The Niota Depot is the oldest in Tennessee
This is the old Niota Depot in Niota, Tennessee. We toured the building and talked to one of the ladies that worked at the Niota Ciy Hall, and to the assistant chief of police.
I won't go into detail here about the depot because we have another page with lots of photos and some of the history related to the structure. It was definitely a
interesting place to see, but knowing the history makes it more fulfilling. Please see our
page about the depot.
Niota Depot is located:
Main Street
Niota, TN 37826
N 35° 30.911 W 084° 32.770
We have seen several old country churches that stand out above all others. These are small and immaculately kept. I'm sure there are many more, but these are the ones we have found so far, and they made am impression on me.
Browder Memorial Methodist Church
This church sits on top of a hill above the McMinn - Monroe county line. The Browder Cemetery is at the church and is also called County Line Cemetery. This church was
established in 1888.
Browder Memorial Methodist Church is located:
Browder Church Road
Sweetwater, Tennessee
35° 34' 13"N 84° 29' 58"W
Poplar Springs Primitive Baptist Church
This church, located in front of the Poplar Springs Cemetery where many members of the Fritts family are burried, is another picture perfect church. Poplar Springs Primitive Baptist
Church was established sometime before the Civil War.
Poplar Springs Primitive Baptist Church is located:
270 Poplar Springs Road
Kingston, Tennessee (Roane County)
Union Chapel Methodist Church
This was the first church to capture our attention. It is in a quite setting and the church looked almost as if it were a painting when we first saw it. Union Chapel Methodist Cemetery is
beside the church.
Union Chapel Methodist Church is located:
Highway 130 (Rocky Mount Road)
Riceville, Tennessee (McMinn County)
35° 26' 05"N 84° 41'32"W
Rockview Missionary Baptist Church
I have to mention Rockview Missionary Baptist Church. The church sits on a hill in front of Foster Cemetery. If you've looked at this site much, then you know I have dozens of people
buried in Foster Cemetery. My grandparents are here as well as my great-grandparents, my mothers only brother, several of my grandparents' siblings, my great-great-grandparents,
and many, many others. It's a very special place and only seems appropriate that this little Baptist Church should be included.
Rockview Missionary Baptist Church is located:
County Road 279 (Rockview Church Road)
Niota, Tennessee (McMinn County)
35° 35' 00"N 84° 36' 00"W
This is the old homeplace of Bertie Roberts and Ella Roberts in Riceville, TN. I can remember going there as a small child 50 years or so ago, but I had no memory of the
location until a couple of weeks ago (March 2009) when I talked with my cousin Jerry Roberts. Jerry mentioned he had been nearby and driven by and was surprised to
see the house still standing. After Jerry told me where it was, of course the first thing I did was a street view in Google, and there it was. A few days later and it was
road trip time. Many thanks to Jerry for pointing us to this.
In my memories, the old home place was on a dirt road. Of course, that was 5 decades ago. Like Jerry, I'm surprised the house is still there. At the right is a picture of the old barn.
Bertie and Ella were my dad's aunts, sisters of Elbert Marion Roberts. These, and their brother Ben are buried in Morgan/Upper Spring Creek Cemetery near here.
This is a very old abandoned church building located on County Road 4 not far from Charleston, TN., and near the Hiwassee River. I don't have any information about the church,
but I would love to know the church history.
I find the old structure to be an object of curiosity. It was obviously old and rundown, but yet the grounds around the church were not overgrown. There was also a fence and
several gates being used to enclose the building and a small area around it. When I took the last picture, I was almost directly in front of sheer drop-off into a gorge off
the Hiwassee. The old church appears to be sitting on a bluff on two sides, with water at the bottom.