Clark Cemetery And Three Notable Residents

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On October 15, 2025, the Huntingdon TN Historical Society had their monthly meeting. Clark Cemetery, located on Carter Lane in Huntingdon, TN was the subject matter. Above is the video of the presentation.

The cemetery was named after Colonel John Clark, who was the son of Samuel and Rachel Clark of North Carolina. Colonel John Clark’s wife, Rebecca Covington, was the daughter of John and Mary Covington of Maryland. Colonel Clark served in the War of 1812 and, after the war, moved to Huntingdon, Tennessee. Colonel John Clark provided this cemetery as a burying ground for his descendants. It was maintained as a private cemetery until Admiral A.C. McNeill, a descendant, allowed others to be buried in the cemetery. The cemetery is jointly maintained by the Town of Huntingdon and by the Wright Family Trust Fund. Neill Alison Wright and his wife so loved the Town of Huntingdon that they developed the Wright Family Trust to donate to the cemetery and also to the surrounding area. Neill A. Wright is believed to be the last desdendant of the Clark family.

Pictured above is Colonel John Clark who was born in 1773 and died in 1850.

The first resident of Clark Cemetery to address the crowd was Walter Grizzard. Captain Grizzard commanded the company that was involved with General Nathan Bedford Forrest’s raids into West Tennessee. Captain Grizzard was also involved in the Battle of Parkers Crossroads. His friend and cohort was Major James B. Algee.

Pictured above, Major James B. Algee. Born in 1828 and died in 1863 in Hickman, Kentucky.

Major James B. Algee and Captain Grizzard had traveled together while on furlough. They had traveled to visit their families in West Tennessee. After the furlough, and on their way back to their duties in the Civil War, they were both captured. Major James B. Algee was sick at the time. Major Algee was taken to a prison that was located in Kentucky, which is where he died. He is buried somewhere outside the prison on a hill. However, there is a tombstone located in Clark Cemetery for him.

The account of the capture of Captain Grizzard and Major Algee was written by Captain Grizzard after the war around 1913. The account is captured at jstor.org/stable/42621073, for those who are interested in reading the account.

Walter B. Grizzard was born in 1833 in Huntingdon, TN and died in 1918 in Huntingdon, TN.

Walter Boggan Grizzard.

The next resident of Clark Cemetery to present to the group present was Rebecca Covington Clark, of the North Carolina Covington’s. Rebecca Covington was born in 1757 and died in 1848. Colonel John Kelly Clark was her husband. John and Rebecca Clark lived in North Carolina for a number of years after they were married. They moved from North Carolina to West Tennessee and settled in the area that was to become Huntingdon. John and Rebecca had two daughters. Colonel John Clark fought in the war of 1812 and he also served in the state legislature. In 1837, John Clark built a home for his daughter Julia and her husband, James. That home is now the oldest home in Huntingdon and is known as the Portis home.

Tombstone for John and Rebecca Clark in the Clark Cemetery.

The final visitor to the meeting on October 15th was Dr. J. W. McCall, born in August of 1832. Dr. J.W. McCall was the ninth of ten children. His parents were Andrew and Jane Todd McCall. He was raised on a farm and attended the early schools in Carroll County. His brother, Dr. Henry McCall, had a practice in Clarksburg, Tennessee. J. W. McCall began his study of medicine in his brother’s Clarksburg office. Dr. McCall went to the University of Nashville and graduated in 1857. Dr. J. W. McCall attended Columbia University and also Tulane in Louisiana. In 1862, he became the assistant surgeon in the United States Army for the Seventh Tennessee Calvary. In 1858, he married Victoria Wilson, who was from Henderson County. They had four children: Lenora, Emma, James, and Fannie. The son, James Henry, became a doctor as well and graduated from Vanderbilt in 1896. James Henry, like his father, also went into the military. Lenora Josephine married Governor Hawkins son. Fannie married a Johnson and moved to Utah.

Above, the tombstone for Dr. J.W. McCall in the Clark Cemetery.

Image of James Henry McCall, Dr. J.W. McCall’s son.

Tombstone for Dr. James Henry McCall.

Many thanks to these wonderful members of our community who role played the historical characters on this day. Dr. Lee Carter as Dr. J.W. McCall. Melissa Powell as Rebecca Covington Clark. And last, but not least, Mr. Johnny McClure as Captain Grizzard. Thank you all very much.

The Dixie

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On September 17, 2025, the Huntingdon TN Historical Society went to The Dixie, in Huntingdon, TN in order to conduct their monthly meeting. Above is the video associated with the presentation. At this meeting, Ms. Jean Newsome and Ms. Susan Cary gave the history of The Dixie. The full history of The Dixie is on The Dixie’s webpage at: dixiepac.net/history-and-mission. The following is a summary of the history of The Dixie.

Above is the famous Dixie Carter as she explains what it means to be raised in a kind and nurturing atmosphere. Home. That is what Tennessee means to a lot of us. Home. Where our parents and ancestors lived and died. Home. Where we are loved and accepted by our family members and community members. Home. Where people try to be kind and considerate of others. Home. Where we, as members, are safe. Home is not perfect. The only perfect home is in Heaven. But this, in this case, Huntingdon, Tennessee is home.

The Dixie Carter Performing Arts Center was named after one of Carroll County’s most famous personages – Dixie Carter. Dixie Carter was born in McLemoresville, Tennessee in 1939. Dixie Carter became famous on the hit show, Designing Women. Dixie Carter played Julia Sugarbaker, one of the main roles. Dixie Carter also is known for her roles on Desperate Housewives and Family Law. Dixie made her debut in 1960 in a production of Carousel. She moved to New York City in 1963 and landed a role in an off Broadway production of Shakespeare’s A Winter’s Tale.

Dixie Carter moved to Los Angeles in 1979 and married actor Hal Holbrook in 1980. Besides the roles listed above, Dixie Carter had roles in Diff’rent Strokes and The Edge of Night, among many other roles.

Pictured below is the Mudslingers Studio, which is a part of The Dixie. The Mudslinger Studio offers classes in pottery to local people. The Dixie also offers music programs and Summer Camp programs.

The Dixie also offers tours and has recently renovated portions of The Dixie.

The Dixie was built on the court square of Huntingdon, TN. Hal Holbrook gave his expertise during the building of the theater in the Dixie, which is why the theater is named after him.

The origins of The Dixie began in December of 1999 with Mayor Dale Kelley, who unveiled plans for The Dixie. The original idea had been to place the theater into the original buildings in place, which were 125 years old. However, in 2004 during early construction, a portion of the south wall of The Dixie collapsed. After a safety assessment, it was decided that the safest route was to completely demolish the existing buildings. The original buildings were demolished and bricks from the original buildings were used throughout the Dixie when building The Dixie.

The Hal Holbrook Theater has hosted many great performances. Some include the following: New York City Ballet, Nashville Symphony, Richard Marx, Lady Antebellum, Ronnie Milsap, Carol Channing, Sara Evans, and the Glenn Miller Orchestra, just to name a few.

In addition to The Dixie’s webpage, information on this page came from volopedia.lib.utk.edu/entries/dixie-virginia-carter. Come visit The Dixie! You’ll be glad you did!

Mr. Phil Williams, McLemoresville, and a Special Guest from Rutherford County

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On Wednesday, May 21, 2025 Mr. Phil Williams was the speaker at the monthly meeting of the historical society. However, before Mr. Williams spoke, the group was introduced to a Mr. James Allen Gooch from the Rutherford County Historical Society. Mr. Gooch knew Mr. Williams through the Williams Furniture Store in McKenzie, Tennessee that Phil Williams owned and managed for 46 years before his retirement. James and Carol Gooch specialize in cemetery preservation and offered their knowledge to the group.

Phil Williams gave his talk on the history of McLemoresville, Tennessee, as well as on his father, Billy O. Williams, who was a Poet Laureate of Carroll County and an Associate Poet Laureate of the State of Tennessee.

Pictured above is Billy O. Williams. Billy Williams also served in the Air Force during WWII. During this presentation, Phil Williams read a poem that his father had written to the group.

Above is a picture of the Old Main Campus Building of Bethel College. Bethel College began as Bethel Seminary and was founded by West Tennessee Synod of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in 1842. The picture above was taken at approximately 1900 – 1905. The college was moved to McKenzie, TN in 1872.

This was a picture of the Main Campus Building that was town down in 1912.

Carrolton was established as a town on land that was owned by R.E.C. Dougherty, who was a surveyor and entry taker in 1819. The town later became McLemoresville.

The town of McLemoresville was named for Colonel John Christmas Mclemore, who owned much of the land in McLemoresville in 1820. The first county court was also in McLemoresville. It was called the court of pleas and quarter sessions and was organized in March of 1822.

Perhaps the most famous resident of McLemoresville, TN is Dixie Carter, who was born in McLemoresville, Tn in 1939. Her father owned and operated a dry goods store in McLemoresville. Dixie Carter is also buried in McLemoresville.

There is a link at the top of the page to the video on the presentation by Phil Williams of the history of McLemoresville, Tn.

H.I.S. Company and Sam Siegel

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On April 16,2025, Mrs. Linda Allen was the Storyteller for the Huntingdon TN Historical Society. Mrs. Allen spoke about the H.I.S. Company, which was located in Bruceton, Tennessee and also Sam Siegel, who was the Senior Vice President of H.I.S. Mrs. Linda Allen grew up in the town of Bruceton and many of her relatives worked for the H.I.S. company.

Mrs. Allen’s father is pictured with other workers in the picture above. This picture was taken approximately 1960 during a Christmas party.

Henry Siegel came to America from Lublin, Poland in the early 1900s. He began the company as Honesdale Manufacturing in 1923. The company headquarters were located in New York City. Honesdale Manufacturing specialized in men and boys clothing. There was one factory in Scranton, Pennsylvania and also a plant located in Germany.

In 1935 due to the persecution experienced in Europe, Sam Siegel, Henry’s brother, came to America. (The Siegel family did lose family members during WWII.) In 1936, Sam Siegel was sent to Dickson, Tennessee to the H.I.S. factory that was located there. The Dickson plant had been started in 1932. Sam then was sent to Bruceton, Tennessee where a new factory was being built. In 1939, trainees from Bruceton were being sent weekly to Dickson, Tennessee to be trained. The trainees boarded a train on Sunday evening to go to Dickson. They would spend the week in Dickson, and then on Friday afternoon at 4:00 p.m., the trainees would return to Bruceton via train. Bruceton was a railroad town and therefore had daily access to a train.

Prior to the factory being completed in 1940 in Bruceton, sewing machine workers worked in an old church building located in Bruceton on Highway 70. That old church building still stands today and can be seen as you pass through the town of Bruceton. Fifty people worked in that old church building.

In 1940, wages were 40 cents an hour. During WWII, as many as 1,000 employees worked at the factory. H.I.S. made military clothing, as well as other clothing. In 1949, Henry Siegel died unexpectedly and his son, Jesse, took over the company.

In 1961, the fifty millionth shirt was completed in Dickson, Tennessee. That shirt is pictured above

H.I.S. began making women’s clothing in 1964. By the mid 1980’s, H.I.S. was the third largest maker of women’s clothing. In the 1970’s, imported clothing into the United States began to hurt the H.I.S. business. Then NAFTA was implemented in 1994 and many companies began to move to Mexico. This greatly hurt manufacturing in the United States. It is estimated that between 4.5 million jobs and 8.9 million jobs were lost in the United States due to NAFTA. The Bruceton H.I.S. plant closed in 2000. Where once the H.I.S. Outlet stood, now there is a Dollar Tree/Family Dollar store.

Pictured above is an article regarding Sam Siegel. Besides many other ventures, Sam Siegel also helped out the Volunteer Fire Department in Bruceton.

Sam Siegel was born in 1909 in Poland. He came to America in 1935, was sent to the Scranton, Pennsylvania plan, and then in 1936 was sent to the plant in Dickson, Tennessee. Following plans to build a plant in Bruceton, TN, Sam and his family moved to Bruceton. The plant was completed in Bruceton in 1940. Prior to that, sewing machine workers worked in an old church building located on Highway 70.

Sam Siegel became mayor of Bruceton in 1958 and was mayor of Bruceton until 1974. He died in May of 1975.

By people who lived and worked with him, Sam Siegel was known as a charitable person. He gave jobs to teenagers and others who needed jobs. Linda Allen stated that Sam Siegel and H.I.S. had been very good to her family. There are many others who felt the same way.

The Huntingdon TN Historical Society would like to thank Mrs. Linda Allen for her presentation. There is a video of Mrs. Allen’s presentation on the Huntingdon TN Historical Society facebook page. The URL is at the top of this article.

The Huntingdon TN Historical Society meets every third Wednesday of the month at 9:00 a.m. in the conference room of City Hall in Huntingdon, Tennessee.