Mrs. Leo E. Coling and Miss Olga Peterson were in high dungeon. And rightfully so. It was 1963, and both had written in to General Knox at The Knoxville News Sentinel about a blight on their bucolic community. The first point of contention with Coling was the littering and dumping occurring along Coward Mill Road in Karns.
Their shared disturbance was the installation of a gas line, to be stretched across Beaver Creek between the Coward Mill Bridge and the Coward Mill Dam. The Powell-Clinch Utility District was installing the line along the road, the company chose the least aesthetic option, instead of putting it under the creek or under the bridge or anything other than bridging it over the creek.
“They are running it right in front of the falls,” Peterson wrote, “thus utterly ruining the spot beyond hope of recovery.”
The gas line still hangs there, closer to the one-lane bridge, renamed the Donald Caldwell Memorial Bridge in 2014 after the man who saved it from modernization (i.e.- destruction). Built in 1895, it is one of only five original stone arch bridges left in the state. Caldwell’s efforts shored the structure up while also preserving it.
Train wreck on L&N Railroad near Coward Mill on Beaver Creek, 1908 (Photo credit: Knox County Two Centuries Photograph Project, McClung Digital Collection)
The falls that Peterson referred to in her letter is just the overflow from the low head dam built to provide water to the Coward Mill. There was a time when ferries and mills dotted all over Knox County. And most often those mills were accompanied by a dam. The Coward Mill and property changed hands many times for nearly a century before settling on Cowan.
The mill and dam were constructed by Jesse Council sometime between 1795 and 1835. A Knox County map from the 1870s indicates the Hackney Mill. Brothers Hiram and James Hackney were its fourth set of owners. William Coward purchased the property in 1879, which was eventually taken over by his son Henry, who ran the mill and its accompanying store well into the 1930s. The mill, the dam, the bridge, the nearby rail trestle, and the road were all left with his family’s name.
In 1931, Henry Coward is mentioned in the KNS column Woods and Waters. The country was in the grip of the Great Depression. As such, many locals were increasing their time fishing to help save some costs on groceries, and, in some cases, as a livelihood. Knox County’s newly appointed game warden, Will McIntyre, was putting in some extra time making sure laws were being followed to ensure area fish populations weren’t overly depleted. McIntyre’s approach was education over incarceration. He found things along Beaver Creek near the Coward Mill to be in good order, and that Henry had actually stocked the section himself.
What is interesting is that for an area so beloved and rich in history it inspired letters to the editor, there is very little of that history to be found. Peterson’s 1963 missive indicated the old abandoned mill was still there at the time of her complaint about the gas line. But I could find no record of its demise, how or when. Also, no photographs of it.
And now the last tie to the old mill is soon to be gone. Knox County is in the early phases of removing the dam. While some may regret losing that piece of history, it no longer serves a purpose and hasn’t for decades. It’s mostly an environmental detriment, builds up debris jams and stands in the way of a clear shot without portage on Beaver Creek from Gibbs to Melton Hill Lake. Time to say goodbye.
For the foreseeable future, I will post this at the end of every story to help bring relief to our neighbors in upper East Tennessee in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. The best resource to get lined up for service is with Volunteer Tennessee by going here. The link includes signups to volunteer as well as donation locations in each of the affected counties and other resources. There are 14 pages of opportunities to serve. So, let’s do this.
Also, there’s a great opportunity this week to help bring a little fun back to two elementary schools in Carter County. Abbe Evans, a SPED teaching assistant at Central High School, is collecting candy donations. Her students will helps divide and bag it up for delivery next week. You can drop it off at the school office or have it delivered to her c/o Central High School, 5321 Jacksboro Pike, Knoxville TN 37918.
Beth Kinnane writes a history feature for KnoxTNToday.com. It’s published each Tuesday and is one of our best-read features.
Sources: The Knoxville News Sentinel and McClung Historical Collection
