It was a beautiful day in May 1955, when Miss Beulah Starkey took her fifth grade Farragut Elementary class on a field trip to visit the gravesite of Archibald Roane at Pleasant Forest Cemetery. That day began the education for those students into the life of a notable dignitary from the Concord/Farragut area.
Archibald Roane by C.J. Polk (artist) – Tennessee State Library and Archives
Archibald Roane (1759 – 1819) is well known among area residents as a Revolutionary War Patriot where he served in the Continental Army as a member of Lancaster County Militia with the 5th Company, 9th Battalion. He was present at the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown and was among the troops who took part in Washington’s crossing of the Delaware. In 1788, he moved to Knoxville where he practiced law, became Attorney General of the Southwest Territory, served as a judge on Tennessee’s Superior Court of Law and Equity, and in 1801 was elected the second governor of Tennessee.
Other interesting facts concerning Gov. Roane may not be as well known. Being from an Irish immigrant family, both of his parents died when he was 8 years old, and he was raised by his uncle, the Rev. John Roane. While under his administration as governor, the Great Seal of Tennessee was adopted, the state was divided into three Congressional districts, he signed a law outlawing dueling as well as one prohibiting the disturbance of public worship and coordinated efforts towards the beginning of the Natchez Trace.
History narrates he died in 1819 at his home at Campbell’s Station in Knox County, only to lie in an unmarked grave for 99 years. By 1918, various community members and the Bonny Kate Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, began making plans for a memorial stone for the governor’s grave. Newspaper accounts announced June 26, 1918, for the unveiling monument ceremony at Pleasant Forest Cemetery.
Roane Monument in Pleasant Forest Cemetery
Since Roane died approximately 12 years prior to the beginning of photography, artist Lloyd Branson painted a portrait of Roane for the occasion, which was on display at the City National Bank.
Simultaneously, James Wiley Wallace, editor-in-chief of the Knoxville Daily Tribune and artist, painted a picture of the old Roane House. Wallace, having been reared in the vicinity of Campbell Station, painted the home from his memory as of 1860. The portrait of the “log mansion” was 5 ½ x 4 feet and was on display at the Mechanics Bank in Knoxville.
Both portraits were unveiled at the monument ceremony and were presented to the Campbell Station community to be kept in trust at the Farragut High School building.
Research of the East Tennessee Historical Society, McClung Museum and Tennessee State Library and Archives (TSLA), does not find copies of either pieces of art. There does, however, exist an engraving of Gov. Roane as well as a portrait by artist C.J. Polk at TSLA.
Readers may be interested in knowing the exact place of the Roane log mansion. Today, we know the address as 133 Admiral Road in Farragut. It is believed that the family of Amanda Stoltzfus, first principal of Farragut High School, once also lived on this property. Today, the beautiful antebellum style home on the property, built around 1934, has been previously owned by the William Cottrell family and J.A. Beeler family. According to J.A. Beeler III, the original log house burned around 1924-1925 prior to the existing house on the same property, just west of the original log home.
Mona Isbell Smith is a retired computer systems analyst who enjoys freelancing.