Concord is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

in Knox County,

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 36th-largest by ...

, United States and is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

as a

historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal protection from cer ...

, the Concord Village Historic District. The United States Geographic Names Information System classifies Concord as a

populated place Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a ...

. It is located in western Knox County, east of Farragut and west of

Knoxville Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division and the state' ...

. Mail destined for Concord is now addressed to Concord, Knoxville, or Farragut.

History

The Village of Concord began to develop in 1854. Before that time, the area was sparsely settled. Large farms were centered on the

Tennessee River The Tennessee River is the largest tributary of the Ohio River. It is approximately long and is located in the southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. The river was once popularly known as the Cherokee River, among other name ...

, and relied on a nearby settlement, Campbell's Station (modern Farragut), for trade and other urban needs. In 1853, construction of the

East Tennessee and Georgia Railroad The East Tennessee and Georgia Railroad Company was incorporated under special act of Tennessee on February 19, 1836 as the Hiwassee Rail Road Company.Interstate Commerce Commission. ''Southern Ry. Co.'', Volume 37, Interstate Commerce Commission ...

along the north bank of the Tennessee River caused a population and development shift to the area that became Concord.''Village of Concord 1855-2001 Design Guidelines'', Prepared by Knox County Historic Zoning Commission/Knoxville, Knox County Metropolitan Planning Commission/Suite 403 City County Building/400 Main St./Knoxville, TN 37901 Concord was founded and platted in 1854 on land owned by James M. Rodgers. Mr. Rodgers laid out 55 lots, and gave the new town the name Concord.Page 883, ''History of Tennessee'', The Goodspeed Publishing Co., Nashville, TN, 1887 It is believed the name was inspired by the nearby Concord Cumberland Presbyterian Church, of which Rodgers was a member ("Concord" being a common name for churches at the time). He began to sell lots in 1855, but later moved to

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. Shortly before he moved, he bought several large tracts of land, some which are still intact in some sections of the village. Concord developed rapidly after the arrival of the railroad. The first dwelling in Concord, a boarding house, was built by Shadrack Callaway (First Post Master in Concord). Combining the existing river transportation with the railroad made Concord the nucleus of several communities on the north side of the river, including Campbell's Station, Loveville and Ebenezer. House@Clay&2nd

On the eve of the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polici ...

, Congressman T.A.R. Nelson and Knoxville attorney Oliver Perry Temple, both Union supporters, delivered anti-secession speeches before hostile crowds at Concord.Oliver Perry Temple, ''East Tennessee and the Civil War'' (Cincinnati:

The Robert Clarke Company Robert Clarke & Company was a book publishing company and bookseller in Cincinnati, Ohio from 1858 to 1909. After 1894, it was known as The Robert Clarke Company. It published literary and historical works. Leadership Robert Clarke was born May 1, ...

, 1899), pp. 195-196. During the war, in the fall of 1863 prior to the Battle of Campbell's Station, the 24th Kentucky InfantryPage 89 and 92, of ''A Checkered Life'' by Col. John A. Joyce (S.P. Rounds Jr. 175 Monroe Street, Chicago, 1883) and the

103rd Ohio Infantry The 103rd Ohio Infantry Regiment, sometimes 103rd Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry was a three-years' infantry regiment from northeastern Ohio that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It participated in many of the campaign ...

Page 148, ''History of the 103rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment, 1862-1865'' by William C. Stark as a Master's thesis at The Cleveland State University, December 1986 camped near Concord. Preschurch

During this time supplies were appropriated from several area farms including Callaway's LandingClaim Letter on th
Save Callaway’s Landing web site
and the Pleasant Forest Cumberland Presbyterian Church one mile north of Concord was dismantled. The bricks were used to build fireplaces for the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

.The Centennial Anniversary of the First Presbyterian Church of Knoxville, Tennessee and the Semi-Centennial Anniversary of the Ministry of Rev. James Park, D. D. ( Published by Bean, Warters & Gaut, Printers and Binders, 1897 and republished b
Knox County TNGenWeb site
/ref> The railroad also created a transportation market with communities in Blount County, including Friendsville and

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

, which were connected to Concord by

ferry A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water ta ...

, but were not to have rail transportation until the 1890s. The steamboat traveling from Chattanooga to Knoxville and back stopped at Callaway's Landing, hence the name, connecting Concord to Knoxville. In the 1880s, Concord became the center of a large

Tennessee marble Tennessee marble is a type of crystalline limestone found only in East Tennessee, in the southeastern United States. Long esteemed by architects and builders for its pinkish-gray color and the ease with which it is polished, this stone has been u ...

production industry. Several quarries were located near the Holston (now Tennessee) River in Calloway's Ridge. The town also became the center of marble shipping. Quarries in the Louisville and Friendsville area, on the south side of the river, shipped Tennessee marble to Concord to take advantage of the town's rail connections. In 1883, four marble companies were operating: the Lima and East Tennessee Company, Stamps Wood & Company, the Stewart Company and the Republic Company. Baptistchurch

The Juanita Company built a mill for sawing and polishing marble; the facility became the property of Enterprise Marble Company in 1886. The last company to quarry marble extensively was the Enterprise Marble Company. None of the buildings associated with the marble industry in Concord remain today; many were flooded when Fort Loudon Lake was impounded. Only the foundation on which a crusher sat remains; the crusher was used to produce terrazzo chips. The crusher foundation is located in the Rocky Point area of Concord Park and is visible from Concord Road's railroad bridge looking east. By 1887, Concord was the second largest community in Knox County, second to Knoxville. The Village of Concord was a regional transportation center. Tennessee marble, crushed

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms w ...

, lime, logs, and farm produce were gathered at its public dock. Passenger ferries and commercial boats landed there. The railroad provided passenger connections to Knoxville and other cities. In addition to rail transportation, a paved road from Lenoir City to Knoxville traveled along the railroad from Lenoir City to what is now Olive Road. The road then followed what is now Olive Road to Loop Road, then to Concord Road and then north two miles to Kingston Pike. Kingston Pike was the main east-west road out of Knoxville from the early 19th century until Interstate 40/75 was completed through the area in the 1960s. This road network provided all-weather connections to other highways in the area. In the early 20th century, the town had grown to include several general stores, a

brickyard A brickyard or brickfield is a place or yard where bricks are made, fired, and stored, or sometimes sold or otherwise distributed from. Brick makers work in a brick yard. A brick yard may be constructed near natural sources of clay or on or ...

lime kiln A lime kiln is a kiln used for the calcination of limestone ( calcium carbonate) to produce the form of lime called quicklime (calcium oxide). The chemical equation for this reaction is : CaCO3 + heat → CaO + CO2 This reaction can take pla ...

, inn, a saloon, two

livery stable A livery is an identifying design, such as a uniform, ornament, symbol or insignia that designates ownership or affiliation, often found on an individual or vehicle. Livery will often have elements of the heraldry relating to the individual or ...

s, an undertaking establishment, two

flour mill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that has been separated ...

s, a

railroad depot A train station, railway station, railroad station or depot is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track and a station building providing such ...

, private schools, a bank, a

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional se ...

, an ice cream parlor, a

drug store A pharmacy (also called "drugstore" in American English or "community pharmacy" or "chemist" in Commonwealth English, or rarely, apothecary) is a retail shop which provides pharmaceutical drugs, among other products. At the pharmacy, a pharmac ...

, specialty shops, a

barber A barber is a person whose occupation is mainly to cut, dress, groom, style and shave men's and boys' hair or beards. A barber's place of work is known as a "barbershop" or a "barber's". Barbershops are also places of social interaction and publi ...

shop and churches. In 1916, fire destroyed much of the business district but it was quickly rebuilt. The

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

of the 1930s brought economic hardship to Concord. New building materials lessened the use of Tennessee marble, and caused the marble industry to go into a decline from which it never recovered. The impoundment of Fort Loudon Lake inundated about one-third of the town (most of the business district) by 1944. Portions of the railroad were relocated to higher adjacent ground and continued to carry freight, but did not provide passenger service. The development of automobiles and new transportation routes also contributed to Concord's slow growth. In the 1970s, the area began to rebound economically as it became a

bedroom community A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...

for the fast-growing city of Knoxville. Since then, residential development and land subdivision has continued apace, transforming Concord and its environs into an affluent urban community that has left behind much of its rural roots.

References

External links

Old Concord Residents Association

Concord Tennessee Homepage at Rootsweb.com

Callaway's Landing Homepage
{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Knox County, Tennessee Unincorporated communities in Tennessee Knoxville metropolitan area Populated places established in 1854 Tennessee populated places on the Tennessee River Farragut, Tennessee Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Tennessee National Register of Historic Places in Knox County, Tennessee 1854 establishments in Tennessee

History

References

Further reading

External links