The Town of Surgoinsville is undertaking a project to restore a historic ferry. David Miller spoke with Mayor Merrell Graham about the project.
Transcript:
David Miller: I'm David Miller for WETS-FM, and we have a special guest, Mayor Merrell Graham, and he is from Surgoinsville, Tennessee, which, of course, is part of Hawkins County. Surgoinsville has a population of about 1,882 and was incorporated in 1815. Let's talk a little bit about a project that the Board of Mayor and Alderman has agreed to work on, and that is the restoration of the town's historic ferry. That ferry was very important to the Surgoinsville, Hawkins County area. Tell me a little bit about the history of the ferry, and then we'll get into what the new project is about.
Merrell Graham: The ferry operated and was important because everyone who lived on the southern part of Surgoinsville was separated by Holston River, and the ferry was the only way to get across. There was a lot of farmland over there. Of course, I think it was in probably the 50s that the bridge was built and the ferry was, you know, no longer needed.
David Miller: The ferry actually became a part of a gentleman's farm, Neil Miller. He used the ferry on his farm for many years.
Merrell Graham: He purchased the ferry from the town once it was no longer needed. And he did use that on his farm to transport his workers and so on. Neil Miller was a very influential person with Surgoinsville and then when he was finished with the ferry and no longer needed it, he wanted to keep it but he didn't have anywhere to put it and so he actually stored it at the bottom of the river.
David Miller: When you started to take on this project, who actually spurred this on?
Merrell Graham: What happened a few years ago, a gentleman discovered the ferry on the bottom of the river. And he took it out of the river. He discovered that Neil Miller's daughters, Linda and Mary Nancy, and their families actually owned the ferry. And so he, you know, was glad to turn it back over to them. So once he did that, they contacted me and the town and told us that they would donate that to the town if the town would like to restore it maybe, you know, and use it for, you know, historical purposes. We brought it to Surgoinsville. It's at the River Front Park now. Former mayor, Johnny Greer, who is also of a historical community here in Surgoinsville. And Johnny came up with an idea. We had a donation made. Cardinal Glass, just above Surgoinsville, donated some money to us and asked if we'd like to build a gazebo, a pavilion or something in the park. So Johnny came up with an idea that we could restore the ferry. And, of course, we're not wanting to make the ferry sea-worthy. So, anyway, his idea was to restore the ferry and then put it in the park. It will be on the left side of the park, and we're going to also use it as a pavilion. And there'll be some picnic tables and some chairs on it where people can actually sit on it and enjoy it. I think it'll be real nice.
David Miller: When do you anticipate restoration being completed?
Merrell Graham: This may take as much as a year. I'm hoping that maybe by this time next year we'll have it completed.
David Miller: Well, Mayor, I appreciate your time.
Merrell Graham: Oh, absolutely. Thank you.
David Miller: I'm David Miller for WETS.