Tan Rara History

There was no road proper up to the house, but a dirt road jutted off Fox Road where Tan Rara Drive is now located, and you had to ford the creek. Only the farm vehicles used this trail. The family automobiles and buses were housed in a very large garage on Fox Road just across the road from the Fox entrance to the bridge and one had to walk to the house from there by way of the bridge. A very large barn used to occupy the empty lot between the first house (Fox) and the second house (Sudman) on the left as you enter Tan Rara Drive. This barn housed the cattle and the milking area. This was called the “cow barn.” Hay was also stored in its top floor. Behind this barn and into the woods was the pig lot with lots of squealing and pig sounds, a delight to the children, especially the sounds of little piglets. Many raccoons, squirrels, opossums, ground hogs, and chipmunks were part of the farm family. The master of this farm, William McCamey Fox, loved his family, his friends, the land and the animals. Directly across from this cow barn and across from what is now Tan Rara Drive, there stood facing the cow barn, another very large barn. This barn housed horses, farm implements, farm machinery and hay, and was called, of course, the “horse barn.” There were horses to ride, mules to work, all of them to love. If this barn were still standing, it would be half on the Parkers’ lawn and half on their empty lot. The cattle grazed in the meadow on top of the hill overlooking the lake. This area encompassed both sides of now Casa Real Cove. The homes, according to the map in the directory of 1998, that would be sitting in the pasture are Draper, Antonucci, Mishu, Taft, Stalker, Kuzma, Ebenezer, Bowen, Creswell, Dilworth, Conkin, Miller, Witt, and including Loma residents Shelby and Ball. [ed. note: Dilworth, Kuzma and Ebenezer have been replaced by Doeden, James and Douglas.] Mr. Bowen probably remembers most of this. The “cow path” from the meadow to the barn lay through the center of what are now the Brown, Smith, Schoonmaker, Hill and Sudman homes. The cows did not need to be called or herded to the barn, nor from the barn to the meadow. They knew the path and were always on time to the barn or to the meadow at the respective times of the day. They had names given to them by “Papa” Fox, but your writer does not remember them. The top of the meadow in the vicinity of the Ebenezer [James] home was a wonderful place for picnics. I remember once having a picnic there with special friends and while we were talking and making our way back to the house via the cow path, the cows decided it was time to head for the barn. One of my friends was unfamiliar with this process and his reaction was a funny sight to us, but not very pleasant to him as the cows pushed him out of the way. El Pinar Drive once was a meadow that was green and lush and cattle grazed there, but the flat meadow also served as a runway for the Piper Cub plane belonging to W.M., III. There was a lush and full patch of blackberries located in the area of the Gill, Holmes, Ambroz, and Marsh homes. The cobblers and ice cream toppings were worth the scratches received during the picking. The spring at the foot of the hill on Fox property was the water for the household and was at one time in the early days of the farm carried by bucket up the hill to the house. Later there was a pump installed and the sweet spring water was piped to the house. A springhouse sat across the small feeder creek that flows out of the spring from inside the small cave in the side of the hill and into the larger spring at the foot of the hill. It was in this house in the early days that the household dairy products were kept cool and fresh for consumption and for sale at the market. Lou sold butter and eggs and had a reputation for the best butter on the market. The creek provided water for all farm animals. The creek still provides water for a few raccoons, opossums, squirrels, groundhogs, and other small animals. The Parker home, (first house on right as you enter Tan Rara Oeste), is situated where the house sat that was provided for the tenant farmer. A small path led to his home. There was lush meadow-like grass, wildflowers, as well as gullies from water erosion. Most will remember that Fox Road was a lovely country lane prior to its being “upgraded” to handle the increase in traffic. Tan Rara Oeste has evolved from the industrious farm into an enchanting “used to be” farm, and finally into one of the loveliest, if not the loveliest, subdivisions in West Knoxville and is rightly named “So Rare in the West.” I am glad you are here. I hope that you are happy to be here. Respectfully Submitted, Ginger Black Fox