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New Johnsonville in Humphreys County, Tennessee — The American South (East South Central)
 

The Town of Johnsonville

 
 
The Town of Johnsonville Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Don Morfe, April 19, 2014
1. The Town of Johnsonville Marker
Inscription. A civilian community grew up beside the army supply depot, providing goods and services to soldiers and civilian workers. After the Civil War, Johnsonville's economy revolved around the river and the railroad. Johnsonville ceased to exist in the early 1940s, when the rising waters of newly-created Kentucky Lake covered the town.

Old Johnsonville

The Union supply depot presented an opportunity for businessmen. Soon hotels, boarding houses, saloons and general stores rose on the lots next to the depot. After the Civil War, the railroad bridged the Tennessee River and Johnsonville became a stopping point for commercial travelers. Excursion steamboats filled with sightseers made regular stops. Farms dotted the fertile floodplain. The river supported commercial fishing and musseling.

The town's location on the unpredictable Tennessee River proved perilous more than once, but the town survived the periodic flooding. Finally, the Tennessee Valley Authority did what Confederate cannon balls and floodwaters could not. The town of Johnsonville went under water for the last time in 1944 with the completion of Kentucky Dam and Lake.

(caption)
Scenes of Old Johnsonville, clockwise from top right: a flood scene, ca 1940; the H.E. Hennen docked near the railroad bridge ca.1930; the
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railroad bridge built in 1871 and destroyed when Kentucky Lake was created. Flood scene courtesy Humphreys County Public Library and other photographs courtesy Johnsonville State Historic Park
 
Erected by Tennessee State Parks.
 
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Industry & CommerceSettlements & SettlersWar, US CivilWaterways & Vessels. A significant historical year for this entry is 1944.
 
Location. 36° 3.624′ N, 87° 57.836′ W. Marker is in New Johnsonville, Tennessee, in Humphreys County. Marker is on Old Johnsonville Road, 0.7 miles west of Nell Beard Road, on the right when traveling west. The marker is located on the grounds of the Johnsonville State Historic Park. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 900 Nell Beard Road, New Johnsonville TN 37134, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Nashville and Northwestern Railroad (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Lower Redoubt (approx. 0.2 miles away); Winfrey Cemetery (approx. 0.2 miles away); The Final Tally (approx. 0.2 miles away); Forrest's Opening Move (approx. 0.2 miles away); Forrest Shells the Depot (approx. 0.2 miles away); Building the Upper Redoubt
The Town of Johnsonville Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Don Morfe, April 19, 2014
2. The Town of Johnsonville Marker
(approx. 0.2 miles away); United States Colored Troops at Johnsonville (approx. 0.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in New Johnsonville.
 
Also see . . .  Johnsonville State Historic Park. (Submitted on June 15, 2014.)
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. It was originally submitted on June 15, 2014, by Don Morfe of Baltimore, Maryland. This page has been viewed 591 times since then and 12 times this year. Photos:   1, 2. submitted on June 15, 2014, by Don Morfe of Baltimore, Maryland. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.

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Mar. 19, 2024