Jamestown, Tennessee

AMERICAN ROAD TRIP

Courthouse Square. — Photos by Bob Kirchman

How Jamestown Placed Itself in the Center of a Uniquely American Celebration but Never Became the “Great Metropolis of Eastern Tennessee”

Far up in the Cumberland Plateau, far away from the interstates and great metropolitan areas, Jamestown, Tennessee remains a small town with a unique charm that thrives in its isolation. Jamestown does have a couple of very famous native sons. One is Alvin York, the World War I hero played by Gary Cooper in the movie Sergeant York – actually Alvin York is from Pall Mall, a few miles north of town. No matter, his amazing true life story gives Jamestown bragging rights. It is, after all, the county seat of York’s Fentress County.

In the movie, a group of men are sitting in a little country store when a salesman comes in. He complains about his rough journey to get there. He asks the men, “how did you get here?” One responds, “We were BORN here!” There is another native son – sort of – Samuel Clemens. Yes, he was born in Missouri and never spent his boyhood here, but his mother was carrying him when her husband, John Clemens, took the family west in 1835.

So “Mark Twain” never actually lived in Jamestown. Still, there is a Mark Twain Spring in a park in town and the only place to stay in the center of town is the Mark Twain Inn. John Clemens was clerk of the first circuit court and he drew the plans for the county’s first courthouse and jail. Unfortunately, the first courthouse complex was destroyed by fire and the present stone courthouse was built to replace it. The Clemens family actually drew water from the spring that is now preserved in the park.

Jamestown is a lovely place to visit. It is the gateway to the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area. It is a paradise for hikers, white water paddlers, rock climbers and nature lovers. There are seemingly endless hollows deep with rhododendron, rock formations (including natural bridges and arches), and of course, cascading mountain streams. It is a beautiful place! Nonetheless, if you are a Fentress County official who wants to encourage tourism, you have quite a bit of competition – most of which is well funded and on bigger roads.

In the 1920s, automobile travel began to grow so that The American Association of State Highway Officials developed the U. S. Route numbering system. As they laid out a grid of important highways, they gave Jamestown a great gift. It wasn’t a major two-digit trunk road, but a spur: U. S. 127. Originally this spur route of U. S. 27 ran from Covington, Kentucky to Chattanooga, Tennessee – passing right through Jamestown. This designation meant federal funding for improving the road.

A Man with a Vision

Fentress County Executive Mike Walker wanted to put Jamestown on the map. He was looking for a way to promote tourism to Fentress County. Inspired by the U. S. Highway number, he came up with an idea, “why not organize the world’s longest yard sale?” Now most yard sales are local events – in specific towns or neighborhoods – but Walker had a bigger vision. He organized one that would run the length of Route 127. The sale would bring people right through Jamestown and have a positive impact on the local economy. Naturally it would create awareness of the area’s scenic and recreational value as well. The first 127 Corridor Sale took place in August of 1987. It has been going on ever since.

For four days in early August, the sale runs literally the length of Route 127. People are set up just about anywhere you can legally pull off the road. Traffic slows to a crawl as drivers peruse a plethora of offerings. Much of it is typical yard sale fare – the result of cleaning out the attic and the garage – but there is more. I’m staying at the Mark Twain Inn, a small boutique hotel right on the courthouse square – upstairs from the old bank. The place is full as a result of the sale. One gentleman from Indiana has scored a find of classic comic books and is quite happy. There are also vinyl records and any number of items dear to vintage collectors.

A track and trailer roll through town carrying a load of really nice handmade furniture. I never saw the items again, but I am sure they were a treasured find for someone. It’s Friday night, and a lot of the locals are out, gunning their trucks for the fun of it. A little car show is going on at the courthouse square. There are really nice restorations and “rat rods.” Can you say “eclectic?” The world’s longest yard sale is certainly that. There is something for everyone. “One man’s junk is another man’s treasure.”

“The Metropolis of East Tennesee”

Jamestown was a brand new settlement when John Clemens first settled there. For around $500 he acquired 75,000 acres of land covered with virgin timber and filled with precious minerals. Standing at the doorway of the courthouse he had built, looking toward his properties, he said “Whatever befalls me now, my heirs are secure. I may not live to see these acres turn into silver and gold, but my children will.” He believed Jamestown would become the great city of East Tennessee.

He built a house for his family that the neighbors dubbed the Crystal Palace. It was a fine home with plaster interior walls and two windows in each room. He lived the life of a country gentleman, sporting a swallow tailed coat with brass buttons. But his grand lifestyle was short lived. After Jamestown grew to a village of twenty-five houses, most of which were simple log cabins, the town simply stopped growing. It never became “the Metropolis of East Tennessee.” John struggled financially, and he moved north of town, establishing the village of Pall Mall (where Alvin York would one day live).

At the behest of his wife’s sister, John gave up on the Tennessee venture in 1835 and moved to Missouri, where their son Samuel was born as Halley’s Comet marked the sky. That same comet would be seen in 1910 when Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known as Mark Twain, passed away. The Clemens connection would be largely forgotten, except that Christine Beaty collected this and other stories for Echoes of the Foothills, a local history. John insisted his heirs keep the taxes paid on the Tennessee property. One day, he still believed, it would be valuable.

A Great Hero, Great Author, and a Great Public Servant

The children of Fentress County touched the world – there was Mark Twain, the great storyteller. He would pilot a riverboat and go on to write tales. He would travel the world, telling his marvelous anecdotes. Then there was Alvin York, the man with the amazing story, who was a hero of World War I in Europe. Still, Jamestown, Tennessee, was relatively unknown to most Americans – until Mike Walker put it squarely on the map.

By 2012, Route 127 (and the sale) grew to a length of 690 miles. Today it extends from Addison, Michigan to Gadsden, Alebama. It crosses six states; Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama. The four-day annual event has its headquarters in Jamestown, Tennessee. Every town along the route joins in (with the exception of Chattanooga, which is simply too congested). And everyone is buying, selling, rubbernecking, and slowing traffic. I resolved to be a bastion of restraint, visiting the sale without buying anything. That lasted until I saw a large tub of sidewalk chalk that had “grandchildren” written all over it.