Roane County

Travel Route Description

Entering Roane County from Cumberland County, the Byway follows US 70 Scenic/TN 1 for approximately 2.8 miles and then turns left onto US 70/US 27/TN 1/TN 29/S Gateway Avenue to the town of Rockwood. The Byway generally follows the old roadbed traveling through Rockwood. In Rockwood the route stays to the right to continue onto US 70/TN 1/TN 29/Roane State Highway.

Less than four miles from here, the Byway takes visitors to Midtown on US 70/TN 1/J Lon Foust Highway/Roane State Highway. Crossing the bridge at Watts Barr Lake into Kingston, the Byway follows US 70/TN 1/Roane State Highway/Race Street to a right turn onto TN 58/Kentucky Street.

Valley View of Rockwood from Mount Roosevelt

After a mile on TN 58/Kentucky Street, visitors will arrive at the eastern-most terminus of the Byway, Fort Southwest Point, once a destination of early 19th century pioneers crossing the Cumberland Plateau.

Historic Context

Roane County was established in 1801. During the late eighteenth century, the area represented the American frontier in the region. An outpost was built in 1792 and was known as Southwest Point, a key militia fortification. Kingston, named for Major Robert King, an officer at the fort, was established here in 1799. The original plat of Kingston included space reserved for a cemetery, known as Bethel Cemetery. Across the river from the fort was the Cherokee village of Chief Tollunteeskee, in what is now the city of Rockwood.

The river was an important means of transportation through the nineteenth century, and Kingston was an important port city. Steamboats ran regularly between Knoxville and Chattanooga, then on to Decatur, Alabama. Following the Civil War, railroad transportation began to replace river transport for all goods except coal. The post-war of economic development in Roane County was Oliver Springs and Rockwood, rather than Kingston. Northern investors quickly revived the poor state of economy, capitalizing on natural resources of iron ore and coal. Former Union General John Wilder and W.O. Rockwood founded the Roane Iron Company in 1867. Coal was used to convert iron ore into pig iron. The year after the furnace began operation, the company town of Rockwood was established and its population was largely dependent on the iron industry. The Roane Iron Company paid equal wages to its white and black employees, either in cash or in scrip, a form of credit which could be used for goods at the company store. The population of Rockwood grew from 696 in 1870 to 1,011 in 1880; by 1890, the population increased to 2,305.

One of the most significant events to bolster the local economy was the 1879 completion of the Cincinnati-Southern Railroad, which passed through Roane County on its route to Chattanooga. Entering the county through the Emory River Gap, the railroad enhanced regional transportation for agricultural products coming by steamboat up the Emory River from Knoxville, Kingston, and Chattanooga. The intersection of the rail line and the Emory River became a major distribution center for corn, hay, and other products. The railroad also broadened the market for Rockwood’s pig iron.

Roane County continued to attract northern developers, and the railroad at Emory River Gap created an ideal site for a town. In 1889, the East Tennesee Land Company, created by New York minister Frederick Gates, first purchased 10,000 acres here for the purpose of establishing a “utopia of temperance and industry.” The land was formerly the plantation of Colonel Robert King Byrd. Ultimately, the company acquired hundreds of thousands of acres, selling 573 lots in the town to be named Harriman. Some three thousand prohibitionists from eighteen states flocked to this town on the Emory River. River-front lots sold for $500 for industrial development and workers’ dwellings. Lots on Roane Street, at the center of town, were considerably more expensive, as were the lots on Clinton and Cumberland Streets, where more affluent residents would develop the neighborhood that would come to be known as Cornstalk Heights.

View of Harriman from Mount Roosevelt

The leaders of Harriman sought to create industry and employment opportunities without the typical vice that characterized nineteenth-century company towns. Towards that end, the East Tennesee Land Company founded subsidiaries that brought great prosperity to residents: the East Tennessee Mining Company extracted coal and iron, the Harriman Coal & Iron Railroad Company was to develop a rail system for transporting the minerals, and the Harriman Manufacturing Company provided start-up capital for new industry. The Company’s headquarters was an impressive brick building in the Romanesque Revival style. The building later was used by the American Temperance University, established in 1894, and later became Harriman City Hall.

In addition to providing raw materials necessary for industrial development, the natural minerals found in the area also spawned the growth of mineral springs resorts. The nationally known 200-room Oliver Springs Resort was in operation between 1894 and 1905, promoting the healing powers of the springs. Nearby Windrock Mountain was replete with coal and was mined beginning in 1903, the same year the city of Oliver Springs (formerly known as Winter’s Gap) was chartered. There were several coal mines in operation there, including the Piedmont Coal Mine and the Windrock Coal and Coke Company, a subsidiary of Bessemer Coal, Iron, and Land Company.

Even with the loss of the East Tennessee Land Company, Harriman continued to florish into the twentieth century. However, the affects of the 1929 stock market crash were exacerbated by severe flooding of the Emory River. Three years later, blight collapsed the local peach industry, killing off all the peach trees. The Depression also brought about the demise of the Roane Iron Company in 1930. Later a paper mill and a hosiery created jobs and stabilized the local economy. During the 1940s and 1950s, Harriman’s economy was bolstered by through traffic on U.S. Highway 127, which was a north-south corridor for mobile Americans between the Great Lakes region and Florida.

In 1940, the population of Roane County was under 28,000. The county’s urban population was 34.5%, based on the cities of Harriman (5,620), Rockwood (3,981), and Kingston (880). In 1942, the Corp of Engineers began taking possession of 56,000 acres of farm land for the establishment of the Manhattan Project, the highly secretive research and development program that would produce the atomic bombs used in World War II. Later named Oak Ridge, the strictly closed government town was located in Anderson and Roane Counties. The war effort brought new industrial activity to Roane County, as Tennessee Products Corporation re-opened the Roane Iron Furnace for the production of ferromanganese, used in the production of steel.

Kingston Avenue Historic District

Kingston Avenue Historic District

Rockwood, Tennessee

This historic district is located roughly along N. Kingston, S. Kingston, and E. Rockwood Avenues. Its architecture represents the growing prosperity of the community from the 1880s to the early 1900s. The district includes examples of the Queen Anne, Colonial Revival and Craftsman Bungalow styles and was listed in 1997. The district also contains an excellent example of a Pure Oil Station which utilized an English Cottage design in the 1930s and 1940s.

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Molyneux Chevrolet Company - Rockwood Fire Department Building

Molyneux Chevrolet Company – Rockwood Fire Department Building

Rockwood, Tennessee

Located on W. Rockwood Avenue and Chamberlain Street in Rockwood, this ca. 1927 building was designed as an automobile showroom and listed in 2002.

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Rockwood Post Office

Rockwood, Tennessee

The Rockwood Post Office was constructed in 1935 in the Colonial Revival style and listed in 1999.

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Tennessee Highway Patrol Building

Rockwood, Tennessee

Located at the Junction of Kingston Avenue and Nelson Street in Rockwood, this ca. 1930 building was constructed of native Crab Orchard stone and was used as an office for the Tennessee Highway Patrol. It was listed on the National Register in 2001. A similar building is located next to the courthouse in Crossville.

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Fort Southwest Point

Kingston, Tennessee

Fort Southwest Point was constructed in 1797 and served as a significant military outpost as settlers migrated to the nation’s frontier. It operated as a fort through 1811. It is the only fort in Tennessee to have been rebuilt on its original foundation and the site features barracks, a blockhouse, and over 200 feet of palisade walls. It was listed on the National Register in 1972.

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Bethel Cemetery

Kingston, Tennessee

Located at Euclid Avenue and Third Street in Kingston, Bethel Cemetery was included in the original plat for the town, established in 1799. The first known burial and oldest marked grave dates from 1811 and it contains the graves of veterans from all of America’s wars. It was listed on the National Register in 2006.

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Colonel Gideon Morgan House

Kingston, Tennessee

Located at 149 Kentucky Street in Kingston, the ca. 1810 Federal style house was home to early settler Gideon Morgan, a veteran of the Revolutionary War. Morgan was a prominent merchant and the house was listed on the National Register in 1983.

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Roane County Courthouse

Kingston, Tennessee

The Roane County Courthouse was built in 1855 and designed by the architect Augustus O. Fisher. The courthouse was built in the Greek Revival style, popular during this period, and features a full-height gabled portico. The courthouse was listed in the National Register in 1971 and was in use until 1974. Since then, the building was converted into a museum of local history operated by the Roane County Heritage Commission.

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Fort Southwest Point

Kingston, Tennessee

Fort Southwest Point is located in Kingston on Watt’s Bar Lake, and is open to the public for scheduled tours. It is the only fort in Tennessee that was constructed on its original foundation in 1797. While the Fort was first constructed to accommodate troops, its role shifted to a protectionist one, as the troops were responsible for keeping peace with the Cherokee American Indians and defending their rights. Visitors to the site will find a visitor center, barracks, a blockhouse, and 250 feet of palisade walls. A stop at the visitor center will provide information on the fort and its role in westward expansion in America. Interpretive exhibits and a video orientation are also offered.

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Harriman Heritage Museum

Harriman, Tennessee

Located in the Temperance Building, constructed in 1891, this museum has many artifacts and pictures of the founding and history of Harriman.

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