Post 1904 fire we go on this Throwback Thursday

Here’s a look at North Tennessee Avenue in the early 1900s.

By Charlie Hutson

LAFOLLETTE, TN (WLAF) – Back in the early years of Lafollette, looking down North Tennessee Avenue toward the gap is what you’re seeing in the photo above.  This image is after the 1904 fire, and you’ll notice the empty space between Lafollette State Bank and the Cornwell building.

Looking on down the street, you’ll see other vacant spaces. It was in 1917 when the Lafollette State Bank building became Peoples National Bank.

Yep, that’s a street light hanging at the corner of Central and Tennessee Avenues. Back then power was provided by generators and mainly used only for lighting and to run the telephone system. Most of the lines you see on the poles are telephone lines. It would still be several years before there was a lot of electrical appliances. At the time of this image, TVA was many years in the future.  (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED – 05/02/2024-6AM)