Tan Rara History

Austin and Margaret built a large, two-story brick house made from bricks burned on their farm. This house heard the laughter and cries of their fourteen children. Ten of these fourteen children’s names are known, four are unknown. Traveling on down through the generations, the grandson of the previously mentioned John Fox, Sr., and the son of the just mentioned Austin Fox, Sr., was named William McCamey Fox. William McCamey was born November 7, 1834, and grew up in the Beaver Ridge area. His boyhood was spent quietly in the large brick farmhouse built by his father and built within sight of the old Beaver Ridge Church. He was content to live there until he met and married Louisa Nelson of the Ebenezer Community. They married and purchased 350 plus acres of land two miles east of Concord. This purchase was made in 1871. The original William and Louisa Fox home place is the two-story white house that sits on the left of Fox Road at the corner of Fox Road and West Emory Road at the location where Fox Road intersects with the railroad tracks just to the south of Tan Rara Oeste. William McCamey and Louisa Nelson Fox died on Jan 15 and 20, 1910, respectively. The middle son of William M. Fox and Louisa Nelson Fox, grandson of Austin Fox, Sr., great grandson of John Fox, is William McCamey, Jr., who married Lou Mae Koon, and this couple, after living in and owning several homes on Kingston Pike, purchased this farm from his father’s estate. A portion of this original farm is now the subdivision Tan Rara Oeste. William McCamey and Lou Mae Fox were the grandparents of the writer of this history. At this point in the history of Tan Rara Oeste, I hope to bring you to consider yourself as part of this history and this history a part of you. Living in Tan Rara makes each of you a part of the life and history of Tan Rara. I hope that each of us can love our respective portions of this farm and care for our neighborhood in its entirety for those who follow after us. The original farmhouse built by William and Lou on what is now called Tan Rara Oeste burned at some point in time and was replaced with another farm house. Some of the original Tan Rara residents will remember this second farm home. This house was located first house on the left of Tan Rara Drive as you enter from Fox Road. It was remodeled in 1978 by the writer of this history to a country cottage. The smoke house and other out buildings were removed at that time, except for the chicken house, which was made into a shed to house small tools and potting supplies and, I suppose, to just preserve it for a time. This small house, which originally sat close to Tan Rara Drive, has been moved to the woods line. A large portion of the land was reconfigured to accommodate the enlargement of the farmhouse when remodeled. William McCamey Fox, Jr. was a progressive farmer even though he was active in politics as a County Court Squire and Justice of the Peace, served on the School Board, had several buses that ferried children to and from their homes to Farragut School, operated Fox Motor Coach Lines with bus transportation routes from Knoxville to several outlying areas west of the city, and was active in his church at Grassy Valley Baptist Church. Lou, his wife, worked right alongside him as they raised their eight children. All eight of his children settled in and around this area. The children are Edith F. Brashear, (deceased), Naomi F. Donovan, (deceased), Mabel F. Vance, (deceased), Louise F. Harley, (deceased), William M., III, Ruby F. Hobbs, Mildred F. Benson, mother of the writer, (deceased), and David Nelson. William McCamey died in 1948 and Lou Mae died in 1976. William McCamey’s nickname from the children who rode his school buses was “Sugarcoat.” To associates he was known as “Squire,” to friends “Will” or “W.M.” But to his family he was “Papa.” Being a Justice of the Peace, many couples were married in the parlor of their home, with Lou, his wife, being their witness. There is probably no way to know how many folks have considered Tan Rara special because of their wedding day. During the years as a farm, the land produced sugar cane, an orchard of peaches, apples, gardens of vegetables, hay, wheat, corn, et cetera. There were dairy cattle. Milk products were sold to dairies in the surrounding area. There were pigs raised for sale as well as for food for the family. There were some beef cattle. Chickens were raised for eggs and food. During planting and harvest, Lou cooked lunch for all of the farm hands. There were pigs raised for sale as well as for food for the family. There was a large bell that rang to signal lunch was ready. The bell, when rung at other times, told Papa he was needed at home. This bell could be heard for quite a long distance. It was the bell that told of Papa’s death when heard ringing up the valley in the middle of the night. The clanging of the bell brought the neighbors to the house that night. A long wooden bridge spanned the distance from Fox Road, high over the creek, and up to the side of the hill on which the house stood. The bridge was made safe by a handrail and wire sides. Squirrels were constantly playing on the bridge and running the handrails, jumping back and forth from the trees to the railing. The beams that supported this bridge were used in the remodeling of the farmhouse. These beams are very visible in the great room.

Next Page