Alan’s TTIM Stories #65

Radford was unliked.

William Ogle traveled into the Cherokee territory of Eastern Tennessee looking for a homestead for his family. After finding the perfect plot of land he returned to South Carolina to pack up for the trip. He died before the trek west.

Not deterred by the tragedy, his wife Martha Jane Ogle moved her seven children with the help of her brother, Peter Huskey. The family built a cabin on White Oak Flats.

In 1854, Radford and Elizabeth bought 50 acres from the Ogles. They added another 5,000 acres from a land grant. Radford was a land speculator, politician, teacher, militia captain, church leader, and merchant. Known as highly intelligent – all these talents enlarged his ego with a reputation of being “rude and uncivil.” His unpleasant disposition led to bogus lawsuits, and a fistfight in the church yard.

Radford saw opportunities as an entrepreneur in the growing community by opening a general store. The store was used as the first community post office.

He also saw an opportunity to increase the value of his land by diverting the main road to be adjacent to his property. This action displeased Martha’s son, Thomas Ogle. A fight broke out with both Radford and Elizabeth charged with assault – Elizabeth beat Ogle with a stick. The couple were fined one dollar each.

The feud expanded. On a dark night, Radford’s barn and stables burned down along with the contents of horses and grain. He accused the Ogle family to no avail. He feared his home might be next to be torched.

Another piece of the unrest was Radford support of the southern slave states with most people in Eastern Tennessee being pro-Union. When Union troops moved into the area in 1863, Radford and Elizabeth moved back to South Carolina.

Was this the end of the story? Radford left behind something still present today. Because the post office was established in his store – the name of the settlement took his name. Radford Gatlin gave us Gatlinburg.

Sources:
Wikipedia
Sevier County, Tennessee, Genealogy & History
Visit My Smokies
Vanshaver.com
Smoky Mountain Living Magazine

Photo credit: Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported /Brian Stansberry

Follow announcements of Alan’s TTIM Stories at Facebook.com/alan.vandervoort or Instagram & Threads vandervoort_author, with all available posts at www.alanvandervoort.com. Novels by the author include: Sandhills – A Novel and Key Largo Summer, found at Booklocker.com and other online booksellers. Links to TTIM Stories of 2024 is available at www.alanvandervoort.com/blogs/503/