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| George Washington Pridemore House in Middlesboro, Kentucky. |
Prior to a house being
constructed on this lot the entire block it was located on underwent an
interesting series of transfers that reflect the unique development history of
Middlesboro. The Middlesborough Town Company originally held title to all
properties in town. The entire management resigned under pressure from
shareholders in October 1891. The company was reorganized in November that year
as the Middlesborough Town & Lands Company.
The earliest transfer of the property later to have a house built on it
was November 23, 1893, between the Middlesboro Town Lands Company and the Middlesboro
Town & Land Company (Liber 29, Page 244). The price paid for the transfer
between related entities was one dollar. Later the entire block No. 306 in the
northeast section was sold by William Thomas Exhorn Fasbury and Frank Morris
Crisp, from London, England, and Trustees of the Middlesboro Town & Land
Company, to the Kentucky Investment Company on June 20, 1905 (Liber 49, Page
345). The land was sold for $400 in cash payable in six installments over the
next 18 months.
The block was sold to
J.T. Smith on February 2, 1906 (Liber 55, Page 64). J.T. Smith was listed in
the 1912 City Directory as a “farmer” and had his house on the northwest corner
of the block at 416 North 25th Street (no longer extant). On July 10, 1923, lots 5, 6, 18, 19 and the
south 50 feet of lot 17 and the north 50 feet of lot 7 were sold by J.T. &
Maggie Smith to George Washington & Ida Mae Pridemore (Liber 87, Page 47).
George
Washington Pridemore, Owner, 1923-1936
The Pridemore family
name is a familiar one in Appalachia. Members of the Pridmore family (as it was
spelled then) immigrated from England to New Jersey. The Colonial forebear of
the family, John Pridmore (1650-1706), was born in All Hallows Barking Parish,
London, England in 1650. Pridmore immigrated to the Province of New Jersey and
lived in Piscatway until his death in 1706. Descendants stayed in New Jersey
scarcely a generation more before setting out. Theodore Pridemore, grandson of
John Pridmore, served in the Revolutionary War.
Following the war Pridemore settled in Lee County where he lived for
several decades more. Near the end of his life Theodore Pridemore relocated to
Martin County, Indiana, where he lived from 1831 until his death in 1839.
Of the members of his
family that remained in Lee County, Theodore Pridemore’s son Jonathan Pridemore
(1793-1843) lived his entire life in Lee County. Apparently Jonathan and his
wife Charlotte Fairbanks were patriotic Americans, for they named all of their
children after U.S. Presidents: William Harrison Pridemore (1820-1870), Thomas
Jefferson Pridemore (1821-1880), Andrew Jackson Pridemore (1822-1908), James
Madison Pridemore (1827-1920), and George Washington Pridemore (1833-1923). The
tradition continued among their descendants too. Thomas Jefferson, Jr. (1853-1892),
the son of Thomas Jefferson, Sr. (1821-1880), was born in Lee County, Virginia
on January 4, 1853. Later he would make his way to Laurel, Kentucky where he
died in June 1892. Among the children of Thomas Jefferson, Jr. (1853-1892), was
George Washington Pridemore (1877-1969).
George Washington
Pridemore (1877-1969) who later built the house that carried his name was born
February 23, 1877 in Laurel County, Kentucky. The U.S. Census shows Pridemore
residing in Corbin, Kentucky, in both the 1910 and 1920 U.S. Census.
Establishment of
railroad lines was a key component in plans for industrial development in the
Yellow Creek Valley. The Louisville & Nashville Railroad reportedly planned
to run a rail line to the Cumberland Gap as far back as 1872. Middlesborough founder Alexander Arthur had
secured a commitment in 1877 from the Watts Steel and Iron Syndicate, Ltd. of
England to build two blast furnaces. This was used as an incentive to have the
Louisville & Nashville Railroad to turn their tracks towards
Middlesboro. By 1882 L&N had reached
London, and the following year extended to Jellico, Tennessee. The hope was to
reach Pineville by early 1888. Around
the same time the Knoxville, Cumberland Gap & Louisville Railroad was
working to connect Knoxville to Middlesborough. A tunnel was cut through the
Cumberland Mountain on August 8, 1889. The first train connecting
Middlesborough with Knoxville came through on August 22 that year.
George Washington
Pridemore became an employee of the Louisville & Nashville Railroad as a
locomotive engineer. His World War I Draft Registration Card from September
1918 noted his permanent home address as Corbin, Kentucky, though his
registration card was recorded in Bell County. This most likely reflected the
fact that while he resided in Corbin in Knox County that his primary place of
employment was in Bell County. As a locomotive engineer he most likely covered
the route between Corbin and Middlesboro.
Work was not the only
reason that Pridemore visited Middlesboro. An article in Thousandsticks from
August 24, 1911, recounted how: “Mr. and Mrs. G.W. Pridemore, of Corbin, are
here visiting Mrs. Pridemore’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Archie Wolfe.” The 1912 City Directory shows Archibald Wolfe,
a farmer, living with his wife Louisa at 221 N 10th Street in Middlesboro.
The appeal of living in
Middlesboro was so great that by 1923 George Washington Pridemore bought
property here. Pridemore purchased several lots on this Block on July 10, 1923 (Liber
87, Page 47). On November 10, 1923, G.W. Pridemore and his wife deeded a
portion of land on the south side of lot #5 to be used as a driveway. The deed
read that the grantee Carl Harris agreed to the following:
“Agreed
to construct a driveway of concrete about nine feet wide from the East line of
25th Street that will serve the garages of all parties hereto, the distance
being about seventy-five feet… Party of the second part will pay all expenses
of construction and one-half of maintenance and upkeep” (Liber 88, Page 81).
The Pridemore’s
continued to own property here for around thirteen years. In the 1926 City
Directory, George Washington Pridemore was listed as an “Engineer” with the
Louisville & Nashville Railroad with his home at 406 North 25th
Street. The 1930 U.S. Census showed
George W. Pridemore, then aged 52, living with his wife Ida, and their daughter
Mildred living in Middlesboro.
Apparently Pridemore
had a commitment to keeping his still relatively new home in good repair. The
front page of The Middlesboro Daily News on May 29, 1933, had the following
report: “George Pridemore is painting the exterior woodwork of his house on
north Twenty-fifth street.”
At some point
Pridemore’s profession changed. The 1934 City Directory listed George Pridemore
as an insurance agent. He would continue
in that role for just a few years more. On April 27, 1936, The Middlesboro
Daily News reported that “Mrs. Dora Buchanan and daughter, Jess, are taking the
Pridemore home on Twenty-fifth street.”
Soon thereafter Pridemore and his wife sold the property to Oppie B. and
Edward Lee Johnson for $4,000. In the title conveying the property, the
following section indicated that improvements had been made in the form of a
house:
“Parties
of the second part covenant and agree that they will keep the improvements on
said premises insured against loss by fire or tornado in some good and solvent
insurance company at all times while any of said indebtedness remains unpaid.”
The Pridemore’s retired
to their house in Dunedin, Florida, though they frequently visited Middlesboro.
On September 16, 1942, The Middlesboro Daily News noted a visit of theirs: “Mr.
and Mrs. G.W. Pridemore of Dunedin, Fla., are spending several weeks in this
city. They have taken an apartment in the R.E. Howard home on Englewood Road.”
Howard was a ticket clerk and operator with the L&N Railroad and had his
home at 303 Englewood Road. This shows that Pridemore maintained a connection
with the railroad and former co-workers even after he retired. Ida May
Pridemore died in 1964 and her passing was reported on the front page of The
Middlesboro Daily News. Her husband passed a few years later in September 1969.
Both were buried in an above ground mausoleum in Dunedin, Florida.
Relatives of George
Washington Pridemore featured prominently in one of the most notorious and
nationally commented on episodes in the history of the Yellow Creek Valley.
George Washington Pridemore’s father Thomas Jefferson Pridemore, Jr.
(1853-1892) was a brother of James J. Pridemore (1842-1920). James’ children
Charles C. Pridemore and Adelia Pridemore, both cousins of George Washington
Pridemore, were principal figures in the Quarter House Battle of 1902.
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| Mingo Hollow where the Quarter House Battle was famously held in 1902. |
While there are other
accounts of the Quarter House Battle, such as that by historian Ann Matheny in
her book The Magic City, we choose to
focus on the unique role of the Pridemore family with the Quarter House. The
Quarter House was a saloon built on the state line between Kentucky and
Tennessee in the 1890s. It was located about three and a half miles southwest
of Middlesboro in Mingo Hollow and accessible only by railroad. The Quarter
House itself was a two-story building made out of heavy railroad timbers and
surrounded by a log stockade with portholes usable for defense. Inside a white
line was painted down the center of the floor of the main room so patrons could
evade authorities. An on-premises distillery, rooms upstairs for women of ill
repute, and staged entertainment – turkey matches, cock fights, even fights
between a bulldog and wildcat – gave the Quarter House a deservedly wild
reputation. Over a period of ten years nearly 50 people lost their lives and
another 100 were injured.
Charles Pridemore, a
cousin of George Washington Pridemore, first entered the story in October 1898.
He got in to a fight with Will Combs who ran the restaurant at the
Quarterhouse. When Will Turner tried to break up the fight he was shot. Later
it was reported that Combs and Pridemore had been quarrelling all evening, and
that the quarrel was a ruse for the premediated murder of Will. Combs attempted to make an escape, though the
paper reported that “Combs took to the mountains, but as he is a one-legged
man, it is not believed he can get far.” Combs was captured and taken to Tennessee
(because Will had been killed on that side of the saloon) and sentenced to five
years in prison.
The troubles continued
for Charles Pridemore. On November 1, 1899, there was a clash between Ball and
Turner factions. The Balls who were Democrats, were campaigning on behalf of
Taylor, a Republican, for Kentucky Governor. Charles Pridemore, then a Turner
follower and supporter of the Democratic candidate William Goebel, met and
began shooting at C.D. Ball. The Middlesboro Daily News reported “Their friends
assembled and surrounded them. A long range street fight took place in which 50
shots were exchanged. No one was hit.”
Charles Pridemore would not live long thereafter. The Middlesboro Daily
News reported “Charles Pridemore, aged 23, was instantly killed last night in a
general row at the “Quarter House” blind tiger saloon, where a score of men
have died with their boots on.” Mike Welsch, a “mountain desperado” was accused
in his killing.
Matters at the Quarter
House went from bad to worse for Lee Turner. The initial boom period that had
built up Middlesboro and the Yellow Creek Valley had ended and the local
economy was struggling. The Quarter House meanwhile drained away many customers
from the saloons in Middlesboro, many of which were run by the Balls who were
allied with their cousins the Colsons. There was a land dispute between Lee
Turner and Gil Colson who claimed title to land on where the Quarter House was
built. Courts in Tennessee found in favor of the Turners while courts in Bell
County, Kentucky, found in favor of Colson. When Gil Colson required Turner to
pay rent, Lee declined. The next time Lee sent his wagon and mules into town to
pick up a load of whiskey that had arrived at the train station, his wagon,
mules, and whiskey were confiscated for rent. Turner and a colleague Boone
McCurry reclaimed the property. Colson countered by getting a warrant for the
arrest of Turner who had stolen his mules and wagon.
Judge M.J. Moss ordered
the arrest of Lee Turner. A posse was formed on February 12, 1902. They
attempted to reach the Quarter House by railroad though the engineer and
conductor refused. Instead the posse hiked nearly three and a half miles up the
hill while railroad cars stood still. After the posse surrounded the
Quarterhouse, Charles Cecil banged on the Kentucky side of the building asking
for Lee Turner to come out. A shot rang from the upper floor and the bullet
entered Cecil’s should and went through his body. The posse attempted to rescue
Cecil though he died shortly after from his wounds. As darkness approached the
Quarter House caught fire. Women inside were allowed to escape though several
men were shot. John Doyle, a law enforcement officer, was shot in the bowels
and died a day or two later.
E.E. Cowden, then a
train dispatcher recounted an incident just after the fight started. A
conductor called Cowden for instructions what to do with a train car stopped on
the tracks due to gunfire ahead. Cowden told him this was beyond the
jurisdiction of a dispatcher to advise. Ultimately it was decided that everyone
should lay on their bellies in the car and the conductor use the hand brake to
allow the train to run at a slow speed past the firefight and down the grade of
the mountain.
Following the fight a
reward was made on the capture of Lee Turner. He had avoided the Quarter House
Battle because he was in LaFollette answering another legal charge. Lee Turner
was apprehended by his cousin, John “Popeye” Turner, though the two exchanged
gunfire resulting in the death of Popeye. Later he reported to LaFollette and
gave himself up to the Tennessee marshal.
Lee was arrested for the killing though became acquitted on a plea of
self-defense. Around that time he also
transferred the claim on his property to the American Association.
Lee was later arrested
in June of 1903 for his role in the killing of Charles Cecil and John Doyle
during the Quarter House battle, and also indicted for complicity in the murder
of Charlie Pridemore. During the ten months he was in the Bell County jail he
was visited by a young lady friend who looked after him. Turner determined that
he’d win her hand when he secured his liberty, which pledge he faithfully
kept. The Barbourville Advocate reported
“They were happily united in marriage, and he today asserts that she to him is
an angel on earth, and has been instrumental in making a man of him.”
Eventually Turner’s
case was dropped in April 1904. September of that year he opened a new saloon
called “The Stag” that was located on the south side of Cumberland Ave between
19th and 20th Streets. Around 1912, Lee, his wife Adelia, and son John R. were
shown living and working at 220 Lothbury Ave.
Lee Turner lived on until 1939, though due to mental problems he ended
up dying in a mental institution, leaving behind his wife Adelia Pridemore and
one son John R. Turner.
As a postlude to
several of those involved in the Quarter House Battle, E.E. Cowden, the
dispatcher lived at 611 North 25th Street as of the 1912 City Directory. Sallie
Pridemore, sister of Adelia Pridemore who later married Lee Turner, lived with
her mother Minerva Pridemore at 608 North 25th Street in 1912. E.E. Cowden in remembering his role in the
Quarter House Battle many years later recalled how Lee Turner “was my nearest
neighbor on North 25th, last two houses, me in the Chumley brick and Lee across
on the 25th.” In 1923 the George
Washington Pridemore House was built one block to the south of the Cowden’s and
Turner’s at 406 North 25th Street thus making North 25th Street an important
location in the understanding of the Quarter House saloon and the only
surviving structure of those associated with this notorious chapter in
Middlesboro’s history.
Edward
Johnson, Owner, 1936-1946
Edward Johnson was
named Deputy Collector in 1923. The 1926
City Directory listed Edward Johnson as the general manager of the Climax Coal
Company. He was living along with his wife Oppie at 2931 Cumberland Ave. An advertisement in the October 7, 1927
issue of the Middlesboro Daily News announced the opening of the “E.L. Johnson
Coal Yard.” The advertisement text read
“A coal yard at 21st Street and carry a high grade coal, low in ash. Sold by
the ton of 2000 pounds.” The timing of Johnson opening an independent operation
was perhaps fortuitous because the Climax Coal Company declared bankruptcy in
August 1929.
Johnson became
increasingly active in public life of this area. Edward L. Johnson
campaigned for County Court Clerk on the
Independent ticket in 1929. A change in
administrations occurred between retiring Mayor Joe Hollingsworth and new Mayor
Ike Ginsburg on January 1, 1934. Hollingsworth was elected City Clerk at a
salary of $135 per month, and Edward Lee Johnson was named as deputy clerk,
with no salary. Johnson was tasked with keeping an account of the proceedings.
A writer of The Middlesboro Daily News the next day referred to the past
administration as “characterized throughout by stupidity, greed, and
plunder.”
Edward and Oppie
Johnson were living at 609 ½ Gloucester Ave by the time of the 1934 City
Directory. Just over a year later on March
28, 1935, Edward Johnson is identified as City Collector in an article
describing efforts to collect past due taxes and fees for business licenses on
behalf of the City. After acquiring the
Pridemore House on September 15, 1936, the Johnson’s immediately set out to
make improvements. An issue of The Middlesboro Daily News from September 25,
1936, announced: “Mr. and Mrs. E.L. Johnson are having the G.W. Pridemore home
on North Twenty-fifth street, which they recently purchased, remodeled.”
In October 1936, when
the T.V.A. was considering extending electric service to Middlesboro, Johnson
was among those involved in the negotiations in his capacity as City
Clerk/Collector, and tried to influence his fellow citizens through the
Citizens Committee for T.V.A.
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| Ad for 406 North 25th from September 19, 1940. Middlesboro Daily News. |
Renovations took an
extended period of time. It was not until November 17, 1936, that the Johnson’s
moved in to their newly remodeled home.
The Johnson’s apparently were in need of additional revenue for in the
September 19, 1940 Middlesboro Daily News they advertised a “Comfortable
bedroom with sun parlor, shower bath, garage. Mrs. Edward L. Johnson, Ph., 96.”
A similar ad was published the February 22, 1941 issue of the Middlesboro Daily
News was an advertisement for a “Furnished Room with Sun Parlor, Shower, and
Garage, 406 N. 25th. Ph. 96, Mrs. E.L. Johnson.”
After a long illness
Edward Lee Johnson died May 14, 1944. A funeral was held in the house on North
25th Street two days later. Johnson was
buried at the Middlesboro Cemetery. Following
Johnson’s death, his daughter Francis J. Johnson received an undivided half
interest in the property. She promptly
transferred her interest in the property to her mother Oppie B. Johnson for $1
on June 5, 1944. She sold the property to Ellen G. Woodson and Dr. E.D. Woodson
on May 29, 1946 for $12,500. Oppie Johnson died on May 4, 1966 in Knoxville.
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| World War I draft card of Edwin Dupey Woodson. |
Edwin
Dupey Woodson, Owner, 1946-1971
Edwin Dupey Woodson was
born September 2, 1888 in Lincoln County, Kentucky. He married his first wife
Ellen Farra Gregory on October 12, 1910. On June 5, 1917, Woodson enlisted in
the Army. He was living and working in Pineville at the time as a jeweler
optician and already was married with two small children. Upon returning from
the war, Edwin Woodson became an Optometrist in Middlesboro. His office was at
1924 Cumberland Ave. According to the 1934-35 Middlesboro City Directory, Edwin
and his wife Ellen resided on North 20th Street. The Woodson’s were living on Arthur Heights
by the time of the 1940 U.S. Census. In addition to Edwin and his wife Ellen,
also living with them were James, Julia, and Ellen Woodson.
 |
Ellen Farra Woodson who was married
in the Pridemore House. |
The Woodson’s acquired
the Pridemore House at 406 North 25th Street for $12,500 on May 29, 1946. An
important event occurred at the Woodson house on October 20, 1950. That evening
at 8pm, Ellen Farra Woodson married Thomas Edward Shipley. A portrait of
Woodson in her bridal dress and a full description of the ceremony ran in The
Middlesboro Daily News several months
later on December 16, 1950.
Edwin’s wife Ellen
passed away April 29, 1969 at the Middlesboro Hospital and Clinic after a brief
illness. She was subsequently buried in
the Pleasant Grove Cemetery in Washington County, Kentucky. Sometime between
April 1969 and March 1971, Edwin married Jane C. Woodson.
The house was sold on
March 24, 1971 to Jack Lee Blackard and Opal Fox Blackard. Later that year
Edwin’s mother Anna died at the age of 103 on September 8, 1971. She was
subsequently buried in Middlesboro. Jane C. Woodson died some time prior to
August 1975. Edwin Woodson became executor of her estate. He passed away Monday, April 12, 1976, at the
Middlesboro Community Hospital following an illness that lasted several months.
He was 88 years of age.
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