The following was transcribed from the 1935-36 City Directory of Brownsville and Stanton, Tennessee, exactly as it was written, by Debbie Sterbinsky, September 13, 2007. Family names have been underlined and typed in bold face font to assist in searching for ancestors.
Stanton
By Dr. L.W. Culbreath
The town of Stanton Depot was established in the year 1856—in that year the Memphis and Ohio Rail Road was built to this place, and the town was incorporated under the above name. The place is situated at the point where the Randolph and Bolivar highway crosses the rail road. It is located upon land donated by Mr. Joseph B. Stanton, a wealthy land and slave owner for whom the town was named. There was a special provision in the land grant to the effect that should there at any future time, be liquor sold in the place the title should revert to the original owner, his heirs or assigns. This provision however became a dead letter and liquor was sold until 1892 in which year the Charter of Incorporation was surrendered in order to abolish liquor under the Four Miles Liquor Law. When this was an accomplished fact the U.S. Post Office Department changed the name to Stanton, dropping the Depot as superfluous.
Mr. Stanton died in 1860 He and his wife, Mrs. Lucy Stanton are buried in the private family plot just south of the old Stanton homestead, which was bequeathed to their only daughter, Grace Arrington Howell Stanton, wife of Col. Nathan Adams, as joint heirs for life. Col Adams’ nephew, Mr. A. J. Gibson, became the first mayor of the new town. He and his brother in law, Capt. H. M. Nash, erected and occupied one of the first stores in the town doing a general merchandise business, another brother in law of the above two built another store along the side of the first which he occupied as a drug store in the rear of which Dr. G. G. Ware, brother-in-law to all three of above, occupied as an office. These two stores are the only ones still standing of that period, they are of frame construction and at this time unoccupied, these escaped the disastrous fire of 1872 with one other which has long since given way to brick and concrete.
Wesley, a cross road town, one and one half miles west of the present town of Stanton, was situated at the crossing of the Randolph and Bolivar and the old Memphis-Brownsville Stage Road. It was a thriving and prosperous town but when Stanton Depot became a fact the old town moved to the rail road and Wesley became a memory only.
The first merchant to locate at Stanton Depot was one, Capt. Flem Chaney who continued in business until his death.
With the rail road when it reached Stanton came Mr. Chas. Spencer as the first Agent. His office and freight ware house was a freight car located upon the siding. Mr. Spencer continued as agent for the road until the time of his death, covering a period of thirty-two years of continuous service. Shortly after the road was finished to this place the Louisville and Nashville Rail Road Company took over the old road and it has ever since been the far flung L. & N. Since Mr. Spencer there has been only two other R. R. Agents at Stanton the late Thos. F. Browne and Emmett S. Gilliam.
The home built by Mr. Spencer when he came, in part, is now standing and is occupied by Mrs. Ella Rudd. It is located in the beautiful Spencer Grove.
Just a few days before the bloody battle of Shiloh Church was fought the famous author of Ben Hur and the Prince of India, General Lew Wallace with his army on their way to reinforce Gen. U. S. Grant at Pittsburgh Landing, stopped at Stanton and camped in the beautiful shady Spencer Grove, there was a well of splendid water, and the General had his tent close by under a shell bark hickory tree still standing and producing abundant harvest.
The first Church in Stanton was the old Wesley Methodist church removed and re-erected upon land donated by Mr. J. B. Somervill and his wife. This old structure gave way in 1928 to the beautiful new brick one which is the pride of the congregation, and stands upon the site of the original Church.
The Baptist Church was moved from near Wesley to Stanton in 1865, this church was organized in 1850. In 1911 the old structure gave place to a beautiful larger edifice. It was from this Church went the first preacher from Stanton, to be followed by that matchless pulpit orator Dr. Harry Leland Martin.
The Presbyterian Church was built in 1871. It is a beautiful example of Gothic architecture, and is a replica of a church in England, plans for which were brought to America by Col. Nathan Adams who donated the ground upon which the Church stands. The first pastor was Rev. Ingram whose remains repose in a simple grave at the rear of the Church he loved.
Upon the elevated and commanding grounds adjoining the Church on a beautiful lot Col. Nathan Adams and his wife, in 1872, erected a magnificent memorial to the memory of their parents, the founders of the town. The base of this monument is about fifteen feet square and teen feet high. This abase contains four crypts to receive the remains of as many persons. The tomb is surmounted by a beautiful marble shaft about thirty five feet high the top of which is an exquisite cowled urn. Col. and Mrs. Adams repose within the vault but the bodies of Mr. and Mrs. Stanton were never reinterred there owing, it is said the conscientious objections of Mrs. Adams to the removal of the bodies.
Stanton has three colored Churches, Baptists, Methodist, and the Sanctified.
Stanton Lodge No. 393 Free and Accepted Masons was chartered Oct. 5, 1869. The Corner Stone of the building was laid by the Grand Master, in person, in 1871. The top floor of the structure was used for Lodge purposes and the lower floor as one room school to which was afterward added two more rooms. In 1919 the Masonic body purchased the ground rights and lower floors from the County Board of Education, then by and Act of the General Assembly Dist. No. 3 and Stanton was created a Taxing District and short term notes were issued to build a new school building which when completed cost approximately thirteen thousand dollars. The school house has five rooms, an auditorium and a music room. Upon the grounds there is a splendid deep well with automatic electric pump, sanitary and fool proof. The school employs five teachers in regular courses and one music teacher.
The splendid citizenry of Stanton has always stood intensely for the education of the young and has always had fine schools and the best of teachers among whom were Profs. Tanner of Vanderbilt, White of Alabama, Mathis, Powell, Crowder, and Prof. Frank Ogilvie who was County Superintendent of Schools for a number of years and editor of The Brownsville States – Graphic. Miss Sarah Gray (Mrs. Case of Tarry Town New York) is also held in loving remembrance by all of Stanton for her splendid influence upon the young life of the town.
Stanton claims to have produced more members of the medical profession than any other place of its size in the state, twenty one in all. Five ministers and three lawyers. One medical missionary and two regulars to foreign fields. Some of these have written their names in living and undying characters upon the pages of their country’s history, others high upon the musty rolls the ages keep. One became Judge of the Referee Court of the Territory of Oklahoma, another Judge of the Supreme Court of the State of Oklahoma; one was rewarded by special Act of Congress for services rendered the Government as a private citizen. Stanton has given to Haywood County two sheriffs and two members of the General Assembly of the State.
In 1927 Stanton was Chartered and became a real town. It has privately owned water works, supplying the downtown district, graveled streets, electric lights, and concrete pavements, all of its business houses are of brick and concrete construction. This town is noted for splendid marketing facilities, having handled as much as half million dollars worth of cotton in one season. It ships large quantities of apples, peas, beans and berries each year. The past season the average for snap beans was about one car load per day.
There is in Stanton nine grocery stores, one variety store which handles dry goods and ready to wear clothing, one exclusive ready to wear gents furnishing, one exclusive ladies ready-to-wear clothes, two drug stores, one combination gents and ladies ready-to-wear clothes and dry goods. One Optometrist, and four physicians and surgeons. Four Filling Stations, two garages, two blacksmith shops, one restaurant (one only) Postoffice, one furniture store, one undertaking and embalming establishment, 3 saw mills, and one barber shop.
In 1903 the Stanton Bank was organized with a capital of $25,000.00 and did a splendid business until it was forced into liquidation in 1933 on account of the depression.
In 1916 the Peoples Bank, a branch of the Tipton County Farmers Union Bank, Capitol $200,000.00, was opened with Mr. E. P. Peeler as Manager. This bank has carried as much as $250,000.00 on deposit and is still doing a flourishing business.
To write or speak of Stanton without reference to the venerable and much loved sage of “Spring Hill” Mr. James Knox Gibson would be like playing Hamlet with Hamlet left out. Mr. Gibson is a brother of Stanton’s first mayor and nephew of Col. Nathan Adams, he married Miss Rosa Somervill and has since lived at the same home place, know to all as “Spring Hill” has reared a splendid family, and today enjoys the love, esteem and abiding confidence of all whose good fortune it has been to know him. Mr. Gibson for over half a century was identified with the political, commercial and civic life of Stanton. He served in many of the most responsible positions of trust and at the time of his retirement from active participation in the affairs of life was cashier of the Stanton Bank and today he enjoys the happy reflection of a well spent useful life. His wise council and advice is sought by both old and young. The writer has estimated the distance traveled by Mr. Gibson in going to and from his home to his place of business and the distance is approximately two and one half times around the world!