Kingsport Spirit

Kingsporters are familiar with the ‘by-pass’ or highway. Some abbreviate it as the ‘John B’. In fact, another iconic Kingsport name, Pal’s, just opened its newest location at 1345 South John B. Dennis Highway near I-26. He was the brains behind Kingsport. He’s buried here. But he had many other interests across the country which…

It was 1917. The fledgling city of Kingsport had been incorporated for two months. “Separate but equal” was the prevailing law, upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in Plessy vs. Ferguson in 1896. The NY-based developers were trying to build a Model City in the rural South. They were heavily influenced by the overcrowded tenements,…

My daughter is about to complete her periodontics residency.  She recently asked if she should buy a starter property, then keep it as a rental once she grows out of it.  My first thought (perhaps unfairly) was that “dentists don’t do that.”  They’re more conservative, predictable, compliant, and to some degree risk averse. Then I…

On the eve of Black History Month, here’s a glimpse inside the mind of J. Fred Johnson, the father of Kingsport who coined the term “Kingsport Spirit”. This quote is from his memorial service in 1944—twenty years before the Civil Rights Act was passed. He was an early champion of equity and inclusion in gender,…

A newcomer contacted the Chamber of Commerce asking about the original owner of their recently purchased historic home in Park Hill (The Fifties). They’re the Tudor homes on the hill opposite Town Park Lofts on West Sullivan Street. Wanting to help, but not really knowing how; I started with a street address. I used Google…