Editing Estill Springs, Tennessee (section)

==History==

===Founding===
[[Mineral spring]]s in the area had long been known to the [[Cherokee]] people of the region. Before they settled here, varying cultures of [[indigenous peoples of the Americas|indigenous peoples]] had lived in the area for thousands of years.

The European-American town dates from ''circa'' 1840, when the Frank Estill family, which owned considerable property in the area, donated a right-of-way for railroad construction. The combination of [[mineral water]]s, which were much in vogue as a health remedy at the time, and convenient rail access caused the settlement to develop as a small-scale [[spa town]], which took its name from the springs. Oscar Meyer was appointed the first mayor of Estill.<ref name="coc">[https://www.franklincountychamber.com/index.php/about-franklin-county/cities/estill-springs Estill Springs, Tennessee] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151031060349/http://franklincountychamber.com/index.php/estill-springs-topmenu-6|date=October 31, 2015}}, Franklin County Chamber of Commerce website.  Accessed: December 31, 2022.</ref>

===Civil War era===
During the [[American Civil War|Civil War]], the town was generally known as "Allisonia", for another family which had settled in the area. It was the site of a Confederate training camp, Camp Harris, named for [[Isham G. Harris]], the [[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] governor of Tennessee, who was a native of the county. Southern forces retreated through the town during the 1863 [[Tullahoma Campaign]], named for the nearby community which served as Confederate headquarters.<ref name=coc />  The remains of a civil war era bridge foundation are still viewable adjacent to the Beth Page bridge that crosses the Elk River.

===Twentieth century to present===
Following Reconstruction, whites in the county worked to maintain dominance over [[freedmen]]. They committed violence against African Americans perceived to violate social norms. Based on a conflict with local whites in the small town, who appeared to resent his family's relative success, [[Jim McIlherron]] was reported to have shot at three young white men who were taunting him. After trying to escape, McIlherron was captured and taken back to Estill Springs. He was lynched by a white mob on February 4, 1918, whose members tortured him with burning before his death. Rev. G.W. Lych, believed to have helped McIlherron escape, was shot to death before this.<ref>[https://tullahoma.wordpress.com/2010/03/09/1918-estill-springs/ Walter F. White, "N. A. A. C. P. INVESTIGATION", February 1918]</ref> These two murders were among three recorded lynchings in Franklin County through the early 20th century.<ref>[https://eji.org/sites/default/files/lynching-in-america-third-edition-summary.pdf ''Lynching in America, Third Edition: Supplement by County''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171023063004/https://eji.org/sites/default/files/lynching-in-america-third-edition-summary.pdf |date=October 23, 2017 }}, p. 9, Equal Justice Initiative, Mobile, AL, 2017</ref>

The fad for bathing in and drinking spring waters eventually passed. Local lore has it that the long-awaited construction of [[U.S. Route 41 Alternate (Monteagle-Hopkinsville)|U.S. Route&nbsp;41A]] through the town in 1940 caused the springs to dry up. The spa era passed by mid-century, and the hotels were razed. The new highway connected the town to sources of employment in neighboring communities, and gave it a strategic position on the main artery between [[Nashville, Tennessee|Nashville]] and [[Chattanooga, Tennessee|Chattanooga]]. The development of local lakes through dam construction by the [[Tennessee Valley Authority]] generated recreational business as well.<ref name=coc />

During the time of [[Volstead Act|Prohibition]], Estill Springs was home to prominent local mobster and bootlegger Parker Jones. Parker and his gang took advantage of the heavily wooded terrain to distill their bootleg booze. Parker and his men also used Estill as their primary logistics hub to traffic the booze through Middle Tennessee, [[Alabama]] and [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]]. Jones remained in Estill for several years, "owning" mayors, city councilmen, and police officers. The government dispatched dozens of revenue agents to arrest him and his men. However, when they finally arrived at his hideout, they found nothing and Parker was never seen in Estill again.{{citation needed|date=October 2015}}

The "Yellowhammer's Nest", the turn-of-the-century home of noted Tennessee author [[Will Allen Dromgoole]], was destroyed by fire in 1972.<ref>Kathy Lyday-Lee, "[https://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entry.php?rec=400 Will Allen Dromgoole]," ''Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture''. Retrieved: October 18, 2015.</ref>