Mudville is one of several small communities that
developed in rural northeast
Shelby County as a
result of increasing growth during the period of
1870-1900.
These
communities often existed because of a convergence of
transportation routes and at least one or more of three
institutions: a church, a school, and/or a general
store. Mudville had all three as early as 1858, a
brush-arbor church existed in the community.
In 1885 J.H. and S.V. Sink transferred
property to the First District school
officials so that a public school could be
built. A story in The Commercial Appeal in
1908 identified the school as Muddville and
its teachers as D.H. King and Ora Moore.
Pleasant
Union Cumberland Presbyterian Church has
over 100 years of history. At first,
Mudville Presbyterian was the name of the
church. This was due to the location and to
please some of the faithful members. It has
been told that a huge mud hole was in front
of the church back in the 1880s and that is
when the name Mudville was given to the
church. The earliest record that has been
found was from 1867 when Mr. and Mrs. John
Sink, part of the Farley Hill family, became
the first couple to marry in the church.
The first building was erected some time
before 1867 and stood near the center of the
Mudville Cemetery facing south. In 1912, the
church was moved to the present location and
was remodeled under contractor William
McCreight, whose name runs throughout the
history of the church. In 1936, the church
was destroyed by fire due to a defect in the
coal stove used for heating. Everything was
burned and all church records were
destroyed. During the time the new building
was under construction, Sunday School
members met in various homes. In less than a
year, the church members erected the present
church
building.
On the north and south side of Pleasant
Union Cumberland Presbyterian Church are
situated two cemeteries – Rosemark Cemetery
and Mudville Cemetery. Located on the north
side, the cemetery known as both Mudville
and Pleasant Union has been in existence
since the mid-1880s. The church and cemetery
separated themselves legally and financially
several years ago, and the cemetery assumed
the name Mudville Cemetery.
Rosemark Cemetery was established in 1909.
The initial cemetery property was deeded to
Richland Associate Reformed Presbyterian
Church in 1907. Prior to the development of
the cemetery, Rosemark residents and church
members were most often buried in either
private family cemeteries, Salem A.R.P.
Cemetery or in the Mudville Cemetery. A
cemetery committee recommended the purchase
of two acres just south of Pleasant Union
Church on Brunswick Road. A plat was drawn
by T.C. McQuiston on linen cloth, and that
drawing remains in the hands of those who
oversee the cemetery. In 1976, a perpetual
care fund was established and is managed
through Richland A.R.P. Church.
Later Anthony Chapel School was built in the
area, west of Brunswick Road and just north
of Mulberry Road, to educate
African-American children from Mudville,
Barretville and Rosemark. In May, 2015, a
historical marker was dedicated by Historic
Archives of Rosemark and Environs, Inc. and
the Shelby County Historical Commission
stating:
"Anthony Chapel School, Greenwood AME Church
& Cemetery. At the turn of the 20th century,
John Wesley Stewart, an African-American
farmer, began lobbying for a school to
educate African-American children in the
Greenwood community. At the time the
children were either taught by itinerant
teachers or they walked to Tipton County
schools. In 1925 the community became part
of Shelby County in a boundary shift. In
1927 the family of Paul Barret, a county
school board member, sold a tract of family
land for the school. A year later a two-room
building was opened and named Anthony Chapel
Elementary School for Anthony R. Barret, an
early settler of the area and Paul Barret’s
grandfather. Near this site was the original
brush-arbor Greenwood Cemetery with graves
of individuals born before the 1865
Emancipation Proclamation."
Greenwood Church originated as a brush-arbor
church north of Mulberry Road in either 1874
or 1878.
A wood frame building which faced the east
was constructed. At that time, Mulberry Road
was a dirt road and the road to the church
was a steep trail. Due to the difficulty of
reaching the church grounds, the building
was torn down in 1924 and the lumber was
used to construct a new church at the
current site of the Greenwood A.M.E. Church
at 8017 Donnell Road, a more accessible
location.
A store owned by the Barrets that served the
families in the area was built at the
southeast corner of Brunswick Road and
Redwood Road. It was known as J.H. Barret &
Sons #5 Grocery Store and later operated by
others who lived in the area. The store had
the old grist mill brought over from the
original store, used to grind corn into corn
meal or chicken feed, depending on the
setting. Mr. Bernard Sorrells on Tracy Road
purchased the mill after its use was
discontinued.
Excerpts from the jacket of An
Illustrated History of the
People and Towns of Northeast
Shelby County and Southeast
Tipton County by Historic
Archives of Rosemark and
Environs (H.A.R.E.):
On October 19, 1818, the United
States Congress ratified the
treaty with the Chickasaw Nation
ceding West Tennessee to the
United States. What followed was
the creation of Shelby County
in1819 and, to its north, the
creation of Tipton County in
1823. Settlers followed quickly.
Along the border of Shelby and
Tipton counties small
communities developed around
churches, schools, and country
stores. This is the story of the
people who have lived there.
Over the last 180 years most of
the schools and some of the
towns of Northeast Shelby County
and South Central Tipton County
have disappeared. The churches
and cemeteries remain and the
land is still farmed.
This illustrated history
attempts to capture the stories
of those people and places where
they lived. Through a series of
articles and interviews, maps,
photographs, diaries, and
letters, you can experience the
people who lived on the farms
and worked in the towns of
Salem, Portersville, Idaville,
Kerrville, Armourtown, Bethel,
Tipton, Mudville, Macedonia,
Gratitude, Barretville, and
Rosemark. |
On June 14, 2013 the Rosemark Historic
District was placed in the National and
Tennessee Registers of Historic Places by
the National Park Service the United States
Department.
The Historic Archives of Rosemark and
Environs is a non-profit organization whose
mission is to document & preserve historic
information & items of the Rosemark region
for educational purposes. It is primarily
responsible for the creation of the Rosemark
Historic District. Please consider a tax
deductible contribution to help them
continue these efforts.
For more
information about H.A.R.E.
www.rosemarkhistoricdistrict.com
Or, on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/RosemarkHistoricDistrict
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