Estill Springs is a town in
Franklin County,
Tennessee
Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
, United States. The population was 2,267 at the 2020 census.
It is usually referred to simply as "Estill" by its inhabitants.
Estill Springs is part of the
Tullahoma, Tennessee
Tullahoma is a city in Coffee and Franklin counties in southern Middle Tennessee, United States. The population was 20,339 at the 2020 census. In 2019, the population was estimated to be 19,555. It is the principal city of the Tullahoma micropol ...
,
Micropolitan Statistical Area and is located in
Middle Tennessee
Middle Tennessee is one of the three Grand Divisions of the U.S. state of Tennessee that composes roughly the central portion of the state. It is delineated according to state law as 41 of the state's 95 counties. Middle Tennessee contains the s ...
.
History
Founding
Mineral spring
Mineral springs are naturally occurring springs that produces hard water, water that contains dissolved minerals. Salts, sulfur compounds, and gases are among the substances that can be dissolved in the spring water during its passage underg ...
s in the area had long been known to the
Cherokee
The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...
people of the region. Before they settled here, varying cultures of
indigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...
had lived in the area for thousands of years.
The European-American town dates from ''circa'' 1840, when the Frank Estill family, which owned considerable property in the area, donated a right-of-way for railroad construction. The combination of
mineral water
Mineral water is water from a mineral spring that contains various minerals, such as salts and sulfur compounds. Mineral water may usually be still or sparkling (carbonated/effervescent) according to the presence or absence of added gases.
Tra ...
s, which were much in vogue as a health remedy at the time, and convenient rail access caused the settlement to develop as a small-scale
spa town
A spa town is a resort town based on a mineral spa (a developed mineral spring). Patrons visit spas to "take the waters" for their purported health benefits.
Thomas Guidott set up a medical practice in the English town of Bath in 1668. H ...
, which took its name from the springs. Oscar Meyer was appointed the first mayor of Estill.
[Estill Springs, Tennessee](_blank)
, Franklin County Chamber of Commerce website. Accessed: 31 Dec 2022.
Civil War era
During the
Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
, the town was generally known as "Allisonia", for another family which had settled in the area. It was the site of a Confederate training camp, Camp Harris, named for
Isham G. Harris
Isham Green Harris (February 10, 1818July 8, 1897) was an American politician who served as the 16th governor of Tennessee from 1857 to 1862, and as a U.S. senator from 1877 until his death. He was the state's first governor from West Tennessee. ...
, the
Confederate
Confederacy or confederate may refer to:
States or communities
* Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities
* Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...
governor of Tennessee, who was a native of the county. Southern forces retreated through the town during the 1863
Tullahoma Campaign, named for the nearby community which served as Confederate headquarters.
The remains of a civil war era bridge foundation are still viewable adjacent to the Beth Page bridge that crosses the Elk River.
Twentieth century to present
Following Reconstruction, whites in the county worked to maintain dominance over
freedmen
A freedman or freedwoman is a formerly enslaved person who has been released from slavery, usually by legal means. Historically, enslaved people were freed by manumission (granted freedom by their captor-owners), abolitionism, emancipation (gra ...
. They committed violence against African Americans perceived to violate social norms. Based on a conflict with local whites in the small town, who appeared to resent his family's relative success,
Jim McIlherron
Jim McIlherron was an African-American man who was tortured and executed by a lynch mob on February 12, 1918, in Estill Springs, Tennessee. McIlherron was lynched in retaliation for shooting and killing two white men after a fight broke out.
Wal ...
was reported to have shot at three young white men who were taunting him. After trying to escape, McIlherron was captured and taken back to Estill Springs. He was lynched by a white mob on February 4, 1918, whose members tortured him with burning before his death. Rev. G.W. Lych, believed to have helped McIlherron escape, was shot to death before this. These two murders were among three recorded lynchings in Franklin County through the early 20th century.
The fad for bathing in and drinking spring waters eventually passed. Local lore has it that the long-awaited construction of
U.S. Route 41A through the town in 1940 caused the springs to dry up. The spa era passed by mid-century, and the hotels were razed. The new highway connected the town to sources of employment in neighboring communities, and gave it a strategic position on the main artery between
Nashville
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...
and
Chattanooga
Chattanooga ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. Located along the Tennessee River bordering Georgia, it also extends into Marion County on its western end. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, ...
. The development of local lakes through dam construction by the
Tennessee Valley Authority
The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is a federally owned electric utility corporation in the United States. TVA's service area covers all of Tennessee, portions of Alabama, Mississippi, and Kentucky, and small areas of Georgia, North Carolina ...
generated recreational business as well.
During the time of
Prohibition
Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...
, Estill Springs was home to prominent local mobster and bootlegger Parker Jones. Parker and his gang took advantage of the heavily wooded terrain to distill their bootleg booze. Parker and his men also used Estill as their primary logistics hub to traffic the booze through Middle Tennessee,
Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...
and
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
. Jones remained in Estill for several years, "owning" mayors, city councilmen, and police officers. The government dispatched dozens of revenue agents to arrest him and his men. However, when they finally arrived at his hideout, they found nothing and Parker was never seen in Estill again.
The "Yellowhammer's Nest", the turn-of-the-century home of noted Tennessee author
Will Allen Dromgoole
Will Allen Dromgoole (October 26, 1860 – September 1, 1934) was an author and poet born in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, Murfreesboro, Tennessee. She wrote over 7,501 poems; 5,000 essays; and published thirteen books. She was renowned beyond the Sou ...
, was destroyed by fire in 1972.
Geography
Estill Springs is located in northern Franklin County at (35.270394, -86.132783).
It is situated on the north side of the
Elk River at the upstream end of
Tims Ford Lake
Tims Ford Lake is a reservoir run by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) in southern middle Tennessee. The lake encompasses 10,700 acres (16.7 square miles) and approximately 250 miles of shoreline.
The Tims Ford Dam was named from an early ...
. U.S. Route 41A passes through the center of town, leading northwest to
Tullahoma and south to
Winchester
Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...
, the
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...
.
According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...
, the town has a total area of , of which is land and , or 6.00%, is water.
Climate
Climate is characterized by relatively high temperatures and evenly distributed precipitation throughout the year. The Köppen Climate Classification subtype for this climate is "Cfa" (Humid Subtropical Climate).
Climate Summary for Estill Springs, TN
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Demographics
2020 census
As of the 2020 United States census
The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to of ...
, there were 2,267 people, 865 households, and 647 families residing in the town.
2010 census
At the 2010 census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...
, there were 2,055 people living in the town. The racial makeup of the town was 94.9% White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...
, 1.9% African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
, 0.2% Native American,0.7% Asian, 1.5% Two or More Races. 0.9% of the population identified as Hispanic or Latino.
Notable people
* John Henry Hale (1878–1944), prominent surgeon
References
External links
Municipal Technical Advisory Service entry for Estill Springs
— information on local government, elections, and link to charter
*
{{authority control
Towns in Franklin County, Tennessee
Spa towns in the United States
Populated places established in 1840
Towns in Tennessee
Tullahoma, Tennessee micropolitan area