Born 1/2 mile north of here on June 17, 1921, William Robert Anderson was a 1943 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy. He served during World War II and participated in 11 combat patrols in the Pacific. Anderson was the commanding officer of the first . . . — — Map (db m171327) HM
Hattie W. Caraway was born February 1, 1878, one-half mile south of here. In 1902, she married Thaddeus H. Caraway and moved to Jonesboro, Arkansas. Following the death of her husband, a United States Senator, in 1931 she entered the Senate from . . . — — Map (db m171328) HM
This re-created “Home Place” of Loretta Lynn, originally located in Butcher Holler, KY has been built in memory of Loretta’s parents Ted & Clara Webb and to portray the rags to riches legacy of “The Coal Miner’s Daughter”. — — Map (db m95595) HM
This mill and dam were built by
James T. Anderson
in 1896
Though wool was carded here, grain processing predominated. Corn meal and flour were shipped throughout the south. Restored by Loretta and Mooney Lynn, with whose permission this . . . — — Map (db m51735) HM
George Hillman first operated a gristmill
here in the 1870s, along with a general store
and post office. In 1894 James T. Anderson
bought the property and built the present-day
mill and dam that generated the first
electricity in Humphreys . . . — — Map (db m205505) HM
[Top plaque]
Built in Pennsylvania
1868
Presented by J. W. Shawl
[Bottom plaque]
The National Register
Tennessee
Historical Commission
Wilbert and Annie
Enochs' grist mill
of . . . — — Map (db m192693) HM
In 1934, Wilbert Enochs built a dam across Little Blue Creek to produce his own electricity. It took three years to complete the dam, which was 360 feet long and 30 feet wide. He cut and hewed logs to construct a mill that was used for grinding corn . . . — — Map (db m176899) HM
Located 1/2 mile east is the site of a wooden railroad trestle built for the Nashville & Northwestern Railroad during the Civil War. The 12th and 13th U.S. Colored Infantry constructed the trestle and 1305 feet of earthworks. They built another . . . — — Map (db m74379) HM
The Union army used a variety of field artillery to protect the supply depot at Johnsonville. Gunboats docked at the wharf were also equipped with heavy naval guns that were effective against Confederate field artillery. Ten field guns were . . . — — Map (db m177401) HM
Johnsonville was a major Federal supply depot on the Tennessee River at the western terminus of the Nashville and Northwestern Railroad, completed in May 1864. Col. Charles R. Thompson commanded the 2,000-man garrison here. The 12th, 13th, and 100th . . . — — Map (db m74390) HM
The construction of Johnsonville's Upper Redoubt - called Fort Johnson during the Civil War - is shrouded in mystery. A redoubt is an earthwork enclosed on all sides. The overall configuration may be square, polygonal, or circular. There is . . . — — Map (db m177359) HM
Crockett Cemetery sits in the shadow of the Upper Redoubt. This silent Civil War fortification now watches over the people who once lived and worked in Johnsonville.
Crockett Cemetery was founded here about 1880. In 1987, the families of Old . . . — — Map (db m177285) HM
Capt. John W. Morton, Forrest's chief of artillery, discovered a serious flaw in Johnsonville's defenses. The guns in the fortification could not be depressed enough to hit cannon placed behind the levee on the opposite side of the river. The . . . — — Map (db m176883) HM
Union Gen. William T. Sherman’s army held Atlanta and was poised to strike deeper into the Confederacy. Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford B. Forrest was determined to cut off Sherman’s supplies and cripple the Union campaign. In November 1864, Forrest . . . — — Map (db m176875) HM
A garrison is a contingent of military personnel stationed at a strategic location for defensive purposes. Federal troops at Johnsonville were responsible for protecting the supply depot and guarding the Nashville and Northwestern Railroad. Between . . . — — Map (db m177278) HM
In August 1877, Jesse James, the notorious outlaw, moved to this site from Missouri and rented a farm from N.B. Link. Using the assumed name of J.D. Howard, he engaged in farming and horse racing. He entered one of his horses, Red Fox, in local . . . — — Map (db m52583) HM
As the Union military occupation spread over Middle Tennessee, Federal commanders needed a supply depot on the Tennessee River. By 1863, they agree that such a depot, navigable year around, would provide Union armies in the west with a stream of . . . — — Map (db m176873) HM
This strong earthen fortification protected the Johnsonville depot. From this position, the Lower Redoubt overlooked the wharves, warehouses and the Tennessee River. Unfortunately, its designers did not anticipate an artillery attack made from the . . . — — Map (db m177289) HM
Before you is the old railbed of the Nashville and Northwestern Railroad. In 1863, the Union army extended the railroad to the Tennessee River, creating a reliable and secure supply line between the Ohio River and Nashville.
Building the . . . — — Map (db m176871) HM
This town was named for Andrew Johnson, military governor of Tennessee (1862 - 65). Although the community had been a steamboat landing prior to the Civil War, it was not until the Nashville and Northwestern Railroad was completed by the Union Army . . . — — Map (db m176880) HM
Since the early 1800s, several hundred families have lived in the Johnsonville—Reynoldsburg area. The same body of water that gave birth to Johnsonville also wrote
the final chapter in it's history. In 1945 the Tennessee river became Kentucky Lake . . . — — Map (db m177286) HM
Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest's raid destroyed thirty-three vessels and millions of dollars worth of supplies. He took 150 prisoners. Yet, in the end, the raid had little effect on Gen. Sherman's plans to move deeper into Georgia or on the final . . . — — Map (db m176891) HM
Johnsonville's Union supply depot included a six-acre horse corral. The corral was located directly to your front and left on what was at the time the bank of the Tennessee River.
The photograph on the right, taken in November 1864, clearly shows . . . — — Map (db m177281) HM
The Tennessee River flows from the mountains of east Tennessee to the Ohio River at Paducah, Kentucky. In the 19th century it was navigable from the Ohio to Great Bend at Muscle Shoals in northern Alabama. Steamboats and gunboats could move freely . . . — — Map (db m176879) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m74425) HM
During the Civil War, the railroad that terminated at Johnsonville included a turntable for rotating locomotive engines. The turntable was a large circular pit with a stone outer base. Located in the middle of the pit was a central pivot (made of . . . — — Map (db m177265) HM
Johnsonville was a vital cog in the Union war machine. At this busy, noisy, sprawling complex of wharves, docks, warehouses and corrals the work of war continued unabated. Steamboats crowded the wharf. Day in and day out, laborers moved . . . — — Map (db m176878) HM
United States Colored Troops formed the majority of Johnsonville's garrison. They played a crucial role in the construction of the depot and its defensive works. They garrisoned the blockhouse defending the Nashville and Northwestern Railroad and . . . — — Map (db m177290) HM
The Lower Redoubt, the fortification built to protect the Civil War depot, now watches over Winfrey Cemetery and people who once lived and worked in Johnsonville.
Winfrey Cemetery was originally located on a hill overlooking the town of . . . — — Map (db m177288) HM
Passing along East Main Street, under the line of maple trees adorning the highway, one comes to a street known as Fairground Drive. In the early twentieth century it was a part of the northern loop of a race track extending to the hills on the . . . — — Map (db m205500) HM
On November 4, 1864, Major General Nathan Bedford Forrest's Confederate cavalry attacked and destroyed the river port of Johnsonville located ten miles west of here on the Tennessee River. Union losses included four gunboats, fourteen steamboats, . . . — — Map (db m52611) HM
Preserved here for future generations is the original bell installed in the County Court House erected on this public square in 1899. This bell may have existed in the earlier court houses erected here in 1836 and 1878 both of which were destroyed . . . — — Map (db m74382) HM
Five hundred yards north is a Federal Civil War earthen fort constructed by the 12th and 13th U.S. Colored Infantry to protect the Nashville and Northwestern Railroad. The 1st Kansas Artillery was stationed there. The railroad from Johnsonville to . . . — — Map (db m74384) HM
The earthen fort in front of you, known as Fort Hill, was the headquarters of the 13th U.S. Colored Troops (USCT), led by Col. John A. Hottenstein, from the fall of 1863 to the end of the war. The fort defended the army-operated railroad that ran . . . — — Map (db m82963) HM
Building a Fort
Specialized units, called pioneers, were used to construct the fort. They first cleared the land to prepare for construction. Following instructions of engineer officers, these soldiers used a variety of construction . . . — — Map (db m183611) HM
From its opening in 1939, the Dixteland was Waverly's most famous hostelry and dining establishment. Duncan Hines, a noted travel-guide author, recommended Hotel Dixieland in his books, quoting its slogan, “Where hospitality is religion and chicken . . . — — Map (db m192697) HM
Established October 19, 1809; Named in honor of Parry W. Humphreys, Judge, Superior Court of Law and Equity, 1807-09; Circuit Judge, Fifth District, Law and Equity, 1809-12 and 1818-36. Member of Congress, 1813-1815. — — Map (db m74380) HM
[Center]
Dedicated in grateful tribute
to the honor and sacrifice
of those citizens of
Humphreys County who
gave their lives
in service to their country
December 7, 1976
[Left wing]
World War I
Allison, Joseph P. . . . — — Map (db m192700) WM
In 1915, the Humphreys County Board of Education acquired five acres of land, including this site, from the City of Waverly to construct a grammar school for African Americans. Waverly Colored Elementary School was re-named Porch-Reed School in . . . — — Map (db m176892) HM
Six miles northwest, where Dry Creek enters the Tennessee River, this town was first settled from 1800 to 1805. In 1812, it became the county seat of Humphreys County, with the first court meeting in the home of Samuel Parker on Trace Creek. The . . . — — Map (db m52587) HM
In 1922 Archibald D. Butterfield bought this
hilltop land and built an eighteen-room Colonial
Revival mansion, and transformed the adjacent
Civil War fort into a rustic garden. Butterfield
died in 1926, and a series of occupants have
owned the . . . — — Map (db m205487) HM
Waverly attorney Hugh McAdoo built the
McAdoo House built circa 1878. At the time
he served as Speaker of the Tennessee State
Senate, having first been elected in 1877,
immediately after having served four years in
the House of Representatives. . . . — — Map (db m205485) HM
February 24, 1978 at 2:55 p.m., two days after the derailment of twenty-four cars of the L&N railroad, a tanker containing 20,000 gallons of propane gas exploded. The resulting destruction of homes and businesses seems insignificant when measured . . . — — Map (db m156579) HM
On February 24, 1978, two days after a Louisville and Nashville train wrecked on this site, workmen were cleaning up when 22,000 pounds of liquid propane fuel from a derailed tanker car ignited and caused a massive explosion. The blast and resulting . . . — — Map (db m156578) HM
Fort Waverly was built by Union troops between 1863 and 1864. It protected a newly completed railroad line that connected the important Union supply depot on the Tennessee River in Johnsonville with Federally held Nashville. Confederate guerillas . . . — — Map (db m68920) HM
