| Sources |
- [S47] Sevier County, Tennessee and its Heritage, Sevier County Heritage Book Committee, (1994, Don Mills, Inc.), 68.
- [S106] The Mountain Press, 4 Feb 2013.
Upland Chronicles: River rechanneled to prevent flooding
CARROLL McMAHAN
Court Avenue at the corner of Commerce Street and Court Avenue on March 12, 1963.
Corner of Bruce Street and Court Avenue on Jan. 31, 1957. Curiously, the street sign is turned incorrectly.
An aerial view of downtown Sevierville on March 6, 1963; six days later the town was hit another flood with even higher waters.
On May 2, 1966 a groundbreaking ceremony was held for Sevierville’s Flood Protection Program. The project consisted of widening, rechanneling, removal of debris and deepening the two forks of the Little Pigeon River.
Throughout its history the town of Sevierville had suffered the consequences of periodical disastrous floods. While oral tradition maintains that floods affected the town from its earliest days, the oldest record of a major flood was recorded on March 7, 1867 at 16.5 stage feet. The largest Sevierville flood ever recorded was on Feb. 25, 1875 at 18 feet.
During the 1875 flood the McNutt Bridge over the east fork of the Little Pigeon was destroyed by the raging waters. It was replaced with the Harrisburg Covered Bridge.
On April 1, 1896 a flood measuring 16.8 damaged most businesses in downtown Sevierville along with many dwellings.
Another devastating flood occurred on April 2, 1920. This time the official recorded flood level was 16 feet. Since the height of the flood was at night much of the business goods in downtown Sevierville were lost.
Ray Sharp cut a notch measuring 19 inches off the floor on the showcase at Sevierville Hardware, beginning a custom that continued every time a flood occurred. The Knoxville, Sevierville and Eastern Railroad track was badly damaged between Sevierville and Ewing Station (near the current site of Sevierville Convention Center).
On June 29, 1928 another flood reached a high level of 15.4 feet. Although the flood on Aug. 5, 1938 was a moderate one in Sevierville, eight lives were lost when a cloudburst hit the Webb Mountain in the Pittman Center area. Alfred Ball and his wife Lona McCarter Ball perished along with their sons: Glenn, 11; Alfred Jr., 6; Dallas, 2 and Harold, 3 months. Jessie Evans and his wife, Eula Whaley Evans, were also victims of the same flood.
Both prongs of the Little Pigeon River once again overflowed on Jan. 31, 1957. The crest which came around midnight in Sevierville was 14.7 feet. Extreme damage was sustained in the basement of the Post Office on Bruce Street. Water filled the basement within 9 inches of its ceiling.
On Wednesday, March 6, 1963 another flood measuring 14.7, occurred causing extensive damage to downtown businesses and residences. But the worst was yet to come! While residents were still cleaning up from the March 6 flood, a second flood hit the following Tuesday.
The March 12 flood crest was a foot higher than the one the week before. Water levels reached the tops of the parking meters on Court Avenue. The rear wall of Cliff Davis Motor Co. collapsed causing extensive damage, and almost all the homes in Love Addition were evacuated.
The event garnered attention from national news sources such as Associated Press, United Press and major television networks. Also, the town was declared a disaster area by the Small Business Administration, allowing owners of affected businesses an opportunity to receive a loan at 3 per cent interest to be paid back in 20 years.
After years of trying to solve Sevierville’s flooding, 1st District Congressman Jimmy Quillen organized a meeting with Mayor Jimmie Temple, City Recorder E.T. King and J.B. Waters. The city agreed to provide the right of way for rechanneling and to keep river banks clear of all debris.
Before the flood control work began another flood hit on Friday, March 26, 1965. This time the flood level was recorded at 16.1 feet, the highest since 1920.The headlines of the April 1 edition of the Sevier County News-Record read: “High water hits Sevierville third time in two years — all in March.”
The same issue of the paper carried a story stating that Rep. Quillen told the newspaper by phone on the previous Tuesday that the TVA flood project was assured. Congress approved the appropriations bill that included the funding later that year. But another flood occurred on February 13, 1966 before ground was broken for the project.
Before the plan was implemented, TVA conducted a study to determine what measures could be taken to alleviate the problem for Sevierville and the entire Little Pigeon River watershed. In 1964, TVA submitted a draft Comprehensive Plan. One option recommended a Channel Improvement Project which would widen 2.8 miles of the east prong.
In addition the lower .7 mile of the west prong would be relocated away from the central business district moving the “forks” where the east and west prongs join about 2,300 feet downstream. The lower limits of the channel work would end three miles upstream from the French Broad River. The cost of the project was estimated at $2, 440,000.
TVA also submitted a second plan called the Three Reservoir Plan. This plan included a dam at Richardson’s Cove on the middle prong, a dam on the east fork that would hold the waters of Wilhite, Dunn and Dixon branches and a dam on Waldens’s Creek. In addition to flood control, this plan included recreational and shoreline development benefits along with additional sources for municipal water.
The estimated cost of the Three Reservoir Plan was $9 million. The committee voted to adopt the less expensive Channel Improvement Plan. Completed in 1967, the improved channel carried all floods inside the banks until March 28, 1994 when flood waters overflowed but due to the extensive work the damage was minimal compared to past floods.
— Carroll McMahan is the Special Projects Facilitator for the Sevierville Chamber of Commerce. The Upland Chronicles series celebrates the heritage and past of Sevier County. If you have suggestions for future topics, would like to submit a column or have comments; please contact Carroll McMahan at 453-6411 or email to cmcmahan@scoc.org; or Ron Rader at 604-9161 or email to ron@ronraderproperties.com.
- [S106] The Mountain Press, 24 Aug 2013.
Upland Chronicles: Eight people perished in 1938 flash flood
CARROLL MCMAHAN
Mourners gathered at the graveside of Alfred Ball, his wife, and their children on August 7, 1938.
On the night of Aug. 4, 1938, a disastrous cloudburst struck the mountains of Sevier County. A result of the torrential downpour was a swift, thunderous flash flood. It struck with such intensity that many people barely managed to escape with their lives.
The repressive heat and humidity of dog days did not deter a large turnout at the polls to cast their votes in the county election which was held that sultry Thursday preceding the disaster.
Among the voters who voted that day were Alfred and Lona McCarter Ball and their neighbors, Jesse and Eula Whaley Evans. They walked several miles to the polling place of Fair View. The Ball’s four children ranging in age from 3 months to 11 years went along with them.
The Ball family lived in a small modest house located in the Ball Hollow, about five miles from Pittman Center. Their two-year lease was up and they planned to move out the following week. The Evans couple lived in the Sutton Hollow, a mile further up the mountain.
After voting and visiting with friends and relatives, they began their long trek back home. Exhausted from the long walk and apprehensive about an approaching storm, Jesse and Eula Evans decided to spend the night with the Ball family and wait until the next morning to walk the last mile back to their house.
Throughout the hollows and hills relentless rain poured down in torrents and the wind blew at a furious velocity. Around midnight, the noise of the rain was suddenly drowned out by a terrifying roar that became louder and louder.
A mighty wall of water and debris came down swiftly demolishing everything in its path. Alfred Ball’s sister and her children, whose house was located up the hollow from Alfred’s, were hovered in their home when the water came nearly to their door. Although the house of Alfred’s uncle, Ossie Ball, was situated high upon a bank, his porch was torn away.
The family of Ossie Ball’s son Arch barley managed to escape by crawling through a back window when they heard the roar of water and planking clapping together. Their house was moved several feet and stopped by a stump and large rock.
Joe Green and his family managed to flee to safety only minutes before their home on Laurel Creek was swept downstream. Some of the others who lost their homes were Elijah Ramsey, Willard Parton, and Mrs. J.W Smelcer.
Destruction throughout the path of the storm was unbelievable; however those who lost only property and other possessions were thankful to escape with their lives. Those slumbering in the Alfred Ball home probably never knew what hit them. A wall of water, mud, and logs swept down the hollow and crashed through the house, tearing the occupants from their beds and hurling their bodies several miles downstream.
Ironically, in the Sutton Hollow where Jesse and Eula Evans resided not a single home was washed away. The heaviest rainfall struck at Shultz Hollow, a quarter of a mile below, and at Ball Hollow. Rock Springs Church of Christ was struck with such force that the building was torn from its foundation and completely demolished.
Destruction was everywhere. For miles downstream crops were destroyed and livestock were drowned. Although substantial losses were reported in Gatlinburg, damages were said to be greatest near Pittman Center.
Pittman Center was completely cut off when the bridges on the roads leading from Sevierville and Gatlinburg were washed away. Ball Hollow was isolated and transportation in and out of the hollow was impossible.
Dr. Robert F. Thomas was unable to drive his car through the washed-out roads and swollen creeks. He walked miles to visit patients. He and his wife carried bags of instruments and waded over a mile up the center of a creek to deliver a baby.
It was late Friday afternoon before Alfred Ball’s body was discovered, seven miles from his home. The bodies of Jesse and Eula Evans were found about 100 feet apart, a mile below the Ball house. The tiny body of infant Harold Ball was found by Henry Sizemore who saw his little red dress snagged on a limb,
By Saturday morning all the victims had been found except Lona McCarter Ball. Fifty CCC boys came to Ball Hollow to join the relatives and neighbors in searching for her body. They found her body later that day.
Scattered reports of the flood reached Sevierville early Friday morning. Unaware of extent of the tragedy, most people around the courthouse disregarded the repots of causalities as rumors and continued discussing the results from election held the previous day. Ernest R. Conner received more votes than his challengers a second term as county sheriff and George Allen was elected tax assessor.
But when the searchers began to bring the bodies to town, the truth became evident.
Experts said the flood was the result of a “blow out” in Webb Mountain caused by the cloudburst in the higher elevations of the Smokies. The excess water found its way into underground chambers, and the pressure caused the mountain to actually explode. The waters swept down from the mountainsides, swelling the creeks and rivers into raging torrents.
Jesse and Eula Evans were laid to rest on Saturday August 6 in the Shultz-Whaley Cemetery. Alfred Ball, his wife Lona, and their four children; Glenn, 11, Alfred Jr., 6, Dallas, 2, and Harold, 3 months were buried in a single grave in Clear Springs Cemetery on Sunday afternoon, August 7, 1938.
It was seventy-five years ago this month since the tragic cloudburst cut short the lives of eight people and left another fifty homeless.
Carroll McMahan is the special projects facilitator for the Sevierville Chamber of Commerce and serves as Sevier County Historian.
The Upland Chronicles series celebrates the heritage and past of Sevier County. If you have suggestions for topics, would like to submit a column or have comments, contact Carroll McMahan at 453-6411 or email to cmcmahan@scoc.org; or Ron Rader at 604-9161 or email to ron@ronraderproperties.com
- [S112] Census, 1900.
Name: Alfred Ball
Birthplace: Tennessee
Relationship to Head of Household: Son
Residence: Civil District 17, Sevier, Tennessee
Marital Status: Single
Race : White
Gender: Male
Immigration Year:
Father's Birthplace: Tennessee
Mother's Birthplace: Tennessee
Family Number: 114
Page Number: 6
Household Gender Age
Parent Isaac Ball M 43y
Parent Lettie A Ball F 38y
Ollie B Ball F 17y
Alfred Ball M 9y
Nancy A Ball F 7y
Isaac A Ball M 4y
Nellie Ball F 2y
James R Ball M 79y
- [S112] Census, 1920.
Name: Alfred Ball
Residence: , Sevier, Tennessee
Estimated Birth Year: 1901
Age: 19
Birthplace: Tennessee
Relationship to Head of Household: Son
Gender: Male
Race: White
Marital Status: Single
Father's Birthplace: Tennessee
Mother's Birthplace: Tennessee
Film Number: 1821762
Digital Folder Number: 4390948
Image Number: 00543
Sheet Number: 1
Household Gender Age
Parent Isaac Ball M 51y
Parent Lettie A Ball F 44y
Ollie B Ball F 27y
Alfred Ball M 19y
Allen Ball M 14y
Nellie Ball F 11y
Harrison Ball M 9y
Thomas Ball M 5y
Tishie Ball F 6m
- [S78] Atchley Funeral Home Records, Volume I, 1930-1954, Larry D. Fox, (Smoky Mountain Historical Society), 5 Aug 1938.
Ball, Alfred hus of Lona McCarter b. Jun 13, 1901 TN d. Aug 5, 1938Sev CoR12 f. Isaac Ball b. TN m. Lettie Anne Benson b. TN informant Mrs Sarah RolenSev CoR6 Clear Springs Cem Survivors: Gertrude-N Eula-Union City Martha-N Lucile-K Mrs Howard Frayer Sev.
- [S87] Death Certificate.
name: Alfred Ball
event: Death
event date: 05 Aug 1938
event place: Sevier Co., Tennessee
gender: Male
marital status: Married
race or color: White
age: 37
estimated birth year:
birth date: 13 Jun 1901
birthplace: Tenn.
spouse: Lona Mccarter
father: Isaac Ball
father's birthplace: Tenn.
mother: Lettie Annie Benson
mother's birthplace: Tenn.
occupation: Farmer
street address:
residence: Sevierville R 12
cemetery:
burial place: Clear Springs
burial date: 07 Aug 1938
informant:
additional relatives:
digital folder number: 4183432
image number: 1207
film number: 1876866
volume/page/certificate number: cn 18076
- [S34] In the Shadow of the Smokies, Smoky Mountain Historical Society, (1993), 561.
- [S58] Marriage Certificate.
Name: Isaac Ball
Event: Marriage
Event Date: 10 Sep 1888
Event Place: Cocke, Tennessee
Age:
Estimated Birth Year:
Father:
Father's Titles & Terms:
Mother:
Mother's Titles & Terms:
Spouse: L A Benson
Spouse's Titles & Terms:
Spouse's Age:
Spouse's Estimated Birth Year:
Spouse's Father:
Spouse's Father's Titles & Terms:
Spouse's Mother:
Spouse's Mother's Titles & Terms:
Reference Number:
Film Number: 956182
Digital Folder Number: 4485956
Image Number: 00410
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