Lyons Family Homeplace Carriage Mounting Block ~ Surgoinsville, Tennessee
N 36° 28.860 W 082° 50.160
17S E 335528 N 4038867
A carriage mounting block in front of the Lyons family home built in 1891 in Surgoinsville, Tennessee.
Waymark Code: WM12WG0
Location: Tennessee, United States
Date Posted: 07/26/2020
Views: 7
I came across this carriage mounting block several years ago and was aware of the big dog behind the fence and I declined to post anything about it without consent from the homeowner. Last Sunday my geocaching partners and I were in the area photographing old cemeteries for findagrave and I stopped and spoke with the homeowner and got permission to photograph this carriage mounting block that was built by her grandfather. This home was built by her great grandfather in 1891, and he was a farmer and a merchant that owned and operated the historic Lyons' Store, which is a Hawkins County landmark. So I explain that I photograph old cemeteries and these carriage mounting blocks differ from the horse mounting blocks and are normally only found in cemeteries and around prominent family homes. She told me a little about her great grandfather and about the Lyons Store about a half mile from this location, and that there is another carriage mounting block on that property on a hill above the old store. I returned today to photograph the old store and it's spring house, and attempt to locate the carriage mounting block on the hill. If it's where I think it is, it will have to wait until this winter when the foliage is gone. What I know about Surgoinsville is it was established in 1815 and Lyons Store is a Hawkins County landmark.
Lyons Store is a two story brick on limestone block foundation building I believe to have been built circa 1830. The spring house, which is larger than an average spring house as this would have been the cold storage for Lyons Store is made from limestone blocks. There is a large oak tree above the spring, and the carriage mounting block is likely in that general area, which is a bramble at this time. (N 36° 28.633 W082° 50.486)
This carriage mounting block in front of the Lyons family homeplace is made of poured concrete and the steps, which there are two are connected to the mounting block with a space underneath them. The landing that leads up to the steps is a very large slab of limestone about eight feet long by two and a half feet wide. I believe there once was another mounting block here and the present one is from circa 1920.
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