Community of "Tightwad"
Carroll County, Tennessee
The termTightwad is slang for a
cheapskate
or a miser. An example of a Tightwad is a person who counts
every single penny and never buys gifts or treats others, nor
buys anything nice for themselves.
It is difficult to apply the traditional
meaning of “Tightwad” to our Tightwad Community even
though the Community is labeled as Tightwad. I do know for sure that by the early 1900s,
this community was named “Tightwad”.
Most of the older residents in this community
were always considered to be
thrifty
in the management of their resources but I have
never known or heard of anyone to
shorten their lives or neighbors lives over
withholding their material wealth but rather the opposite. People worked
hard to earn their wealth and expected others to do the same
but would assist their family and neighbors
when needed.
What is wrong with that philosophy?
“Community of Tightwad”
was/is located physically between mile markers two and six
on Highway 424 West of Clarksburg in Carroll County, Tennessee. These
days (2021),
one does not realize Tightwad was a very vibrant self contained community in
its
earlier years especially the early 1900s.
Some of the families who settled this community were the Pritchards,
Pearson, Parker, Kee, Halter, Carnal, White, Wall, Meals, Grant, Kirby, Gurley,
Pendergrass,
Petty, Taylor, Flake, Ledsinger, and Williamson families.
This community had
its beginnings in the 1820s with settlers arriving mostly from
Middle Tennessee, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Thomas Kee was
one of its earliest
settlers
and arrived with his family from what is known today
as Benton County in the 1820s. Later in the 1830s, the Pearson, Cox, Rosser, Pritchard,
and Burnett families
would arrive
from North Carolina to settle and make their new homes.
By the 1850s, would be arrival
of
the Daniel Meals family from North Alabama and the
Pendergrass family
from North Carolina.
Tightwad Community through the years had its own
businesses
to include a blacksmith business owned by Henderson Carroll Petty (located
vicinity of Adron Pendergrass store building).
Grocery and general merchandise stories
were owned and managed by Willie White, Bonnie Williamson, Jessie
Pendergrass,
Adron Pendergrass, Dudley Flake, Ben Wall, and Daniel Meals.
The
community had no
local churches but attended churches in other communities.
These
churches included Roans Creek Church of Christ,
Mud Creek Primitive Baptist Church,
Rock Springs Methodist Church, Palestine Methodist Church,
Liberty (New
Liberty) Baptist Church,
and Antioch Primitive Baptist Church. The Black population
attended
church at Parkers Chapel Church then located
in Mud Creek bottom located south of
Roans Creek Road.
Children attended school at the one room school which was
located on the
Jesse Pritchard
farm named Shady Dell. Bass Graves
served as the school teacher. He lived and own the
farm where Kenneth Lovell now lives. Bass's home
was built before the Civil War and was located near the Graves
Cemetery. It was a two story home with multi level porches
across its front.
At the turn of the 20th Century, a new
school would be built
named Center Ridge located on Dees Road. Also area children
attended
Murphy school located on Milam Road.
I
Clipped from the Carroll County Democrat dated "7 November 1913: News
from Tightwad", a community located west of Clarksburg on what is
known now as Highway 424W. Last names of Beaseley,
Wall, Kee, LittlePage and Meals
are mentioned.
