Wilhoite History Timeline

Wilhoite History Timeline. . , During the mid 1800s enslaved African Americans worked on the surrounding farms producing corps, maintaining livestock, and building infrastructure. Their work resulted in an improved economic status and development of the community. An estate sale published in 1842 in the Tennessean included the listing of six enslaved people. Records like this demonstrate the perception and reality of enslaved people as property., While using enslaved and local labor, Anna and her sons, John and Jacob Wilhoite, started construction on the grist mill, crib log, and stone ballast dam that was located near the current Wilhoite Mill Trailhead. , In 1876, Anna Wilhoite passed away at the age of 62. She left a woman-owned industry that was the center of the community. This was a rare accomplishment considering that in 1849, the Tennessee Legislature declared “women lack independent souls and thus should not be allowed to own property.” , When John Wilhoite died in 1911, his daughter Adeline and her husband Henry Horton moved back to take over the farm and mill operations that the Chapel Hill community still relied upon. Horton would later become the 36th Governor of Tennessee. , Many community members worked for local farms, receiving crops as payment from the landowners. These crops were then brought to the mill. , After Henry Horton’s death in 1934, Adeline and family continued running the mill. The locals would regularly use the section of the river at the mill site for recreation. , In 1950, the mill was destroyed by a fire. Community members who had grain on deposit at the mill were able to get their flour and meal from another local mill – Kingston’s Mill. Oral history says that the Wilhoite family would drive some locals to the Kingston Mill since transportation was very limited. , In 1961, Adeline sold the land to the state for $135,000 establishing the Henry Horton State Park. The Wilhoite / Horton Mansion was torn down, but the original rock wall, which runs parallel to the highway, remains near the part entrance. , Remnants of old homesteads and the mill still remain through the park. , [Captions:] , Current stone wall near Henry Horton State Park entrance.