If you’ve ever seen the hit series Antiques Roadshow, you’ve probably seen it happen. An item is appraised, most likely something that the owner says has been lying around forever, and it turns out to be worth more than anyone had imagined. What many people might not realize, though, is that the great finds aren’t just seen on TV.
In fact, since the event began in 2005, quite a few items made right here in Northeast Tennessee have been rediscovered as treasures during Greeneville’s Annual Antique Appraisal Fair and Show.
This C. A. Haun piece set an artist record when it sold at auction for $36,800
In 2009, for example, a mid-19th-century miniature Sheraton chest of drawers made in Washington County sold for $8,966 at auction. The following year, a stoneware jar made in Washington County in the late 19th century by Charles Decker, complete with his trademark open tulip design, sold for $2,610 at auction.
The C. A. Haun jar shown on the left sold for $38,600 in 2010, and a similar jar by J. A. Lowe set a Tennessee pottery record in 2008 before when it sold at auction for an incredible $63,000. It’s possible (and probable) that Lowe may have been Haun’s apprentice at some point before the Civil War. And like many of the craftsmen hailing from the ”Potterville” area in East Tennessee at that time, their work is only getting more valuable.
These are just a few examples of Northeast Tennessee’s rich artisan history producing items that sometime prove to be very valuable at international auctions.
Who knows? Some of the things you have lying around could be worth more than you think. Your chance to find out is coming up on Saturday, Feb. 18, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. during the Seventh Annual Appraisal Fair and Show at Greeneville High School. General admission is free, and appraisals will be $5 per item.
Driving down Interstate 26 last weekend, my mind resonated with everything I had ever heard (or learned) about Unicoi County and the town of Erwin.
Of course, there’s the incredible scenery…where you can see the ghosted peaks of the Unaka Mountain Range separating Tennessee and North Carolina. There’s the “Grand Canyon of the East,” a vastly deep gorge carved by thousands of years worth of flowing waters from the Nolichucky River. There’s that good old story of “Murderous Mary,” the crazed elephant that was hung from a railroad derrick…
And I wandered through every recollection I’d ever had about this place, there was one thing I just couldn’t seem to figure out: “What the heck is so special about apples anyway?” Read the rest of this entry »
It wasn’t so much what he said, or how he said it, that led to British Colonel Patrick Ferguson’s demise.
It was WHO he said it to.
During the Revolutionary War, Ferguson was charged with flushing out unruly settlers who’d defied a royal order and settled west of the Appalachian Mountains. But when he threatened them, saying he’d “lay their country to waste with fire and sword,” the settlers in modern-day Northeast Tennessee and the surrounding area decided they weren’t going to wait for the British to come find them. They were going to handle the matter themselves.
In February of 1894, a feeble, one-armed man walked into the offices of Dr. W.T. Delaney in Bristol. His name was James Keelan, and though he was never one to take charity, he was in a bit of a pinch. His wife had died, and Keelan was the sole guardian of three granddaughters. And at age 76, he had no reasonable option for employment. However, the Tennessee legislature had funded a pension for former Confederate soldiers, and Keelan—claiming he was a veteran of the Civil War—was there to request his rightful payment. But when Delaney began to question the man about his service, he uncovered one of the most incredible and heroic stories he’d ever heard…which would forever earn Keelan a place in American Military history. This is his story:
James Keelan was born in Virginia in 1818. The son of farmers, Keelan learned to hunt, fish, and farm at a young age. He led a relatively quiet existence until the onset of the Civil War. By that time, he was 43 years old, but still enlisted in the Confederate Army within the Will Thomas Legion.
James Keelan
In October of 1861, unbeknownst to the Confederates, the pro-Union William B. Carter devised a plan to invade East Tennessee via the Cumberland Gap (a crucial crossing point for the Confederate Army). Without hesitation, the plan was approved by President Lincoln, General William Sheridan and General George Thomas. As the invasion started, some unexpected moves by the Confederates separated the Union regiments, and Carter’s army was left alone to invade Tennessee, burning bridges and destroying infrastructure. They were successful, to a point, until they reached the Strawberry Plains Bridge over the Holston River outside Knoxville. And as it turns out, the regiment assigned to protect the Strawberry Plains Bridge was none other than the Will Thomas Legion.
It’s no secret that Northeast Tennessee features some of the most amazing natural beauty in the world. And among the picturesque mountains along the eastern edge of the state, perhaps none is more magical and memorable than Roan Mountain in Carter County.
One of the first people to take note of this was Union General John Wilder in the 1880s. Just a few years before, he’d commanded “Wilder’s Lightning Brigade” in the Civil War. He was quick-witted and extremely intelligent, not to mention an inventor, expert in hydraulics, and foundry owner. And when he laid eyes on Roan Mountain, he decided to add another title to his resume: Hotel Entrepreneur.
Originally from New York, Wilder had settled in Tennessee after the war. He quickly saw the strategic advantage of nearby Johnson City as a railroad junction, and with the nearby Cranberry Mines, he planned to establish the area as a center of iron and steel manufacturing. He built the Carnegie Furnace and established the Carnegie Land Company (which explains the Carnegie Hotel and Andrew Carnegie’s connection to East Tennessee). But standing at the top of Roan Mountain in 1884, Wilder realized that scenic beauty was a “mine” of a different sort. He envisioned a hotel that would seamlessly combine creature comforts with the serenity that only picturesque views of Northeast Tennessee could provide.
It would be called the Cloudland Hotel, and Wilder envisioned patrons from across the country praising its unique offerings. In fact, an advertisement in a local paper read:
Come up out of the sultry plains
to the land of the sky.
Magnificent views above the clouds
where the rivers are born.
The hotel is the highest human habitation
east of the Rocky Mountains.
Sarah Lane was a normal lady. She was born in Greene County in the 1830s, married Sylvanius S. Thompson, and by all accounts, maintained a very “average” existence.
But when the Civil War broke out, her husband was one of the few Northeast Tennesseeans to align himself with the Union Army. So he (and Sarah) spent the next few months organizing Union sympathizers and infiltrating the Confederate ranks in Greeneville. And so, it was only a matter of time until, in 1864, Sylvanius was ambushed and killed by a Confederate soldier.
Sarah Thompson
Sarah was devastated. But instead of wallowing in self-pity, she vowed revenge. She dedicated herself more than ever to the Union cause.
Loch Ness has its monster; the Pacific Northwest has Sasquatch; Mexico has the Chupacabra.
But what does Northeast Tennessee have?
The Wampus Cat. Half-woman, half-cat, and all-terrorizing—the cat kills animals, steals children and smells like a mixture of skunk and wet dog.
Nice, huh?
It’s really no secret that cats have long been associated with witches and/or evil in general. If a black cat crosses your path, you’re in for some bad luck. But if the Wampus Cat crosses your path, “bad luck” might be the best you can hope for!
Local legend gives numerous accounts of where the Wampus Cat came from, but one thing that everyone agrees on is that it’s been scaring the bejeezus out of people in Northeast Tennessee for hundreds of years.
