Lafayette C. Baker
Union Army officer
Lafayette Curry Baker (October 13, 1826 – July 3, 1868) was a United States investigator and spy, serving the Union Army during the American Civil War and under Presidents Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson.
Early life.
Baker was born in Stafford, New York, on October 13, 1826. He became a mechanic, moved to Michigan in 1839, returned to New York in 1848, moved to California in 1853, and was a San Francisco vigilante in 1856. He moved to the District of Columbia in 1861.
American Civil War.
Baker's exploits are mainly known through his book "A History of the Secret Service" which he published in 1867 after his fall from grace. During the early months of the Civil War, he spied for General Winfield Scott on Confederate forces in Virginia. Despite numerous scrapes, he returned to Washington, D.C., with information that Scott evidently thought valuable enough to raise him to the rank of captain. As Provost Marshal of Washington, D.C., from September 12, 1862, to November 7, 1863, Baker ran the National Detective Bureau also sometimes known as the "National Detective Police Department." He was appointed colonel of 1st D.C. Cavalry, May 5, 1863. According to Glenn Hastedt "Although his accomplishments were many, Baker operated with little regard for warrants or the constitutional rights of those he pursued. He is also reported to have employed brutal interrogation techniques in order to obtain information."
Baker owed his appointment largely to Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton, but suspected the secretary of corruption and was eventually demoted for tapping his telegraph lines and packed off to New York.
Lincoln assassination investigation.
Baker was recalled to Washington after the assassination of President Lincoln in 1865. Within two days of his arrival in Washington, Baker's agents in Maryland had made four arrests and had the names of two more conspirators, including the actual presidential assassin John Wilkes Booth. Before the month was out, Booth along with David Herold were found holed up in a barn and Booth was himself shot and killed by Sgt. Boston Corbett. Baker received a generous share of the $100,000 reward offered to the person who apprehended the president's killer. President Andrew Johnson nominated Baker for appointment to the grade of brigadier general of volunteers, April 26, 1865, but the United States Senate never confirmed the appointment. Baker was mustered out of the volunteers on January 15, 1866.
Firing and death.
The following year, Baker was sacked from his position as government spymaster. President Johnson accused him of spying on him, a charge Baker admitted in his book which he published in response. He also announced that he had had Booth's diary in his possession which was being suppressed by the Department of War and Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton. When the diary was eventually produced, Baker claimed that eighteen vital pages were missing. It was suggested by Otto Eisenschiml in his book, "Why Was Lincoln Murdered?," that these would implicate Stanton in the assassination. However, this notion has been proven as speculation by author Edward Steers Jr. and based on non-reputable sources.
On July 3, 1868, Baker retired to home complaining of soreness from a gun wound during a hunting trip. He had been out drinking with Wally Pollack, his brother-in-law, and came home feeling sick, passing away later that night, reportedly from meningitis.
A widely criticized 1977 book, "The Lincoln Conspiracy" by conspiracy theorists David W. Balsiger and Charles E. Sellier, alleges that Baker was poisoned by high-placed conspirators, including Stanton, who supported John Wilkes Booth's plan to kidnap Abraham Lincoln in 1864 and early 1865. The conspirators supposedly planned to have Lincoln impeached in his absence. The authors speculate that the conspirators were concerned that Baker could link them to the planned kidnapping, which might lead to accusations that they were conspirators in Lincoln's assassination. The authors believe the conspirators did not support Booth after March 1865. Academic historians have treated the book with hostility and derision, having many objections based on errors and misuse of sources in the book.
Interment.
Baker is buried in Forest Hills Cemetery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
In popular culture.
Baker was portrayed by Patton Oswalt in the 2024 Apple TV+ miniseries series "Manhunt"
Notes.
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Weardale
Open valley in County Durham, England
Weardale is a dale, or valley, on the east side of the Pennines in County Durham, England. Large parts of Weardale fall within the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) – the second-largest AONB in England and Wales. The upper dale is surrounded by high fells (up to O.D. at Burnhope Seat) and heather grouse moors. The River Wear flows through Weardale before reaching Bishop Auckland and then Durham, meeting the sea at Sunderland.
The Wear Valley local government district covered the upper part of the dale, including Weardale, between 1974 and 2009, when it was abolished on County Durham's becoming a unitary authority. (From 1894 to 1974 there was a Weardale Rural District.) Upper Weardale is in the parliamentary constituency of North West Durham. The dale's principal settlements include St John's Chapel and the towns of Crook, Stanhope and Wolsingham.
Local climate.
Weardale's winters are typically harsh and prolonged with regular snow, nowadays taken advantage of by skiers using a ski run at Swinhope Head.
Wildlife and ecology.
Wildlife includes an important population of black grouse, along with the more usual upland birds. Sea-trout and salmon run the River Wear whilst adders (snakes) are sometimes encountered on the moors. With regard to flora, some species-rich meadows remain, and the wood cranesbill ("Geranium sylvaticum") and meadow cranesbill ("G. pratense") are easy to spot in summer and the mountain pansy ("Viola lutea") is a characteristic plant of the shorter grass round the upper dale. Also round the upper dale, in late spring damp places are bright with yellow marsh marigolds, of a variety (Caltha palustris minor) that is rather smaller than the ordinary marsh marigold (Caltha palustris). The tiny but beautiful spring sandwort ("Minuartia verna") may be seen around old lead workings, enabled by its high tolerance of lead to colonise ground where contamination inhibits other species.
History and historical associations.
Past occupation or activity by man is attested by evidence such as the Heatheryburn Bronze Age collection of gold and other objects, now in the British Museum; altars placed by Roman officers who took hunting trips out from forts in present-day County Durham; and the use from Norman times of Frosterley Marble, a black fossiliferous layer of limestone occurring near that village, as an ornamental material in Durham Cathedral and many other churches and public buildings.
The small towns of Stanhope and Wolsingham appear to have existed as Anglo-Saxon settlements before the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Normans extended farming in this part of the dale, and later in the Middle Ages the upper dale was cleared for "vaccaries" – farms for pasturing cattle. The Bishops of Durham owned the mineral rights and the Church retained them throughout the effective life of the lead industry, miners and companies being lessees.
In 1327 Edward III led his first military campaign in Weardale. The so-called Weardale campaign against the Scots was a military failure but led to the politically important Treaty of Edinburgh–Northampton. The campaign was graphically described by a participant, the chronicler Jean Le Bel.
In the 18th century John Wesley visited the dale on a number of occasions and it became a Methodist stronghold. High House Chapel near Ireshopeburn has been claimed to be the Methodist chapel with the longest history of continuous use in the world and contains the Weardale Museum (not to be confused with the Lead Mining Museum at Killhope), which includes a room devoted to Methodist and Wesley memorabilia.
As a youth between the world wars the poet W. H. Auden walked amid the wild countryside and the relics of the lead-mining industry in and around Weardale and found them a lifelong source of inspiration. One place he visited, Rookhope, is also the setting of a border ballad, 'The Rookhope Ryde', which describes in some detail how in 1569 Weardale men drove out a party of cattle-raiders who had come down from the Roman wall area.
Among modern works 'The Last Ballad', by Helen Cannam, is a lively historical novel set in the dale in the early 19th century.
Mining history.
Weardale was historically important for lead mining and there is a lead-mining museum incorporating the preserved Park Level Mine at Killhope (pronounced "Killup").
The first documented evidence of mining in the Northern Pennines dates from the 12th century and records the presence of silver mines in the areas of what are now Alston Moor, just west of Weardale, and Northumberland. Weardale was at that time forested and belonged to the Bishops of Durham, who used part of it as a hunting preserve. The villages of Eastgate and Westgate mark the former eastern and western entrances to this forest preserve (King, 1982).
Lead mining in Weardale reached its greatest levels during the 18th and 19th centuries, when the London Lead and Beaumont Companies dominated mining throughout the region, e.g. at the Cornish Hush Mine. During the 1880s declining prices for lead forced both companies to give up their leases in the area, though the Weardale Lead Company continued lead mining and smelting until 1931. According to Dunham (1990) 28 separate lead-smelting operations were active in the region during the height of mining in the 19th century but by 1919 the last major commercial mine had closed.
Besides lead, silver and fluorspar were extracted from Weardale. Large amounts of ironstone were taken, especially from the Rookhope area, during the Industrial Revolution to supply ironworks at Consett and other sites in County Durham. Local deposits of other minerals were also found on occasion. Ganister (hard sandstone) and dolerite (whinstone, basalt) were also quarried.
The lead-mining industry occasioned the coming and going of much of the population. Cornish miners, used to tin-mining, were one group who came to find similar work in the Pennine ore-field. Many later left Weardale for better-paid jobs in 19th-century coal mines in the North East or emigrated to the New World.
Fluorspar.
A major by-product of lead-mining was various crystals including the decorative coloured fluorspar (fluorite), for which no industrial use was known until the later 19th century. Thereafter it was used in part of the steel-making process and also in the manufacture of non-stick frying pans, CFCs for aerosols and other products. It is not a precious stone but fine samples are prized by collectors. Because of europium impurities fluorite from this region glows with a bluish light under ultraviolet excitation, and the characteristic glow of fluorspar samples from this region are responsible for the word fluorescence to describe that phenomenon. Weardale fluorite is considered by collectors to be amongst the finest, and therefore most valued, in the world. Mines such as Frazers Hush, Boltsburn, Heights, Cambokeels, Blackdene, West Pastures, Greenlaws, Billings Hill and Groverake are legendary for their fine fluorite specimens. Until 2016 some of the finest green fluorite was mined at Rogerley Mine. Mineralised veins in a nearby limestone quarry were then opened up to create the Diana Maria Mine, which produces fine green fluorite specimens and the occasional purple.
The North of England Lead Mining Museum at Killhope has a huge working water wheel, known as the Killhope Wheel. It was installed in the 1870s to power the crushing of grit in tanks in an adjacent building so as to complete the separation of lead ore from worthless stone. The museum also exhibits a fine collection of local minerals, as well as 'spar boxes' – display cases made by miners to show crystal specimens they had found.
Economy other than mining.
After the closing of the lead mines there were few sources of income for the local population left in the upper dale.
In the lower dale round Stanhope and Frosterley, however, carboniferous limestone was quarried on a large scale from the 1840s, when rail links with Teesside and Consett enabled it to be carried to these and other places for use in the iron- and steel-making processes there. These places included Wolsingham in the lower dale, Tow Law on its fringes and Witton Park further down the dale. Of these, only a business at Tow Law persists (2009) as a going concern.
Limestone quarrying continued into and beyond the 1960s, a relatively recent and large-scale development being the quarry serving the Blue Circle cement works near Eastgate, set up in the 1960s. This site has now been decommissioned and the major industry in Weardale is now cattle- and sheep-farming. Only one mine, the Rogerley Mine, is currently being prospected on a very small scale for mineral specimens.
Weardale had a railway as far as Wearhead in three stages opened in 1847, 1862 and 1895, but the section of the line above Eastgate closed between 1961 and 1968 in another series of three closures owing to the decline of the lead industry. The remaining line was kept open by cement traffic and excursions until 1993, after which it was eventually taken over by the Weardale Railway. Passenger services recommenced briefly in 2004 but in 2005 the project went into administration. Trains began running again in 2006 under a new ownership structure. The line between Bishop Auckland and Wolsingham was reopened in May 2010. Both heritage (steam and diesel loco hauled) and community (railbus) services are worked. During the first part of 2011 it is anticipated that coal traffic will start loaded at a new terminal in Wolsingham. It will be trucked there from an opencast at nearby Tow Law. The connection to Network Rail has seen a number of through excursions during 2010, although for daily passenger traffic a separate platform called Bishop Auckland West is used. It is on the site of the former West Junction when Bishop Auckland was a triangular station. The heritage line was taken over by The Auckland Project in 2020.
Currently there is a regular Monday to Saturday bus service provided by Weardale Motor Services from Bishop Auckland and Crook to Cowshill at the head of the dale; it is possible at certain times of day to take the bus further on to the Killhope Lead Mining Museum and to return by bus from it at the times of the year when it is open.
There is a modest tourist industry, and inn/hotel, B&B and self-catering are among the types of accommodation available; there are some caravan sites. There are opportunities for pony-trekking and mountain biking as well as much scope for the walker.
References.
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Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes
Valley within Katmai National Park and Preserve, Alaska, United States
The Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes is a valley within Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska which is filled with ash flow from the eruption of Novarupta on June 6–8, 1912. Following the eruption, thousands of fumaroles vented steam from the ash. Robert F. Griggs, who explored the volcano's aftermath for the National Geographic Society in 1916, gave the valley its name, saying that "the whole valley as far as the eye could reach was full of hundreds, no thousands—literally, tens of thousands—of smokes curling up from its fissured floor."
Prior to the eruption, the area now called the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes was an unremarkable and unnamed portion of the Ukak River valley. Although never permanently inhabited by humans, it served as a pass for the Alutiiq people, as well as animals such as grizzly bears.
The 1912 eruption was the largest eruption by volume in the 20th century, erupting a magma volume of about . As many as 14 major earthquakes between formula_1 6 to 7, and over 100 earthquakes greater than formula_1 5, resulted from the collapse of the caldera at Mount Katmai and movement within the magmatic plumbing system.
The ash-filled valley covers a area. The ash can be up to deep. In places deep canyons have been cut by the River Lethe, allowing observers to see the ash flow strata. Since the ash has cooled, most of the fumaroles are now extinct and despite its name the valley is no longer filled with 'smoke' (i.e. steam). Vegetation still does not grow in the valley. The signs of volcanic activity are still visible on nearby hills.
Katmai's most recent eruption was in 1927, but there have been non-eruptive events as recently as 2003. The Alaska Volcano Observatory still monitors Katmai's activity as part of the Katmai Cluster, where there are five active stratovolcanos within of Katmai.
Visitors to the valley most commonly arrive via bus along the road from Brooks Camp, which is the only road in Katmai Park. The valley is a source of creative exploration by photographers and naturalists.
Geology.
Basement rocks in the area consist of the Late Jurassic Naknek Formation, which is composed of siltstones, and arkosic sandstones 1.7–2 km thick deposited in a marine shelf and submarine fan delta environment during the Oxfordian-Tithonian. Some 20 dioritic and granodioritic Tertiary plutons pierce the formation. Most prevalent though are the Quaternary stratovolcanoes along the Aleutian Arc associated with the Aleutian subduction zone.
The 1912 Novarupta eruption was characterized by three main episodes spanning 60 hours. Episode I included both a rhyolitic ignimbrite and a simultaneous Plinian dispersal of rhyolitic tephra fallout. The ignimbrite consisted of 9 separate packages of pumiceous pyroclastic flow deposits, radiating outward 9 km, and which filled 11 km3 of the valley to a depth of 100–200 m in the upper portion and 35 m in the lower over the span of 16 hours. It is indurated in the upper valley while nonwelded in the lower. The ignimbrite is noted for its fumaroles, phreatic craters, welded tuff, and flattened fiamme. At the same time, a Plinian dispersal of 8.8 km3 of rhyolitic tephra occurred depositing layers A and B. Episode II consisted of a second Plinian dispersal, but one consisting of dacite tephra, depositing 4.8 km3 of layers C and D. Episode III was also a Plinian dispersal of dacite tephra depositing 3.4 km3 of layers F and G.
The explosion from the eruption was heard as far away as Fairbanks and Juneau, while earthquakes continued until mid-Aug. Ball lightning near the ground was noted in addition to regular thunder and lightning, rare in South Alaska, while severe static disrupted wireless transmissions. Volcanic dust reached Wisconsin on June 8, Algeria on June 19 and California on June 21. Fields of pumice were seen floating in Katmai Bay, 241 km to the southwest, in 1913. Griggs noted 1000 fumarolic plumes over 500 feet high in 1916. In 1917, diffuse steam emanations were still evident and temperatures were 97 °C just 1 m below the surface. In 1918, Jasper Sayre and Paul Hagelbarger noted 86 vents with temperatures greater than 190 °C, the hottest being 432 °C. The steam was measured to be 99.5% water vapor with some acidic gases of HCl, CO2, H2S and HF. Only a few hundred emanations were seen by 1929, and just 10 were left by 1940.
Astronaut training.
The Katmai Peninsula in general, and the valley in particular, were used by NASA and the USGS to geologically train the Apollo astronauts in recognizing volcanic features, landforms and materials, especially fumaroles and vents. Two separate groups of astronauts trained here, the first in June–July 1965 and a second group in August 1966. Their field exercises included simulating a lunar mission. "Playing the Moon game", involved pairing up astronauts and placing them in a location with very little prior information. They then planned traverses and collected representative samples. They communicated with their geologist instructors via radio. Astronauts who would use this training on the Moon included Apollo 11's Buzz Aldrin, Apollo 12's Alan Bean, Apollo 14's Edgar Mitchell, Apollo 15's James Irwin, Apollo 16's Charlie Duke, and Apollo 17's Gene Cernan and Jack Schmitt. Notable geologist instructors included Garniss Curtis and Gene Shoemaker.
References.
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Alaska Purchase
1867 sale by Russia to the United States
The Alaska Purchase was the purchase of Alaska from the Russian Empire by the United States for a sum of $7.2 million in 1867 (equivalent to $ million in 2023). On May 15 of that year, the United States Senate ratified a bilateral treaty that had been signed on March 30, and American sovereignty became legally effective across the territory on October 18.
During the first half of the 18th century, Russia had established a colonial presence in parts of North America, but few Russians ever settled in Alaska. Alexander II of Russia, having faced a catastrophic defeat in the Crimean War, began exploring the possibility of selling the state's Alaskan possessions, which, in any future war, would be difficult to defend from the United Kingdom. To this end, William H. Seward, the U.S. Secretary of State at the time, entered into negotiations with Russian diplomat Eduard de Stoeckl towards the United States' acquisition of Alaska after the American Civil War. Seward and Stoeckl agreed to a treaty for the sale on March 30, 1867.
At an original cost of $0.02 per acre ($ per acre in 2023), the United States had grown by . Reactions to the Alaska Purchase among Americans were mostly positive, as many believed that Alaska would serve as a base to expand American trade in Asia. Some opponents labeled the purchase as "Seward's Folly" or "Seward's Icebox" as they contended that the United States had acquired useless land. Nearly all Russian settlers left Alaska in the aftermath of the purchase; Alaska would remain sparsely populated until the Klondike Gold Rush began in 1896. Originally organized as the Department of Alaska, the area was renamed the District of Alaska in 1884 and the Territory of Alaska in 1912, ultimately becoming the modern-day State of Alaska in 1959.
History.
Russian America was settled by , merchants and fur trappers who expanded through Siberia. They arrived in Alaska in 1732, and in 1799 the Russian-American Company (RAC) received a charter to hunt for fur. No colony was established, but the Russian Orthodox Church sent missionaries to the natives and built churches. About 700 Russians enforced sovereignty in a territory over twice as large as Texas. In 1821, Tsar Alexander I issued an edict declaring Russia's sovereignty over the North American Pacific coast north of the 51st parallel north. The edict also forbade foreign ships to approach within 100 Italian miles (115 miles or 185 km) of the Russian claim. US Secretary of State John Quincy Adams strongly protested the edict, which potentially threatened both the commerce and expansionary ambitions of the United States. Seeking favorable relations with the U.S., Alexander agreed to the Russo-American Treaty of 1824. In the treaty, Russia limited its claims to lands north of parallel 54°40′ north and also agreed to open Russian ports to U.S. ships.
By the 1850s, a population of once 300,000 sea otters was almost extinct, and Russia needed money after being defeated by France and Britain in the Crimean War. The California Gold Rush showed that if gold were discovered in Alaska, Americans and Canadians would overwhelm the Russian presence in what one scholar later described as "Siberia's Siberia". However, the principal reason for the sale was that the hard-to-defend colony would be easily conquered by British forces based in neighboring Canada in any future conflict, and Russia did not wish to see its archrival being next door just across the Bering Sea. Therefore, Emperor Alexander II decided to sell the territory. The Russian government discussed the proposal in 1857 and 1858 and offered to sell the territory to the United States, hoping that its presence in the region would offset the plans of Britain. However, no deal was reached, as the risk of an American Civil War was a more pressing concern in Washington.
Grand Duke Konstantin, a younger brother of the Tsar, began to press for the handover of Russian America to the United States in 1857. In a memorandum to Foreign Minister Alexander Gorchakov he stated that <templatestyles src="Template:Blockquote/styles.css" />
Konstantin's letter was shown to his brother, Tsar Alexander II, who wrote "this idea is worth considering" on the front page. Supporters of Konstantin's proposal to immediately withdraw from North America included Admiral Yevfimy Putyatin and the Russian minister to the United States, Eduard de Stoeckl. Gorchakov agreed with the necessity of abandoning Russian America but argued for a gradual process leading to its sale. He found a supporter in the naval minister and former chief manager of the Russian-American Company, Ferdinand von Wrangel. Wrangel pressed for some proceeds to be invested in the economic development of Kamchatka and the Amur Basin. The Emperor eventually sided with Gorchakov, deciding to postpone negotiations until the end of the RAC's patent, set to expire in 1861.
Over the winter of 1859–1860, Stoeckl held meetings with United States officials, though he had been instructed not to initiate discussions about the sale of the RAC assets. Communicating primarily with Assistant Secretary of State John Appleton and California Senator William M. Gwin, Stoeckl reported the interest expressed by the Americans in acquiring Russian America. While President James Buchanan kept these hearings informal, preparations were made for further negotiations. Stoeckl reported a conversation in which he asked "in passing" what price the U.S. government might pay for the Russian colony and Senator Gwin replied that they "might go as far as $5,000,000", a figure Gorchakov found far too low. Stoeckl informed Appleton and Gwin of this, the latter saying that his Congressional colleagues in Oregon and California would support a larger figure. Buchanan's increasingly unpopular presidency forced the matter to be shelved until a new presidential election. With the oncoming American Civil War, Stoeckl proposed a renewal of the RAC's charter. Two of its ports were to be open to foreign traders and commercial agreements with Peru and Chile to be signed to give "a fresh jolt" to the company.
Russia continued to see an opportunity to weaken British power by causing British Columbia, including the Royal Navy base at Esquimalt, to be surrounded or annexed by American territory. Following the Union victory in the Civil War in 1865, the Tsar instructed Stoeckl to re-enter into negotiations with William H. Seward in the beginning of March 1867. President Andrew Johnson was busy with negotiations about Reconstruction, and Seward had alienated a number of Republicans, so both men believed that the purchase would help divert attention from domestic issues. The negotiations concluded after an all-night session with the signing of the treaty at 04:00 on March 30, 1867. The purchase price was set at $7.2 million (equivalent to $ million in 2023), or about 2 cents per acre ($4.74/km2).
American ownership.
The Russian name for the Alaska Peninsula was "Alyaska" ("Аляска") or "Alyeska", from an Aleut word, "alashka" or "alaesksu", meaning "great land" or "mainland". The United States chose the name "Alaska" to refer to the area purchased from Russia.
Seward told the nation that, according to Russian estimates, Alaska had about 60,000 inhabitants. This included about 10,500 who were under the direct government of the Russian fur company: about 8,000 indigenous people and 2,500 people of Russian or mixed Russian and indigenous descent (for example, having a Russian father and a native mother). The remaining 50,000 or so were Inuit or Alaska Natives living outside of Russia's jurisdiction.
Seward also said that the Russians were settled at 23 trading posts, placed on accessible islands and at points along the coast. At smaller trading posts, typically only four or five Russians were stationed: their job was to collect furs from the natives for storage and then for shipment when the company's boats arrived to take the furs away. There were two larger towns. One was New Archangel (now named Sitka), established in 1804 to handle the valuable trade in the skins of sea otters; in 1867, it had 116 small log cabins and 968 residents. The other was St. Paul, in the Pribilof Islands, which had 100 homes and 283 residents, and was the center of the seal fur industry.
Seward and many other Americans expected that Asia would become an important market for U.S. products, and that Alaska would serve as a base for American trade with Asia and globally, and for the extension of American power into the Pacific.
Senator Charles Sumner, chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, sponsored the Senate bill authorizing the U.S. to approve the treaty to acquire the territory. He not only agreed about the benefit to trade, but also said he expected the territory to be valuable on its own; having studied the records of explorers, he believed it contained valuable animals and forests. He compared the acquisition to contemporary European colonial acquisitions, such as the French conquest of Algeria. The United States Senate approved the treaty by a vote of 37 to 2.
Public opinion favors the purchase.
Many Americans believed in 1867 that the purchase process had been corrupt, but W. H. Dall in 1872 wrote that "there can be no doubt that the feelings of a majority of the citizens of the United States are in favor of it." The notion that the purchase was unpopular among Americans is, a scholar wrote 120 years later, "one of the strongest historical myths in American history. It persists despite conclusive evidence to the contrary, and the efforts of the best historians to dispel it", likely in part because it fits American and Alaskan writers' view of the territory as distinct and filled with self-reliant pioneers.
A majority of newspapers either supported the purchase or were neutral. A review of dozens of contemporary newspapers found general support for the purchase, especially in California; most of 48 major newspapers supported the purchase. Public opinion was not universally positive; to some the purchase was known as "Seward's folly", "Walrussia", or "Seward's icebox". Editorials contended that taxpayer money had been wasted on a "polar bear garden". Nonetheless, most newspaper editors argued that the U.S. would probably derive great economic benefits from the purchase, such as considerable mineral resources that previous geological explorations of the region suggested were available there; friendship with Russia was important; and it would facilitate the acquisition of British Columbia. Forty-five percent of supportive newspapers cited the increased potential for annexing British Columbia in their support, and "The New York Times" stated that, consistent with Seward's reason, Alaska would increase American trade with East Asia.
The principal urban newspaper that opposed the purchase was the "New York Tribune", published by Seward opponent Horace Greeley. The ongoing controversy over Reconstruction spread to other acts, including the Alaska purchase. Some opposed the United States obtaining its first non-contiguous territory, seeing it as a colony; others saw no need to pay for land that they expected the country to obtain through manifest destiny. Historian Ellis Paxson Oberholtzer summarized the minority opinion of some American newspaper editors who opposed the purchase:
<templatestyles src="Template:Blockquote/styles.css" />Already, so it was said, we were burdened with territory we had no population to fill. The Indians within the present boundaries of the republic strained our power to govern aboriginal peoples. Could it be that we would now, with open eyes, seek to add to our difficulties by increasing the number of such peoples under our national care? The purchase price was small; the annual charges for administration, civil and military, would be yet greater, and continuing. The territory included in the proposed cession was not contiguous to the national domain. It lay away at an inconvenient and a dangerous distance. The treaty had been secretly prepared, and signed and foisted upon the country at one o'clock in the morning. It was a dark deed done in the night… The "New York World" said that it was a "sucked orange." It contained nothing of value but furbearing animals, and these had been hunted until they were nearly extinct. Except for the Aleutian Islands and a narrow strip of land extending along the southern coast the country would be not worth taking as a gift… Unless gold were found in the country much time would elapse before it would be blessed with Hoe printing presses, Methodist chapels and a metropolitan police. It was "a frozen wilderness."
Transfer ceremony.
The transfer ceremony took place in Sitka on October 18, 1867. Russian and American soldiers paraded in front of the governor's house; the Russian flag was lowered and the American flag raised amid peals of artillery.
A description of the events was published in Finland six years later. It was written by a blacksmith named Thomas Ahllund, who had been recruited to work in Sitka:
<templatestyles src="Template:Blockquote/styles.css" />We had not spent many weeks at Sitka when two large steam ships arrived there, bringing things that belonged to the American crown, and a few days later the new governor also arrived in a ship together with his soldiers. The wooden two-story mansion of the Russian governor stood on a high hill, and in front of it in the yard at the end of a tall spar flew the Russian flag with the double-headed eagle in the middle of it. Of course, this flag now had to give way to the flag of the United States, which is full of stripes and stars. On a predetermined day in the afternoon, a group of soldiers came from the American ships, led by one who carried the flag. Marching solemnly, but without accompaniment, they came to the governor's mansion, where the Russian troops were already lined up and waiting for the Americans. Now they started to pull the [Russian double-headed] eagle down, but—whatever had gone into its head—it only came down a little bit, and then entangled its claws around the spar so that it could not be pulled down any further. A Russian soldier was therefore ordered to climb up the spar and disentangle it, but it seems that the eagle cast a spell on his hands, too—for he was not able to arrive at where the flag was, but instead slipped down without it. The next one to try was not able to do any better; only the third soldier was able to bring the unwilling eagle down to the ground. While the flag was brought down, music was played and cannons were fired off from the shore, and then, while the other flag was hoisted, the Americans fired off their cannons from the ships equally many times. After that American soldiers replaced the Russian ones at the gates of the fence surrounding the Kolosh [i.e. Tlingit] village.
After the flag transition was completed, Captain of 2nd Rank Aleksei Alekseyevich Peshchurov said, "General Rousseau, by authority from His Majesty, the Emperor of Russia, I transfer to the United States the territory of Alaska." General Lovell Rousseau accepted the territory. (Peshchurov had been sent to Sitka as commissioner of the Russian government in the transfer of Alaska.) A number of forts, blockhouses and timber buildings were handed over to the Americans. The troops occupied the barracks; General Jefferson C. Davis established his residence in the governor's house, and most of the Russian citizens went home, leaving a few traders and priests who chose to remain.
Aftermath.
After the transfer, a number of Russian citizens remained in Sitka, but nearly all of them very soon decided to return to Russia, which was still possible at the expense of the Russian-American Company. Ahllund's story "corroborates other accounts of the transfer ceremony, and the dismay felt by many of the Russians and creoles, jobless and in want, at the rowdy troops and gun-toting civilians who looked on Sitka as merely one more western frontier settlement." Ahllund gives a vivid account of what life was like for civilians in Sitka under US rule and helps to explain why hardly any Russian subject wanted to stay there. Moreover, Ahllund's article is the only known description of the return voyage on the "Winged Arrow", a ship that was specially purchased to transport the Russians back to their native country. "The over-crowded vessel, with crewmen who got roaring drunk at every port, must have made the voyage a memorable one." Ahllund mentions stops at the Sandwich (Hawaiian) Islands, Tahiti, Brazil, London, and finally Kronstadt, the port for St. Petersburg, where they arrived on August 28, 1869.
American settlers who shared Sumner's belief in the riches of Alaska rushed to the territory but found that much capital was required to exploit its resources, many of which could also be found closer to markets in the contiguous United States. Most soon left, and by 1873, Sitka's population had declined from about 2,500 to a few hundred. The United States acquired an area over twice as large as Texas, but it was not until the great Klondike Gold Rush in 1896 that Alaska generally came to be seen as a valuable addition to U.S. territory.
The seal fishery was one of the chief considerations that induced the United States to purchase Alaska. It provided considerable revenue by the lease of the privilege of taking seals, an amount that was eventually more than the price paid for Alaska. From 1870 to 1890, the seal fisheries yielded 100,000 skins a year. The company to which the administration of the fisheries was entrusted by a lease from the US government paid a rental of $50,000 per annum and in addition thereto <templatestyles src="Fraction/styles.css" />$2.62+1⁄2 per skin for the total number taken. The skins were transported to London to be dressed and prepared for world markets. The business grew so large that the earnings of English laborers after the acquisition of Alaska by the United States amounted by 1890 to $12,000,000.
However, exclusive US control of this resource was eventually challenged, and the Bering Sea Controversy resulted when the United States seized over 150 sealing ships flying the British flag, based out of the coast of British Columbia. The conflict between the United States and Britain was resolved by an arbitration tribunal in 1893. The waters of the Bering Sea were deemed to be international waters, contrary to the US contention that they were an internal sea. The US was required to make a payment to Britain, and both nations were required to follow regulations developed to preserve the resource.
Financial return.
The purchase of Alaska has been referenced as a "bargain basement deal" and as the principal positive accomplishment of the otherwise much-maligned presidency of Andrew Johnson.
Economist David R. Barker has argued that the US federal government has not earned a positive financial return on the purchase of Alaska. According to Barker, tax revenue and mineral and energy royalties to the federal government have been less than federal costs of governing Alaska plus interest on the borrowed funds used for the purchase.
John M. Miller has taken the argument further by contending that US oil companies that developed Alaskan petroleum resources did not earn enough profits to compensate for the risks that they incurred.
Other economists and scholars, including Scott Goldsmith and Terrence Cole, have criticized the metrics used to reach those conclusions by noting that most contiguous Western states would fail to meet the bar of "positive financial return" using the same criteria and by contending that looking at the increase in net national income, instead of only US Treasury revenue, would paint a much more accurate picture of the financial return of Alaska as an investment.
Alaska Day.
Alaska Day celebrates the formal transfer of Alaska from Russia to the United States, which took place on October 18, 1867, according to the Gregorian calendar which came into effect in Alaska the day following the transfer, replacing the Julian calendar, which was used by the Russians (the Julian calendar in the 19th century was 12 days behind the Gregorian calendar). Alaska Day is a holiday for all state workers.
References.
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Greeneville, Tennessee
County seat of Greene County, Tennessee, United States
Greeneville is a town in and the county seat of Greene County, Tennessee, United States. The population as of the 2020 census was 15,479. The town was named in honor of Revolutionary War hero Nathanael Greene, and it is the second oldest town in Tennessee. It is the only town with this spelling in the United States, although there are numerous U.S. towns named "Greenville". The town was the capital of the short-lived State of Franklin in the 18th-century history of East Tennessee.
Greeneville is known as the town where United States President Andrew Johnson began his political career when elected to be an alderman and transitioned from his trade as a tailor. He and his family lived there for most of his adult years. It was an area of strong abolitionist and Unionist views and yeoman farmers, an environment that influenced Johnson's outlook.
The Greeneville Historic District was established in 1974.
The U.S. Navy was named in honor of the town.
Greeneville is part of the Johnson City-Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA Combined Statistical Area – commonly known as the "Tri-Cities" region.
Geography.
Greeneville lies in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. These hills are part of the Appalachian Ridge-and-Valley Province, which is characterized by fertile river valleys flanked by narrow, elongate ridges. Greeneville is located roughly halfway between Bays Mountain to the northwest and the Bald Mountains— part of the main Appalachian crest— to the southeast. The valley in which Greeneville is situated is part of the watershed of the Nolichucky River, which passes a few miles south of the town.
Several federal and state highways now intersect in Greeneville, as they were built to follow old roads and trails. U.S. Route 321 follows Main Street through the center of the town and connects Greeneville to Newport to the southwest. U.S. Route 11E (Andrew Johnson Highway), which connects Greeneville with Morristown to the west, intersects U.S. 321 in Greeneville and the merged highway proceeds northeast to Johnson City. Tennessee State Route 107, which also follows Main Street and Andrew Johnson Hwy, Greeneville to Erwin to the east and to the Del Rio area to the south. Tennessee State Route 70 (Lonesome Pine Trail) connects Greeneville with Interstate 81, and Rogersville to the north and Asheville, North Carolina to the south. Tennessee State Route 172 (Baileyton Road) connects Greeneville with Interstate 81 and Baileyton to the north.
Tennessee State Route 93 (Kingsport Highway) connects Greeneville to Interstate 81, Fall Branch and Kingsport to the north.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , all land.
History.
Early history.
Native Americans were hunting and camping in the Nolichucky Valley as early as the Paleo-Indian period (c. 10,000 B.C.). A substantial Woodland period (1000 B.C. - 1000 A.D.) village existed at the Nolichucky's confluence with Big Limestone Creek (now part of Davy Crockett Birthplace State Park). By the time the first Euro-American settlers arrived in the area in the late 18th century, the Cherokee claimed the valley as part of their hunting grounds. The Great Indian Warpath passed just northwest of modern Greeneville, and the townsite is believed to have once been the juncture of two lesser Native American trails.
The permanent European settlement of Greene County began in 1772. Jacob Brown, a North Carolina merchant, leased a large stretch of land from the Cherokee, located between the upper Lick Creek watershed and the Nolichucky River, in what is now the northeastern corner of the county. The "Nolichucky Settlement" initially aligned itself with the Watauga Association as part of Washington County, North Carolina. After voting irregularities in a local election, however, an early Nolichucky settler named Daniel Kennedy (1750–1802) led a movement to form a separate county, which was granted in 1783.
The county was named after Nathanael Greene, reflecting the loyalties of the numerous Revolutionary War veterans who settled in the Nolichucky Valley, especially from Pennsylvania and Virginia. The first county court sessions were held at the home of Robert Kerr, who lived at "Big Spring" (near the center of modern Greeneville). Kerr donated for the establishment of the county seat, most of which was located in the area currently bounded by Irish, College, Church, and Summer streets. "Greeneville" was officially recognized as a town in 1786.
State of Franklin.
In 1784, North Carolina attempted to resolve its debts by giving the U.S. Congress its lands west of the Appalachian Mountains, including Greene County, abandoning responsibility for the area to the federal government. In response, delegates from Greene and neighboring counties convened at Jonesborough and resolved to break away from North Carolina and establish an independent state. The delegates agreed to meet again later that year to form a constitution, which was rejected when presented to the general delegation in December. Reverend Samuel Houston (not to be confused with the later governor of Tennessee and Texas) had presented a draft constitution that restricted the election of lawyers and other professionals. Houston's draft met staunch opposition, especially from Reverend Hezekiah Balch (1741–1810) (who was later instrumental in the creation of Tusculum College). John Sevier was elected governor, and other executive offices were filled.
A petition for statehood for what would have become known as the State of Franklin (named in honor of Benjamin Franklin) was drawn at the delegates session in May 1785. The delegates submitted a petition for statehood to Congress, which failed to gain the requisite votes needed for admission to the Union. The first state legislature of Franklin met in December 1785 in a crude log courthouse in Greeneville, which had been named the capital city the previous August. During this session, the delegates finally approved a constitution that was based on, and quite similar to, the North Carolina state constitution. However, the Franklin movement began to collapse soon thereafter, with North Carolina reasserting its control of the area the following spring.
In 1897, at the Tennessee Centennial Exposition in Nashville, a log house that had been moved from Greeneville was displayed as the capitol where the State of Franklin's delegates met in the 1780s. There is, however, nothing to verify that this building was the actual capitol. In the 1960s, the capitol was reconstructed, based largely on the dimensions given in historian J. G. M. Ramsey's "Annals of Tennessee".
Greeneville and the abolitionist movement.
Greene County, like much of East Tennessee, was home to a strong abolitionist movement in the early 19th century. This movement was likely influenced by the relatively large numbers of Quakers who migrated to the region from Pennsylvania in the 1790s. The Quakers considered slavery to be in violation of Biblical Scripture and were active in the region's abolitionist movement throughout the antebellum period. One such Quaker was Elihu Embree (1782–1820), who published the nation's first abolitionist newspaper, "The Emancipator", at nearby Jonesborough.
When Embree's untimely death in 1820 effectively ended publication of "The Emancipator", several of Embree's supporters turned to Ohio abolitionist Benjamin Lundy, who had started publication of his own antislavery newspaper, "The Genius of Universal Emancipation", in 1821. Anticipating that a southern-based abolitionist movement would be more effective, Lundy purchased Embree's printing press and moved to Greeneville in 1822. Lundy remained in Greeneville for two years before moving to Baltimore. He would later prove influential in the career of William Lloyd Garrison, whom he hired as an associate editor in 1829.
Greenevillians involved in the abolitionist movement included Hezekiah Balch, who freed his slaves at the Greene County Courthouse in 1807. Samuel Doak, the founder of Tusculum College, followed in 1818. Valentine Sevier (1780–1854), a nephew of John Sevier who served as Greene County Court Clerk, freed his slaves in the 1830s and offered to pay for their passage to Liberia, which had been formed as a colony for freed slaves. Francis McCorkle, the pastor of Greeneville's Presbyterian Church, was a leading member of the Manumission Society of Tennessee.
Civil War.
In June 1861, on the eve of the Civil War, thirty counties of the pro-Union East Tennessee Convention met in Greeneville to discuss strategy after state voters had elected to join the Confederate States of America. The convention sought to create a separate state in East Tennessee that would remain with the United States. The state government in Nashville rejected the convention's request, however, and East Tennessee was occupied by Confederate forces shortly thereafter. Thomas Dickens Arnold, a Greeneville resident and former congressman who attended the convention, advocated the use of violent force to allow East Tennessee to break away from Tennessee, and taunted other members of the convention who advocated a more peaceful set of resolutions.
Several conspirators involved in the pro-Union East Tennessee bridge burnings lived near what is now Mosheim, and managed to destroy the railroad bridge over Lick Creek in western Greene County on the night of November 8, 1861. Two of the conspirators, Jacob Hensie and Henry Fry, were executed in Greeneville on November 30, 1861.
A portion of James Longstreet's army wintered in Greeneville following the failed Siege of Knoxville in late 1863. Confederate general John Hunt Morgan was killed in Greeneville during a raid by Union soldiers led by Alvan Cullem Gillem on September 4, 1864.
Andrew Johnson.
Andrew Johnson, the 17th President of the United States, spent much of his active life in Greeneville. In 1826, Johnson arrived in Greeneville after fleeing an apprenticeship in Raleigh. Johnson chose to remain in Greeneville after learning that the town's tailor was planning to retire. Johnson purchased the tailor shop, which he moved from Main Street to its present location at the corner of Depot and College streets. Johnson married a local girl, Eliza McCardle, in 1827. The two were married by Mordecai Lincoln (1778–1851), who was Greene County's Justice of the Peace. He was a cousin of Abraham Lincoln, under whom Johnson would serve as vice president.
In the late 1820s, a local artisan named Blackstone McDannel often stopped by Johnson's tailor shop to debate issues of the day, especially the Indian Removal, which Johnson opposed. Johnson and McDannel decided to debate the issue publicly. The interest sparked by this debate led Johnson, McDannel, and several others to form a local debate society. The experience and influence Johnson gained in debating local issues helped him get elected to the Greeneville City Council in 1829. He was elected mayor of Greeneville in 1834, although he resigned after just a few months in office to pursue a position in the Tennessee state legislature, which he attained the following year. As Johnson rose through the ranks of political office in state and national government, he used his influence to help Greeneville constituents obtain government positions, among them his long-time supporter, Sam Milligan, who was appointed to the Court of Claims in Washington, D.C.
Whilst Andrew Johnson was away from home, during his vice-presidency, both Union and Confederate armies often used his home as a place to stay and rest during their travel. Soldiers left graffiti on the walls of Johnson's home. Confederate soldiers left notes on the walls expressing their displeasure, to put it delicately, of Johnson. Evidence of this can still be seen at the Andrew Johnson home. Andrew Johnson had to almost completely renovate his home after he returned home from Washington, D.C.
The Andrew Johnson National Historic Site, located in Greeneville, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1963. Contributing properties include Johnson's tailor shop at the corner of Depot and College streets. The site also maintains Johnson's house on Main Street and the Andrew Johnson National Cemetery (atop Monument Hill to the south). A replica of Johnson's birth home and a life-size statue of Johnson have been placed across the street from the visitor center and tailor shop.
Indian Wars.
Buffalo Soldiers originally were members of the 10th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army, formed on September 21, 1866, at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. This nickname was given to the Black Cavalry by Native American tribes who fought in the Indian Wars. The term eventually became synonymous with all of the African-American regiments formed in 1866. Greeneville was home to at least four men who bravely served the country as "Buffalo Soldiers".
George Clem School.
In 1887, with assistance from the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, the George Clem School was organized as Greeneville College. In 1932, the Greeneville Board of Education leased the property to provide public education for Negroes. Three years later, George Clem was appointed principal. Consisting of grades one through ten, the school was renamed Greeneville College High School. In 1937, the 11th grade was added. A year later, the school became an accredited four-year school. In 1939, the city purchased the school and renamed it the George Clem School. A decade later, the original building was demolished and the present building was erected in 1950. The school closed in 1965 when the public schools desegregated, and it became the location of the Greeneville City Schools Central Office. The George Clem School is often overlooked when talking about Greeneville history. Topics such as Sam Doak, the death of General Morgan, and Andrew Johnson are often the focal points when learning about Greeneville. The George Clem School is something the town should promote and be proud of. This history shows the accomplishments of the black community in Greeneville through the years. There is now a non profit organization in Greeneville by the name of George Clem Multicultural Alliance that helps honor the history of the school. The George Clem Multicultural Alliance is a non-profit 501(c)(3), public benefit, & exclusively charitable organization dedicated to supporting civic pride & cultural diversity awareness through various means within Wesley Heights community, and Greeneville/Greene County at large
Magnavox.
From 1947 to 2005, Magnavox—an electronics manufacturer best known for its television sets—operated its main three facilities in Greeneville. Magnavox was at one time the largest employer of Greeneville, employing more than 5,000 workers. Eight years after the first plant opened, Magnavox workers voted to form a union through the IBEW. In 1974, the facilities and the Magnavox company were acquired by the electronics giant Philips. Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, the Greeneville facility saw a fluctuation and drops in employment. In 1997, Phillips sold its facilities to Knoxville-based company Five Rivers Electronic Innovations. In 2005, Five Rivers closed the former Magnavox plant after declaring bankruptcy. Before its shuttering, the Five Rivers facility was the site of the last television manufactured in the United States, which is now on display in the Greeneville-Greene County History Museum.
2011 tornado outbreak.
On April 27, 2011, the rural community of Camp Creek south of Greeneville was severely affected by an EF3 tornado in the 2011 Super Outbreak. Six people were killed and 220 were injured by the tornado that either damaged or destroyed over 175 homes. Two hours later, Horse Creek, southeast of Greeneville, was also hit by an EF3 tornado, with the path travelling alongside and later crossing the earlier Camp Creek event as it moved into Washington County. Another 60-65 homes were either damaged or destroyed, and around 25 farms sustained heavy structural damage. Two more people were killed by that tornado, with an estimated 70 more being injured. A total of seven were killed in Greene County, with an eighth fatality in Washington County.
Downtown revitalization.
In 2018, town officials, with the cooperation of a development and urban design firm, began efforts towards the redevelopment of the central business district of Greeneville. The project is projected to operate in several phases, projects proposed include: a farmer's market pavilion, a greenway along Richland Creek, an alley park, improved access for pedestrians and cyclists, parking garages, and the conversion of Depot Street into a street fair area. In October 2021, construction work began on a complete street-approach to Depot Street between Main Street and Irish Street in downtown Greeneville with enhanced pedestrian access. The project was completed in November 2023.
Demographics.
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2020 census.
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 15,479 people, 6,075 households, and 3,549 families residing in the town.
2010 census.
As of the 2010 census, there were 15,062 people; 6,478 households; 7,399 housing units; and 3,845 families in the town. The population density was . The racial makeup of the city was 89.1% White, 5.6% African American, 0.2% Native American, 0.8% Asian, 0.0% Pacific Islander, 2.3% from other races, and 2% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 4.4% of the population.
There were 6,506 households, out of which 24.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.2% were married couples living together, 14.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.6% were non-families. 36.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.2 and the average family size was 2.86.
The age distribution was 21.2% under 18 and 21% who were 65 or older. The median age was 42.6 years. The median income for a household in the city was $51,692. The per capita income for the city was $24,376. About 13.9% of the population was below the poverty line.
Economy.
Top employers.
According to Greeneville Forward, a long-term growth plan published for the town in 2017, the top employers in the town are:
Manufacturing remained as the top employing industry in Greeneville until the 1990s, after Magnavox, once the town's largest employer, shuttered its facilities in the town.
Retail is a major employer in Greeneville. The largest shopping center in Greeneville is Greeneville Commons which contains several national retailers. As of 2017, grocery stores in Greeneville include three Food City Supermarkets, two Ingles Markets, Dollar General Market, Sav-Mor Foods (a grocery store owned by Ingles Markets), Publix and Save-A-Lot. Walmart and Lowe's also have stores in Greeneville.
Arts and culture.
Festivals and fairs.
There has been a fair in some form in Greene County since 1870 when the Farmers and Mechanics Association held its first exposition. The present Greene County Fair Association was incorporated in 1949. The Greene County Fair is recognized statewide as one of the best fairs of its size. In 2021, the Fair received the First Runner-Up Award in the AAA Division. In 2015, the Fair was recognized as the AAA Division Champion Fair in the state of Tennessee by the Tennessee Association of Fairs. In 2005, we were honored to receive the Tennessee Association of Fairs highest award, the “Champion of Champions” fair trophy, and in 2006, the Fair received the “Champion of Champions Premier Fair” award.
The town is home to the Street Dance on Davis celebration, which is held annually on the weekend before Aug. 8, in remembrance of Aug. 8, 1863, the date when Andrew Johnson freed his personal slaves at his home in Greeneville. This street dance is a celebration that includes live music, dancing in the streets, kids zones, and most importantly open dialogue that supports black history. In recent years, The George Clem Multicultural Alliance has been the host of this celebration. Although the celebration started as primarily involving the local African-American community, the event has expanded to celebrate the African-American community of East Tennessee.
The fair was also an inspiration for The Band Perry's song "Walk Me Down The Middle", which was featured on their eponymous debut album.
Sports.
Greeneville is home to the Greeneville Flyboys, a collegiate summer baseball team of the Appalachian League, which was started in 2021. The team's home stadium is Pioneer Park on the campus of Tusculum College.
Professional baseball was first played in Greeneville by the Greeneville Burley Cubs in the Appalachian League in 1921. They remained in the league through 1925 and returned for a second stretch from 1938 to 1942. The Burley Cubs won the league championship in 1925 and 1938. They were followed in the same league by the Greeneville Astros, who played in the city from 2004 to 2017. They won the Appalachian League championship in 2004 and 2015. The Houston Astros, parent club of Greeneville, withdrew their affiliate from the Appalachian League after the 2017 season. The circuit's vacancy was filled by the Cincinnati Reds, who placed a Rookie-level affiliate in Greeneville known as the Greeneville Reds. In conjunction with a contraction of Minor League Baseball beginning with the 2021 season, the Appalachian League was reorganized as a collegiate summer baseball league, and the Reds were replaced by the Flyboys, a new franchise in the revamped league designed for rising college freshmen and sophomores.
Parks and recreation.
The Town of Greeneville Parks and Recreation Department maintains:
Government.
Municipal.
Greeneville is administered through a mayor/city council/city manager form of government. It previously had a mayor/board of aldermen/administrator form of government until April 18, 2023, when the then board of mayor and aldermen voted to change the
town's charter.
The town has a mayor and four city council members, along with the city manager who is the chief administrative officer and is in charge of supervising all town employees and is required to develop an annual budget and present it to the mayor and council members.
The following is a list of current officials as of April 2023:
State.
Greeneville is represented in the Tennessee House of Representatives in the 5th district, by Representative David Hawk, a Republican.
In the Tennessee State Senate, Greeneville is represented by the 1st district, by Senator Steve Southerland, also a Republican.
Federal.
Greeneville is represented in the United States House of Representatives by Republican Diana Harshbarger of the 1st congressional district.
Education.
Greeneville is home to Walters State Niswonger Campus, which was expanded in 2019.
Tusculum University is located in nearby Tusculum.
The Greeneville City School District, the school district for areas in the city limits, operates:
Media.
Television.
Greeneville is part of both the and the . One station has Greeneville listed as its city of license (WEMT-Fox Tri-Cities). WGRV (AM) also has a television station on Comcast Cable channel 18. The channel simulcasts WGRV's live newscasts and other live programs and shows local events.
Radio.
Greeneville has three radio stations: WGRV (AM), WIKQ-FM, and WSMG-AM.
Newspaper.
The Greeneville and Greene County area are served by "The Greeneville Sun", a daily newspaper published Monday through Saturday. "The Greeneville Sun" also publishes a free newspaper, "The Greeneville Neighbor News", which spotlights arts and entertainment.
Infrastructure.
Healthcare.
Greeneville has one hospital, which is part of Ballad Health.
Greeneville also has many nursing facilities, including: Life Care Center of Greeneville, Laughlin Healthcare Center, Signature Healthcare of Greeneville, Morning Pointe, Wellington Place owned by Brookdale Senior Living, Maxim Healthcare Services and Comcare.
References.
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Notes.
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The Detour (TV series)
2016 American comedy television series
The Detour is an American sitcom that was created by Jason Jones and Samantha Bee about a family vacation road trip that quickly devolves out of control. It stars Jones himself, Natalie Zea, Ashley Gerasimovich, Liam Carroll, Daniella Pineda, Mary Grill, and Laura Benanti. The series aired on TBS from April 11, 2016, to August 20, 2019. The show was renewed for a second season on April 6, 2016, five days prior to the series premiere. The second season premiered on February 21, 2017. On April 25, 2017, TBS renewed the series for a third season.
On May 11, 2018, the series was renewed for a fourth season, which premiered on June 18, 2019. On September 4, 2019, TBS canceled the series after four seasons.
Plot.
The series follows Nate Parker, Jr. (Jason Jones), his wife Robin Randall (Natalie Zea), and their kids, preteen twins Delilah (Ashley Gerasimovich) and Jared (Liam Carroll), as they drive from their home in Syracuse, New York, to Florida for a family vacation. The trip experiences several dramatic delays such as car trouble, run-ins with law enforcement, unforeseen medical mishaps, and intervening locals. Nate had caused some professional trouble before leaving Syracuse and has ulterior motives for the Florida trip, which fuels flashbacks and a framing device involving several law-enforcement agencies and an interrogation into his unspecified crimes.
In season 2, the family settles in New York City as Nate finds a new career but more trouble as pieces of Robin's past resurface, including her relationship with her father, wanted felon J.R. Randall (James Cromwell). The framing device presents the couple being interrogated by the United States Postal Inspection Service as an attempt to get at J.R., led by the overzealous (and very pregnant) Agent Edie (Laura Benanti).
In season 3, the family flees to Alaska. This time the framing device involves Nate and Robin discussing their case with their lawyer, Joe Delicious (Max Casella). Jared becomes mayor of the town they settle in, Nate works on a fishing boat, and Robin becomes a stripper.
In season 4, Delilah flees the rest of the Parkers as they try to track her down. This takes them to Tibet, Japan, New Zealand, and eventually back home to New York where she has apparently been the entire time. The season, and the series, ends with Nate apparently having gone off the grid, as he checks months of voice mail messages left for him. He then climbs into a van, which is immediately riddled with bullets and explodes; since the series was canceled shortly after the episode aired, Nate's fate is left unknown.
Development.
TBS ordered the pilot, written by Jason Jones and Samantha Bee, in October 2014. The show is based on the real life couple's own experience with family vacations.
It was picked up for ten episodes in February 2015. On April 6, 2016, the show was renewed for a second season before the premiere.
Broadcast.
In Canada, "The Detour" premiered on April 21, 2016 on The Comedy Network. In Latin America it premiered on June 9, 2016 on TBS. It premiered on Comedy Central India on October 5, 2016.
It is available in Australia on streaming service Stan as of January 2018.
Reception.
On Rotten Tomatoes, the first season has an approval rating of 78% based on 23 reviews, with an average rating of 6.9/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Sometimes raunchy, but often honest and endearing, "The Detour" brings the laughs as the story tries to find its way." On Metacritic, the first season holds a score of 69 out of 100, based on 19 critics.
On Rotten Tomatoes, season two has an approval rating of 100% based on 5 reviews, with an average rating of 6.9/10. On Metacritic, season two has a weighted average score 77 out of 100, based on 4 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
References.
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Andrew Johnson National Cemetery
Reconstruction-era historic cemetery
The Andrew Johnson National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery on the grounds of the Andrew Johnson National Historic Site in Greeneville, Tennessee. Established in 1906, the cemetery was built around the resting place of Andrew Johnson, the 17th President of the United States, and holds more than 2,000 graves.
History.
Amidst some kind of dispute with his neighbors in 1847, Johnson wrote, "If I should happen to die among the damn spirits that infest Greeneville, my last request before death would be for some friend I would bequeath the last dollar to some Negro to pay—to take my dirty stinking carcass after death out on some mountain peak, and there leave it to be devoured by the vultures and wolves or make a fire sufficiently large to consume the smallest particle that it might pass off and smoke and ride upon the wind in triumph over the God-forsaken and hell-deserving, money-loving, hypocritical, backbiting, Sunday-praying scoundrels of the town of Greeneville." It seems that Johnson more or less kept this vow. Andrew Johnson acquired twenty-three acres outside Greeneville on "Signal Hill" in 1852. According to Robert W. Winston's "Plebian and Patriot" (1928), "Though little given to sentiment, he pointed out this spot to a friend, saying that there he wished to rest and to take his final sleep. Searching out the owner, he acquired this property, and took a deed to the same."
It became known as Signal Hill due to being an excellent place for soldiers to signal to friendly forces. When Johnson died, he was buried on the property on August 3, 1875. The funeral was performed by Freemasons. On June 5, 1878, a tall marble statue was placed by Johnson's grave. The monument was considered so dominant that the place came to be known as "Monument Hill".
Andrew Johnson's daughter Martha Johnson Patterson willed on September 2, 1898, that the land become a park. She further pushed in 1900 to make the site a national cemetery, so that instead of the Johnson family maintaining it, the federal government would. The United States Congress chose to make the site a National Cemetery in 1906, and by 1908 the United States War Department took control of it. By 1939 there were 100 total graves in the cemetery. On May 23, 1942, control of the cemetery went to the National Park Service.
When the National Park Service was given jurisdiction of the cemetery in 1942, they ruled to allow no more interments, in order to preserve the historic nature of the cemeteries. Due to efforts by the American Legion and the Daughters of the American Revolution, the cemetery once again accepted new interments, making the national cemetery one of the few controlled by the National Park Service to contain soldiers of the World Wars, Spanish–American War, Korean War, Vietnam War, and the Gulf War. It stopped accepting new burials in 2019, leaving Andersonville National Cemetery as the only National Cemetery under the United States Department of the Interior to accept new burials.
Johnson monument.
At the time of Johnson's death in 1875, a Knoxville paper wrote that the burial place was called Johnson's Hill, located about southeast of town, and could be seen "the right of the railroad as you approach Greeneville from the west."
When the area was made into a cemetery following the death of Andrew Johnson, two of Andrew Johnson's sons were reinterred: Charles Johnson, who had originally been buried in Nashville, Tennessee, and Robert Johnson, originally buried elsewhere in Greeneville. Several other members of the Johnson family, including grandchildren, would later be buried in the cemetery. Amongst these are his daughter Martha and her husband, former Tennessee United States Senator David T. Patterson.
The -tall monument was made in Philadelphia and was paid for by the three surviving Johnson children, Martha, Mary, and Frank. The marble monument depicts the United States Constitution, an eagle, and the Bible. The cost was said to be US$ with the carving of the eagle costing US$ on its own. The base, granite "with a plinth die," is square. The monument was dedicated in 1878. Planned speakers for the dedication ceremony were former United States and Confederate States congressman George W. Jones and biographer of First Ladies Laura C. Holloway.
Johnson's grave marker is inscribed "his faith in the people never wavered." One newspaper account of Andrew Johnson's life, published in 1891, stated "There is something singularly enigmatic in the epitaph, for no one ever knew precisely what is meant by 'His faith in the people never wavered.'"
<templatestyles src="Template:Blockquote/styles.css" />It is supposed that they were well-satisfied that their work would be the only monument ever erected to the man. Of one thing we may feel quite sure, unless there is a great change in the feelings of the American people Andrew Johnson is one dead American to whose memory no public monument of any great value will ever be reared.
References.
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