THE OLD REED HOUSE
JOSEPH REED: HENDERSON COUNTY'S FIRST SETTLER
In 1817 Joseph Reed, along with his 2 sons, traveled west from Georgia looking for a new home. It is believed that they travelled along the Tennessee River until they ran across the Beech River in present day Henderson County. After
floating along the Beech River they noticed a nice bluff upon which seemed a good place to start a new life. Leaving his two sons, William and Jack, in the care of a tribe of friendly Indians, Joseph headed back east to get the rest of his family. When h
e returned the next year the family built a cabin at the top of the bluff. Hauling pine logs from "Pine Knob" in the present day Stringtown community, a couple of miles away, they erected a cabin, the 1st in Henderson County, which would still be standin
g nearly two centuries later. In 1931, the kitched wing of the house was detached and moved to the back of the yard. The house then had clapboard siding attached and a new metal roof put on, but the basic structure, built by Joseph Reed, is still intact i
nside the clapboard siding.
This is a view of the "kitchen", where it stands now, in the back of the yard. Notice the pine log construction.
An old shed at the Reed place. It's been there a long time!
This TNGenWeb Project website is hosted by USGenNet, a nonprofit web-hosting service solely supported by tax-deductible donations. If this website has provided you with useful information, please consider making a donation to USGenNet to help keep websites like this online.