Editing Harriman, Tennessee (section)

===Development of Harriman===
[[Image:Roane-street-commercial-block-tn1.jpg|thumb|Commercial block along Roane Street, built in the 1890s]]

Harriman is named for [[Walter Harriman (governor)|Walter Harriman]], a governor of [[New Hampshire]] whose son, Walter C. Harriman, was managing director of the East Tennessee Land Company. As a colonel (later general) in the [[Union Army]] during the [[American Civil War|Civil War]], he had traveled on foot through the area with his 11th New Hampshire Regiment and camped for several days on the Emory River near the future site of the city. An elderly local later told the directors that Harriman had said that the site would be the perfect place for a town, and based on this conversation, the directors chose the name of "Harriman".<ref>W. Calvin Dickinson, [http://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/imagegallery.php?EntryID=H024 Walter C. Harriman] in the Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture</ref>

The site of Harriman was chosen primarily for its proximity to Emory Gap, where the [[Cincinnati, New Orleans and Texas Pacific Railway|Cincinnati Southern Railway]] joined the [[East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia Railway]]. The city, platted on Christmas Day in 1889, was laid out in a grid pattern that conformed to the Emory's oxbow bend at the base of Walden Ridge. The block bounded by Roane, Walden, Morgan, and Clinton streets was set aside for the city's public buildings (this block is now the location of the city hall, library, and fire department). Lots in the heights around Cumberland and Clinton streets (now [[Cornstalk Heights]]) were substantially larger, as it was expected that the city's wealthy and professional-class residents would buy homes here. The areas along the river (Emory Street) were for mills and residential areas for skilled laborers.<ref name=benhart4>Benhart, pp. 86, 92-98.</ref>

The initial land auction for Harriman was held in late February 1890, and was attended by over 4,000 prospective buyers from across the nation. Several hundred lots were sold, raising over $600,000. The most expensive lots were along Roane Street and in what is now Cornstalk Heights, most of which sold for over $2,000 apiece, while the lots closer to the river typically sold for less than $500 apiece. Shortly after the initial auction, the company platted several more lots outside the city in what is now the Walnut Hills and Oak View neighborhoods for the city's wage workers.<ref name=benhart4 />