Knob Creek Historic District - Johnson City, TN - U.S. National Register of Historic Places on Waymarking.com

For the 10 buildings listed in the NRHP application, several have been demolished per the museum caretaker. The Charles Duncan 1 1/2 story log house, built in the late 1700s, and Bashor Mill (Waymark WM6PZT) are the primary buildings remaining near the museum. A couple homes in the district also exist.

The museum is open by appointment only within the season given below. Phone (423)282-1165 for arrange a time for the caretaker to be present.

From the HISTORY OF KNOB CREEK COMMUNITY by George and Margaret Holley from "Washington County Historical Association Speeches, 1987-1988"... as found in secondary website listed below.

Knob Creek was one of the earliest settlements in what is now East
Tennessee. Names of some of the settlers were John McMahan, Nicolas
Fain, Joseph Young, Charles Duncan, John Calahan, Pharoah Cobb Qilliam McBee, Peter Range, Isaac Hammer, John Miller, Joseph Bowman, William and Peter Reeves, Henry Bashor, Bill Melvin Michael Krouse, and John Carr. Some of these men fought in the Revolutionary War and received land grants. They have left their mark as some of their houses and a mill still stand today.

Knob Creek was a self-sufficient community with grist and flour mills a foundry, blacksmith shops, stores, a stage coach road and inn, post
offices, schools, and churches.

In the center of the community was the Knob Creek Brethren Church
Nearby was the Oak Hill School. The Knob Creek Brethren Church was the first Brethren church in the state of Tennessee, being established in 1799. The first Love Feast, which was communion by washing of the feet, breaking of the unleavened bread, and drinking of the wine, was held in Michael Krouse's house. Church services were held other times in homes until the log church was built in 1834. Deacon Joseph Bowman's home was built with removable panels in the two front rooms and was used for church meetings. The log church building was 50 feet by 36 feet with a council room addition of 16 feet by 18 feet. In 1844 an additional shed was built for the purpose of holding Tennessee's first Annual Meeting of the Brethren Churches. The chief ministerial force of the church was Daniel Bowman and Michael Krouse. The former preached in English and the latter in German. The first deacons were Joseph Bowman and John Bowman. The present church building was erected in 1905.

The 1790 the Rev. Samuel Doak and Hezikiah Balch organized the Hebron
Church at the head of Knob Creek. The first elders were John Blair
McMahan, Samuel Fain, and Adam Mitchell, Sr. The log building was also used as a school house. Eventually the Hebron congregation left the old log building on Knob Creek and relocated in Jonesborough. The name was changed to Jonesborough Presbyterian Church.

On Knob Creek Road a stone monument marks the home of William Nelson as "an ancient home of Methodists and Methodist preaching. Bishop
Asbury, an early Methodist bishop, held the annual conference here in
1793-1796-1797.

The Oak Hill School was built in 1886. Daniel Bowman sawed the lumber
for the school house in 1885 according to an old ledger. School was
held in this building until 1952. Education of the community's children was carried on at other times and places such as at Hebron and at a building near Peter Bowman's house which was a voting precinct, and at the Carr School and at McNeil School.

Alphaeus Dove was post master at Knob Creek (location unknown) from 29 July 1856 until 18 October 1859. A post office called Vineland was in Newton Alexander Patterson's home. He was a judge and an inventor. He invented the eagle wing propeller which was used in ships. The post
mistress was Mary Sue Reeves Patterson from 21 May 1892 until 30
November 1900.

The Old Stage Coach Road ran through the community and a stage coach
inn was located near the David Deaderick home. A road marker (milepost seven) marked seven miles to Jonesborough from what is now the entrance to Roundtree Subdivision.

Beginning at the headwaters of Knob Creek and locating all the
waterpowered machinery, it is obvious that the waters of the creek were reused many times. A dam and earthen water race provided power for a cotton spinning mill at the Deaderick place according to an article in Herald and Tribune by Paul Fink. Also, it is said a nail factory was located nearby. Word was handed down that the dam broke and nearly everything below it washed away. There was a three-story mill on the Joseph Bowman homestead. Below the mill was a power plant belonging to Daniel F. Bowman. Daniel B. Bowman had a sawmill and later also a power plant was located nearby. The Reeds had a grist mill below Oak Hill School. George Miller had several waterwheels using power for a machine shop, a saw mill, and a blacksmith shop. Henry Bashor's mill still stands and was built cat 1832. He married Elizabeth Bowman(?) a daughter of Deacon Joseph Bowman and Mary Hoss. A short distance further Bill Melvin's grist mill was located. The Peter Range Mill had two water wheels. The next mills were John Edens' and Buck Hale's near the mouth of Knob Creek.

Knob Creek was placed on the National Historical Register of Historical Places as a Historic District in 1986. Ten buildings and three cemeteries include the following: Jacob Krouse house, 1912; Homer Sell house, 1925; Henry Bashor Mill, 1832; Charles Duncan house, 1765: Duncan-Melvin Cemetery, prior to 1818; George Miller house. 1830-1890; Miller Cemetery, 18S9; Oak Hill School, 1886; Knob Creek Brethren Church, 1905; Knob Creek Cemetery, 1848, Bowman-Bond house, 1848, Peter Bowman house, 1907, Solomon Miller house, 1810.

Other old homes in the Knob Creek community include: Peter Miller
house, 1810; William Reeves house, 1840; Peter Miller Reeves house.
1846; Carr-Crumley house, 1790; Issac Hammer house, 1793; John Hammer
house (?); John Miller-Adam Sell house, 1788.

Old cemeteries include: Persinger, Knob Creek Church of the Brethren,
Bowman-Bond graveyard, Reed, Miller, Duncan-Melvin, Hunt, Brown-Peoples, Northington, Crumley, Krouse, Sell, Hammer. and Range.
Other abandoned burial sites also exist.

The 1905 the Carolina, Clinchfield, and Ohio Railroad (C.C.&O) was
built through the middle of the community and in 1969 Interstate 181
cut through the lower half of the once upon a time peaceful and serene countryside.

Sources of information:
1934 Minutes of the Annual Meeting of the Brethren Church
D.B. Bowman ledger
Bell Gardner Hammond in Herald and Tribune
Tennessee Historical Markers
Post Offices of Washington County
Paul Fink in Herald and Tribune
Community legend

The coordinates provided are for Bashor Mill as the set in the NRHP application appear to be in the middle of a field.

Street address: 1069 W. Oakland Ave. Bounded by Gray Station, Knob Creek, and Fair Ridge Rds Johnson City, TN USA 37604 County / Borough / Parish: Washington County Year listed: 1986 Historic (Areas of) Significance: Event, Architecture/Engineering Periods of significance: 1750-1799, 1925-1949 Historic function: Domestic, Funerary Current function: Domestic, Funerary Privately owned?: yes Season start / Season finish: From: 04/15/2009 To: 11/01/2009 Primary Web Site: [Web Link] Secondary Website 1: [Web Link] Hours of operation: Not listed Secondary Website 2: Not listed National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed

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