Copyright 2009 * All rights reserved
J.C. (Jim) Tumblin, OD, DOS
3604 Kesterwood Drive, East
Knoxville, Tennessee 37918-2557
(865) 687-1948
(Thompson Historic Photographs, used by
permission)
Fountain Head Hotel and Resort
The Civil War had ended in 1865 and recreational opportunities in East
Tennessee were slowly expanding over the next twenty years. Tate Springs and
Montvale Springs provided rest and relaxation in neighboring counties but not
everyone had enough resources, time or convenient transportation to visit them.
Chilhowee Park, Gatlinburg, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and
Dollywood were well into the future. Knox Countians needed a “destination
place.”
The Fountain Head Improvement Company sought to answer that need. On
July 16, 1885, J.A. Adams, James
Anderson, Steve Condon, W.M. Epps, E.H. Flenniken, S.H. George, J.C. Karnes,
M.M. Nelson and B.R. Strong were granted a charter that gave them the right to
develop a park and resort.
They retained Stephenson and Getaz, who had built the old Knox County
Court House, to “provide a resort with a measure of refinement but with
vitality.” They planned a splendid hotel building 45 by 125 feet, three
stories high with 40 to 50 rooms at an estimated cost of $8-10,000. Construction
was begun in 1885 and completed in 1886. Eventually, several cottages were also
built on the site.
On June 19, 1888, a couple of the board members were replaced and the
company was reconstituted as the Fountain Head Hotel Improvement Company. But,
the major development came when Col. J.C. Woodward and some unnamed “Kentucky
capitalists” acquired the hotel and grounds in 1890.
Col. Woodward had sold Woodward Heights in Lexington and had the
resources for expansion. His company purchased 431 acres of land at a cost of
$159,600 and an adjoining 14 acres, including the hotel, for $27,500. He soon
had his mansion, Park Place, under construction at the present-day site of the
new Kroger store—Gibbs Drive at Broadway. The Baumann Brothers were the architects and W.H. Dawn the contractor for the
elegant home. Local papers said, “This will be one of the finest and most
complete residencies in the country and will cost about $20,000.”
Guests arrived in Fountain City by
horseback, horse-drawn carriage or by way of Alf Hall’s hack line. The hack, a
horse-drawn “station wagon” carried several passengers and their luggage.
The horse-drawn car line seems to have departed from the Central Market
(Emory Park) and terminated at Bluff Street (Broadway Shopping Center). Hall’s
hack service carried them from that location to Fountain City.
Interest in the hotel, park and
resort was markedly expanded when another group of investors constructed the
5.25-mile Fountain Head Railway (the Dummy Line) to permit downtown residents to
travel to the resort in much less time. The Dummy Line was fun, fast and usually
reliable. Between 1890 and 1905 the Dummy Line collected up to 10,000 fares each
day from passengers traveling to and from work and those visiting the hotel and
park.
By 1891, Felix G. Phillips, a
prominent local civil engineer, was retained to supervise the excavation,
construction of retaining walls and impounding of the heart-shaped lake. The
white picket fences and the gaslights surrounding the lake completed a dream
attraction for its time. Midway of the first block of Hotel Avenue there was a
wide walkway connecting the park and the lake properties.
Several years later William and Dossie (Miller) Cooper would operate a
carousel adjacent to the walk.
The panoramic view from the crow's nest was spectacular and included the park,
Grassy Valley and the Great Smoky Mountains in the distance.
(C.M. McClung Historical Collection #SPC 1995-30)
Soon newspaper ads for the hotel and resort were promising, “Open all
the year round. Magnificent springs and fine park. 25 minutes ride from
Knoxville on Fountain City cars. Rates $2.00 per day.
Special rates for families. Two bathrooms on each floor with hot and cold
water.”
Tim Donahue was hired to manage the hotel and his sister, Mary Donahue,
the dining room. Mary, who later became the pastry chef at the Hotel Atkin on
Gay Street, provided multi-course meals for 50 cents each. Prof. Guilliano with
his concertina and his Italian Band marched down the steps and to the bandstand
each evening at 6:30 for a concert. One can imagine the music of Old Italy,
melodies such as “Come Back to Sorrento,” filling the park with their
romantic sound.
Early
in the 20th Century, with the rise of modern automobile tourism and the unrest
of the First World War, historic resorts struggled to adapt and generally fell
into decline, Fountain City’s included. In 1917 Dr. H.E. Goetz (1874-1927)
moved his sanitarium to the hotel building and practiced there until it burned
in 1920. Many will remember that the Manor House apartments were built there
some time later. Today the historic site on Evergreen Lane is a parking lot for
the Fountain City Presbyterian Church.
Author’s
Note. Additional photographs and information on the Fountain Head Hotel, the
Dummy Line, Col. J.C. Woodward and the Woodward-Williams Mansion can be found on
www.fountaincitytnhistory.info/.
D-FountainHeadHotel-HFCSN-0309
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Additional Photographs
