Copyright 2007 * All rights reserved
J.C. (Jim) Tumblin, OD, DOS
3604 Kesterwood Drive, East
Knoxville, Tennessee 37918-2557
(865) 687-1948

(Courtesy of the Calvin M. McClung Historical Collection)

Col. J. C. Woodward

(1841-1913)

Without John Adair, Fountainhead (later Fountain City) might not have been established near the mouth of First Creek, where it could first survive in the wilderness and later thrive to become the largest unincorporated city in the U.S.  Without Judge John W. Green, Fountain City, as we know it, might not have survived modernization.  On two occasions, the park and the lake were threatened with development and Judge Green was instrumental in preserving those attractions for our enjoyment.  

But, between those two eras, the efforts of Col. J.C. Woodward resulted in Fountain City becoming possibly the premier “destination place” in East Tennessee for a time.  Lake Ottossee (later called Chilhowee Park) never had a hotel to complement its park and lake.  Tate Springs and Montvale Springs were somewhat distant.  The Great Smoky Mountains National Park was not chartered by the United States Congress until 1934 and eventually officially dedicated in 1940 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.  Gatlinburg and Dollywood came much later.  

In 1890 Col. Woodward and a group of Lexington, Kentucky capitalists founded the Fountain Head Land Company.  They purchased 431-acres at a cost of $159,600 and an additional 14-acres and the Fountain Head Hotel itself for $27,500.  By 1891 they had designed the lake and with Felix G. Phillips, a prominent local civil engineer, supervising; they had excavated, built retaining walls and impounded the romantic heart-shaped lake.  The gaslights and white picket fences completed a dream attraction for its time.  

Sometime later William E. and Dossie Miller Cooper added a carousel on the land between the lake and the park and someone established a mini-zoo.   On May 27, 1891 the Evening Sentinel announced, “The work on Col. J.C. Woodward’s new residence is progressing nicely.  The 11 o’clock Fountain City train took a new bear out to the collection of interesting wild animals at the Fountain City Park.  The two bears now furnish much amusement for the boys (and girls) who visit the park.”  

Ads for the 40-50-room hotel said, “25-minutes ride from Knoxville on Fountain City cars, open all year around, magnificent springs and fine park, $2.00 per day, special rates for families.”  It was not the rule at the time, but each floor had two bathrooms with hot and cold running water.  Mary Donahue, former pastry chef at the Atkin Hotel on Depot Street and Gay, had assumed management of the dining room and served multi-course evening meals for 50 cents.  At 6:30 each evening, the Italian band led a procession down the steps and into the park for a concert at the bandstand.  

The Fountain City Land Company was selling lots and prominent Knoxvillians were responding to ads that said, “We intend to make it a great educational center, where the morals are as pure as the bracing atmosphere and life giving water.”  Citizens like John W. Hope, the jeweler, Col. J.C. Williams and Sol George, the department store owner, had bought lots and were building homes.  

Col. Woodward had a successful package to offer and to “ice the cake” another group of investors formed the Fountain Head Railway Company (1890-1905).  It soon was collecting up to 10,000 fares per day and carrying Fountain Citians to the textile mills, railroad offices, department stores and other businesses downtown for their day jobs.   The hotel’s day or week-long guests also found the Dummy Line convenient and fun to use.  

He is something of a mystery man in our time, but recent research has revealed a number of facts not commonly known about Col. Woodward.   Recently received additional information will hopefully answer two lingering questions.  What was the source of his wealth during his years in Kentucky?  Since he was only 20-years old at the time of the Civil War and unlikely to achieve that rank in The War, what type of Colonel was he?  A Kentucky Colonel?  

James C. Woodward was born on December 4, 1841 in Lee County in the southwest corner of Virginia, across the mountain from Harlan County, Kentucky.  His father and mother, Henry and Elizabeth Woodard (note no second “W” at this time), farmed and reported a net worth of $1,600 in the 1850 census.  J.C. was the sixth of seven children, Susan being the only female.   

Lee County, named for “Light Horse Harry” Lee, Gen. Robert E. Lee’s father, is still one of the poorest counties in Virginia with an economy once based largely on tobacco and coal.  With a slogan “Where Virginia Begins,” its tourist industry emphasizes its role as the route used by early settlers going west through the Cumberland Gap at Virginia’s western tip.  Since he grew up prior to the Civil War, we can only assume that J.C. learned a “work ethic” very early in life.  

J.C. was no stranger to Tennessee, since he had married Nannie J. Starnes of Rogersville on November 28, 1861.  They were parents of three children: Walter, Hu (1880-1950) and Laura.  Walter moved to New York City in about 1903, and Laura married C.B. Proctor and lived in Memphis.   

After acquiring the majority of the stock in the State National Bank, Col. Woodward became president of the bank until 1893.  In 1899, he and his son Hu bought the Knoxville Business College which had been founded in 1882.  J.C. served as president and Hu as treasurer of the college.  

In 1903, James W. Baker, a 28-year-old bookkeeping professor at Knoxville Business College, decided he could write a better bookkeeping text than the one the college was using. He did and soon received numerous requests for his 20th Century Bookkeeping and Office Practices.  With that encouragement, he launched his own publishing house. Partnering with J.C. and Hu Woodward, Baker set his plan in motion.  On Feb. 6, 1903, South-Western Publishing Co. was officially born.  

The business grew to reach sales of $50,000 by 1910.  That same year James Baker and Hu Woodward moved the business to a downtown location in Cincinnati, Ohio.  By 1927, South-Western's 20th Century Touch Typewriting was the nationwide leader in its market.  Then McKinsey’s Accounting Principles became a market-leader and today the text, re-titled Accounting Principles, is in its 20^th edition and still popular.  

Early “custom publishing” during World War II resulted in South-Western producing more than 5 million items for the U.S. Armed Forces between 1943-45,  more than any other publisher.  The company merged with Scott-Foresman in 1967 and in 1986 was purchased by the Thomson Corporation, a giant Canadian conglomerate in publishing and in the provision of electronic information.  “Giant oaks from tiny acorns grow.”  

Meanwhile, the 1901 City Directory reveals that J.C. and his son Walter were developing another business.  They were respectively president and secretary of the Southern Canopy Co. with offices in the Minnis Building downtown and a plant in the 700 block of North Central.  The directory shows that for a time Walter represented the company in New York City.  

Park Place, Circa 1975

But, what of Park Place, the Woodward Mansion that later was the home of the families of Matthew S. McClellan (1900-1909), Thomas Pruden (1909-1917) and J.C. Williams (1917-1980), which was demolished in 1980 to make way for the Target Store?  

Robert A. McGinnis’ Tidbits of the Past, Vol. II (2007) reminds us of this quote from the Knoxville Daily Journal, Dec. 15, 1890: “W.H. Dawn has the contract for Col. J.C. Woodward’s elegant residence, now being erected in Fountain City.  This will be one of the finest and most complete residencies in the country and will cost about $20,000.  Baumann Bros. are the architects.  Colonel Woodward is also erecting two substantial business houses on Asylum Street.”  

William J. MacArthur, then head of the C.M. McClung Historical Collection described the house in a memorandum in 1975, “Park Place is built of dark red brick with great stone arches and columns decorated with remarkably delicate carvings.  The quality of these stone carvings, together with that of several terra cotta inserts, make the structure a notable example of late 19^th Century craftsmanship.  The restrained and dignified spirit of the exterior is repeated within the house where wooden mantels and a paneled staircase have a classic simplicity.  Only the second room on the left of the central hall on the first floor has a typically ‘Victorian’ look.  Here the mantelpiece and the bay window with built-in wooden benches remind one of the Victorian passion for the Gothic.”  

When they sold to the McClellans, the Woodwards moved to 741 N. 3^rd Avenue and then to 305 E. 5^th Avenue in 1903.  Life on 5^th Avenue must have been interesting with neighbors like Miss Lee’s School at 308, David Getaz, who was the co-contractor for the 1885-86 Court House, Shannondale Presbyterian Church and many other landmark structures, at 315 and Stella Knaffl at 400.  Col. Woodward lived there for his remaining years.  

An invalid for about three years, he was confined to his home for his final six months after a fall on the pavement in front of his home.  Col. James C. Woodward passed on to his reward on Jan. 5, 1913 at 71 years of age.  Active in Church Street Methodist Church for many years, he was also a past Sunday school superintendent.  On several occasions he represented the church at their annual conference.  A lifetime philanthropist, he aided many causes but especially the Methodist Orphanage at Greeneville, Tennessee.   He was a Mason and a Democrat.  

He was survived by his three children and his wife of 52 years who passed away on Dec. 12, 1926.  After services at his home, conducted by Dr. George R. Stuart, he was interred at Old Gray Cemetery originally.  Both he and his wife were reinterred in Montclair, New Jersey in 1935 where their sons Hu and Walter would later join them.  

Col. J.C. Woodward had awakened a small, sleepy village at the head of First Creek at the turn of the 20^th Century and made it a “destination place.”  After a long and productive life, he left his legacy.  Aside from the many material benefits, he also left a greater value in his example of a worthy and noble life.