Bristol

By George Stone

In 1852, Joseph R. Anderson purchased 100 acres on the Virginia-Tennessee border with the intent of building a town in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. Four years later, Bristol was incorporated, and it celebrated its 150th birthday in 2006. Taking its name from the English city, Bristol is also known as the Twin City because of its two distinct towns with two separate governments one in Virginia and the other in Tennessee. Postcard History Series: Bristol portrays the city from the late 1800s through its growth during the 20th century and preserves its rich heritage in vintage postcards.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
• Release date: Feb 20, 2008
• ISBN: 9781439619483

George Stone

Authors George Stone and Sonya A. Haskins have collaborated on this vivid pictorial history to produce a work Bristolians can be proud to own. Stone is a lifelong resident of Bristol, Tennessee, and worked for the Bristol Herald Courier for 21 years. Haskins, an area resident, graduated from King College in 1992 and has authored two other volumes in the Images of America series, Jonesborough and Johnson City.

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INTRODUCTION

Say the word postcard and it’s likely that a selective group of collectors will come looking for treasure. They will meticulously look through every lead, some driving 100 or more miles for the elusive card for their collection. When prowling the attic of a downtown business, the collector will push aside antique gadgets and silver jewelry and coins looking for the postcard stash thought to be hidden there. These folks are knowledgeable about their hobby. They know the desirable cards, the different varieties of the same image, and how to determine its age. They come from every walk of life, those starting out and experienced collectors who pay top dollar for the rarest image.

The popularity of collecting postcards in the Southern Highlands is in large part due to a traveling salesman, L. C. LeCompte. He traveled by rail and sold his stock of linen photographic cards to merchants. These cards captured the era’s prominent buildings and street scenes and mass-produced them inexpensively, wholesaling them for as low as 75¢ per 100. LeCompte’s ’s Asheville Post Card Company produced such quantities that, 30 years after his death, they are the easiest ones to find and typically the starter for any collector. At every antique shop that sells knickknacks and everyday on eBay, these cards can be found very inexpensively. The company produced a large series on Bristol: the Hotel General Shelby, First Presbyterian and Central Christian Churches, the Bristol post offices, and many more. They were snapshots of the Twin City, which has changed dramatically over the years. The old hotels, the five-and-dimes, and the downtown churches will be remembered more from postcards than through any other medium.

The earlier cards, produced from the 1890s through World War I, are typically the most desirable. These included the sepia tone and real photographs (RPPC) of Bristol, including streetcars, the train station, street scenes with saloons, and government buildings. Many of these cards were contracted locally by retailers but made in Germany. These are quality images that have risen in value due to wide interest from collectors. Bristol’s major hotels produced interior views of their lobby and dining areas, and local retailers and manufacturers gave their clientele and employees cards to market their business. Early cards produced by Kelly and Green, a local photo-finishing merchant, and any view of the Bristol Welcome Sign are collectable. The rarer the image or card, the more collectible. Even the most ardent collector of 25-plus years runs into an unknown postcard or will still be in search of an image that has eluded him over the years.

In the age of e-mail and other forms of communication, it is likely that the era of postcards is behind us, but their story will continue to entice new collectors in upcoming years. A picture continues to speak louder than words.

—Tim Buchanan

2006 Bristol Sesquicentennial chairman

One

STREET SCENES

It is not at all uncommon to stroll the streets of Bristol and see people dash to the center of State Street, standing momentarily with one foot in Virginia and the other in Tennessee while having their picture taken.

There is a certain mystique about this town situated in two states, and that mystique fascinates first-time visitors who can’t believe they can stand in two states at the same time. But this fascination is nothing new. Visitors have found Bristol—the Twin City—a town to write home about for over 150 years. And writing home to family and friends often was done through postcards.

Several postcards on the following pages show State Street from the early 1900s through the ensuing decades leading up to the 1960s. These postcards show transportation in Bristol from the horse-and-buggy days to the use of streetcars and eventually to automobiles. While the state line in the center of town has remained unchanged, the buildings and those businesses occupying those buildings have undergone constant changes, and those changes are evident through the postcards in this chapter.

While the state line through town is a subject of conversation, the Bristol sign is no less an object of intrigue. The 60-foot-high electric sign once was situated on the top of a downtown business but was reconstructed above State Street directly over the state line in 1915. The sign is a landmark almost 90 years later. Visible the entire length of State Street, there is no mistaking what side of the state line one is on, as huge arrows point downward, one marked VA and the other TENN.

The postcard below shows a wider view of Bristol and the surrounding area in the mid-1970s. The view above is from the 1980s and offers a good view of the Bristol train station to the lower center. To the left on the card below is what is referred to as the Knobs above Windsor Avenue. In the 2000 census, the population of Bristol, Virginia, was 17,367, and Bristol, Tennessee, had 24,821. Bristol, Virginia, covers 11.53 square miles, while Bristol, Tennessee, covers 29.3 square miles. (Above, Paul Stone; below, Larry Greer.)

On July 4, 1910, the new Bristol sign, donated by the Bristol Gas and Electric Company and erected atop the Virginia-Tennessee Hardware Company at Third and State Streets, was officially turned on in a ceremony at 9:00 p.m. with all 834 incandescent lamps spelling out Bristol VA-TENN Push—That’s Bristol. Each letter was 7 feet tall. Charles M. Brown, president of the Bristol Board of Trade, coined the phrase. It simply meant that Bristol was pushing ahead toward a bright future. In January 1915, the sign was moved from the Interstate Hardware Building. (Dan and Robin Pless.)

After the Bristol sign was removed from atop the hardware building, a new sign was