History of Davidson County, Tennessee, with illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 81

Author: Clayton, W. W. (W. Woodford)
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Philadelphia, J.W. Lewis & Co.
Number of Pages: 1013

USA > Tennessee > Davidson County > History of Davidson County, Tennessee, with illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 81

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DAVIDSON COUNTY JAIL.

Davidson County jail is on North Front, between the public square and Church Street. It is built precisely on the spot occupied by the " fort at Nashboro' " in 1780. It is constructed of stone and iron entirely, was built in 1852, cost twenty five thousand dollars. Gen. A. Heiman, archi- tect.

SUSPENSION-BRIDGE.

A magnificent wire suspension-bridge spans the Cumber- land at this place, which has been regarded as one of the finest and most substantial bridge structures in America, and perhaps the longest in the South. The first suspension- bridge at Nashville was built in 1850, but was destroyed by having its wires cut when the Confederate forces, under

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Photo, by Poole, Nashville.

Dr. Rafael

DR. ROBERT RUSSELL was born in Bethel, Me., in 1832; his family on his father's side are Scotch, and on his mother's side of English descent. His father, Chandler Russell, served three years in the war of the Revolution, during which time his family knew extreme privations. His avocation was that of a farmer, and Robert worked with him until six- teen years old. He showed at an early age a taste for mechanical pursuits, and found in the shops of the carpenter and carriage-maker more to interest him than in the ordinary sports of boys of his age.

At eighteen years of age he sought and secured an engagement with a physician and dentist, and at the same time pursued his education at the academy at Groton, Mass., where he subsequently graduated.

To perfect his education in mechanical dentistry he removed to Boston and placed himself under competent instruction in the dental art. At this time there was no dental college in Boston, and to learn all the better methods it was necessary for the student to go from one dentist to another and secure the special information of which each was possessed.

In this manner our young dentist met and gathered instruction from such distinguished men as Drs. Ball, Tucker, Harwood, and Keep, practicing his profession and pursuing his studies at the same time. After leaving Boston he removed to Philadelphia, which had then established a dental college, and he was duly graduated thereat.

He settled in Tennessee, in Maury County, in February, 1852; removed to Nashville in 1857, where, in addition to his dental degree, he graduated in medicine, and added the title of M.D. to that of D.D.S.

Dr. Russell is to-day regarded as one of the fathers of the profession in Nashville; he has never been satisfied with any half-way proficiency in his profession. In 1869 he made the tour of Europe, studying in the leading capitals whatever pertained to his calling, but he found, as others have before and since that day, that the standard of perfection in American dentistry is far higher than that in Europe : this fact is well attested. American dentists have received princely honors; the patrons of one such include many of the crowned heads of Europe. The doctor has kept pace with the improvements of the age.

To Dr. Russell belongs the credit of founding the dental department of the College of Nashville, which college has been adopted by the University of Ten- nessee. At the commencement last celebrated this school graduated more dental students than were ever graduated by any school of the same age in the United States. Dr. Russell's reputation has largely attracted this patronage, though due credit should be given his eminent associates, among whom may be mentioned Prof. Duncas Eve and Prof. George S. Blackie.

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CITY OF NASHVILLE.

Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston, evacuated Nashville, in Feb- ruary, 1862. The new bridge was built in 1866, at a cost of one hundred and forty thousand dollars. The architect was Maj. Wilbur F. Foster, now city engineer, and who, during the war, served as chief engineer on Gen. A. P. Stewart's staff.

The wood- and wire-work was done under the supervision of Col. Albert Fink, the distinguished railroad officer. The masonry of the present bridge is the same as that of the old one, save the addition of six and a half feet to the piers on the East Nashville side, the present pitch of the bridge being twenty-five feet lower on that side. The weight of the original cables was about 93,800 pounds; weight of present cables 165,000 pounds. The number of wires in each of the two cables is 2456, making the total number of wires supporting the bridge in the centre 4912. The weight of the bridge between the towers is about 648,000 pounds, and the total strength of the cables is 7,368,000 pounds. The greatest load which can be placed on the bridge at one time, counting forty pounds to the square foot, is 604,800 pounds, and this, added to the weight of the bridge, gives us 1,252,800 pounds, so that the bridge has a strength equal to the support of almost six times the weight that can be loaded upon it. The length of the bridge is 700 feet ; width 35 feet, including the carriage-way 25 feet, and two sidewalks, each 5 feet wide. The carriage-way is guarded by a heavy framing of timber, firmly riveted and bolted, and known as the McCallum Truss pattern. This truss is secured to the cables in the centre by heavy wrought-iron rods, which increase in length as we go to- wards either end of the bridge, until they reach almost to the top of the four towers. The height of the bridge above low-water mark is 110 feet.

COURT-HOUSE.

The court-house of Davidson County is situate in the east centre of the public square. It was built in 1857, on the site of three former court-houses, and after the burn- ing of its immediate predecessor, in the spring of 1856, during that extensive conflagration that consumed the old Nashville Inn and several other prominent buildings. The building is in the Corinthian style, is one hundred and fifteen by seventy-two feet large; cost one hundred and twenty thousand dollars ; architect, James Strickland; con- tractors, Smith, Hughes & Sloan. The lower story is built of cut stone, and the two upper of brick. A terrace-wall extends the full length of the east and west flanks on the first floor. The two upper stories, at their north and south ends, open out into handsome porticoes or Corinthian col- onnades, running with the pitch of the roof, supported each by eight large wooden columns with cast-iron capitals. The east and west porticoes are in the centre of the build- ing, and are each colonnades of four columns, each support- ing a square roof. The corridor of the basement, extending the full length of the building, is crossed in the centre by a transverse corridor, where two wide iron stairways afford ac- cess to the upper floors. On the first floor are the offices of the sheriff, trustee, and the clerks of the County, Circuit, and Criminal Courts, and the court-room of the County Court. The second floor contains the court-rooms of the Criminal,

Circuit, and Chancery Courts. The third story has a hand- some public hall, with a complement of anterooms. In this hall the " Tennessee Constitutional Convention of 1870" was held. It is now the armory of the " Porter Rifles."

IRON RAILROAD DRAW-BRIDGE.

The finest draw-bridge in Tennessee, and one of the finest in the United States, is the splendid iron structure built by the Louisville and Nashville and Great Southern Railroad in 1859, and spanning the Cumberland from the north central portion of the city. The original bridge was built under the supervision of Mr. A. Anderson, chief en- gineer of the Edgefield and Kentucky road, but the wooden structure was burned in the evacuation of Nash- ville, Tuesday night, Feb. 18, 1862. In May, 1862, the bridge was rebuilt by the Federal authorities. In 1867 the wood portion was removed and a splendid iron superstruc- ture of the Fink V-truss pattern was put up at a cost of seventy-five thousand dollars, under the supervision of Col. Albert Fink. The value of the present bridge is about three hundred thousand dollars. Its length is 700 feet, in four spans,-two fixed spans, one on each side, and two draw spans in the centre. Each fixed span is 200 feet in the clear between the supports, and the clear opening of cach draw span is 120 feet, making it the longest railroad draw in the world, that at Rock Island, Ill., being 120 feet on one side and 116 feet on the other. The total length of draw, from one extremity to the other of the movable portion, is 280 fect. The masonry supporting the bridge was built by Maxwell, Saulpaw & Co., contractors, and consists of two abutments, two main piers, one centre pier, and two rest piers. The centre pier, on which the immense draw is turned, is circular, 30 feet in diameter at the top, and 34} feet at the bottom and 68} feet high, and contains 2295} perches of masonry. The castern main pier is 75} feet high, and contains 1208} perches of masonry. The western main pier is 70} feet high, and contains 10723 perches of masonry. The foundations of all the piers are laid upon the solid rock, in water about 12 feet deep at ordinary low stages. The extreme rise of water at the bridge is 47 feet. The total quantity of ma- sonry in the bridge is 6800} perches. In the original superstructure 454,000 feet of timber and 160,000 pounds of iron were used.

FAIR-GROUNDS AND MILITARY ENCAMPMENT.

The Tennessce Fair-Grounds, and place of the Centen- nial Military Encampment, are located two miles west of the city, accessible by the Harding and Charlotte pikes, and the Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railroad. The grounds are eighty acres in extent, and are admirably situ- ated. The buildings are constructed in the Swiss style of architecture, are quite imposing, and comprise a grand amphitheatre, capable of seating ten thousand people, me- chanics' hall, floral and textile fabric hall, pagodas, cot- tages, reservoirs, etc. The speed-ring or race-course is made in shape of the letter B, and has two excellent fifty-foot tracks,-viz., half-mile and mile stretches. The buildings and grounds cost one hundred thousand dollars, but are soon

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HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE.

to be converted into an immense iron-manufacturing estab- lishment.

NASHVILLE RACE-COURSE.

The famous Nashville race-course, established in the early days of the city, when such prominent men as Gen. Jackson attended the turf contests, is situated two miles north of the city, on a beautiful peninsula formed by an abrupt curvature in the Cumberland River. The race- course farm contains two hundred and twenty-five acres, and is the property of M. Burns, Esq. The course, the grand stand, stables, dwellings, etc., are leased from the owner by the Nashville Blood-Horse Association. There are both run- ning and trotting courses, each one mile long and forty feet wide. The course is regarded as the softest track in the United States to train on, the soil being impregnated with fine sand, and at all times kept in the most perfect order. Burns Avenue, a beautiful thoroughfare, seventy feet wide, is one of the most beautiful drives leading out of Nashville.

NASHVILLE BLOOD-HORSE ASSOCIATION.

The rooms of the Nashville Blood-Horse Association are at No. 8 Baxter Block, Union Street. W. H. Johnson, President; George W. Darden, Secretary.

CITY WATER WORKS.

The City Water- Works are situated on an elevated bluff of the river, about one and a fourth miles south of the public square. The water-works were first established in 1833, and so great was the rejoicing of the people that " cannon were fired, and a procession paraded the streets, headed by a band and composed of hundreds of citizens, a large number of ladies, the members of the Legislature, then about to assemble, strangers," etc. The original cost of the works was $55,000. In 1860 they were greatly enlarged and improved, and in 1870 they were valued at $1,000,000. The works, during 1878-79, were again greatly improved. The large engine, of 250 horse-power, was repaired and retained, and two magnificent duplex Dean engines, each 500 horse-power, were put in, at a cost of $90,000. The filtering process has also been adopted, and a new stand-pipe 115 feet high, and with 36 inches inside diameter, was built in 1878. The two reservoirs have a combined capacity of 2,260,000 gallons, but which will not hold 24 hours' supply, the total duily consumption of water in the city being near 3,000,000 gallons. In 1870 the daily consumption was about 1,100,000 gallons. Then again, for the sake of comparison, the length of the main pipe in 1870 was about 25 miles, but in 1880 is forty- seven miles. In 1870 there were 2800 buildings in the city supplied with water, but in 1880 five thousand build- ings are supplied. The present value of the works is esti- mated at $1,500,000; annual revenue assessment, $65,000. Superintendent, James Wyatt ; Water-tax Receiver, John L. Glenn ; First Engineer, J. T. Mckenzie; Second Engi- neer, McPage. Visitors admitted at all hours. Engines run from 3 A.M. to 10 P.M.

CITY GAS-WORKS.

The " Nashville Gas-Light Company" was chartered by the Tennessee Legislature at its session of 1849-50, with

a capital of $100,000, and privileged to increase to $500,- 000. The original incorporators were Messrs. Washington Barrow, John Kirkman, Samuel R. Anderson, N. E. Allo- way, and W. T. Berry. The first gas was made Feb. 11, 1851. The original cost of the works was $100,000, but they have since been vastly improved and enlarged, and are now valued at $500,000. Of this amount fully $200,- 000 is laid in pipes, and some idea of the rapid growth of Nashville may be obtained when we state that in 1870 the value of pipes was but $100,000. In 1851 they began business with only about one hundred consumers, and about the same number of public lamps. In 1870 the number of private consumers had increased to fifteen hundred, and the number of public lamps to three hundred and twenty- five. Mark, however, the increase: In 1880 the number of private consumers is two thousand two hundred, and the number of public lamps seven hundred.

The company claim to have the most complete gas-works in the South, employ an improved exhauster and compen- sator, and all of the latest improvements and patents in the art of gas-making. They can now supply 500,000 cubic feet of gas per diem, or about 150,000,000 cubic feet per annum. The lowest estimate of gas now actually con- sumed is 175,000 cubic feet per diem, or 54,000,000 feet per annum. The quality is " sixteen-candle gas." In 1870 they had 13 miles of main pipe, and 20 miles of ser- vice pipe. Now, in 1880, they have 34 miles of main pipe, and 30 miles of service pipe, to say nothing of the many miles of pipe running into the premises of private con- sumers. They employ coal from the mines of Pittsburgh, and Black Creek, Alabama. In 1870 the cost of gas to private consumers was $3.60 net. In 1880 the price per thousand cubic feet is $2.52 net, and one-half thereof for city purposes. Memphis pays $3.00; Louisville, $2.35; St. Louis, $2.50; Cincinnati, $2.00; New York, $2.25. The works are on Front and Market Streets, adjoining the Union Stock- Yards and Louisville and Nashville and Great Southern Railroad. The company's up-town office is 14 Church Street. Officers: Samuel Watkins, President; Thomas F. Kendrick, Secretary ; George H. Wells, Super- intendent; Joseph Gibson, Clerk.

HOUSE OF INDUSTRY.

The House of Industry for Females, No. 24 North Vine Street, was established in 1837 by that benevolent and public-spirited gentleman, Hon. Joseph Elliston, ex-Mayor. Mesdames M. R. Fogg, R. N. McEwen, Felix Grundy, Dickinson, and Carroll were the board of managers. Mr. Elliston made a deed of gift of the site, and the rear por- tion of the building, or " L." The front building was afterwards erected by subscription. Present value of build- ings, etc., about $30,000. It is a home for orphan girls, and for young ladies who need homes. Since its establish- ment more than forty years have passed, and the House of Industry has stood as a monument of genuine benevolence, while its protecting roof has sheltered hundreds of young girls, who have been reared, educated, and dispatched to the . world under the most satisfactory auspices, both in a moral and material sense. It is under most excellent manage- ment. Visitors are cordially welcomed. Mrs. R. H. Mc-

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E. G. EASTMAN.

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CITY OF NASHVILLE.

Ewen, President; Mrs. E. Elliston, Secretary ; Mrs. A. Atchison, Treasurer ; Mrs. Sarah Glasgow, Matron. Man- agers, Mrs. E. S. Gardner, Mrs. Love Woods, Mrs. An- drew Anderson.

MCKENDREE HOME.

The benevolent ladies of the Mckendree Methodist Church have established a comfortable home for the aged, infirm, and indigent members of their congregation, on Harris Street, near Currey, in the southwestern part of the city. Mrs. M. Hamilton is president of the board of managers.

WOMAN'S MISSION HOME.

One of the most praiseworthy and truly beneficent insti- tutions in the city is the Woman's Mission Home, No. 23 Ewing Avenue. The object of this institution is to reclaim fallen women, bring them back to the path of virtue, and to provide comfortable homes, where they will be under proper moral and Christian influence. No higher work can claim the attention of our noble-hearted women. The Mission Home is under the management of a board of direc- tors from the various Protestant churches of the city. Mrs. A. H. Redford, President; Mrs. Thomas Marshall, Secre- tary ; Mrs. J. C. Bates, Treasurer.

PROTESTANT ORPHAN ASYLUM.

Another excellent humane institution, standing as a mon- ument to the philanthropy of the noble-hearted ladies of Nashville, is the Protestant Orphan Asylum. It was estab- lished Jan. 16, 1845, under the direction of a board of managers, with Mrs. H. Hitchcock as the first president. It was first located on McLemore Street, near Church, but in 1866 was removed two miles from the city, on the Frank- liu pike. Subsequently it was removed again to the pres- ent location, No. 143 South Spruce. Since its organization the asylum has had under its fostering care about five hun- dred children, most of whom have found comfortable homes among our citizens. The present number of wards is about thirty. Mrs. E. A. Richards is matron. Among the mem- bers of the board, in their untiring and zealous care of these little unfortunates, Mrs. Felicia Grundy Porter and Mrs. H. G. Scovel should be mentioned honorably, and be re- membered with gratitude. Visitors are admitted, and cor- dially welcomed, on any week-day except Friday and Sat -* urday.

Mrs. F. G. Porter, President; Mrs. M. Hamilton, Vice- President; Mrs. W. B. Cooper, Treasurer ; Mrs. H. G. Scovel, Recording Secretary ; Mrs. J. W. Hoyte, Corres- ponding Secretary.

ST. MARY'S CATHOLIC ORPHAN ASYLUM.

This noble charity is situated two miles from the city, on the Murfreesboro' turnpike. The location is an admirable one, and commands fine views of the city and country for miles around. The asylum was founded Nov. 15, 1863, by the " St. Mary's Orphan Association," composed of mem- bers of the Cathedral congregation. The buildings and grounds cost ten thousand dollars, and are in charge of the Sisters of the Dominican Order. The grounds include six

acres, highly ornamented. Usual number of orphans, about seventy. Visitors are given cordial welcome.

THE STATE PENITENTIARY.

The original building of the Tennessee State Peniten- tiary was erected in 1830-31 by David Morrison, under the direction of the Governor and board of commissioners. In 1857 the west wing was added at a cost of thirty-six thousand dollars, and in 1867 two large workshops, known respectively as the east and west shops, were built. On the 21st of June, 1867, the east shops were destroyed by fire, but in a few weeks they were rebuilt in a more substan- tial manner than at first. The buildings of the prison now occupy three sides of a hollow square, bordering on the north side of West Church Street, and embracing an area of about five acres in extent, the main building being about three hundred feet long. The whole property is estimated at about six hundred thousand dollars. The number of con- victs has been as high as twelve hundred, but it varies, and many of them are employed outside of the prison in mining, railroad-building, and other labor. They were employed by the State, under appointed officers, until December, 1871, when the law was changed, and the prisoners and shops have since been let by contract for a term of six years. The first contract was taken by W. H. Cherry, Thomas O'Con- nor, and Gen. W. Y. C. Humes, a practicing attorney of Memphis, under the firm-style of Cherry, O'Connor & Co. Mr. O'Connor acted as superintendent. The second lease was taken Dec. 1, 1876, by Messrs. Cherry, O'Connor, A. N. Shook, and William Morrow, under the old firm-style, with M. Allen as superintendent of the works. The wagon-shops turn out about twelve thousand farm-wagons, which find their chief market in Virginia, Kentucky, and the States south and west, including Texas, Arkansas, Mis- souri, Illinois, Kansas, Florida, and the Gulf States. Carts and wheelbarrows are made in the same shops.

The foundry consumes about two thousand tons of pig iron per annum, making stoves and hollow-ware.

The furniture-shops use about one million six hundred thousand feet of lumber per annum in the manufacture of low-priced furniture. These products are placed upon the market by various wholesale dealers throughout the South and South west.

There is about ten thousand dollars' worth of machinery belonging to the State, and twenty-six thousand dollars' worth of machinery and buildings additional have been placed on the grounds by the contractors. Only about three- fifths of the State prisoners are received here, the balance being furnished on requisition of contractors at Coal Creek, Tracy City, and Suwanee coal-mines, and Ensley Farm, near Memphis, and forwarded upon their conviction. The pris- oners work nine and a half hours in winter and ten and a half in summer.

The present superintendent for the State is Nathan Boone, Esq.

An unsuccessful attempt to burn the prison buildings was made March 10, 1855. Many important government prisoners were confined here during the late war. May 14, 1867, three hundred convicts joined in an attempt to escape, and created great excitement. The mutiny, how-

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HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE.

ever, was quelled without an escape and without bloodshed, through the vigilance of the officers, and quiet restored.

ASYLUM FOR THE POOR AND INSANE.

The people of Davidson County are justly proud of their arrangements for the care of their insane and their needy poor. The grounds at present occupied by the county asylum comprise one hundred and thirteen acres of choice farming-lands, which were purchased in 1874 for thirteen thousand dollars.

A fine home and superintendent's office were built in place of the ordinary farm building upon the purchase. A lunatic asylum, a row of cottages for colored people, and comfortable buildings for the unfortunate white people were placed respectively on three sides of an open square, to which the family residence formed the fourth side. All needed outbuildings were erected, the whole, with the lands, costing the county thirty-one thousand dollars when completed,-a sum said to have been economically used by the builders.

Water-works, bath-rooms, and all needed facilities for the health, comfort, and happiness of the inmates were intro- duced. A galvanic battery and other necessary apparatus are provided for the resident county physician, Dr. Lofton.

Although organized under the general law of the State, this is not known as a poor-house, and it stands so high in the estimation of the citizens that it is considered no dis- honor to be permitted to hire keeping there when disabled by age or infirmity.

Previous to 1824, and for some time after, the poor were hired out by the county, or, if able to manage their own affairs, were provided with the necessary means. Through the exertions of Herbert Towns, Esq.,-now the only sur- viving member of the old life-appointed court,-the Quarter Sessions of justices established a poor-house about 1830, and Mr. John Wesley Baker was appointed by the court as first keeper. For several years the county poor were kept by him on his own farm. The county then purchased the one-hundred-acre farm in District No. 2, now owned by Thomas Ballou, Esq., and James Peay was placed in charge as keeper. This was afterwards exchanged for the present farm of Thomas Harris, in the same district. Mr. Harris became keeper at the close of the war, and in 1874 pur- chased the farm, when the county moved upon the one now occupied. The pauper lunatics were confined in the com- mon jail at first, but were afterwards, on petition, admitted to the State asylum until a separate department could be established by the county.

The annual expense of the poor and lunatic is about fourteen thousand dollars, of which, by skillful manage- ment, a large portion is met by the products of the farm. There is an average custody of about one hundred and ninety persons, of whom one-half are colored. No children are sent here; all these go directly to the orphan asylum, under the official supervision of Hon. John Ferriss, county judge, whose plan has been to find them good moral homes as soon as possible, where they shall be tenderly cared for. Through his energetic management these institutions have become the models of the State, and furnish many valuable suggestions to other counties.

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History of Davidson County, Tennessee, with illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 81

Author: Clayton, W. W. (W. Woodford) Publication date: 1880 Publisher: Philadelphia, J.W. Lewis & Co. Number of Pages: 1013

Author: Clayton, W. W. (W. Woodford)
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Philadelphia, J.W. Lewis & Co.
Number of Pages: 1013