| Sources |
- [S78] Atchley Funeral Home Records, Volume I, 1930-1954, Larry D. Fox, (Smoky Mountain Historical Society), 15 Mar 1951.
Isaac Andrew Henderson obituary
- [S106] The Mountain Press, 1 Jan 2011.
Henderson Springs was early resort in county
by CARROLL McMAHAN The Mountain Press
Ruby Henderson Sims, born in 1904, grew up around Henderson Springs Resort while her father was the manager and later worked there to help pay her school tuition.
Dan Davenport played his banjo for square dances at Henderson Springs Resort.
Several guests are pictured standing on the porches of the second Henderson Springs Hotel which was built in 1898.
“I worked my way though Murphy College waiting tables for Uncle Sam Henderson at Henderson Springs Hotel,” recalled Ruby Henderson Sims. She often said this, with great pride, while reminiscing about her youthful days when she worked at Henderson Springs Resort.
These were the days when scrumptious meals were prepared and served on long tables covered with beautiful white linen tablecloths and set with fine china, silverware and crystal. The fare consisted of fresh garden vegetables, country ham, red eye gravy, fried chicken, fresh eggs, beef, hot biscuits, butter, milk and lots of coffee. Delicious homemade cakes and pies were served for dessert. In the kitchen, five gallon jars of jam were prepared from fresh-picked blackberries picked in the nearby fields.
Guest could count on spotless linens spread across an iron bed. Ironstone pitchers and bowls were found on pine board wash stands. Towels were carefully folded across the headboards.
Aside from the long days of hard work, Ruby found time to join in fun activities such as playing croquet, swimming in the nearby river and creeks, as well as going on straw rides in wagons and square dancing.
On Saturday nights, square dances took place in a pavilion where guests were served hand churned ice cream. Skilled musicians such as Frances Kirkpatrick and a young Miss Tinsley entertained the dancers by playing a Baldwin piano that came from the old Staub Theatre in Knoxville. String instrumentalist such as Harve Baker, Arthur Shular, Pleas Shular, Wesley Kirby and Dan Davenport performed as well. Pink Rauhuff called the square dances.
Ruby, having been around Henderson Springs Resort all of her life, was no stranger there when she began working at the resort. Her father, Isaac Henderson, was the manger for five years. The owner, Samuel Henderson, whom she and others affectingly called Uncle Sam, was her distant cousin.
Originally, the first Henderson Springs Hotel was constructed in 1878. The two story building had 10 quest rooms, a kitchen and a dining hall with a seating capacity of 80. Twenty years later, a three story, 32-room hotel opened and a board walk was constructed to join the two buildings.
The stairways in the newer hotel were six feet wide and the halls were eight feet. Porches, completely encircling the first and second floors, were added in 1914. A dwelling house for the caretaker was between the two hotels. Also, there was a popular bath house located beside the spring.
The resort was developed by Elijah Henderson and family. The Henderson family purchased the property form the heirs of Col. Samuel Wear. In 1898, following the death of his father, Samuel Henderson became the sole owner of Henderson Springs Resort. In addition to the resort property, he owned and operated a large farm and a grist mill, a short distance from the resort.
Widely known for his athletic abilities, Samuel never lost a hundred yard dash from the time he was 14 until the age of 25.
In his later years, Samuel wore a blue shirt, trousers, suspenders and a felt hat. He carried a walking cane and was often accompanied by his German police dog. He entertained guest with stories about Col. Samuel Wear’s nearby fort that was built to keep track of Indians encamped in the area. He also relayed information about the battle between the White Caps and Blue Bills which occurred not only during his lifetime but only a short distance from the hotel.
Located 6 miles south of downtown Sevierville, near the confluence of Walden’s Creek and the west prong of the Little Pigeon River, the springs had been used as a health retreat as early as 1830. The water contains grains of mineral solids including silica, alumna, iron carbonate, manganese carbonate and lime carbonate.
A passenger hack offered Knoxville residents round trip transportation before the Knoxville, Sevierville, and Eastern Railway Company ran lines to Sevierville. After which, the hack met both morning and afternoon arrivals at the Sevierville depot and provided complimentary rides to the resort.
Among the prominent guest from Knoxville who usually visited for one week during the summer were: The T.L. Lay family (Lay’s Pacing Company), Joe Knaffel (photographer), Jim Kennedy (liquor store proprietor), Lum and Charles Harris families (Southern Railroad executives), Jim Hope (a jeweler on Market Square), Dan Devine (contributor of property for St. Mary’s Hospital), Fred and Karl Baum families (florist), David Kincade, W.W. Woodruff (hardware), Ray Jenkins (attorney), Dempster family (Dempster Dumster), William E. Monday (hotel) and numerous others.
The seasonal resort was open for quest from early June until Labor Day. The hotel was in business for 52 years until its closing in 1930 during the Great Depression. Four years later, Samuel Henderson passed away at the age of 81.
In the days before the establishment of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Henderson Springs and several other seasonal resorts were ideal places for young people to earn money for school.
Ruby, who lived at the resort when her father was manager and worked there as a young girl, married James Sims and they lived in the in the caretaker’s house with their daughter, Ava Jean, and son, Emory, for a few years after the hotel closed. It was during this time that Ruby once locked a bootlegger in the springhouse when she discovered he was using it as a rendezvous point for his customers to pick up liquor.
Ruby Henderson Sims told nostalgic tales, both personal accounts and stories handed down by Uncle Sam Henderson and others about the “Good Old Days” at Henderson Springs until she passed away in 1997 at the age of 93.
— Carroll McMahan is the Special Projects Facilitator for the Sevierville Chamber of Commerce. The Upland Chronicles series celebrates the heritage and past of Sevier County. If you suggestions for future topics, would like to submit a column or have comments; please contact Carroll McMahan at 453-6411 or email to cmcmahan@scoc.org; or Ron Rader at 604-9161 or email to ron@ronraderproperties.com
- [S112] Census, 1940.
Name:
Ruby Sims
Event Type:
Census
Event Date:
1940
Event Place:
Civil District 5, Sevier, Tennessee, United States
Gender:
Female
Age:
35
Marital Status:
Married
Race (Original):
White
Race:
White
Relationship to Head of Household (Original):
Wife
Relationship to Head of Household:
Wife
Birthplace:
Tennessee
Birth Year (Estimated):
1905
Last Place of Residence:
Same Place
Household Role Gender Age Birthplace
James Sims Head M 34 Tennessee
Ruby Sims Wife F 35 Tennessee
Ava Jean Sims Daughter F 14 Tennessee
James Emory Sims Son M 12 Tennessee
- [S74] Atchley Funeral Home Records, Volume IV, 1987-1999, Larry D. Fox, (Smoky Mountain Historical Society), 28 Oct 1997.
Sims, Ruby Henderson 93 widow b. 7-9-1904 P-Forge d. 10-28- 97 SMCNH retired J C Penney Co retail sales clerk f. Isaac A Henderson m. Edith Emory educa 12 Shiloh Cem Survivors: 1 dau Ava Jean Sims Lewelling & John Hornung same address 1 son James Emory & Numi Sims CA 4 gc Ken & Karen Veal Patricia Sims Thomas Wayne & Priscilla Sims Andrew & JoAnna Sims 4 ggc 1 sis Georgia Huntington preceded by 1 son Wayne Henderson Sims 1 g-son Joe Neil Lewelling.
- [S87] Death Certificate.
Name Date of Death / Age County of Death County / State of Residence Marital Status Gender Race File #
SIMS RUBY H 10-28-1997 / 93 SEVIER SEVIER / TN WIDOW F WHITE 44205
- [S147] Find a Grave, (Memorial: 26101435).
- [S58] Marriage Certificate.
Name: Isaac A Henderson
Event Type: Marriage
Event Date: 27 Jul 1903
Event Place: Knox, Tennessee, United States
Age: 31
Birth Year (Estimated): 1872
Spouse's Name: Edith F Emory
Spouse's Age: 24
Spouse's Birth Year (Estimated): 1879
"Tennessee, County Marriages, 1790-1950," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1-9817-3636-36?cc=1619127 : accessed 13 May 2015), 004538820 > image 390 of 791; county courthouses, Tennessee.
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