A
Lost Community- Poplar Grove, TN
submitted by Janie Putman
December 1, 1998
The second community in our area was first located on the
west end of the Carr Grant. It was called Poplar Grove. This area was west of the
Johnnie Fisher home, and the same as the J. P. Fisher home place purchased from J. C.
Carlton and the Garner family in 1905.
This community which was accidentally stumbled upon, must have
been important between 1830 and 1850. As a search was being made to find postmasters
for Nebo and Hooten, familiar names that were established members of the Hooten community
were found listed in a post office called Poplar Grove. Franklin M. Nobles, John M.
Northern and Halford Ashley were names that caused a much deeper search for our lost
community.
William Nuchols gave a deed of trust on the land to John Branch and
John B. Fiser of Dyer County in September of 1840. In this deed it appears that
there had been a judgement against Nuchols in favor of William W. Lea and Nuchols was
securing a loan. The land was deeded as well as twelve slaves. The sale of the slaves to
satisfy the debt was on the condition that if they had to be sold, there must be a twenty
days written notice posted at Poplar Grove, Haileysburg (?) and at the Court House
in Dyersburg. Poplar Grove must have been the center of activity, since it was a
place to post notices. We have not been able to determine if one store, two stores or what
was there. We do know that the land is straight north of where the old hotel was
located, west of what is now Riverside.
When Hugh S. Sloan sold the land back to William
Nuckolls in 1841 after he had lost it, the description of the land again stated that it
was commonly called Poplar Grove.
R. H. Goodloe who served as postmaster starting October 30,
1841 was married to Nancy Baldridge on December 9, 1834.
When the post office was discontinued May 16, 1847 it appears
that it actually was moved to the area near the Stanley Campground Methodist Protestant
Church. The new postmaster, L. L. Dilliard who was appointed June 7, 1847, owned the
land that became the Halford Ashley Land, known today as the Luther Baldridge place. Dr.
John M. Northern was living just across the road and a little west of that place. Franklin
M. Nobles lived almost in front of the post office on what was later the Hogue land and is
owned by Robert Heathcock today. Halford Ashley who had lived in Coffee County,
Tennessee bought the land from L. L. Dilliard on November 15, 1848. This is the first
record we find of the Ashley Family in the community. With all of these last four
postmasters living so near each other, it appears the post office actually changed places.
The community of Poplar Grove turned up in another place also.
A newspaper, the Western Union, published in Trenton carried the following notice
on February 3, 1837. Men serving as agents for the Western Union (the paper) were
Col. S. P. Beasley for Poplar Grove and Yorkville.
The Pages Mill post office had been discontinued on October 24,
1831 and on that same date the post office at Poplar Grove was opened with Joseph Robbins
serving as postmaster. Joseph Robbins had been appointed by the state
legislature as one of the commissioners to get the bridge and causeway built. Joseph
Robbins married Nancy Rodey on January 12, 1832 in Gibson County. He served as
postmaster until October 12, 1835. The complete list of postmasters includes:
Joseph Robbins 24 Oct. 1831
Richard B. King 12 Oct.
1835
William Gibson 17
Sept.1836
William Nuchols 21 May
1838
Hugh S. Sloan
1 July 1841
R. H. Goodloe 30
Oct. 1841
M. D. Robinson 2
Apr. 1845
Discontinued 16
May 1845
L. L. Dilliard
7 June 1847
Discontinued
16 Dec.
1847
John M. Northern 19 Sept.1849
Halford Ashley 15 Dec.
1851
John M. Northern 24 Feb. 1852
Franklin M. Nobles 2 June 1853
Discontinued 10
Sept.1853