| Sources |
- [S94] Sevier County, Tennessee Census, family 816 page 444a, line 34, 14 Oct 1850.
ftp://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/census/tn/sevier/1850/pg0433b.txt
- [S106] The Mountain Press, 10 Sep 2017.
Upland Chronicles: Glen Alpine was a popular resort on English Mountain
Carroll McMahan
Looming above the northwest section of Sevier County is beautiful English Mountain. Many people ask how English Mountain got its name. English Mountain was likely named for an individual, perhaps James English from Cocke County. A mid-19th century source refers to the place as English’s Mountain. Northeast of English Mountain is English Creek, a tributary to the Pigeon River near Newport, that appears in the vicinity of where James English once lived.
Visible from parts of Cocke, Jefferson and Sevier counties, including Douglas Lake and Interstate 40, the easily identifiable mountain is now dotted with condos and houses built on an area where an almost forgotten resort once stood. Glen Alpine was as well known in the late 1800s as more recognizable “watering hole” resorts in Sevier County such as DuPont Springs, Line Springs, Henderson Springs and Seaton Springs.
On June 8, 1898, the Montgomery Vindicator reported the season opening of Glen Alpine Hotel on English Mountain near the Sevier-Jefferson county line. The resort consisted of a rambling 50-room hotel and 58 guest cottages. The front page article stated, “Anyone seeking health or pleasure can find no better place than Glen Alpine.”
Commonly known as Yellow Springs, Glen Alpine was one of Sevier County’s most fashionable resorts in its day. It was located on the south slope of English Mountain about 18 miles from Sevierville and 4 miles above Byrd’s Crossroads. At the time it was built, around the mid-1880s, the mailing address for the property was Fox, Tennessee. Built by Gilbert Cannon and J.B. Brabson, the first manager was Judge Samuel M. Hammer and later Annie Murphy and L.B. Karns operated the place. The resort was billed as “a safe retreat from the busy world and the friction that wears on life.”
Seven mineral springs, bubbling out of rocks at an altitude of 3,000 feet, and a breathtaking panoramic view were the main attractions. The waters of these springs, which included Epsom salt, iron, sulphur and magnesium, were used by guests for medicinal purposes; often on recommendation of their physician. Guests would walk from one spring to another and drink cups of water from each.
Reached by hack from Sevierville, one day the hack would meet the train in Newport, the next day it would meet those traveling by boat at Dandridge. The cottages were privately owned by individual families and many people camped near the resort with absolute faith in the renewing effects in the water and mountain air.
The resort was also known for its social life. Young people played games on the sloping lawn. Children and adults alike drank the waters. A barn dance was a regular Saturday night affair. There was an outside pavilion, croquet grounds and horseback trails.
For those guests who enjoyed alcoholic beverages, there were several moonshiners in the immediate vicinity who were always willing to supply their requests. Management simply ignored the transactions that took place.
Indian legends say the springs were the “Fountains of Eternal Youth” sought by Spaniards who were diverted by the Great Spirit to the swamps of Florida and Louisiana.
After the first successful season, Brabson and Cannon sold the hotel to Judge J.T. Logan and associates of Knoxville. Logan retained Judge Samuel M. Hammer of Boyd’s Creek to handle day-to-day operations of the resort for several years. Hammer was a son of Dr. Jonathan Hammer who owned and operated Hammer House, a boarding house in Sevierville which he also used as his office.
Judge Hammer’s daughter Mamie packed her trunk full of clothes for the season at Glen Alpine. Along the way, the trunk fell from the rear of the family carriage into the French Broad River near where Hodges Ferry later operated, leaving the young lady without a change of clothes when she arrived for the summer.
Another one of Judge Hammer’s daughters was Nelle, who later married Roy Brasher, and became a well-be-loved teacher at Sevier County High School.
Fire destroyed Glen Alpine Hotel in 1902. It was said the flames were visible 20 miles. The rambling building was reduced to ashes in a matter of a few hours, leaving the area to wild deer, pheasants and turkeys.
Later owners of the Glen Alpine site and numerous adjoining acres of English Mountain were J.B. and Myrtle Waters. Then, Frank Elwyn Latta and his wife acquired the property where the hotel stood. He was interested in establishing the spot for wildlife preservation.
Latta, a real estate developer and naturalist, was interested in the history of the property. In the late 1940s, he made an effort to chronicle as much of the natural and cultural history as he could find. He wrote of the scene from the top of English Mountain: “If there is a more magnificent view anywhere in this region, in or out of the National Park, it has not yet met the eye of civilized man. Eastern America has nothing to equal or surpass it.”
Later, Latta sold the property to Gatlinburg Development Corporation. Today, the refreshing mineral springs continue to rise from the rocks, but nothing is left of once thriving Glen Alpine resort.
Carroll McMahan is the Special Projects Facilitator for the Sevierville Chamber of Commerce and serves as Sevier County Historian.
- [S94] Sevier County, Tennessee Census, District 5, Page 3, Family 17, 4 Jun 1870.
- [S94] Sevier County, Tennessee Census, 472B, 1880.
Census Place: Boyds Creek, Sevier, Tennessee
Source: FHL Film 1255278 National Archives Film T9-1278 Page 472B
Relation Sex Marr Race Age Birthplace
Samuel HAMMER Self M M W 32 TN
Occ: School Teacher Fa: TN Mo: TN
Bettie HAMMER Wife F M W 29 TN
Occ: Keeping House Fa: TN Mo: TN
Willie HAMMER Son M S W 8 TN
Fa: TN Mo: TN
Mc Kindry HAMMER Son M S W 6 TN
Fa: TN Mo: TN
Mary HAMMER Dau F S W 2 TN
Fa: TN Mo: TN
- [S34] In the Shadow of the Smokies, Smoky Mountain Historical Society, (1993), 264.
(Judge)
- [S147] Find a Grave, (Memorial: 45617407).
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