Slavery on the Clover Bottom is the memoir of a young man born into slavery on the Hoggett’s Clover Bottom plantation. He shares his memories of the farm and all the people living there. He had a very unflattering opinion of Mrs. Hoggatt. Johnny lives with Hanna and several other boys. Her house was on the Lebanon Pike in the north field. One day while he was in the south field working a few mules, down the Lebanon Pike came the 13th Michigan, heading into Hermitage on a foraging mission. Johnny climbs the fence to watch them pass. One of the soldiers called out to him "Come along with us Johnny and we will set you free." The boy was surprised they had called him by name, not knowing that Johnny Reb was a common name Northerners called some Southerners. Johnny hops over the fence and onto the back of the yankee wagon, leaving Clover Bottom and slavery behind forever. He was 11. Johnny travels with the 13th Michigan until the end of the war. He worked as a mule wrangler and was said to be very good with mules. He helped the surgeons frequently. Johnny was at the battle of Murfreesboro, Chicamauga, and Lookout Mountain. He was with Sherman through Atlanta and beyond. When it was done, he marched with the 13th in the victory parade in Washington DC. It’s a good story, both for civil war aficionados and those who enjoy reading history of places they’ll recognize. https://amzn.to/2OcunD2
The street we know today as "2nd Ave" has seen a lot of time pass over the years, but first with its original name of "Market Street". UPDATE from this actually; I recently read that in Nashville's early, early days (pre-statehood), the street was first "Main Street", pretty generic. But was then named "Market" when the first store was opened in 1786.
The land that would eventually expand to add more businesses and buildings to the street was first purchased in 1784 for about 4 English Pounds, and if I did my Google search and conversions right, that's equal to roughly £600 today, or a little over $800. Still seems like a steal, I think.
The land was dubbed "Market Street" on the original plan of the Town of Nashville, and its location next to the river was advantageous to the warehouses and early wooden buildings built here. In fact, in Lee Ann Thornton's Victorian Memories, she says"the Cumberland River played a large part in the 19th century development of this district."
Various items were brought in on riverboats - food, produce, and other necessities - and received on the Front Street side; the Market Street side would then sell the items. Sounds like logistics handled reasonably.
Market Street was Busy!
I've been going through our Nashville City Directories and indexing the businesses that were formerly located on Market Street/2nd Ave. Unfortunately it wasn't until around 1910 that the directories started providing a reverse index by address first, so most of what I have starts in 1911.
The first business on Market Street, before it was Market Street, was a dry good's store established by Lardner Clark. Here's a few of the other businesses that resided on Market Street prior to 1900 (I'm not including the exact address for all since the numbers don't match today)...
Several dry goods warehouses/stores/shops/etc.
"Staple and Fancy Goods"
B.S. Hamilton
R.W. Housley, "Hats, Caps, Trunks, &c."
Robert H. Jones, "Clothing, Hats, Caps, etc..."
G.F. Jones, "Hats, Caps, Shoes, etc..."
McWhirter, Miller & Co., "successors to McWhirter Brothers"
G.P. Norvell, "clothing, hats, caps, etc..."
Grocers and Butchers (Just a small sampling of what once existed)
Morris & Stratton, "Wholesale Grocers and Commission Merchants"
Thos. C. Milsom, "Butcher and Marketer"
Clothing and Tailors, also in 1859
R.C. Anderson & Co., "Ready-Made Clothing, Hats, Caps, Trunks
M.J. Drucker, "Wholesale and Retail Clothier"
L. Powers, "Ready Made Clothing, Hats, Caps, Trunks, Valises, etc."
A. Sandhouse, "Ready Made Clothing"
Synagogue
Starting in the 1850's and remained on Market Street up until around 1900.
Candy Shops (something that's continued throughout history)
James Longinett, "Confectioneries, Fruits, and Choice Wines and Liquors, Cigars, Tobacco, Oysters, and a general supply of every thing used in families"...odd assortment, I bet that place smelled weird.
Charles Robertson, "Confectioner and Candy Manufacturer"...like the above guy, this guy said ditto and also sold "German toys, and Fancy Articles".
Saloons and Liquor Businesses (before they became "soft drinks" thanks to Prohibition)
Kay, Thomas & Co., "Fine Wines and Brandies"
Silver Dollar Saloon - located at the corner of Market and Broad
George A. Dickel & Co. - located at the corner of Market and Church (yes, this is the same George Dickel Tennessee Whiskybusiness that still exists today).
And one I can't identify, a "Brass Founder" - James Moffett.
As I continue researching for the next post, check back as I find more businesses to include.
Victorian Facades
It was after the Civil War when the city changed the look of Market Street by replacing the existing wooden structures with brick buildings, and there were storehouses built a full block for an entrance to the wharf.
The Victorian-style architecture was used to put on display the "newly-acquired wealth" by the merchants, explained more thoroughly in Thornton's book. The window treatments are apparently what's distinctive of this style...
"Distinctive to the period are arches surmounting either rounded or trabeated windows. Also common is the use of overscaled brackets to support a crowning cornice projecting up into a pedimental form."
Some, not all, of the 2nd Ave buildings still standing today were built between 1870 and 1900, standing against several other disasters that have hit Music City in the last 100+ years, like the many floods.
In part II of the series, I'll talk about the 20th century history of 2nd Ave, mostly focusing on 2nd Ave N between Broadway and Church, since that's where the bombing took place.
Interesting video detailing the story of a local soldier in the 20th TN Company I -The Hermitage Guards.
If you are from this area, might just recognize the names of the Captains of Company I - John Watkins, Timothy Dodson, Willis Cotton and William Binkley. Organized June 1861 and assembled at Camp Trousdale with 880 men. Less than 40 would return home after the war.
The 20th TN Colonels were Joel Battle, Thomas Benton Smith and William M Shy. Those names also should be familiar - there’s a Benton Smith rd and Shy’s Hill in the area where the final battle of Nashville was fought.
I’ve been to LC Hessey’s grave and I’ve walked all over the very farm where he raised his family.
I’m very proud to call his great grandson my friend.
Interestingly enough, if that driver on Stewart's Ferry had crossed over the new Percy Priest dam, odds are very good that his passage was recorded by undercover FBI agents. They kept a running list of every vehicle over the dam - make, model, color, year, tag number and registration. A redacted copy is available on our facebook page, link on the right. Check the FILES section.
The image I chose for the background here was taken along the Stewarts Ferry pike in 1970. I like the stark black and white, the mist and the lone driver...