"In the summer
of 1933, amid the agony of a national depression, the Tennessee
Valley Authority began to acquire land in the rocky, sloping meadows
of upper East Tennessee. Its purpose was to create a storage
reservoir and hydroelectric facility at the confluence of the Clinch
and Powell rivers, the northeastern tributaries of the Tennessee.
Thus the federal agency began a course of action which transformed
thousands of human lives and effected multitudinous environmental and
economic changes, the repercussions of which are still being felt
today." (McDonald and Muldowny p.3)
This quote from
Michael J. McDonald and John Muldowny's book, TVA and the
Dispossessed, describes the
conditions that set the stage for the little Arnwine cabin to be
moved from the shores of the Clinch River in Grainger County and
eventually be placed in John Rice Irwin's Museum of Appalachia.
When Dave Tabler mentioned that he was
going to the Museum Of Appalachia's Fall Homecoming, I told him to be
sure to see the Arnwine Cabin. This tiny one room log cabin is
listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is a little
piece of history and it belonged to my family. I was sure that he
would not want to miss it. So, when Dave asked me to write about
the history of the Arnwine Cabin, I thought it would be an easy task.
After all, I had been to the cabin several times, I knew a bit about
it, I had some records and the recollection of the stories that my
Grandmother told me. Easy peasy, right?
First, I wanted to go back to the
museum because all the pictures were of the side door or of a new
door that was added to the cabin. So, on Friday, my daughter, my
granddaughter and I drove up to the museum. I had to climb back in
the weeds next to the fence to get a picture of the front of the
cabin. I should have taken this as a hint that this was not going to
be as easy as I had thought, but in for a penny, in for a pound.
After all, it was a beautiful Fall day in East Tennessee and I was
having a great time with my daughter and granddaughter.
I had already obtained a copy of the
application for placement on the National Register of Historic
Places. They date the cabin from the late 1700's to the early
1800's. The builder of the cabin is listed as old Wes Arnwine. Now,
the problem is that are are no records of a Wes Arnwine who could
have built the cabin during this time period, so who actually built
this cabin?
Since I know who lived in the cabin
last- Aunt Lisa Jane and Polly Ann Arnwine. I am tracing their
family back to learn who could have built the cabin.
Polly is said to be the daughter of John Arnwine and Chole Rector.
ReplyDelete"Our subject, John Arnwine, came to what is now McMinn County before 1819
and as an old deed says, purchased his first parcel of ground from the
Cherokee chief "Falling Water" and his daughter, Betsy McIntosh; 300 acres
for a rifle and a horse. John later obtained land grants from the government
and purchased other tracts until by 1850 he owned over 3,000 acres, covering
most of the northern end of McMinn county. By his industrious nature (and
the benefit of slave labor) he became one of the wealthier men in McMinn
county, Tennessee."
Soruce: http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/ARWINE/2001-06/0992232018
The Mary (Polly) who was the daughter of John Arnwine and Chloe Rector was born long before the Polly who was the last of the two sisters who lived in the Arnwine cabin. This Mary (Polly) was, according to her death certificate), the daughter of William Arnwine and Mary Rector. She lived until 1931. She lived in Grainger County all her life.
ReplyDeleteThis family is related to the Arnwine family that moved to McMinn County. The are both descendants of James Arnwine and Roseanna Beeler.
I think Mary Rector was the wife of Daniel Arnwine and the grandmother of the Mary (Polly) who was the last to live in the cabin. I think Mary's parents were William Arnwine and Mary Dyer.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the blogs on the cabin ... they are wonderful!
That is what I understand also. Mary (Polly) and Eliza Jane were the last two family members to live there. Parents William Arnwine and Mary Dyer. They are listed as parents on Polly's death certificate, but I have not been able to locate a death certificate for Eliza Jane.
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