Loyston, Tennessee
Encyclopedia
Loyston was a community in Union County, Tennessee
, USA, that was inundated by the waters of Norris Lake
after the completion of Norris Dam
in 1935. Established in the early 19th century around a foundry
built by its namesake, John Loy, over subsequent decades the community's location along State Highway 61
helped it grow into a trading center for local farmers. By the time the Tennessee Valley Authority
(TVA) began making plans to build Norris Dam in the early 1930s, Loyston had a population of approximately 70 residents, and consisted of a post office
and several small businesses.
Prior to inundation, TVA conducted extensive sociological surveys of Loyston's residents, and the community was documented by photographer Lewis Hine
. Most of Loyston's residents relocated elsewhere in the area, with many forming the community of New Loyston in the hills to the south. Loyston was located near where Mill Creek empties into the Clinch River
, at river mile 98. Mill Creek's drainage carved a broad valley known as Big Valley, flanked on the south by Lone Mountain and on the east by Big Ridge. At Loyston, State Highway 61 intersected a major local road. The trip to Knoxville from Loyston was a 30 miles (48.3 km) drive on Highway 61 (which has since been re-routed). Loyston is now under a mile-wide section of Norris Lake known as the "Loyston Sea," located along the shores of Big Ridge State Park
.
s.
In the early 19th century, John Loy established a foundry in the area, taking advantage of the iron ore deposits at the base of Big Ridge. The community that developed around the foundry was known variously as "Loy" and "Loy's Crossroads." When a post office was established in the community in 1866, it took the name "Loy's Cross Roads," but the name was changed to Loyston in 1894.
By the early 1930s, when TVA agents were surveying the Clinch River Valley for the Norris Dam Project, Loyston consisted of a post office, two general stores, a filling station, a cafe, a mill, and a barbershop. A Delco
Light system provided electricity to Loyston's businesses and a few of its houses. TVA and the University of Tennessee Department of Agriculture's extension service helped Loyston families relocate, driving them to farms for sale around the region (one Loyston family required 25 such trips before finding a farm that satisfied them). CCC
Company 4495, which built Big Ridge State Park, was headquarted at Loyston.
TVA agents discussed in depth with Loyston's residents the benefits of moving to more fertile lands in the lower parts of the valley, and were perplexed when most of the community's residents chose to move no further than the less lucrative adjacent hill country. In an attempt to keep the community intact, many of the displaced residents established New Loyston a few miles to the south. A significant number moved to Knoxville
, and others moved to nearby Anderson County
or to Blount
or Loudon counties south of Knoxville.
accepted a donation of a children's playhouse that originally stood in Loyston and was said to be the last intact building from the community.
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
, USA, that was inundated by the waters of Norris Lake
Norris Lake
Norris Lake may refer to:* Norris Lake, a Tennessee Valley Authority reservoir in Tennessee, impounded by Norris Dam* Lake Norris in Lake County, Florida...
after the completion of Norris Dam
Norris Dam
Norris Dam is a hydroelectric and flood control structure located on the Clinch River in Anderson County and Campbell County, Tennessee, USA. Its construction in the mid-1930s was the first major project for the Tennessee Valley Authority, which had been created in 1933 to bring economic...
in 1935. Established in the early 19th century around a foundry
Foundry
A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal in a mold, and removing the mold material or casting after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals processed are aluminum and cast iron...
built by its namesake, John Loy, over subsequent decades the community's location along State Highway 61
Tennessee State Route 61
State Route 61 is a west-to-east highway in the U.S. state of Tennessee that is 69 miles long.State Route 61 begins in Roane County, and it ends in Union County.It overlaps Interstate 75 in Anderson County.-Counties traversed :...
helped it grow into a trading center for local farmers. By the time the Tennessee Valley Authority
Tennessee Valley Authority
The Tennessee Valley Authority is a federally owned corporation in the United States created by congressional charter in May 1933 to provide navigation, flood control, electricity generation, fertilizer manufacturing, and economic development in the Tennessee Valley, a region particularly affected...
(TVA) began making plans to build Norris Dam in the early 1930s, Loyston had a population of approximately 70 residents, and consisted of a post office
Post office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
and several small businesses.
Prior to inundation, TVA conducted extensive sociological surveys of Loyston's residents, and the community was documented by photographer Lewis Hine
Lewis Hine
Lewis Wickes Hine was an American sociologist and photographer. Hine used his camera as a tool for social reform. His photographs were instrumental in changing the child labor laws in the United States.-Early life:...
. Most of Loyston's residents relocated elsewhere in the area, with many forming the community of New Loyston in the hills to the south. Loyston was located near where Mill Creek empties into the Clinch River
Clinch River
The Clinch River rises in Southwest Virginia near Tazewell, Virginia and flows southwest through the Great Appalachian Valley, gathering various tributaries including the Powell River before joining the Tennessee River in East Tennessee.-Course:...
, at river mile 98. Mill Creek's drainage carved a broad valley known as Big Valley, flanked on the south by Lone Mountain and on the east by Big Ridge. At Loyston, State Highway 61 intersected a major local road. The trip to Knoxville from Loyston was a 30 miles (48.3 km) drive on Highway 61 (which has since been re-routed). Loyston is now under a mile-wide section of Norris Lake known as the "Loyston Sea," located along the shores of Big Ridge State Park
Big Ridge State Park
Big Ridge State Park is a state park in Union County, Tennessee, in the southeastern United States. The park consists of on the southern shore of the Norris Reservoir, an impoundment of the Clinch River created by the completion of Norris Dam in 1936...
.
History
In the 1780s, German immigrant Henry Sharp built a frontier fort known as "Sharp's Station" on the slopes of Big Ridge overlooking the Clinch River east of Loyston, the area having been identified by long hunters travelling down the Clinch Valley during the previous decade. In 1933, Sharp's descendants were still prominent members of the Loyston community, evidenced by names such as "Sharp's Station Methodist Episcopal Church," which was located just outside of Loyston. Another notable early settler, Robert Stooksbury, moved to the Loyston area around 1800. Several dozen of Stooksbury's descendants were still living in the Loyston area in the early 1930s, some of whom operated one of the community's general storeGeneral store
A general store, general merchandise store, or village shop is a rural or small town store that carries a general line of merchandise. It carries a broad selection of merchandise, sometimes in a small space, where people from the town and surrounding rural areas come to purchase all their general...
s.
In the early 19th century, John Loy established a foundry in the area, taking advantage of the iron ore deposits at the base of Big Ridge. The community that developed around the foundry was known variously as "Loy" and "Loy's Crossroads." When a post office was established in the community in 1866, it took the name "Loy's Cross Roads," but the name was changed to Loyston in 1894.
By the early 1930s, when TVA agents were surveying the Clinch River Valley for the Norris Dam Project, Loyston consisted of a post office, two general stores, a filling station, a cafe, a mill, and a barbershop. A Delco
Delco Electronics
Delco Electronics Corporation was the automotive electronics design and manufacturing subsidiary of General Motors based in Kokomo, Indiana.The name Delco came from the Dayton Engineering Laboratories Co., founded in Dayton, Ohio by Charles Kettering and Edward A...
Light system provided electricity to Loyston's businesses and a few of its houses. TVA and the University of Tennessee Department of Agriculture's extension service helped Loyston families relocate, driving them to farms for sale around the region (one Loyston family required 25 such trips before finding a farm that satisfied them). CCC
Civilian Conservation Corps
The Civilian Conservation Corps was a public work relief program that operated from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men from relief families, ages 18–25. A part of the New Deal of President Franklin D...
Company 4495, which built Big Ridge State Park, was headquarted at Loyston.
TVA
TVA's studies showed that most residents of the Norris Basin were living in relative poverty, although Loyston's residents fared better due to better farm land. The Stooksbury general store had sales of $50,000 per year, resulting in a $7,000 profit. Houses in the Loyston area ranged from primitive two-room log cabins to eight-room frame houses. Most houses were heated by fireplaces, although some had coal-burning stoves. Loyston's children attended either Loyston Elementary School or the nearby one-room Oakdale School.TVA agents discussed in depth with Loyston's residents the benefits of moving to more fertile lands in the lower parts of the valley, and were perplexed when most of the community's residents chose to move no further than the less lucrative adjacent hill country. In an attempt to keep the community intact, many of the displaced residents established New Loyston a few miles to the south. A significant number moved to Knoxville
Knoxville, Tennessee
Founded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, U.S.A., behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is the largest city in East Tennessee, and the second-largest city in the Appalachia region...
, and others moved to nearby Anderson County
Anderson County, Tennessee
Anderson County is a U.S. county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2010 census, its population is 75,129. Its county seat is Clinton.It is included in the Knoxville, Tennessee, Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...
or to Blount
Blount County, Tennessee
Blount County is a U.S. county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. Its population was 123,010 at the United States Census, 2010. The county seat is at Maryville, which is also the county's largest city....
or Loudon counties south of Knoxville.
Legacy
The valley in which Loyston was once located is now submerged under the widest part of Norris Lake, the mile-wide "Loyston Sea." While building the Norris reservoir, TVA engineers determined that a saddle dam would be necessary to prevent water from the Mill Creek embayment from escaping into the Buffalo Creek Valley (which empties into the Clinch downstream from Norris Dam). This saddle dam, known as the "Loyston Dike," is located along Highway 61 just west of Big Ridge State Park. A recreation area along the Mill Creek embayment has also been named for Loyston. In 2008, the Museum of AppalachiaMuseum of Appalachia
The Museum of Appalachia, located in Norris, Tennessee, north of Knoxville, is a living history museum that interprets the pioneer and early 20th-century period of the Southern Appalachian region of the United States...
accepted a donation of a children's playhouse that originally stood in Loyston and was said to be the last intact building from the community.