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Wlaf1450A vote is up on Tuesday on whether the stop light stays or goes
By Charlie Hutson
LAFOLLETTE, TN (WLAF)- The proposed removal of Traffic Light 8 on East Central Avenue at First Street prompts some First Street red light history.
In the late 1940s, Lafollette had two shirt factories operating in the downtown area, and the Lafollette High School, where McDonald’s is, was on the hill on West Central Avenue just above downtown. Back then when the City fire siren sounded at 12 o’clock, “high noon”, both shirt factories, and the high school went to lunch, about a thousand people hit downtown at the same time.
With both shirt factories on the north side of East Central Ave., that meant a lot of the people would be crossing Central going to the south side. Some were going to grocery shop at Woodson’s or Lyon’s grocery, downtown back then. Others were going to eat at the Central or Dixie Cafes while some were just going shopping.
Before the stop light was installed, there were several people hit crossing Central Avenue. At that time, the only red light was at Central and Tennessee Avenues. So in March 1948, the city put up the traffic light at First street, and there has been a traffic light there for 78 years. (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED-04/30/2026-6AM-PHOTOS COURTESY OF WLAF’S CHARLIE HUTSON)