Editing Brownsville, Tennessee (section)

==History==
Brownsville was a trading center that developed in association with cotton plantations and commodity agriculture in the lowlying Delta of the [[Mississippi River]] around [[Memphis, Tennessee]] and West Tennessee. It is located north of the [[Hatchie River]], a tributary of the Mississippi, which originally served as the main transportation routes to markets for cotton. The land was developed by planters for cotton plantations, and worked by large numbers of enslaved persons of African ancestry who made up a majority of the town and county population.

=== Early history and settlers ===
Brownsville was designated the county seat of Haywood County by the legislature on October, 16, 1824, and the town was legally incorporated in 1826.<ref name=":4" /> The town was named for General Jacob Jennings Brown due to a local legend that he has established a trading post just southeast of what is now the town square prior to the treaty with the [[Chickasaw]] people allowing settlement in Western Tennessee.<ref name=":4" /> Fifty acres of land were deeded for Brownsville on December, 14 1825 for a sum of one dollar and the choice of lots.<ref name=":4" /> By 1832, Brownsville had grown to a population of 400. The town continued to flourish until the [[Panic of 1837|major financial depression of 1837]]. Only two of the town's ten stores survived this period.<ref name=":4" /> During this time, the area was also struck with repeated flooding and a number of earthquakes.<ref name=":4" />

Bradford's Landing was founded in 1824 by brothers Hiram and Miles Bradford.<ref name=":15" /> Hiram would later establish the first cotton gin and store in Brownsville in 1825.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bradford's Landing Historical Marker |url=https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=53034 |access-date=2024-04-10 |website=www.hmdb.org |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":4" /> This storefront was later purchased by early Jewish settler Emil Tamm, and operated as Emil Tamm & Sons Department Store for 96 years.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lot Number 1 Historical Marker |url=https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=194089 |access-date=2024-04-10 |website=www.hmdb.org |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":7">{{Cite web |title=ISJL - Tennessee Brownsville Encyclopedia |url=https://www.isjl.org/tennessee-brownsville-encyclopedia.html |access-date=2024-04-10 |website=Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":15" /> 

The Tabernacle Campground was founded in 1826 by Reverend Howell Lewis Taylor and his five sons.<ref name=":15" /> This settlement contained Haywood County's first schoolhouse.<ref name=":4" /> It now serves as the site of an annual camp meeting for over 700 descendants of Taylor.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tabernacle Historical Marker |url=https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=52978 |access-date=2024-04-10 |website=www.hmdb.org |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Mozo |first=Jessica |date=2013-05-21 |title=Family Tradition: Taylors of Tabernacle Kinfolk Camp Meeting in Brownsville |url=https://tnhomeandfarm.com/tn-living/taylors-of-tabernacle-kinfolk-camp-meeting-brownsville/ |access-date=2024-04-10 |website=Tennessee Home and Farm |language=en-US}}</ref>

James Bond arrived in Brownsville in 1836 and acted as a benefactor for many of the city's institutions. Bond owned in excess of 17,000 acres in Haywood County alone and owned as many as 600 slaves.<ref name=":15" /><ref name=":8">{{Cite web |last=Rust |first=Randal |title=Bond, James |url=https://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entries/james-bond/ |access-date=2024-04-10 |website=Tennessee Encyclopedia |language=en-US}}</ref> He provided the land for the establishment of both Brownsville Baptist Female College in 1850 and Brownsville Baptist Church in 1870.<ref>{{Cite web |title=James Bond Historical Marker |url=https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=200701 |access-date=2024-04-10 |website=www.hmdb.org |language=en}}</ref> He also invested heavily in various mercantile ventures in Brownsville and the [[Memphis, Clarksville and Louisville Railroad|Memphis and Ohio Railroad]] which would connect Haywood County to Memphis upon its completion.<ref name=":8" /> During the Union occupation of Haywood County in June 1862, Bond swore loyalty to the Union.<ref name=":8" />

One of Brownsville's earliest Jewish settlers was Jacob Felsenthal who arrived in the United States in 1840 from Bavaria.<ref name=":15" /> He arrived in Brownsville in 1847 and opened a retail store by the name of Felsenthal Bros. and Sons. This store would later be renamed Felsenthal's Department Store and served the community until it was destroyed by a fire in 1980.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":7" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Felsenthal's Historical Marker |url=https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=194122 |access-date=2024-04-10 |website=www.hmdb.org |language=en}}</ref>

In the mid to late 19th century, German Jewish immigrants also settled in Brownsville. They founded a congregation in the 1860s, and built [[Temple Adas Israel]] in 1882.<ref name=":7" /> It is listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]]. The building is believed to be the [[list of the oldest synagogues in the United States|oldest synagogue]] in Tennessee,<ref>Carroll Van West, [http://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entry.php?rec=1303 "Temple Adas Israel"], ''Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture'', 2009.  Retrieved: February 15, 2013.</ref> and is a rare example of a synagogue built in the [[Gothic Revival]] style.<ref name=":4" /><ref>Marilyn Joyce Segal Chiat, ''America's Religious Architecture: Sacred Places for Every Community,'' John Wiley and Sons, 1997, p 296</ref>

The town is notable for its many well-preserved homes owned by wealthy planters before the Civil War, and multi-generational family-owned farms. Notable among these include James Bond's home, which was moved to nearby [[Dyersburg, Tennessee|Dyersburg]] in 1975,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Historic Preservation |url=https://www.haywoodheritage.org/historic-preservation |access-date=2024-04-10 |website=Haywood Heritage Foundation |language=en-US}}</ref> the Eader House constructed in 1865, which is now used as an event venue,<ref name=":9">{{Cite web |title=Tennessee Historic Event Venue |url=https://www.eaderhouse.com/venue |access-date=2024-04-10 |website=www.eaderhouse.com |language=en}}</ref> [[Lucerne (Brownsville, Tennessee)|Lucerne]], a former plantation constructed in 1855 which is now on the National Register of Historic Places, and the [[Joshua K. Hutchison House]], also on the National Register of Historic Places.<ref name=":4" />

=== Civil War ===
The Haywood Blues were organized in Brownsville in spring 1861, consisting of approximately 100 men and captained by G.C. Porter. This company was mustered into service in May 1861 and was assigned as Company A of the [[6th Tennessee Infantry Regiment|6th Tennessee Infantry]].<ref name=":16" /> This regiment, and likewise Company A, fought in the battles of [[Battle of Shiloh|Shiloh]], [[Battle of Perryville|Perryville]], [[Battle of Stones River|Stones River]], [[Battle of Chickamauga|Chickamauga]], [[Battle of Franklin|Franklin]], [[Battle of Nashville|Nashville]], and took part in the [[Atlanta campaign]].<ref name=":16" /> They were surrendered to United States forces in North Carolina.

The Haywood Rifles were also organized in Brownsville in spring 1861. The company consisted of around 100 men with Robert S. Russell served as captain. In May 1861 they were assigned their position as Company B of the [[9th Tennessee Infantry Regiment|9th Tennessee Infantry]].<ref name=":16" />

Company L of the 7th Tennessee Cavalry of the [[Confederate States Army|Confederate Army]] was organized in Brownsville in April 1862. Upon organization, James Allen Taylor served as captain, Alex Duckworth served as first lieutenant, and Frank Pugh served as third lieutenant.The unit consisted of roughly another 65 non-commissioned officers and privates.<ref name=":10">{{Cite web |title=Civil War Rosters from Haywood County, TN |url=http://genealogytrails.com/tenn/haywood/milcivcoL.html |access-date=2024-04-10 |website=genealogytrails.com}}</ref> The company remained in Brownsville until May 12, 1862 when they were ordered to report to [[Fort Pillow State Historic Park|Fort Pillow]], staying there until the fort's fall and then were ordered to report to Colonel [[William Hicks Jackson]]. In the fall of 1862, Taylor resigned as captain citing ill health and thus Duckworth was made captain in spring 1863. They continued under this regiment until the end of the war when it was surrendered by [[Nathan Bedford Forrest]] in May 1865.<ref name=":10" /> Brownsville and Haywood County produced many other companies to the secessionist army, including two to the 7th Cavalry, two to the 14th Cavalry, three to the 15th Cavalry, and four to the 9th Infantry.<ref name=":11">{{Cite web |title=Haywood County Tennessee Civil War Units Formed - Research OnLine |url=https://www.researchonline.net/tncw/county/haywood.htm |access-date=2024-04-10 |website=www.researchonline.net}}</ref>

Following President [[Abraham Lincoln|Abraham Lincoln's]] [[Emancipation Proclamation]], a known 112 African Americans of Brownsville and Haywood County joined the [[Union Army]] across 20 different regiments, primarily the [[3rd Regiment Heavy Artillery U.S. Colored Troops|3rd Regiment Heavy Artillery USCT]] and the 4th Regiment Heavy Artillery USCT.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Fighting for Freedom Historical Marker |url=https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=194093 |access-date=2024-04-10 |website=www.hmdb.org |language=en}}</ref> In addition, the area also produced one dedicated unit for the Union Army, a company for the [[13th Tennessee Cavalry Regiment (Union)|13th Cavalry]].<ref name=":11" /> Another company of about 60 men was raised for the Union in Haywood County by Captain J.L. Poston. The majority of these men were killed during the [[Battle of Fort Pillow|Fort Pillow massacre]].<ref name=":16" /> Despite the formation of these units and numerous prominent Unionists in the area at the time,<ref name=":16">{{Cite web |date=2016-06-25 |title=War – 1812 to 1865 – Haywood County TNGenWeb |url=https://tngenweb.org/haywood/war-1812-to-1865/ |access-date=2024-04-11 |language=en-US}}</ref> a monument dedicated solely to the Confederate dead was erected in 1909. There have since been calls to see the monuments removal, but no action has been taken by the county.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Haywood County Confederate Monument, a War Memorial |url=https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=194094 |access-date=2024-04-10 |website=www.hmdb.org |language=en}}</ref>

Numerous notable Brownsville residents fought in the conflict

* Alsey Hugh Bradford, member of the school board and son of the above mentioned Hiram Bradford, was a colonel in the 31st Tennessee Infantry for the Confederacy<ref name=":12">{{Cite book |last=McKenzie |first=Robert Tracy |title=One South Or Many?: Plantation Belt and Upcountry in Civil War-Era Tennessee |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2002 |isbn=9780521526111}}</ref><ref name=":15">{{Cite book |title=History of Haywood County Tennessee |publisher=Brownsville-Haywood County Historical Society |year=1989 |pages=1-234}}</ref>
* Hiram Bradford, was a lieutenant colonel in the Confederate Army<ref name=":12" />
* William Lafayette Duckworth, physician and Methodist minister, was a colonel in his brother's 7th Tennessee Cavalry<ref name=":10" /><ref name=":15" />
* Charles Eader, brother of Jonathan Eader, was killed in the Battle of Gettysburg while fighting for the Union<ref name=":9" />
* Jonathan Eader, owner of the Eader House and one of the founders of the Wesleyan Female College, was a member of the above mentioned Duckworth's Cavalry<ref name=":9" />
* Isaac Felsenthal, brother of Jacob Felsenthal, was killed at the Battle of Shiloh while serving in Nathan Bedford Forrest's cavalry<ref name=":7" /><ref name=":15" />
* Moses Felsenthal, brother of Jacob Felsenthal and the above Isaac Felsenthal, was a taken prisoner as a member of Nathan Bedford Forrest's cavalry<ref name=":15" />
* Joseph Felsenthal, brother of Jacob, Isaac, and Moses Felsenthal, was a member of Nathan Bedford Forrest's cavalry<ref name=":7" /><ref name=":15" />
* [[Benjamin J. Lea]], later [[Tennessee Attorney General|Attorney General of Tennessee]], was a colonel in the Confederacy's [[52nd Tennessee Infantry Regiment|52nd Tennessee Infantry]]<ref name=":13">{{Cite web |title=Haywood County's C.S.A. Colonels Historical Marker |url=https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=194154 |access-date=2024-04-10 |website=www.hmdb.org |language=en}}</ref>
* George C. Porter, state senator, was a colonel in the Confederacy's [[6th Tennessee Infantry Regiment|6th Tennessee Infantry]]<ref name=":13" />
* [[Robert V. Richardson]], Brownsville attorney, was a brigadier general in the Confederate Army<ref name=":13" />

=== Reconstruction ===
Through the late 19th century, whites worked to re-establish [[white supremacy|supremacy]] after Reconstruction and impose [[Jim Crow]] and second-class status on African Americans. Tennessee effectively [[disenfranchisement after the Reconstruction Era|disenfranchised most blacks]] in the state after the turn of the 20th century, excluding them from the political system and destroying what had been a competitive system. The state's congressional delegation and elected officials became predominantly white [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrats]] with the exception of [[East Tennessee]], where white Republicans formed the majority. The region of yeomen farmers had been mostly Unionist-leaning during the Civil War.

Brownsville was struck by the [[Lower Mississippi Valley yellow fever epidemic of 1878|yellow fever epidemic of 1878]].<ref name=":4" /> The city saw 844 reported cases of the disease and suffered more than 200 deaths.<ref name=":14">{{Cite web |title=Yellow Fever Historical Marker |url=https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=194149 |access-date=2024-04-10 |website=www.hmdb.org |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":4" /> Members of the [[Howard Association]] supplied much needed assistance to Brownsville during this time.<ref name=":14" /> Many victims of the epidemic were buried in Brownsville's Oakwood Cemetery. Due to the limited workforce available to bury each victim individually, several of them were buried in an unmarked mass grave.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Oakwood Cemetery – Brownsville, Tennessee |url=https://brownsvilletn.gov/live/oakwood-cemetary/ |access-date=2024-04-10 |language=en-US}}</ref>

===Lynchings===
From the late 19th into the early 20th century, whites lynched three African-American men in Brownsville, two in the 20th century.<ref name="AP">[https://www.cbsnews.com/news/tennessee-lawyer-trying-to-solve-1940-slaying-of-naacp-member/ Associated Press, "Tennessee lawyer seeks justice in 1940 slaying of NAACP member"], CBS News, June 22, 2015; accessed June 4, 2018</ref>

In 1939, with Haywood County's black majority<ref name="mitchell">"Elbert Williams", Letter M. Mitchell to Walter White, NAACP, July 1, 1940, Letter from Mitchell to NAACP headquarters-tab, Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Clinic, Northeastern University School of Law, 2017</ref> disenfranchised, a number of blacks in Brownsville founded a local [[NAACP]] chapter. They worked to assert their right to register and vote in the presidential election of 1940. In June 1940 threats were made against the group, and Elisha Davis was kidnapped by a large white mob. They demanded the names of NAACP members and their plans. He fled town, followed by his family, losing his successful service station and all their property.<ref name="neu">[http://nuweb9.neu.edu/civilrights/elbert-williams/ "Elbert Williams"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170204011022/http://nuweb9.neu.edu/civilrights/elbert-williams/|date=February 4, 2017 }}, Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Clinic, Northeastern University School of Law, 2017.</ref>

On June 20, 1940, [[Elbert Williams]], secretary of the NAACP chapter, and Elisha's brother Thomas Davis were questioned by police. Thomas Davis was released,<ref name="neu"/> but Williams was never seen alive again. His body was found in the [[Hatchie River]] a few days later, with bullet holes in his chest.<ref name="neu"/> He is considered to be the first NAACP member to have been [[Lynching|lynched]] for civil rights activities; he is the last recorded lynching victim in the state.<ref name="enc">[https://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entries/lynching/  Kathy Bennett, "Lynching"], ''Tennessee Encyclopedia'', 2017/updated 2018</ref> Several other NAACP members were run out of town by police, fearing for their lives.<ref name="neu"/><ref name="blackpast">[http://www.blackpast.org/aah/williams-elbert-1908-1940 Jim Emison, "Williams, Elbert (1908–1940)"], Black Past website</ref>

[[Thurgood Marshall]] of the NAACP conducted an investigation of Williams' murder and appealed to the [[United States Department of Justice|Department of Justice]] to prosecute the case, providing affidavits of witnesses. [[FBI]] agents were sent to the town in September to protect blacks wanting to register to vote, but the local people were fearful because there had been no prosecution of Williams' killers. In October 1940, ''[[The Crisis]]'', the magazine of the NAACP, reported that no blacks registered to vote.<ref>"FBI Says It Protected Brownsville Citizens"], ''The Crisis'', October 1940, p. 324</ref> Thomas Davis and his family moved North and resettled in [[Niles, Michigan]].<ref name="neu"/> The DOJ closed the Williams case in 1942.<ref name="AP"/>

In 2015, a historical marker honoring Elbert Williams was dedicated in Brownsville.<ref name="blackpast"/>