History of Karns High School
PAGE 7:
| Return to Index |
THE BYINGTON STORY
Moses Brownlow Byington, Sr. was a well-known pioneer of Knox County. He was born in McMinn County and educated at Tennessee Wesleyan College, Athens, Tennessee. He married Amanda Fox, whom he had met at the same college and they moved to the 9th District of Knox County. Mrs. Byington died at the age of 42. Mr. Byington later married Nora Freels.
He served as a member of Knox County Court for 24 years. His scope of vision was far-seeing and his influence for the growth of mankind was felt in very remote sections of this [Knox] county. He did the surveying the purchasing of the rights-of-way for the L&N Railroad. It was another trail blazer, opening the way for better tomorrows.
It was at the suggestion of the railway officials that the Byingtons moved closer, establishing a store and a home, not far from the present water office. [This is now the Precision Sports Store at the intersection of Byington-Beaver Ridge Road and Byington-Solway Road.] The town BYINGTON was named for Mr. Byington at the time the railroad station was built. It was one of the railroad's passenger stops. This way of travel to and from Knoxville became widely used.
Mr. Byington was postmaster at Byington for several years. He was very active in the building of a new Methodist Church at Beaver Ridge, where he was a member.
One of his last projects was the Solway Bridge. As a member of the Bridge Commission, he made several trips to Washington and Chattanooga, in the interest of this much needed link of transportation. He [sic] name is carved on one of the stones.2
The bridge was built by Knox County in the late 1920s and dedicated in 1930. This 772 foot long bridge was described in the plans as a concrete arch bridge with 20' roadway with 3' sidewalk on right. The beauty of the bridge could not compensate for a two-lane roadway only 20 feet in width. In 1975 a new four-lane bridge was under construction and the Solway Bridge was soon to be torn down.3 [ The old bridge cornerstone is now in the Oak Ridge Library.]
This well-known pioneer was the grandfather of two of our classmates, Jane Byington Williams and Rhoten Byington and of Amanda Byington Cate, class of 1949.
The home that Moses Byington built across from his store and near the Byington train station had a beautiful front porch with white pillars. As one entered there was a parlor to the left with a fireplace, then dining room with large bay windows and window seats. Behind the dining room was a large kitchen. To the right of the entry was a second parlor with a fireplace. A large room with a bathroom adjoined this parlor. A beautiful entry with staircase led to the upstairs bedroom. It must have been one of the finest homes in the county when it was built in the late 1800s. Classmate Betty Robertson Riley, and her family rented and lived in this house from 1937-1941. At that time it was no longer owned by the Byington family. The house has since been torn down.
2 Grace Everett. The Byington Story
3 Ruth Salley, Ed. The Good Life Almanac. Boone, North Carolina: Appalachian Press, 1975.
[ Return to Karns High School - 50th Anniversary Reunion ]
[ Return to Karns High School section ]
[ Return to Knox County Schools - Past & Present ]
[ Return to Knox County, TNGenWeb ]