Skip to main content

Springfield, Tennessee - World's Finest Dark Fired Tobacco

Image
By
Sometimes you make a wrong turn; and as a result, you do indeed learn that every road tells a story....

Springfield, Tenn - World's Finest Dark Fired Tobacco (Photo courtesy of Volunteer Voices Collection - University of Tennessee Digital Archives)

That is how the subject for this feature came about.  On a business trip, I took a wrong turn leaving the plant I was visiting to head back to my hotel.  South of downtown Springfield, I came upon what is known as Old State Highway 11 and came across this unique historical marker below.  Which of course I stopped to take a photo or two and investigate.


The historical marker reads:
After the 1928 tobacco crop netted local farmer five million dollars, Robertson County attained the designation of the largest & finest quality dark fired tobacco in the world.  Local businessmen erected at this location on the Dixie Highway an illuminated sign which remained until 1972.
The historical marker is new, as it was erected in February 2016.  Though attempts were made in the 1980s and 90s to restore the original sign and find a new home for it, the arch has since fallen into private ownership and repurposed.

Although the arch is no more, there is one piece of this unique entrance into Springfield remaining.  One of the two stone pillars still stands.




There also appears to have been a second arch along what was once US 41 and the Dixie Highway.  This arch to the North of town celebrated the $5 million tobacco windfall.  Currently, there are no known photos of this particular sign.  Both signs included light bulbs that allowed it to stand out and greet motorists day or night.

This small stretch of highway where I discovered this little piece of history has a unique story of its own.  The stretch of highway which runs about eight miles from Springfield through Greenbrier before ending near Ridgetop once carried the Dixie Highway, TN 11, and finally US 41.   During the Auto Trails Era, the Dixie Highway was one of the major North/South highways in the country.  The western segment of this route would run through Springfield as it headed south towards Nashville. As states began to develop their own highway systems, the road gained the Tennessee State Highway 11 designation.  Finally, in 1926, just prior to the signs being installed, US 41 would be routed through town on this alignment.

Though the sign is no more, this little piece of history made a wrong turn and what would appear to be a non-descript rural road have a story of its own.

How to get there:
Labels:
Location: 3831 Old State Hwy 11, Springfield, TN 37172, USA

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

2018 Mojave Road Trip Part 2; The deadly desert highway (California State Route 127 and Nevada State Route 373)

By
After leaving Barstow via Old Highway 58 my next destination was in Death Valley.  To access Death Valley from rural San Bernardino County required a trek on north on Interstate 15 to California State Route 127 which becomes Nevada State Route 373 at the state line. Along I-15 I encountered the road sign oddity that is Zzyzx Road about eight miles south of Baker.   Zzyzx Road is a four mile road that used to go to the Zzyzx Mineral Springs and Health Spa.   The spa was founded in the 1940s and the owner made up the name "Zzyzx" to claim it was the last word in the English Language.  The spa has been shut down since the 1970s and is now part of a Desert Studies Center for California State University. The southern terminus of CA 127 in Baker is located at I-15 exit 246.  CA 127 is a 91 mile north/south highway which runs to the Nevada State Line in Inyo County.  CA 127 is called Death Valley Road from I-15 northward.  South of CA 127 ...
4 comments
Read more

Finding the Pre-Emption Road of New York State

By
  The Pre-Emption Road (or rather a series of roads named Pre-Emption Road) follows a survey line called the Pre-Emption Line, drawn in the early days of the United States. The story begins with Massachusetts and New York having competing land claims to modern day Western New York State that have their roots in colonial charters granted by the British. After the Revolutionary War ended, this land became the frontier of the nation and its settlement became a priority for the new American government. During this era, there were a lot of competing land claims that needed to be settled. It was no different with the land claims between New York State and Massachusetts. On November 30, 1786, Massachusetts and New York sent representatives to Hartford, Connecticut to resolve their competing land claims. In less than three weeks, the representatives had reached a compromise. Massachusetts would receive pre-emption rights, meaning the right to sell the land after the Indian title ...
Post a Comment
Read more

What's In a Name?: When the Roads Really Do Tell a Story

By
  Our tagline on the Gribblenation blog is "because every road tells a story". Some roads tell different stories than others. Along our travels, we may see historic markers that tell us a little story about the roads we travel or the places we pass by. Some historic markers are more general, as to telling us who lived where or what old trail traversed between two towns. During my travels across New York State and other states or provinces, I pass by many historic markers, some with interesting or amusing references to roads. I wanted to highlight a few of the markers I've seen along my travels around the Empire State and help tell their stories. Those stories may be as specific as explaining the tales of a tree that was used to help measure a distance of eight miles from Bath to Avoca in Steuben County, as referenced on the Eight Mile Tree historical marker above. They may also help point the way along historical roads first used centuries ago, or may help tell a local l...
Post a Comment
Read more