Typed McEwen History

I'm afraid my attachment of the McEwen History may not be legible, so I am going to transcribe it here:

McEwen

The second city in size in Humphreys County is McEwen, situated on the Louisville and Nashville railroad, seven miles east of Waverly and fifty-seven miles west of Nashville.  The estimated population in 1979 is 1500.

As early as 1812 there was a stage coach line about one-half mile north of the present day McEwen.  This was the main line between New Orleans and Washington.  Spencer T. Hunt operated a stage inn about one and one-half miles north of McEwen on this line.  It was a famous stopping and resting place for travelers since the stages changed horses here.

The earliest known land records show that the area in which McEwen is located was claimed in 1832 by James C. King.  He obtained a grant from the state of Tennessee to 35,000 acres by paying a nominal fee of twenty-five cents per acre. He was known as a land grabber and later was forced to sell the land because of bankruptcy.

In 1842, Dr. Fredrick Knapp and his brother-in-law, James F. Neale, of New Orleans purchased a large tract of land in this section with the intention of raising sheep.  They brought with them Pat McEnroe, Johnnie McGuire, Thomas Devoy, Johnny Murphree, Michael May, James Hennissy, Jerry Sheen, Patrick Flaherity, and Patrick and John Taylor to herd the sheep.

Shortly afterwards Father Aloysicus Orengo, a Dominican Priest, who traveled from one settlement to another visited this small group of Catholics.  Mass was celebrated in one of the residences. In 1849 under his leadership a Catholic church (St. Patrick) was built about two mile north of the present site of McEwen.  In 1855 the church was moved to the present site and a school was begun.  Some of the Catholic families who lived in the area at this time were Tarpys, Walsh, Hughes, Langans, Sheehys, Brennans, Courleys, Gallahers, Farleys, Bradleys, Heritys, Foys, Larkins, Donnellys, Nolans, Martins, Hines, O'Neals, Gibbons, Dannahers, McGoldricks, Dolans and Pendergasts.  By 1857 the Harts, Conroys, Morgans, Needhams, Droneys, Garvins and others had arrived.

Before the Civil War, work was begun on the railroad between Nashville and Memphis.  The first stretch was to be built from Nashville to the banks of he Tennessee River and the work was begun from each end.  When the war began in 1861 the groups of men working on the railroad were about to meet near what is now McEwen.  Early in 1862 union soldiers set up camp a Yellow Bank Trestle, one-fourth mile east of McEwen.  They not only guarded the railroad but also completed it so supplies could go through.

Many of the men who had worked on the railroad were Irish immigrants from Pennyslvania and Ohio.  When their work was disrupted by the war, they sent for their families and settled here as they liked the area.  There were soon to be about three hundred families settled here and others followed because of the Catholic church and school.

One of the civil engineers for the railroad company Mr. McEwen, evidently impressed the local group of people as they began to call the place "McEwen."  "Little Ireland" also became another name for the town, as well as "Buttermilk Junction."

Soon after the end of the war, Dr. Knapp died and Mr. Neal sold the land in sections. The entire area covered by the community was one owned by five Irishmen; the Sheehans, Walshes, Burchiels, O'Gradys and Halpins.

In 1865 John and James McAdoo moved to this area and brought with them a new element, the Scotch-Presbyterians.  John McAdoo was once of the founders of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church.  In 1869, McEwen was plotted and laid out by Mr. McAdoo.  There were eighty lots.  He gave two acres of land to the railroad company on which to erect a depot.  It stood until the 1960's.  He also donated two acres east of McEwen for a protestant cemetery.  He ran a general store under the name of "McAdoo and Simpson."

Because of the level land, abundance of water and the railroad, many people came here to settle.  In its early days, the community was known as a "timber town."

Michael Gibbons was one of the first general merchants.  Michael Brennan and Robert Bond ran merchandise stores and the produce business as McEwen had become a good shipping point.  Howell Thomas and M.W. Blake were blacksmiths and W.H. Smith and Joseph Parrish were wagon makers and wood workers.