Frog Jump, located on the west side of Crockett County, is bounded by the South Fork of the Forked Deer River on the west and Black Creek on the east. This long, narrow, irregular strip of land extends all the way across the southwestern end of the county. Legend has it that the area derived its name from the notion that a frog is supposed to be able to jump from the river to the creek in one leap.
Frog Jump has always been divided into two communities, Upper and Lower Frog Jump. The name of the Upper end was long ago changed to Murry’s Chapel community and the name “Frog Jump” is most often used now to refer to the Lower, which is the westernmost section.
The first instance of the name “Frog Jump”, so far as can be determined at this point, appearing in print occurred in 1874, when the county paper correspondent from Johnson’s Grove reported the following:
We had the pleasure, not long since, of attending a frolic in the neighborhood known by the aristocratic name of “Frog Jump”. We passed the evening very pleasantly notwithstanding the dance was a little on the “puncheon floor” style. The rural lasses were there in all their magnificence, innocence and beauty. The hospitable old gentleman busied himself making the young folks enjoy themselves, while his hale old wife was all smiles. We “tripped the light fantastic” until the rising sun reminded us of the duties of the coming day. (Crockett County Sentinel, March 20, 1874).
The community had been settled (though somewhat sparsely) long before that time and had one public building, originally named the Moore School House but referred to, usually, as the “Old Frog Jump School House”. It was a one-room log building with a dirt floor and with wooden shutters instead of glass at the windows. This building was used not only as a school but also as a house of worship, perhaps by various denominations. When the newer Parker’s School House was built, sometime around 1890, the old building was used for all church activities: Sunday School, preaching, and funerals. It soon decayed to the point, however, that it was used only for storage, and the area had no public place for worship for several years.
Gilliland’s School, with grades one through eight, was the last one located in Frog Jump and went out of existence in the 1950’s. For a few decades, there was usually only one store there; in recent years, however, there has been an expansion in business activities: William Gilliland has a grocery store, J. L. Garrett a service station, and Mr. And Mrs. O. D. Fincher the 88 Dairy Bar.
The preceding article was contributed to this web page, with permission of the Crockett County Historical Society, by Natalie Huntley.
This information was taken from an article that was compiled and written by Maxine Mayo, and, published in the book”Crockett County Courthouse Centennial, 1874 – 1974″ , prepared by the Crockett County Historical Society.
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