Copyright 2007 * All rights reserved
J.C. (Jim) Tumblin, OD, DOS
3604 Kesterwood Drive, East
Knoxville, Tennessee 37918-2557
(865) 687-1948
From 1890 to 1905 the Fountain Head Railway (popularly known as "The Dummy Line") ran from Central Market (now Emory Park) to Fountain Head (the corner of Hotel Avenue and Broadway). The line was a boon to Fountain Citians who worked downtown. Up to 10,000 fares were collected each day at five cents from Central Market to Arlington, ten cents to Fountain Head and fifteen cents for a round trip.
Only prominent families or important landmarks had a "stop" on the Dummy Line. Lucy Curtis Templeton mentioned several of them and described the route in her column "A Sunday Country Calendar" in the Knoxville News-Sentinel on January 10, 1960:
"It left town from a station on the corner on North Broadway and Holston (now Tyson) Street, which runs along the northern side of Old Gray Cemetery. … After the "dummy" left the station in town it puffed along Holston Street past the National Cemetery, past the old General Hospital, then due north until it came to what is now Woodland Ave. The area was a true woodland then; there was only one stop in the lovely grove after leaving the Foster Scotts. This stop was at the home of Mr. Eugene Mynders, about midway between the turn into Woodland and the next bend, which was on a hillside above Mucktown and below the F.A.R. Scott’s large brick residence on top of the hill where St. Mary’s Hospital now stands.
"After some semi-circling south here, the ‘dummy line’ turned north once more, ran through Lincoln Park where there was a siding used to let one train pass another. … After leaving Lincoln Park, the line took a turn to the east, ran along what is now Walker Boulevard, and crossed Broadway at Arlington where there was a station. It then resumed its course along Walker Boulevard past the brickyard and then the Apple Tree Station on the McCampbell farm.
"… The line then turned north again past Whittle Springs through a pleasant meadow to Greenway, where there was another station. …From this point, the ‘dummy’ ran along the same route followed later by the streetcars and buses. The first streetcars did not go over Walker Boulevard. … From Greenway it was a straight shoot to Fountain Head. It was not until years later that North Broadway was extended along what had been the old ‘dummy’ line, although there might have been a side road there. The main highway ran to the right through Smithwood."
The following were the stops the Dummy Line made on the way to Fountain Head, including the Central Market near downtown and the Fountain Head stations:
Therefore, the three "stops" between Greenway and Fountain Head were Smith’s, Conner’s Station and Woodward. The first two were near major parcels of land that had come down through the Adair-Smith family--portions of John Adair’s original 640 acres. The John Smith home stood near the present site of CiCi’s Pizza, then occupied by his son James Harvey Smith, John Adair’s great grandson.
Conner’s Station was at the confluence of Hillcrest, Rennoc and Broadway, just south of the Village Shopping Center, near the home of W.A.A. Conner. William A.A. Conner was married to Emily Alzira Smith (1832-1897), daughter of John Smith and Maria L. Christian and sister to James Harvey Smith. The Conners probably lived in the house that was remodeled for Mynatt Funeral Home.
Woodward (Gibbs Road and Broadway) was at Park Place, the Woodward-Williams Mansion built by Col. J.C. Woodward, the Lexington, Ky. capitalist who developed the park and the lake to promote real estate sales by his Knoxville and Fountain Head Land Company.
(Author's Note: Anyone with photographs of the Conner Family or of the Dummy Line rolling stock and its stations is urged to contact the Webmaster. We are particularly seeking a photo of Conner's Station. See the Home Page for contact information.)
1/12/07