April 12, 1884: The Comet opined, âNow that every religious denomination represented in our town, has a comfortable church house in which to worship God, âwhere none dare to molest or make afraid,â attention ought to be turned to the next greatest thing of importance, the education of our children. Let every good citizen join in the work of building up first class schools in Johnson City. They will enhance the value of property and build up the wealth, the intelligence, and the morals of the whole community.â
April 12, 1888: The Comet brought welcomed news regarding the railroads. âMr. H.T. McDaniel, of the C.C. & C. engineer corps, was in the city Sunday and showed The Comet a letter from Gen. Rosser to him authorizing him to begin the final location of the C.C. & C. road at once. The line indicated in the letter will do away with the Iron Mountain turn as it follows the Chucky river (sic) down to Unaka then it runs through Erwin and on down to Johnson City
Jan. 17, 1889: G.B. Horton, Henry Gildersleeve, and Eugene Horton had, as of January 1, 1889, formed a co-partnership with the name of Horton, Gildersleeve & Co. The business would âcontinue the business heretofore conducted by Horton, Yocum & Co., as the âWataugaâ Tanneryâ, according to The Comet.
Jan. 17, 1900: The Knoxville Sentinel, with a dateline of Johnson City, reported, âGeo. T. Williams, of Milligan, Tenn., and J.C. Kingsley, of Greeneville, Tenn., are at the Greenwood Hotel.â
Jan. 17, 1903: The Chattanooga News reported very tragic news, with a dateline of Johnson City. âWhile a number of men were at work in the sewerage ditch at the Soldiersâ Home yesterday afternoon the banks caved in on them, and one man, Sam Grooms, of North Carolina, was killed, and two others, J.J. Stenson and Charles Leonard, were badly injured. The ditch was about 12 feet deep and two feet wide, and the ground thawing caused several tons of dirt to slip in