Van Buren County, Tennessee

Three records of early Rock Island history were written and have been lost.

1.  George W. Saunder's Diary entitled First Settlings at Rock Island and Surroundings was last owned by John Kelly Roberts of White County and was lost when his home burned.

2.  Thoss, a well educated young settler kept a diary.  He left it with a neighbor when he departed with the troops for New Orleans where he was killed in the battle with the British.  The writer has found no trace of it.

3.  General John B. Rodgers prepared and read a paper on the early history of Rock Island.  It was read at a meeting in the area.  Mrs. Jennie Hash Rucker said that her father and others were familiar with it.  It has not been found.

Hardly had the first settlers established their log homes along the western slopes of the Cumberland Plateau and in the Rock Island area before the first adventuresome peddlers found their way into the newly opened territory.  They traveled in their covered wagons drawn by two and some times four and even six horses.  It was customary to make the rounds twice a year.

A number of these early peddlers traded fine cotton thread in exchange for feathers.  This thread was used for the warp in finer weaving.  In order to increase business they paid a local housewife to act as their agent and look after the Feather Deposit. 

The foundation rocks of an old square log building were pointed out to the writer.  The site was directly across the road from Capt. Hash's house on the river side of the old Stage Road.  It was on a steep hillside.  There had been a large basement room for the storage of feathers and also the thread to be given in exchange.

Beeswax and even tallow were also used in trade.  A few women made feather fans, but most feathers were traded in bulk.  As time passed, roads became better and stores were established and the feather business gradually died out so that today there are but few people who can remember even hearing about the trade.

THE CIRCUS COMES TO ROCK ISLAND

However, they all had their pleasures as well as their trials and tribulations.  Picnics at Rock Island were always looked forward to and enjoyed to the fullest, but there was nothing to match the joy of both young and old when news came that the Circus was coming.  It usually played at McMinnville, then Rock Island and the next day at Sparta.  In those days, before there were railroads, the Circus traveled by wagon.

The show grounds at Rock Island were located on a level field near the old Miller farm on what is now the Bone Cave Road.  The field is on the left of the road at the top of the hill where the road turns down to the Blanks Bridge across Rocky River and to what used to be the Blank's Mill or as it was once called the Miller Mill.

Capt. Hash often told of one circus day that he remembered from his boyhood days.  The Circus came in August and an extremely hot August it was!  The elephant, the first that ever had been seen at Rock Island, an the monkeys were the chief attractions.  After playing at the Show Grounds the wagons started for Sparta.

Arriving at the Rock Island Ferry an over-optimistic elephant man tried to lead the animal on to the ferry boat.  The elephant refused to be lead.  Coaxing, pleading, pushing, pulling and cursing failed to move the elephant.  Finally the animal, being afraid of the ferry and probably being a little cross due to the hot weather, lunged forward and jumped into the river.  The cool water soothed the animal.  He lay on it's back and blew water over himself.

The elephant man tried every possible way to get the animal up but with avail.  There is a limit to everything and the elephant becoming tired of the attention he was getting decided that a little water might help his keepers so he began blowing water over them.  They tried to slip up on him in boats.  He paid no attention to them until he could see the whites of their eyes and then he let them have it !  The natives watched in amazement as the elephant blew water all over his keepers as they tried to slip up on him.

The Circus manager saw that they would not make Sparta that day - at least not with the elephant - and he was the main part of the show.  A fast rider was sent ahead to spread word that the show would be a day late.  As the day passed and news of the strange doings spread over the country men, women and children flocked to the Island.  They came in ox carts, on horse-back and on foot.  The hours passed all too quickly watching the strange animal.  It was the first time most of them had seen an elephant.

As the sun dropped behind the hills and the air turned cooler, the elephant got up and quite meekly allowed his keeper to take him across the river and on to Sparta.  It had been a great day for all concerned, including the elephant.

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