by James E. Bradford
You won’t find Flagpole Hill of a map of Williamson County, Tennessee, located about one to one and half miles form Highway 100 on Pinewood Road. There were only a very few people that lived in the Flagpole Community at the time. They had no schools, no Churches, no auto’s and a whole lot of guns and wildlife. This was on a high hill, the highest hill in Williamson County above sea level. They cut the limbs of a large Oak Tree, left the center standing and connected a long steel bar at it top and put an American Flag at its top.
There were no Churches in the area at the time, and once a year, during the month of August, they would have a tent meeting and people from all beliefs would meet here and sleep in tents. There were no springs near by and Mr. Rueben Anglin and his sons would bring a wagonload of water in barrels of water for the people to drink and wash themselves with.
The men would haul sawdust and lumber from nearby sawmills to create a temporary floor for the tent. They would make wooden benches for the worshippers. Children would sit on the floor if their wasn’t any room to sit with their families. The services lasted all day, concluding by nightfall. Families would camp at the meeting place each bringing their own provisions for the two week stay. They would eat in family units rather than together as we do today, with the popular dinner on the ground method of sharing meals. Water was brought in daily by Mr. Rueben and his sons.
The Greenbrier and the Union Valley Churches were the first churches in the area. The Flagpole event was discontinued not long their after their building.
Mr. Alex Meacham was the owner of the ground where the Flagpole was located. He did not live in the area, but was a great lover of nature and wildlife. He owned about 1000 acres of land and did not allow any wildlife hunting or the cutting of the trees. There were many that did slip into the area and hunt wildlife to eat. When I returned for the Korean War, Mr Meacham had passed and his children sold off the timber very quickly after his death. This broke my heart. There were chestnut trees there, dead but still standing that were more than six foot in diameter.
The picture was given to Rick by Annie Anglin-Pewitt, the granddaughter of Reuben Anglin. She is my lifetime friend and my cuz form both the Anglin’s and the Tidwills. Her mother was a Tidwell. She also married Edward Pewitt, also my cuz.
Flag Pole, a place that hold many very precious memories.
Heycuz.net
