 until 1946.

The building continued to serve as the public library until 1981, when the Blount County Public Library relocated to a new facility. The American Red Cross subsequently occupied the former library building and remained there for approximately twenty-five years. Since 2007, the structure has housed Dandy Lions Gifts, operated by Joy (Forster) Carver, continuing the building's long tradition of community service in downtown Maryville.

Individuals identified in the photograph include Jim Stephenson, standing second from the left on the front porch and wearing a hat, and his son, James Stephenson, who can be seen near the top of the image beside a utility pole.

Today, the former A.K. Harper Memorial Library remains one of downtown Maryville's most recognizable historic landmarks, linking the city's educational, civic, and commercial history across nearly a century.

06/04/2026

Join Mark Bennett for a special walking tour of downtown Maryville on July 11, the anniversary of the founding of both Blount County and the City of Maryville.

This tour will feature recently discovered historical information based on original documentation and research. Participants will learn the history of downtown buildings, what stood on many of these sites before the present structures were erected, and how the community evolved over time.

The tour will also highlight the locations of African American-owned businesses that once operated in downtown Maryville, bringing attention to an important part of the city's history that is often overlooked. Through deeds, newspapers, maps, photographs, and other archival records, attendees will gain a deeper understanding of the people, businesses, and buildings that shaped Maryville's past.

Whether you are a longtime resident, history enthusiast, or first-time visitor, this walking tour offers a unique opportunity to explore downtown Maryville through newly uncovered historical evidence and stories.

05/22/2026

Pictured here is the Mize & Son Plaining Mill, taken around 1920. The facility stood near present-day 806 High Street, where Downey Oil Company—operator of KenJo Markets—now maintains a warehouse and office. Across High Street at the time was the Southern Coffin and Casket Company.

The planing mill was constructed in 1914 after George Newton Mize (1867–1944) and his son, Beecher Elmer Mize (1893–1957), natives of Sevier County, sold their earlier business, Chilhowee Planing Mills, to Frye and Bogle. Unlike earlier mills powered by water, Mize & Son operated entirely by electricity. George’s second wife, O’Ledia Kinzel Mize (1882–1974), was a daughter of Edward John Kinzel (1843–1929), the namesake of Kinzel Springs. Beecher served during World War I and suffered injuries from mustard gas exposure.

On August 25, 1925, the mill was destroyed by fire and was never rebuilt. Although the nearby Southern Coffin and Casket Company sustained some damage, its primary operations building survived. In 1930, Gulf Refining Company acquired part of the property and constructed a storage facility on the site now occupied by Downey Oil Company.

George Mize lived on property now occupied by Andy’s Frozen Custard on Washington Avenue, while Beecher resided in a two-story home at the corner of present-day Lamar Alexander Parkway and Washington Avenue. Beecher’s sons later became well known locally, including Elmer Mize (1926–2003), who served as town historian, and Bob Mize (1932–2026), who served as vice president and director of development at Louisburg College, a Methodist-affiliated school in North Carolina, and passed away only days ago. Elmer and Bob’s maternal grandfather, Willard Oscar Farmer, Sr. (1874–1952), was one of Maryville’s last blacksmiths. One of his blacksmith shops stood on the present parking lot of Foothills Milling Company Restaurant on Ellis Avenue.

Written by Mark Bennett

05/08/2026

Shown here is a painting of Major James Houston (1757–1840), which hangs in the Blount County Courthouse. Born in Rockbridge County, Virginia, he was the son of Samuel Houston and Elizabeth (McCroskey) Houston and a first cousin of the father of Sam Houston (1793–1863), the noted Tennessee and Texas statesman. During the Revolutionary War, Houston served as a private and ensign in the Virginia Militia and fought at the Battle of King’s Mountain. Around 1788, he helped defend Houston’s Fort against Native American attacks and was later reimbursed for rations furnished during the conflict.
Houston married Esther Houston in 1780, and they had four children. Following her death, he married Mary “Polly” Gillespie in 1791, and they had nine children. Eight of his daughters married ministers, linking the Houston family closely with the religious and educational development of East Tennessee.
After settling in East Tennessee, Houston served as a justice of the peace in 1793 in the portion of Knox County that became Blount County in 1795. In 1796, he represented the area as a delegate to the Tennessee Constitutional Convention, helping frame the new state government. That same year, the Blount County Quarterly Court elected him county court clerk, a position he held until his resignation in 1818. His office stood in downtown Maryville on the site now occupied by the White Star Station event center. He also served as a trustee of Porter Academy in 1806.
Houston later obtained a Tennessee state grant and settled on a farm encompassing land now occupied by Green Meadow Country Club and the Andover subdivision. His descendants remained deeply connected to Blount County history. His daughter Phoebe (Houston) Tedford inherited the Green Meadow farm, and her great-grandson, Craig Tedford (1898–1991), later manufactured locally produced freezers marketed as “Craigidaires.” His sister, Lennis Tedford, taught future U.S. Senator and Tennessee Governor Lamar Alexander to play piano.
Another daughter, Sydney Houston (1818–1892), married Rev. John Sawyers Craig (1814–1893), a Maryville College professor of languages who lived downtown on the site now occupied by the eastern parking lot of the former Boyd Thomas Clothing building. Their home later became the Central House hotel. Another daughter, Malinda Houston, married Rev. Ralph E. Tedford (1808–1878), who lived in a house across Church Street from what is now McCammon-Ammons-Click Funeral Home. Their daughter, Martha Tedford, married Thomas Jefferson Lamar (1826–1887), remembered as the “second founder” of Maryville College for helping save the institution from permanent closure. The namesake of Robert C. Jackson Drive also descended from Major Houston, and direct descendants of the family remain in Blount County today.

Written by Mark Bennett

05/01/2026

This photograph shows the F.W. Woolworth Company retail store, which opened in 1955 after the building that would occupy the business was completed. It stood adjacent to what is now Preservation Plaza (formerly the Blount National Bank) and Founder’s Square. This building lot, along with the adjoining parcel that now forms the western portion of Founder’s Square—then extending to College Street (a portion of which is now closed)—was previously occupied by New Providence Presbyterian Church from 1892 until 1953, when the church building was demolished before the congregation moved to its present campus. The former downtown church site also marked the original location of Maryville College prior to its current relocation in 1870.

The building, designed to accomodate four stores—two on Broadway Avenue and two on Church Street, was developed by Blount Properties, Inc., led by Marvie L. Tipton (1901–1962), who also served as president of Blount National Bank (1936–1939). Other principals included Walter “Walt” Lambert (1892–1961) of Vulcan Materials, Carl O. Koella, Sr. (1909–1973) of Rockford Manufacturing, and Dr. Samuel D. Mount, Sr. (1901–1997), a local dentist. The store had 9,700 square feet of floor space and 1,100 square feet of counter display. A lunch counter near the entrance was a typical feature of Woolworth stores. At opening, the store employed about twenty people. Woolworth’s closed around 1970, and Parks-Belk opened in the space in 1972, later expanding into an adjoining shop formerly occupied by the Diana Shops.

Written by Mark Bennett

04/24/2026

This colorized photograph shows the fourth Blount County jail, which stood at the corner of Harper Avenue and Cusick Street.

Built in 1901 by the Panly Jail Company of St. Louis, Missouri, the structure cost approximately $15,000 and reflected a common design of the time by combining living quarters with detention space. The residential portion was a two-story, eight-room dwelling for the sheriff and his family, while the jail section rose three stories and included a large basement used as a workhouse. Inmates were classified by offense, with those charged with misdemeanors housed on the second floor and felony prisoners confined to the third. The facility had a capacity of about forty inmates.

Sheriff John H. Pickens (1852–1910) was the first to reside there when the jail opened. He was the maternal grandfather of Arthur Boyd “A.B.” Goddard (1925–2018) and Houston Monroe Goddard (1927–2004), both of whom later became well-known attorneys in Maryville. After the Blount County Courthouse annex jail was completed in 1957, the Harper Avenue jail was demolished in 1958. Sheriff Edward C. Guinn (1911–1995) was the last to occupy the building.

Written by Mark Bennett

04/10/2026

Pictured here is the Blount County Children’s Home around 1964, then located on a hillside off of McCammon Avenue, formerly known as Louisville Road. Earlier known as the Industrial Home, the institution occupied a house built in 1907 by Josiah Nicholson “Joe” Henry (1848–1926).

The property also included the area where the Parkside subsidized housing complex, operated by the Maryville Housing Authority, now stands. This land was part of the Tennessee land grant of Revolutionary War veteran John Woods (1763–1838), who operated a tavern in downtown Maryville on the site now occupied by Roost and Clear Tai Chi. In 1926, the Industrial Home moved into the former Henry residence, where it housed around fifty children under the direction of Icie McCampbell (1886–1975).

In 1966, a second building was constructed on the property, and the Henry house was demolished to make way for the new facility. The Children’s Home remained there until it permanently closed in 2013.

Written by Mark Bennett

03/26/2026

Taken in 1965, this photograph shows Twin City Buick at the corner of East Broadway Avenue and New Street near the viaduct. The dealership took its name from Maryville and Alcoa’s long-standing identity as the “Twin Cities,” after the state denied the name Maryville Buick. Twin City Buick was established in 1956 when Harlan O. Hodge, J. Wesley Worley (1904–1985), and Hubert Ford (1902–1983) purchased Amos & Andy Buick Company after the original owners relocated to Chattanooga to expand in a larger market.

Amos Trotter (1908–1992) and Andy Trotter (1912–2004), brothers from Sevier County, established the original business after arriving in Blount County in 1937. Soon afterward, they opened a newly built gas station they called the Esso Servicenter at the corner of Morganton Road (now Highway 321) and West Broadway, at the site now occupied by Car Care, just east of West End Tire. In 1941, they constructed the building pictured below and remodeled it in 1946. The brothers initially sold Nash automobiles before later becoming a licensed Buick dealership.

In 1976, the Hodge family relocated Twin City Buick to the Motor Mile on Alcoa Highway, and Microbac Laboratories now occupies the former Broadway location. Today, Harlan’s son, Jerry Hodge, and grandson, Tom Hodge, remain involved with the dealership, which has expanded to include additional franchises since its move to the Motor Mile.

📷Photo courtesy: Jerry Hodge 📷
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03/18/2026

🇺🇸 America 250🇺🇸 🎈Women's History Month🎈

Mary “Maud” (Farnham) Crawford (1878–1960), a native of Sterling Valley, New York, is pictured here. In 1930, she and other women from the PTA were instrumental in persuading the Maryville City Council to rename East Side School as Fort Craig School.

The original school building, constructed in 1911, was razed in 1953. A new building was soon constructed on the same site, later housing the school until it closed in 2012. Since 2024, the facility has served as the central office for Maryville City Schools.

The name “Fort Craig” honored a fort that once stood on the site of today’s Blount Partnership. It was built by Revolutionary War veteran John Craig (1764–1852), a soldier at the Battle of King’s Mountain, who later donated fifty acres of land for the development of downtown Maryville.

Mrs. Crawford’s husband, John Calvin Crawford Sr. (1875–1949), whom she met while attending Maryville College, was a practicing attorney and served as Blount County judge (now county mayor) from 1924 to 1934. He was also the great-grandson of Revolutionary War soldier John Duncan (1752–1836), who married inside Fort Craig in 1788.

Together, Maud and John Crawford raised six sons—John Jr., George, Earle, Lynn, Gideon, and Roy—in their home built in 1906 on Crawford Street, the street named for the family. Drew Miles Insurance Agency occupies the home today.

Public service continued in the next generation. Their eldest son, John Crawford Jr. (1906–1981), served as mayor of Maryville from 1947 to 1953 and later as U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Tennessee. Their youngest son, Roy Crawford Sr. (1921–2016), represented Blount County in the Tennessee State Senate and later served as Maryville city attorney for more than three decades.

A remarkable family with a lasting impact on Maryville’s history.

03/04/2026

Pandora “Dora” (Reagan) Harper (1859–1936), pictured below, donated a downtown lot and funds for the construction of a library, built in 1931, in memory of her late husband, Andrew Knott Harper (1853–1929), who served as mayor of Maryville from 1907 to 1909 and again from 1911 to 1913. A. K. Harper was also a local merchant who operated a department store in a building that was destroyed by fire in 1906, the same blaze that consumed the courthouse. Bill Cox Furniture currently occupies that lot. The A. K. Harper Memorial Library building is now home to Dandy Lions Gifts.

In 1890, the Harpers built a large residence across the main thoroughfare from Broadway United Methodist Church, where Dora lived until her death. The couple was locally known for keeping a parrot, which neighborhood boys reportedly taught to shout naughty remarks at passersby. After Dora’s death, the home later operated as the Suttles Boarding House before being razed in 1949.

Dora’s brother, Joe Reagan, operated a city bakery located immediately east of the Blue Tick Tavern.

Harper Avenue commemorates her son, Milton L. Harper (1886–1918), who was killed in World War I.

Historic Maryville

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