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WARRENS BLUFF Henderson County TN Contributed by Linda Fiedor Warrens Bluff took its name immediately after the completion of the Tennessee Middlin Railroad. It received its name from being on a bluff near Beech River and from the lands being given by Dr. Warren for the station and town. This place is claimed to have been a camping ground for the Chickasaw Indians. The first post office was managed by W.F. Stuberfield, who is now living in Lexington. The early amusements were corn huskings, log rollings, house raising and the like. They were usually followed by dances with plenty of red liquor. The people wore home spun clothes. The first schoolhouse was at Rock Hill, constructed about 1880 of hewed logs and built largely by the McPeakes and Deeres. It contained one room, with one little board window and a chimney of sticks and dirt. Its seats were wooden slabs. Among the early teachers were the McCollums and Austins. The chief subjects taught were arithmetic and spelling. There have been four houses erected near the same place. Now the school and church houses are modern and convenient. Among the early settlers in the Warrens Bluff community were the Reeds, the Deeres, the Garners, the McPeakes and others. The McPeakes came from Rutherford County and the Deeres from South Carolina. Slaves were owned by only one family, J.H. Fuller, who soon felt that slavery was wrong and freed his. This feelign partially accounts for the community's politics. The first mill for grinding corn was on Harmons Creek and operated by the Shacklefords. People would go for miles to this mill. They usually went once a week. The town proper is not making the progress it once made, but the community surrounding it is very active and is composed of high grade people.
THE LAST RIDE It was a thrilling sight, an exciting achievement; a railroad with passenger service to Memphis and Paducah. Here was daily freight hauling cotton and other farm products. The men who had promoted the branch line from Lexington Perryville waved from the passenger coach. Henderson County officials who had furnished $75,000 were aboard as was Judge W.W. Murray of Huntingdon and Josiah Patterson of Memphis. A new era had dawned. Towns began to spring up along the way - One of them was "Warrens Bluff", named for a well-known Lexington Physician Dr. W.W. Warren. Visitors rode the train from Memphis and Kentucky. Farmers hauled cotton and other farm products to be loaded and shipped to Memphis. The switch line, known originally as the Tennessee Midland Railway, soon consolidated with Tennessee, Paducah, Alabama Railroad which increased the number of passengers and produced greater fields for farm products to be sold in. Over a period of years in which the towns grew and the train operation became very profitable, it became a part of the North Carolina and St. Louis Line. As time had brought change to thousands of people in the area, time once again brought great change. The governor of Tennessee, sensing the great need for roads, began construction of wider-paved highways throughout the state. From the "News Leader April 20, 2005 - 80th Anniversary Special Secton... reprinted article by Bob Parker date unknown On November 10, 1936 the "Pea Vine" made its last run from Lexington To Parsons. The train was overflowing with passengers, people wanting to be the ones on the last run. The train provided the only mail service in the area. Mail cars met the train and transported letters and packages to post offices through the county. Highway 20 and 100 had been built and the Alvin C. York bridge across the Tennessee River at Perryville was opened to traffic January 5, 1931. The highwys were now the outlet to Nashville and Memphis.
From an article written by Lillye Younger - Sun Correspondent date unknown The "Pea Vine" Bunch Beacon:
Chesterfield:
Darden:
Perryville:
Reeds Crossing:
Warrens Bluff:
ABANDONED A poem by H.L. Kelso We country folks are feelin low, The reason's very plain We miss her engine's whistle, Our hearts are sad as sin We miss her engine's barkin, When she pulled hard up the hill We miss that jolly engineer, On mixed train Number 9
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