Knox County has promoted and engaged in placemaking for three decades as an important part of fostering community identity, mutuality and quality of life, but somehow we have overlooked this place with its exquisite potential!
This property is part of and connects the
19th century Loveday Springs stage coach station
— most important relay between Knoxville and Sevierville
— reputedly the fastest coach service in the nation
— horses recovered on this farm from their grueling labor between shifts
and the 20th century Camel factory, aka “Factory on the Farm,”
— founded by WWI veteran Benjamin Alleman Bower, serial entrepreneur and owner of the 700-acre farm
— oldest and largest supplier of canvas products to U.S. DoD
— its tents have been crucial to the welfare of our veterans fighting overseas
— a dynamo for the rural economy
— employed primarily farmers giving them the extra income to keep their farms in the family
— pioneered flex time to accommodate periods of critical farm work
— early experiment with 4-day work week proved very popular with its work force.
ET History Center, Knox Heritage and TN Historical Commission have next to nothing about this.
I have been researching it over many weeks. We’ve published a comprehensive, well illustrated article about what we uncovered so far in our online journal Hellbender Press. We'll continue to fill the gaps as quickly as we can.
The article is intended to give you as complete a picture as now possible to make a well informed decision.
The article includes links to more detailed information and to the TV coverage of this case.
Thank you for your attention to this important issue.
Sincerely,
Wolf Naegeli, PhD
President
Foundation for Global Sustainability