"The Alvin Cullom York Farm lies near Pall Mall, Tenn., about 9 miles north of Jamestown, Tenn., on U.S. 127 (sometimes known as Alvin C. York Highway and Tenn. 28) where it crosses Wolf River. There are approximately 16 acres in the designated area, which is flanked on the south by the highway, on the west and north by the river, and on the east by farmland belonging to York's children. The whole is situated in a National Register district—the Sgt. York Historic Area, which encompasses a number of buildings and sites associated with various phases of his and his associates' lives. The 16 acres form part of an approximately 396-acre tract given to York by the State in the early 1920's and reacquired recently from his widow and heirs—with the exception of about 72 acres that the heirs retained. The principal portion of the 16 acres is a 5.8-acre area fronting onto the highway and containing the York family residence and 9 outbuildings. This acreage and these buildings comprise part of the State acquisition but are being held in a life estate by Mrs. York. The remaining 10.2 acres lie to the rear or north of the farm outbuildings and adjoin the river. Just across the river, outside the 16 designated acres and near the foot of Tater Hill, are the historic Wolf River Methodist Church and the cemetery in which York is buried.
Although York disdained the glamorous money-making offers that came his way after World War I, he did accept funds raised by the Nashville Rotary Club and the Nashville Banner for construction of a home on the property given to him by the State. Erected in 1922, the house is a 2^-story, rectangular-shaped, hip-roofed, white-painted frame structure 40.5 feet wide and 31.1 feet deep excluding porches. Two hooded, double-windowed dormers grace the front slope of the roof, and a corbeled, red brick, exterior chimney rises above the roof near the center of the east and west ends of the house. An original, full height, 7.7-foot-deep, four-bay-wide, square-columned portico crosses the front facade of the dwelling. An extension of the house roof covers the portico but it is not recessed. There are three other porches, but they may not be original. An enclosed, one-story, hip-roofed, 28.9- by 11.5-foot porch extends across the east end, covering the lower portion of the chimney there. In the rear, off the northwest corner, is another enclosed porch. It is single tiered and gable roofed and measures 14.9 by 10.2 feet. Access to it is from the rear via a small 4.6- by 7.1-foot, shed-roofed portico. The house rests on a stone foundation, and there is a partial, dirt-floored basement under the main block.
Window and door placement is somewhat irregular, but basically the house is five bays wide and three deep. Most windows are nine-over-one, double hung sash. Main entry is through a side-lighted single door that consists of three vertical wood panels topped by two rows of three glass panes. The AASLH representative was not permitted to enter the house, but appraisal records furnished by the Tennessee Department of Conservation reveal that the first floor includes an entrance foyer, living room, sunroom, dining room, library, kitchen, and one-half bath. The partially covered flooring is hardwood, and most of the walls and ceilings are sheetrock. On the second story there are five bedrooms and a bath. Most of the flooring on this level is pine. Use and condition of the attic are unknown. Furnishings throughout are those of the York family.
The outbuildings, most of which are in poor condition, are randomly situated rear of the York dwelling. Standing almost directly north of and only a few feet from the residence is a one story, gable-roofed, stone smokehouse that measures about 16 by 24 feet. Adjacent to it is a small frame shed and beyond that a one story, gable-roofed, frame chicken-house with vertical siding. East of it is another small shed and a one-story, shed-roofed, stone garage that measures about 31 by 40 feet and has two small attached sheds. Still further east and slightly to the south stands a rectangular shaped, single-story, gable-roofed, 40-foot-long corncrib. Red painted, it has vertical siding and appears to be in relatively good condition. Directly behind this structure stands a similarly built 1^-story barn, also red-painted. Immediately behind it are two cylindrical, stone silos. Just across U.S. 127 to the south and outside the 16 designated acres are a soon-to-be-moved, frame post office built by York in 1920 as a general store. Across the river a few hundred yards west of the post office is a gristmill acquired by York in 1943. The State is restoring it for inclusion in a small State park.
Men like Alvin Cullom York are a special breed of military hero, according to historian Dixon Wecter, because "Americans have a special affection for the man of peace — like Sergeant York in the World War — who leaves his 'civilian' trade only long enough to beat the military at their own game." York indelibly left his mark on the annals of American military valor in the Battle of the Argonne Forest on October 8, 1918, when almost singlehandedly he killed 25 Germans, took 132 prisoners, and knocked out 35 machine guns — a feat that Marshall Ferdinand Foch, Commander of the Allied Armies, labeled as "the greatest thing accomplished by any private soldier of all armies of Europe." York's name became a household word in America. Awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor and many other decorations and deluged with many opportunities to capitalize financially on his fame, he chose to return to his home in the Tennessee hills, marry and raise a family, and strive to improve the lives of his neighbors. This "modesty and his devotion to his people," says scholar Robert McGaw, "magnified the legend that he became."
The historic York Farm includes approximately 16 acres of land, nine outbuildings, and the 2 story, hip-roofed, white-painted frame house that Alvin York built in 1922 with funds raised gratefully by the Nashville Rotary Club and the Nashville Banner. In good condition, the dwelling was York's home until his death in 1964. Except for his general store (now a soon-to-be-moved post office), a nearby house in which he lived for just 2 years (1920-22), and a church that he helped build, this is the only extant structure prominently associated with York.
Alvin Cullom York was born December 13, 1887, in Pall Mall, Tenn., where he spent all his life except the 18 months he served in the U.S. Army during World War I. Pall Mall, located in Fentress County, was a typical mountain community of the era, largely isolated from the currents of change and offering little in the way of formal education. After completing the equivalent of a third grade education, Alvin went to work as a farm hand and helper in his father's blacksmith shop. In 1911 his father died, and Alvin found himself the sole support of his mother and three younger brothers and sisters. A somewhat dissolute youth who loved drinking and gambling, he soon underwent a religious experience and became one of the leading members of the Church of Christ and Christian Union.
When the United States entered World War I in April 1917, Alvin was swinging a sledgehammer on a highway construction project for $1.65 a day. When drafted, he considered becoming a conscientious objector because his church opposed war and killing, but after wrestling with his conscience, he decided to accept induction. Entering the Army on November 4, 1917, he took his basic training at Camp Gordon, Ga. Probably because of his crack marksmanship, he was assigned to the 82nd or "All America" Division, composed of men from all States of the Union and descendants of all the nationalities making up the Allies. On May 1, 1918, he sailed with his comrades for France, and soon after his arrival he was promoted to corporal.
Alvin York left his imprint on the annals of American military valor on October 8, 1918, in the Battle of the Argonne Forest. He was part of a 17-man detail which was sent to knock out German machine guns. When his unit came under enemy fire, nine of York's companions were either killed or wounded, including the sergeant in charge. Cpl. York assumed command and fought virtually a one-man battle against the enemy. He picked off eight Germans with eight rifle shots and wiped out a seven-man patrol with his automatic pistol. Biographer Sam K. Cowan paraphrased York's description of the scene; "When I seed a German, I jus' tetched him off," said York. When the Germans surrendered to York, it was discovered he had killed 25 enemy soldiers. In addition he took 132 prisoners and captured 35 machine guns. Although York's feat had no great impact on the eventual American victory in the Argonne Forest, his individual effort was unequaled, and the recognition that he received was unparalleled for an enlisted man. When York died in 1964, the New York Times described him as a "latter-day descendant of the American frontier, a plain-talking, no nonsense sharpshooter" and "for an America fighting its first war on foreign soil ... the perfect hero."^ On November 1, only 10 days before the war ended, he was promoted to sergeant, and on April 11, 1919, York received the Congressional Medal of Honor. Eventually, he was the recipient of nearly 50 decorations both at home and abroad.
When Sgt. York returned to the United States in May 1919, he received a hero's welcome and was showered with gifts and proposals of marriage. In New York City the members of the Stock Exchange carried him about on their shoulders, and in Washington he received treatment usually reserved for foreign dignitaries. On May 19, 1919, he was discharged at Fort Ogelthorpe, Ga. Although he received many offers—including $75,000 for a movie of his life to be filmed in part in the Argonne Forest — to capitalize financially on his exploits, he turned them down on the "simple reasoning," says Robert McGaw, "that he had served his country as his duty, not for money, and the uniform was not for sale." After his return to Pall Mall, York married his sweetheart Gracie Williams in a ceremony performed by Tennessee Governor A. H. Roberts before 2,000 people. Eventually, he accepted a 396-acre farm near Pall Mall from the people of Tennessee and there raised seven children.
In the years that followed, York devoted much of his time to raising money for better schools in his Cumberland Mountain region. He also helped get a new highway to replace the mountain trail that passed through Pall Mall. In 1936 he was offered the Prohibition party's Vice Presidential nomination, but he turned it down. In 1940 he signed a contract for a movie based on his life. Released in 1941, it was immensely successful, winning its star, Gary Cooper, his first Academy Award. Despite his earlier opposition to the draft, York during World War II served as Chairman of the Fentress County Draft Board. In 1942 he was made a major by act of Congress and placed on the retired list. After a stroke in 1949, his health progressively deteriorated. On September 2, 1964, Sergeant York died at the Veterans Hospital in Nashville, Tenn."
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