Kevin Bogle

Kevin Bogle

@kevinbogle.bsky.social

History/genealogy reference librarian; guitarist, musician and composer; skiing, hiking, mtn. biking; old books, libraries & archives; hippie jambands, live music, Phoenix Suns, Tennessee Football & basketball; TN & local history research. Phish, SCI,Goose

4.8K followers4.4K following596 posts

Kevin Bogle
@kevinbogle.bsky.social

The Ramsey House in Knoxville, Tennessee was built in 1797 for Francis Alexander Ramsey. Actual construction was done by Seth Smith, a Pennsylvania Quaker stonemason who built several stone houses in East Tennessee.

Kevin Bogle
@kevinbogle.bsky.social

Wish I was out hiking up Mt. LeConte in the Great Smoky Mountains right now. Although, it would be pitch dark and the trail’s probably still covered with snow. Guess I’ll have to wait until spring to get shots like this again…

Kevin Bogle
@kevinbogle.bsky.social

This is the Col. George Gillespie house in Limestone, TN. Built ca. 1792. Seth Smith, a Quaker stonemason from Pennsylvania, built this and several other stone houses across East Tennessee.

Kevin Bogle
@kevinbogle.bsky.social

Random & oddly specific epiphany- I was just listening to the Rush song “Available Light,” much as I have done for the last 35 years since the song was released, and for the first time ever, I noticed that the first and second verses are performed in two different keys! How have I not noticed this?

Kevin Bogle
@kevinbogle.bsky.social

This is the James Rice grist mill, built in 1798 on Lost Creek in Union County, TN. Around 1935, it was disassembled, moved, and reassembled alongside a creek in nearby Norris Dam State Park.

Kevin Bogle
@kevinbogle.bsky.social

A while back I was at the Washington County archives in Jonesborough, TN. I was looking for something else in the minutes of the pleas & quarters sessions book, & I found this May 12, 1778 record of a young lawyer named Andrew Jackson who was admitted to practice as an attorney in the county court.

Kevin Bogle
@kevinbogle.bsky.social

Oh yeah, so I also write and record music. Last year, I did a whole album of songs demos that I had written. This is the lead-off track, called Canyon Express. It's named after one of the chairlifts at my old stomping grounds, Mammoth Mountain, California. Hope you like it.

on.soundcloud.com01 Canyon ExpressMy album of original, instrumental rock songs. The music you didn't know you needed to hear until you heard it. Twists and turns, lots of chord changes and progressions, melodies and stuff you didn't
Kevin Bogle
@kevinbogle.bsky.social

The Nicholas Gibbs House on Emory Road in Knoxville, Tennessee was built in 1793 by Nicholas Gibbs. Born in Germany in 1733, he served in the French and Indian War, and later in the American Revolution.

Kevin Bogle
@kevinbogle.bsky.social

Congratulations to both of my Alma maters, Arizona State and Tennessee, on making the CFB playoffs! Who would have guessed that at the beginning of the season? I don’t know what I’ll do if they end up playing each other…

Kevin Bogle
@kevinbogle.bsky.social

🧵1/n Storytime- Recently a patron contacted the McClung Historical Collection seeking info about an early Knoxville, TN resident, Samuel Anderson (d. 1864). I discovered that he was buried in the Flenniken-Cunningham-Simpson cemetery in South Knox across the river from downtown.

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Kevin Bogle
@kevinbogle.bsky.social

8/n ...when a colleague stopped by & said hi. I showed him the picture and explained what it was. He said, "oh yeah, the Strong's Terrace stone! That's sitting downstairs in the loading dock. 😐 He took me down there, and sure enough, there it was! Apparently they had already donated it a while back.

Kevin Bogle
@kevinbogle.bsky.social

🧵1/n Storytime- Recently a patron contacted the McClung Historical Collection seeking info about an early Knoxville, TN resident, Samuel Anderson (d. 1864). I discovered that he was buried in the Flenniken-Cunningham-Simpson cemetery in South Knox across the river from downtown.

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Kevin Bogle
@kevinbogle.bsky.social

6/n Strong's Terrace was torn down around 1974 and vanished from the historical record. I was trying to figure out how the stone ended up where it did, but was having no luck. I looked at the property ownership of the land surrounding the cemetery and discovered that it had new owners...

Kevin Bogle
@kevinbogle.bsky.social

7/n ...who are about to build some condos on the hill, adjacent to the cemetery. My colleagues and I hated to think of this stone getting lost to history again, so I was about to contact the condo developers to make sure they hadn't thrown it in a landfill. I was all set to call or email them...

Kevin Bogle
@kevinbogle.bsky.social

🧵1/n Storytime- Recently a patron contacted the McClung Historical Collection seeking info about an early Knoxville, TN resident, Samuel Anderson (d. 1864). I discovered that he was buried in the Flenniken-Cunningham-Simpson cemetery in South Knox across the river from downtown.

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Kevin Bogle
@kevinbogle.bsky.social

4/n ...and never got around to it. Seeing this photo piqued my curiosity all over again, so I researched Strong's Terrace. Turns out, it was an apartment building in downtown Knoxville, built circa-1900. Here it is in the early 1970s:

Kevin Bogle
@kevinbogle.bsky.social

5/n And here it is again, circa-1903. Note the "B.R. Strong" name on the sign; he's the namesake of Strong's Terrace. And look at the white rectangle just above the ground-floor window on the front corner; that's the actual Strong's Terrace sign I found in the woods on the other side of the river.

Kevin Bogle
@kevinbogle.bsky.social

🧵1/n Storytime- Recently a patron contacted the McClung Historical Collection seeking info about an early Knoxville, TN resident, Samuel Anderson (d. 1864). I discovered that he was buried in the Flenniken-Cunningham-Simpson cemetery in South Knox across the river from downtown.

Kevin Bogle
@kevinbogle.bsky.social

2/n I remembered I had visited this same cemetery back in January. I looked back through my photos from that visit to see if I had a pic of Samuel's gravestone that I could send to the patron. Unfortunately, it's either gone, or I didn't get a photo of it. But I did get one of his wife Rody's stone.

Kevin Bogle
@kevinbogle.bsky.social

3/n As I was looking at my pictures, I saw one I had forgotten about. Near the cemetery, lying in the leaves, was this large stone. It's not a gravestone, and it has the names of an architect and a contractor on it. I realized it was from a building, and took this pic to follow up on it later...

Kevin Bogle
@kevinbogle.bsky.social

Ruins of the house built in 1802 by James Gillespie of Blount County, TN. This house stood on Lowe's Ferry Road on the south side of the Tennessee River near Knoxville. Unfortunately it burned down in recent years, but the stone and brick are still there, gradually being overtaken by nature.

Kevin Bogle
@kevinbogle.bsky.social

Another photo of Mammoth Mountain from my Feb. ‘23 ski trip. Off in the distance are the White Mountains, that top out at more than 14,000’. Also, there is a grove of bristlecone pines up there, at around 11,000’, including Methuselah, the world’s oldest tree.

Kevin Bogle
@kevinbogle.bsky.social

The colder weather here has me thinking about snow and skiing. Feb. ‘23, I skied at Mammoth Mountain, CA and they had the most snow I’ve ever seen anywhere. Even more than when I lived in Mammoth back in ‘98 and ‘99! Look at how deep this is:

Kevin Bogle
@kevinbogle.bsky.social

What’s that, you say? You’re wondering what’s the oldest house in Knox County, TN still in its original location? I was too! It’s the Alexander McMillan House, built ca. 1787.

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Kevin Bogle
@kevinbogle.bsky.social

What’s that, you say? You’re wondering what’s the oldest house in Knox County, TN still in its original location? I was too! It’s the Alexander McMillan House, built ca. 1787.