When North Carolina Revolutionary War veteran Thomas Amis had his stone house built overlooking a creek in 1781-1782, he created a permanent crossroads in the history of the southeast and one of the first homes in wha the would become the State of Tennessee.
We are working with the family, who have maintained this place over two centuries, to study this place and the remarkable people who shaped its history. There’s more to come!
Along an old dirt road a few miles west of Clarksburg is Palestine Church and Cemetery. The well-worn road, and the date of early cemetery markers, tell you here is a place dating to the first generation of white settlement, c. 1830-1840. The present church building probably dates to 1890s. I hope to start research in the spring to find out more.
I visited the place after residents reported that a new round of vandalism destroyed some of the historic pews and broke out several windows. Scenes of such stupid destruction are always upsetting.
Residents have made quick repairs but they also felt that more historical recognition would help. The building is not abandoned (it is used at funerals) and once repaired it can host many other events. It is a splendid piece of Tennessee rural church architecture.
The cemetery has wonderful variation in grave markers, from ornate Victorian designs to ones best classified as folk art. More of this important historic site in Carroll County after we complete more research.
Tennessee's Historic Landscape 