From "Heritage of White Co., 1806-1999" by White County Heritage Book Committee and County Heritage, Inc.

James Richardson Tubb, the first child of John Balis Tubb and Harriet Richardson Tubb was born May 30, 1852 in Smithville, Tennessee.  His father, who was a practicing attorney in Smithville died quite young.  His grandfather, Bernard Richardson donated the land on which Smithville now stands.

Jimmie Tubb moved to Sparta while he was quite young and started a roller mill located up the river road toward Monterey at what is known as Tubb's Spring. After an employee was killed in the mill he closed it and built a dam across the Calfkiller River just to the north of the bridge in Sparta and started another roller mill on the west side of the river where presently stands the Hudgens building.  He paid $150.00 for the property, $75.00 down and the balance in installments.

J. R. (Jimmie) Tubb later started a poultry business buying and selling chickens.  Someone told my brother that many mornings he was seen walking down the railroad toward Doyle and return late that day carrying more chickens on his back than he thought it was possible for small man his size to carry.  He built this business at that time into what was considered a big business, having five establishments located in Middle Tennessee and Southern Kentucky.

When the depression of the early 1890's hit he went broke, however, he paid off all debts.  He was broke, over 40, had a wife and 6 children at this time, and didn't know how he was going to feed them.  Very shortly after this in 1896, he started and very successfully ran the Sparta Spoke Facotry, using the same dam he had built ascross the Calfkiller River to supply the power.  This factory became the largest Spoke Factory in the world.

J. R. Tubb with a partner started the T. & A. Electric Company which furnished sparta with it first electricity.  They built the concrete dam across the Calfkiller River which still stands.  It is located just north of the new bridge on the North-South highway going toward Spencer.  This bridge is named for him.  He owned the second horseless carriage, automobile to be brought to White County.  He brought the first registered bull to White County to help increase the quality of livestock in the county.  He was one of the founders, the first president and a memeber of the Board of Directors of the Peoples Bank and Trust company which later merged with the Commerce Union Bank.  President of 1st chamber of commerce in Sparta in 1898.

J. R. Tubb was a little ahead of the times in some of his business ventures.  He started the Sparta Pulp and Paper Company to manufacture paper and was a partner in the Gist Planter company to manufacture farm implements.  Neither of these ventures was successful.  He was Mayor of Sparta for several years and was a member of the board that built the first concrete bridge across the Calfkiller River.  This bridge served the city for several decades.

One of the prime interest of Jimmie Tubb was the Church.  He served many years as an elder and treasurer of the Church of Christ.  When the church building burned in 1926 he made the rest of the congregation a proposal that he would match dollar for dollar, the cost of a new building if the rest of the congregation would raise the other half.  This generated the enthusiasm which resulted in raising the total cost of $20,000.00.

Although he retired from active business about 1920 he seldom failed to walk to the office of the Sparta Spoke Factory each day until the time of his death.  J. R. Tubb, Sr. died Aug 24, 1942 at the age of 90 years.

I remember "Pappa Tubb" as as very quiet man.  He was very good to his family, always helping them out when they were in trouble.  We always lived close by, and when I was a child we came to his house nearly every Sunday afternoon.  We played games in the front yard.  He sat on the side porch and smoked his cigar as "Mama Tubb" would not let him smoke in the house.  Pappa Tubb was at church every time the doors were open.  I can still see him sitting down front with "Mama Tubb" at his side. (Submitted by Ruth Rhea 'Pinkie' Tubb Hill, 105 N. Church St., Sparta, TN 38583)